i just came from a 22hour trip to Baguio and Ilocos with my sister. I'm drinking French Pressed Baranguet blend coffee as i type. (i figured the name myself, haha) It's so good! It's a blend of Baracco and Benguet beans, we copied from the locals and it tastes full bodied, a little chocolatey in the beginning and caramely in the end - not too acidic, which i like. i never thought native coffee can compare to starbucks blend! i'm glad i was proven wrong!
the trip was primarily to visit my lola's sister on her 2nd death anniv yesterday. she's closer to us than my lola who died years earlier. she was the one who brought us up. i miss her dearly and still think of her often and dream about her in my dreams. =)
the bus on the way was freezer and we used every kind of covering we can find - even the bus curtains - and maneuver it around our bodies, just to keep us warm..the conduktor was smirking when he saw us..we left 1130 pm thursday and arrived 530 in baguio for breakfast. baguio mornings start late and they're a little laid back. it's so nice, strolling peacefully along Session Road. (though at first, it was freezer as well, until the sun slowly spread its heat.)
it was quite obvious that we're not from there because we walked ever so slowly and looked around awed at every sight in every corner.
we bought coffee, sweets and flowers in the market and off we go up to Ilocos. we rode on a mini bus w/o the freaking aircon so we can take in as much mountain air as we can. we passed by mountains, rivers, bridges and la union beach to our left!! my eyes devoured the provincial sight which my sister poetically summarized: "water and mountains, cows and goats, greens and browns, rivers and seas, rocks and sand." haha. still, i couldn't take enough of it. and i love it everytime i catch a sight of the beachfront in la union!
3 hours after, we alighted just outside the cemetery along the national highway. it wasn't that melodramatic for me as i saw AE's grave. (We call my lola's sister AE.) It was my first time there. i didn't go during her wake. i guess i held back some thoughts so i won't cry in front of my sister 'cause i know she'd cry even more than me. She's closer to her kasi. But it reminded me again how short life is and not waste any moment to appreciate our loved ones and just breathe life to every life we encounter every moment. After cleaning up the nitso, it was time to go to the municapality and pay some taxes!
haha. yes, taxes for her land. AE's story is so much drama. her lands were disputed, her youth was full of despair, sacrifices and adventure. her old age was a routine. oh well, i won't elaborate on it, but i'm contemplating of making it into a movie some time. a personal project for my family. she's the Filipino version of the character of Baby Kochama in God of Small Things, but i still love her!
It was already past 12 when we arrived there and the government employees were just about to go to lunch, but since we told them we're from Manila, they reluctantly took care of our affairs first. We didn't let them know we can speak Ilocano or they'll let us wait! bwahahaha
we had lunch in a small carinderia beside the munisipyo. ate dinengdeng, tortang baka and rice. we didn't order the kilawin na baka na may papaitan - the Ilocano version of Carpaccio- it looked, well...raw! and in a karinderia?? haha, well, the cows there eat good grass naman but still.. haha
my sister, being the writer that she is, researched way ahead of the "Sights" there was to see in Tagudin, Ilocos and found out that it was there the first Sundials were placed in the Philippines and the landing sight of the founder of St. Theresa's College in QC and San Agustin School there and some other monuments. We later found out that it was all situated in one plaza, the size of half a basketball court. hahaha! anyways, the people there are so friendly. one teacher in the San Agustin School there even offered to tour us. Lovely.
The highlight of my trip was the Farola lighthouse! i was expecting to see the usual majestic lighthouse, with the light on top of a round bricked or cement structure, but to my surprise, their lighthouse was a mere single steel structure with a light on top. haha... it's high tech though, cause it has photo-eye meaning, it turns on and off on its own and is solar-powered! haha But what's even more fascinating, is the virgin beach in front of it!!!
amazing. i didn't expect to see a beach front in my lola's province. the waves were quite strong, the wind windy, and mists came flying everywhere. there was no soul to be found except ours and some people picking special pebbles along the shore. fabulous! and it stretches from left to right as fas as the eye can see! it was love at first sight. i knew i'd come go back there! haha
finally, we road our tricycle back to the national highway and waited for the first bus to Manila. it was quite a wait but i got to bond with my sister for a little while. it was wonderfully quiet, especially when no cars passing. made a paper boat and let it float along the puddle of water in the gutter. took pictures, chatted, small talk with a stranger, moments.. it was an 8 hour ride back home. non-aircon bus again, thank God!
strangely though, no one opened up their windows. when we did, we knew why! it was air-con super cooled blower! haha. we turned it into low cool instead. =)
how do you fill an 8 hour ride?
thoughts, dreams, visualize, sleep, sleeptalk, call two friend, chats with seatmate, make new friends, observe people, visualize, play ipod music from different genres, listen to different audio books, stop over, sing, i wanted to smoke but my sister was there, haha, eat chicharon, mani, and skyflakes. everything was kind of a semi-lucid state 'cause you're like sleeping and waking, sleeping and waking with so many things happening around you, people riding, leaving, talking, selling you things and trinkets, and everything. lovely.
thank you for bearing with me as you read this. too much details perhaps.
should've i just said, "bus to baguio, breakfast there, shop for coffee, pasalubong and flowers, bus to ilocos, visit cemetery, pay taxes to municaplity, eat lunch, tour around, bus to manila"?