Travel-writing
Oh, I suck at travel writing. I just find myself at a loss for the exact words I should be using to describe the moment. But I will still try, to practice. And it had been after all, my first trip to Mindanao. :)
July 24
Manila, at this moment, is a wet dog. Typhoon Florita is up at arms and all about Luzon. When I left for the airport this morning, I had to contend with the heavy rains, strong winds and flood. The storm wasn't bad enough to cancel flights though, thankfully.
The airport was buzzing with activity. You'd think it was just a normal day if not for the airconditioning turned on low and us still slowly freezing to death inside the pre-departure area. My thick jacket was barely enough to keep me from turning to solid ice. It took us a long time to be seated, and for the first time in my life, I wanted to flee from the extreme cold.
Imagine my amazement then when a fat ray of sunlight coming through my window seat flooded the airplane upon landing in Cagayan de Oro! I don't like the sun too much, but with my consumptive lungs today, I had never been happier to bask under its warmth. From Cagayan de Oro, we drove for an hour and a half to reach Lugait, Misamis Oriental where the Holcim Staff House was.
What a place! This is NOTHING like PBSP's staff accomodations. I was imagining an old, derelict house ridden with cobwebs and stuffy furniture. But what greeted us was a sprawling estate which has its own pool, tennis courts, basketball court, a clubhouse with billiards and karaoke in it plus a well-kept garden! The trees here are wonderful and the air was good for my lungs. To top it all off, the staff house was facing the sea! The SEA!
I think, I'm going to like this. I really think I will. :)
July 25
I have a feeling this place is haunted by a woman ghost. I think I saw her amongst the trees at the back of the house. I'm not really sure. The way it happens now is it only registers to me that I have seen something when my mind plays back the events of the day before I fall asleep. So last night, the first unbidden but quite persistent image that came to me was of a woman I saw looking out from a branch of the tree out back. She didn't look scary like my last encounter with a woman ghost. She was actually beautiful. She had mestisa skin and her hair was long and black. I could see her bare shoulders but the tree branch covers everything else. I can't be sure if she was wearing anything at all. She was looking at me and when I met her eyes, a wave of sadness came over me. She really is sad. It was a quiet desolation though. I cannot feel animosity or hate. She was just staring.
July 26
I had a strange dream last night. The first dream was pleasant because I dreamt I was given a car. It was white, and looked a little like Mr. BEan's car. But the logo it had proclaims it to be a BMW 5 -6.7 liters (haha!). Yes. That was written at the back. It even says it runs on diesel. I was ecstatic. Then I became worried. I don't have a license yet. It didn't stop me from tryin to drive though. I am sure I can drive, I just have to pray doubly hard not to commit any violations so the police won't find out my license-less state. At this point, I woke up. It was 4 am and I felt like I have lost something that makes me happy. Then I realized that in this world, I don't own that car.
I slept again, and this time, the theme was about going home. The place was a mixture of INtramuros and Anywhere-else. I had an errand to run, and upon accomplishing it I had to bring home people on a boat. I just wanted to get the job done so I could drive my car which by then has turned into a pick-up truck.
There was a lot of water in that dream. Rivers were pouring down the streets. It was like a monster Venice.
July 27
Our hosts confirmed that there is a ghost in the staff house. A woman. They call her Marikit (which translates to "Pretty" in English). No other name could suit her, I believe. She was beautiful. She'd been seen here and about by the staff. She was thought to haunt the lower rooms and once or twice they received testimonials that people awoke with the feeling of being strangled. My first thought was, I'm sure happy we're not billeted there. But then...
That can't be the woman I've seen? She didn't look harmful at all. I am more inclined to think she was a tree spirit rather than a vengeful ghost.
There must be two supernatural entities here. God knows, there might be more.
But over here at the land of the living, one happy trooper went on a trip to the Maria Cristina Falls in Lanao del Norte. She'd only read about the falls in her Sibika text books and encountered the name during examinations. Now, this trooper has seen it with her own eyes. Now she can tell her kids, yeah, that place, I've been there. And instead of vague suppositions on how the water is used to energize its surrounding cities, she can actually describe how many buildings there were and what the hydroelectric plant looked like. Above all, she can describe the raging power of the current, and how the water falls was majestic and beautiful and terrifying to behold.
==--==--==--==--==
When we got back to Lugait, Gilda and I went on our own to pay homage to the sea. We slipped from the staff house, crossed the highway and trespassed to the abandoned wharf. We spent two hours combing the beach for pretty stones and shells. Then we walked down the slippery seaweed-y wharf at the risk of breaking our necks or drowning in the deep sea. I was terribly afraid that one of us will meet an accident and no-one is nearby to help. But, I also think that was why our mini-adventure was entirely worth it. Nothing is as beautiful as something scary.
We watched the sun set over the sea. The whole expanse of it was just water--- lovely, clean, blue water. The horizon was not hampered by any sight of land. The sea there truly is endless. :)
Standing there, near the sea, near the sun, near endlesness and uncertainty, near mystery and death, I don't think I have ever felt more alive.
July 28
Home again!
There wasn't a more welcoming sight than the cluttered, disorganized and cluttered urban sprawl of Manila as seen from above. It ain't purty, but it sure looks like home.
Oh, to rest! To go home to my books! Lovely.
Next week, I'd be back to reality. But that's two whole days from now. For now, I will calm my nerves and rest.
July 24
Manila, at this moment, is a wet dog. Typhoon Florita is up at arms and all about Luzon. When I left for the airport this morning, I had to contend with the heavy rains, strong winds and flood. The storm wasn't bad enough to cancel flights though, thankfully.
The airport was buzzing with activity. You'd think it was just a normal day if not for the airconditioning turned on low and us still slowly freezing to death inside the pre-departure area. My thick jacket was barely enough to keep me from turning to solid ice. It took us a long time to be seated, and for the first time in my life, I wanted to flee from the extreme cold.
Imagine my amazement then when a fat ray of sunlight coming through my window seat flooded the airplane upon landing in Cagayan de Oro! I don't like the sun too much, but with my consumptive lungs today, I had never been happier to bask under its warmth. From Cagayan de Oro, we drove for an hour and a half to reach Lugait, Misamis Oriental where the Holcim Staff House was.
What a place! This is NOTHING like PBSP's staff accomodations. I was imagining an old, derelict house ridden with cobwebs and stuffy furniture. But what greeted us was a sprawling estate which has its own pool, tennis courts, basketball court, a clubhouse with billiards and karaoke in it plus a well-kept garden! The trees here are wonderful and the air was good for my lungs. To top it all off, the staff house was facing the sea! The SEA!
I think, I'm going to like this. I really think I will. :)
July 25
I have a feeling this place is haunted by a woman ghost. I think I saw her amongst the trees at the back of the house. I'm not really sure. The way it happens now is it only registers to me that I have seen something when my mind plays back the events of the day before I fall asleep. So last night, the first unbidden but quite persistent image that came to me was of a woman I saw looking out from a branch of the tree out back. She didn't look scary like my last encounter with a woman ghost. She was actually beautiful. She had mestisa skin and her hair was long and black. I could see her bare shoulders but the tree branch covers everything else. I can't be sure if she was wearing anything at all. She was looking at me and when I met her eyes, a wave of sadness came over me. She really is sad. It was a quiet desolation though. I cannot feel animosity or hate. She was just staring.
July 26
I had a strange dream last night. The first dream was pleasant because I dreamt I was given a car. It was white, and looked a little like Mr. BEan's car. But the logo it had proclaims it to be a BMW 5 -6.7 liters (haha!). Yes. That was written at the back. It even says it runs on diesel. I was ecstatic. Then I became worried. I don't have a license yet. It didn't stop me from tryin to drive though. I am sure I can drive, I just have to pray doubly hard not to commit any violations so the police won't find out my license-less state. At this point, I woke up. It was 4 am and I felt like I have lost something that makes me happy. Then I realized that in this world, I don't own that car.
I slept again, and this time, the theme was about going home. The place was a mixture of INtramuros and Anywhere-else. I had an errand to run, and upon accomplishing it I had to bring home people on a boat. I just wanted to get the job done so I could drive my car which by then has turned into a pick-up truck.
There was a lot of water in that dream. Rivers were pouring down the streets. It was like a monster Venice.
July 27
Our hosts confirmed that there is a ghost in the staff house. A woman. They call her Marikit (which translates to "Pretty" in English). No other name could suit her, I believe. She was beautiful. She'd been seen here and about by the staff. She was thought to haunt the lower rooms and once or twice they received testimonials that people awoke with the feeling of being strangled. My first thought was, I'm sure happy we're not billeted there. But then...
That can't be the woman I've seen? She didn't look harmful at all. I am more inclined to think she was a tree spirit rather than a vengeful ghost.
There must be two supernatural entities here. God knows, there might be more.
But over here at the land of the living, one happy trooper went on a trip to the Maria Cristina Falls in Lanao del Norte. She'd only read about the falls in her Sibika text books and encountered the name during examinations. Now, this trooper has seen it with her own eyes. Now she can tell her kids, yeah, that place, I've been there. And instead of vague suppositions on how the water is used to energize its surrounding cities, she can actually describe how many buildings there were and what the hydroelectric plant looked like. Above all, she can describe the raging power of the current, and how the water falls was majestic and beautiful and terrifying to behold.
==--==--==--==--==
When we got back to Lugait, Gilda and I went on our own to pay homage to the sea. We slipped from the staff house, crossed the highway and trespassed to the abandoned wharf. We spent two hours combing the beach for pretty stones and shells. Then we walked down the slippery seaweed-y wharf at the risk of breaking our necks or drowning in the deep sea. I was terribly afraid that one of us will meet an accident and no-one is nearby to help. But, I also think that was why our mini-adventure was entirely worth it. Nothing is as beautiful as something scary.
We watched the sun set over the sea. The whole expanse of it was just water--- lovely, clean, blue water. The horizon was not hampered by any sight of land. The sea there truly is endless. :)
Standing there, near the sea, near the sun, near endlesness and uncertainty, near mystery and death, I don't think I have ever felt more alive.
July 28
Home again!
There wasn't a more welcoming sight than the cluttered, disorganized and cluttered urban sprawl of Manila as seen from above. It ain't purty, but it sure looks like home.
Oh, to rest! To go home to my books! Lovely.
Next week, I'd be back to reality. But that's two whole days from now. For now, I will calm my nerves and rest.
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