The butanding interaction tour ends by around 12 noon. From the beach, we (the group that shared a boat with me consisted of a pair of Filipino newlyweds, a German couple and a Frenchman) head back to the tourism office. The Frenchman asks me if he and his friend (definitely not his compatriot but certainly another European) can go with me to Pilar, the town next to Donsol where boats going to Masbate are stationed. From there, the guys will take another boat going to Cebu this time where they hope to have another amazing diving experience. We agree to meet in the plaza after an hour and a half as I will have to go back to my lodging place to take a shower and pack my things.
As instructed by Lola Erna, I simply leave the key to my room on the bed and close the door. I hop onto a tricyle and tell the driver that I'm going to Pilar. I had expected to be driven to the plaza where I had seen a couple of Pilar-bound jeepneys the day I came to Donsol, but to my great surprise, I was driven to what the driver now tells me is the terminal of jeepneys going not only to Pilar but also back to Legazpi. As much as I want to meet those guys, I can't go anymore because I don't know how to get to the plaza. I figure that the best thing to do is to take the first available jeepney going to Pilar because I have to catch the last trip going to Masbate.
(It was only the day before, when I was on my way to Donsol, that I realized that I could go to Masbate, after all. While still at the Araneta Center station in Quezon City, where I took a bus going to Bicol, I saw an advertisement of a direct trip via RORO (roll-on, roll-off) in Pilar to Masbate. At that time, I still didn't know where Pilar was and how I could get there from Donsol. But as soon as I found out that those towns were adjacent to each other and Lola Erna supplied me with info on the schedule of the boat trips, I immediately contacted a cousin in Masbate and told her about my visit.) I reach the Pilar pier at least an hour earlier than the 4 p.m. schedule of the so-called fast craft (fare: PhP396). When I get to my front-row seat after about an hour of waiting for boarding time, I see the guys rushing towards the boat. I decide to just say hi to them when the boat reaches its destination two hours after.
"We waited for you," they declare as I finally meet up with the guys. I explain what had happened that prevented me from showing up at our meeting place, and I think they saw my point. I just hope that they had a fantastic time in Cebu and that they will visit more places in the country. Wow Philippines to the max!
Meanwhile, I look for the terminal of vans going to Placer, my parents' hometown, and finds out from the security guards of the Masbate City pier that the last trip of the day has just left. I'm advised to take a tricyle that will drive me to a place called crossing because I might still get a ride there. There's a van, all right, but it will only go as far as two towns from Placer so I decide to just spend the night in a hotel. Lo and behold! One of the guys at the gasoline station announces that there's a van going to Placer but the driver will ask for an extra charge since it's going to be a special trip. I find it reasonable enough so off I go to Placer.
This is not my first time in the province. I'd been here a long time ago but I was too young then to retain even a vague memory of that visit.
At past 9 p.m., I get to the site where my cousin has asked, through my phone, the driver to drop me off. I feel apologetic for arriving late. My only communication (since yesterday) with Kit has been limited to text messages and I can no longer recall the last time her mom - my mom's younger sister - or her dad had visited us at home in Marikina City so I don't know what to expect from them. It's heartening then to see a spread of pambisita Filipino dishes set on the dinner table that they warmly share with me.
My grandmother, who recently turned 89, is in her room ready to retire but she gladly, albeit quietly, receives me. We hardly talk as she barely speaks Tagalog or Filipino, the national language, and I'm ignorant of Cebuano, the Visayan language spoken this side of the province. I also don't recall her visiting us in Manila (or Metro Manila, the National Capital Region where Marikina belongs to) so if I'm not mistaken, this is only the second time that we have seen each other.
Lola Puring had a stroke a few years ago that impaired her ability to walk but that doesn't make her rely on anybody's assistance, except for her cane, when she moves around. While descending the stairs, for instance, she simply holds on to the railing with dignified confidence. Looking at her makes me feel that getting to her age - and beyond - may not be a bad idea, after all:
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