5am, Friday, March 6
It was around 5 am when my mom woke me up. I just had about four hours of sleep. You know that feeling when your absolutely tired but you have no snooze option, I felt that doing my thesis till the wee hours of the morning years back only sleeping one hour and with no choice had to wake up get showered and dressed and drive to school to make a presentation.
Today was quite the same. If I snoozed I’d be left behind, by my mom and the airplane. I felt so sleepy. I didn’t shower any more since I showered before I slept. We took a cab, as usual since it as too early to disturb anyone to bring us to the airport that early, and we got to the airport as usual there were lots of people already at the centennial terminal.
The night before, which was actually just 6 hours ago, I was discussing with my sister what I would wear to the trip to San Jacinto. Since getting there would mean first a 15-minute or so cab ride then a 45-minute airplane ride then a short ride in a tricycle to the terminal where we’d either be taking a bus or van – about 3-4 hours, and then another short tricycle ride to the port and finally a 1-hour boat ride to San Jacinto. Doesn’t sound that bad huh? I was thinking wearing something thick and heavy because it would be cold in the airport and van but it will be hot and sticky in the tricycle and boat ride in the end I decided to just wear shorts and a shirt.
At the airport I was hungry and instead of eating at Delifrance again I went looking for this store where the last time I was at there, to go to dumaguete that is, I saw these two girls eating this yummy looking soup. After walking around my mom spotted the soup and the store was called vin vin. Actually it was longer but I could only remember vin vin. Hehe. The soup was really hot and good but the meat tasted uhm… old I guess.
I was already sick the days before and all this travelling and stuff just made it worse. During the flight my colds and the descent if the aircraft made my ears ouchy. They couldn’t pop or what even if I tried. It was so bad that I couldn’t even hear ambient noise anymore. And I couldn’t hear my mom or other people unless the talked directly to my ear. Weirdest of all I couldn’t distinguish how loud I was talking. Eventually it disappeared once we landed and I got out of the plane. Good thing because my ears hurt so bad already! Oh funny thing with the ears was I didn’t and couldn’t get dizzy. Haha I could ride so much roller coasters and not get dizzy.
Boy was it hot outside! We went straight from getting our bags to riding the tricycle, good thing number 10 was waiting, as what he usually does for the past how many years, there to help us with our bags. From there we got a tricycle again to the terminal to ride the bus and it was so so hot! Inside the bus my mom met tita Evelyn, who was the president of the tourism council at Sam Jacinto. And I was tasked to fix and design this stairway and promenade at the side of the church which stands on a peninsula. In the past I think this was fortified.
Anyway the bus driver was crazy and he didn’t know how to slow down on curves so it was terrible! My mom was throwing up! And I didn’t know if I wanted to throw up or sleep from exhaustion. I slept from exhaustion.
At Bulan we finally landed at the San Jacinto Store owned by Tia Kording who makes the yummiest fish soup and Sinagol. And there it was heaven. The place us no palace but the food is great. The fish soup is so homey and goooood!
The boat ride to San Jacinto was uneventful and dizzy! San Jacinto is such a beautiful place. It is so quaint and provincial!
My Lola’s house is her mothers house I think and it’s so oooold. But it has this character, like it holds so much stories and time and experience in it. My mom grew up there till gradeschool only because she went to high school at Philippine Science in Quezon City.
The first order of business when I got to the house was to take a shower! Then the whole day I slept and ate and that’s it. Of course the customary visits of friends and relatives occurred but that was it!
So that’s my first day at San Jacinto. Tomorrow a lot of things are scheduled!
Ciao!
