May 19, 2005
At Lubang Island
A friend of mine offered me to join her and her family in their visit to hometown Lubang Island on the dates which include my 30th birthday. Devoid of any plan for that day and somehow not wanting to experience it in usual surroundings, I decided to take a two-day leave from work and joined them.We boarded a small ferry which departed from Manila at almost midnight. The boat had only one engine working instead of two so it sailed almost twice the supposedly travel time. I slept throughout the single-engined sailing, waking up already thirty years old.
It was my first time to set foot at Lubang Island which is located at the northern tip of Occidental Mindoro. I have not much knowledge about the place except that it is always in the typhoon hit list - being near the China Sea – especially during rainy season. I also learned later that it was in this island when the last Japanese imperial soldier was discovered "hiding" (apparently local folks know about it) thirty years after the second world war ended.
From the port, we rode a jeepney to go to barangay Maliig where we would be staying. Clouds of thick dusts were tailing us as the jeepney toiled the solitary dirt road, interrupted by few meters of concrete pavements. Local politics at work, I would be told by my companions. But the dirt road interrupted was sandwiched in breathtaking views of mountains, ricefields and grazing cows at the left and the beaches at the right. They were enough to make me forget the situation I am in - bumpy ride, heat, dust, and “thirtiness”.
It was a good two days spent in the island. The Lubang noon sky is deep blue, lathered with whiteness. When the sun sets, the sea also empties (kati), offering bounties which women and children gather. I also had a good time picking sineguelas, watching a santacruzan, and welcoming the much-awaited rains showering the sea with diamond kisses.
Lubang Island, of course, is not the usual place for tourists. In this wonderful setting, there were no hotels or places to stay. A kilo of fresh galunggong is sold at 10 pesos which, ironically, a lot of local folks cannot afford to buy. Some beaches are also littered with household garbage and fishing implements. Brownouts are frequent, there is no local radio station or newspaper and I haven't even seen national dailies in bayan. Lubang is a good place for hiding.
I am supposed to post some of the pictures here but cannot make them get out of my cellphone. Lubang Island is in hiding.
eyed at 11:00 PM
7 Comments
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at 3:22 PM
ikabod said... 'usual surroundings'...ah! si richie?
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at 3:38 PM
eyed said...
can't be...she is unusual for me. :)
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at 4:20 PM
said... oi pato! sa kwento mo palang ang sarap at payak ang pamumuhay sa pinuntahan mo sayang nga lamang at hindi ako nakasama, dibale sa susunod na pagkakataon. siyanga pala mero akong bagong blog...www.iblogmosa.blogspot.com
mis u ol c",)-
at 7:13 PM
eyed said...
oi anonymouse, kahit sa blog ba naman papalit-palit ka pa rin ng address? ye, ok dun tiyak kong mag-e-enjoy ka. miss you din. :)
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at 7:28 PM
eyed said...
iblogmosa: dahil di ka nag-aallow ng anonymous comments sa blog mo, d2 ko na lang ilalagay.
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oat meal na goto?! hmm, y not donut? nakaka tom jones pa rin:)
tama ba, 1am ka nag-blog o di ka lang nag-adjust ng clock mo sa blog? niweys, pagbutihin at ipagpatuloy mo yan. at ngayon pa lang, i "copyright" mo na yang oatmeal goto mo at baka ikakatanyag mo pa yan. kung mangyari man yun, pahintulutan mo akong magtayo ng franchise sa dubai... labyu tins. ingat at kain lagi:)
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at 10:56 AM
said...
sbi rana d raw siguro alam ng japanese struggler (name nya ONODA) na di pa tapos ang war kaya nagtago pa siya, hehe..10 pesos lng galunggung? totoo daw b un? tawa pa siya s bumpy ride, dust, heat...good place for hiding..tama nga daw kc walang radio n newspaper...o di b naintindihan..galing mo daw english...
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at 11:00 AM
said...
anonymous yong nautusan ni rana na mag comment ha...