Weekends are my off – and not every BPO employee has it (one
of the many anak ng dyos). I normally spent my days off out – anywhere. It was Saturday,
13th of April when we decided to go play wake boarding in Nuvali,
Laguna. We went there December last year but we failed to play because there were
80 people in line at the beginner’s lane. So un na nga, Camille picked me up at noon, yeah,
noontime where Mr. Sun showcases his stinging heat affection kc we all woke up
late,tsk. She picked Karlo up first then me since I live near C5 road para
derecho na sa SLEX. Karlo tried to invite some friends yet since the invitation
was so sudden, they can’t make so it was just the three of us. We were giggly hoping
that we can go play while driving the so many toll station of SLEX since it’s not
a long weekend. Camille was starving so we decided to stop muna at Petron San
Pedro where there’s a series of food chain. We left her eating her meals while I
and Karlo go roamed the area to find a convenience store to buy him some smoke.
After that eating part, we then took the Silangan Exit which was a short cut –
as per Camille. Entering the Nuvali premises requires a valid ID and a payment
of 40.00 for whatever reason – we don’t know. We felt anxious when we saw a lot
of cars parked, then burst, oh no – ang daming tao! The security guard didn’t
allow us to go park the car inside but since we were positive and determined,
we bossily said – kuya, may space pa oh!, so there, he let us enter the parking
lot which is full na pala talaga which made us exit the Republic Parking Space
and park outside with the grave stones and all. Tas un na nga, mega unload ng
mga bags to head the registration area with the question na – how many people
you have in the beginner’s lane??? Receptionist: We currently have 40.. (not mentioning
the people who are signing their registration form and the ones who just came).
LUOY!!!!
So there, our excitement turned into depression, haisst.. This is not happening – we failed again –
lakas maka ekis. Since it’s hopeless, we just took some photo then sat at the
waiting area; me- trying to search for some internet connection. So what’s our
plan B? Camille suggested the Bagasbas Surfing Spot in Daet but that was a one
hell of a travel. Karlo said that his “Bessie” (best friend) was in Cagbalete
Island. I immediately checked my maps for some possible routes and how far was
Mauban, Quezon; and wooot – found 3 routes with route 3 as the nearest with 105
km. Ola!!!! Karipas ang mga bakla!!! But wait –we will go swimming – I am not
ready!!! I only had a spare of clothes – no extra undies, no bath towels, no toiletries
and all other swimming paraphernalia – oh no!!! We will just buy there – sabi nung
dalawa, ang lakas makamayaman ng peg but that made me calm. Since my map only works if you have a net connection,
Karlo lend me 60 pesos credits to register sa Supersurf50, so alam na, I am a
prepaid user and always walang load – remember that. Karlo tried to contact his
Bessie but he was not responding, we thought that he was busy swimming or anything
related to that. I had fun checking in to Foursquare while checking where we
were. Camille is really good in driving and directions, however, since there
was a slight delay with my connection and a lot of public busses going straight
ahead, we missed the route 3 intersection so we just decided to follow the
buses which were using the route 2 direction. It was almost a smooth drive
except for those slow moving vehicles and election campaign cars – lakas
makabwiset.. Anyway, you’ll knew it when you’re about to enter a town proper - its traffic and some roads were narrow but
the Tayabas-Mainit-Mauban Road was just so perfect. I think it’s a newly
constructed road – with few cars and everything was so green and what interesting
in this place was – even if was already dusk yet Mr. Sun’s rays was like of 3
pm – weird. It was quarter to six when
we reached Mauban which made us screamed with happiness – yet another problem
arose, how are we going to get to this island? Till what time ung Bangka? Karlo’s
Bessie was still on a comatose mode – deadma, no reply at all.
As soon as we reached
the town proper, we started asking some locals on how to get to the boat
terminal and its operation hours. The town was way too different from the
previous towns we passed thru – it was small and crowded, pretty much like of
the Manila Pier ambiance. Since Karlo
was the one seated at the front seat, he was the one asking for the info and
even if the locals spoke tagalong, we were having a bit trouble understanding them
because of the words they were using and their accent. Here’s a scenario with the security guard who
was stationed at the local school.
Karlo: Magandang Hapon po, saan po ang sakayan
papuntang Cagbalete? Local: Digit sa Pantalan! (with a very sarcastic tone and
grin) Karlo: Alam po namin pero papanu po pumunta? Local gave a brief
direction. Hahaha – naimbey and bakla, ang asim ni kuya!!!
The tricycle driver
we asked talked so loud as if he was shouting and we didn’t understand his
instructions, the only thing we remember was – pataas na daan, so when we saw
the inclined road, we went straight ahead but the sea is no longer visible, so
we asked another local again, anu ba yan.. We went back and saw the public
market with a narrow street jam-packed with vendors and kids playing. We then
entered the street yet there was a tricycle heading our direction – hay, one
way road, balik balik ulit. So were now at the pantalan yet the terminal doesn’t
look like one to us, we’ve been to a lot but it was more like a fisherman’s boat
dock station, sigh. Time checked – 6 pm;
Karlo asked if there’s still an available passenger boat going to the island
and the response was like a bomb.
“The passenger boats are until 4 pm only, if its peak season
then they extend it until 6pm. If you want you can hire a boat or just want
till tomorrow. Q: How much is the rent? A: 1700 plus 90 pesos environmental fee
per head. Awwwwww!!! What a ripped off – no way. Q: what time is the earliest
boat for tomorrow? A: The boat will be here at 8 am and will leave at 9 am, 100
plus 90 pesos environmental fee per head.”
Hmmm.. Much
acceptable than 1700 pesos fee but the thing was we won’t be staying in the
island that long now since I need to be back home at 8pm. We tried doing
bargain with the price but the locals were so rigid so we decided to just visit
the island the next day and find a cheap hotel for the night. The first hotel
we checked was with a rate of 650 a night but they don’t have a parking space
for EUJ, so we checked for another. The second hotel was classy than the first
one yet the room rate was 1300 and we need to be out at 7 am. It was almost the same as the boat’s fee, so
we decided to take the risk. Camille asked if she can leave her car, the
receptionist said yes, she can but will be paying the amount same as their room
-and that was so crazy!!! We left the
hotel and go back to the terminal again, we stopped in front of a mini grocery
store, Karlo looked for the lady he had spoken with regarding the boat; I was
busy checking on some food since I was so starving and Camille was looking for
some rest room since she really need a bladder break. I was back with my bread,
Karlo was back with the news yet there’ no luck for Camille. I went inside the
store again and asked the lady if we can use their rest room but she just
looked at me as if she didn’t hear me. I asked her again and she replied –
madami kasing nakatambak sa loob ng cr eh. My god, people here are not hospitable
and we felt harassed by the boat men as well. This place was no good but we
were hoping that the place is all worth it.
We then settled at 1600 pesos plus 30 pesos environmental
fee per head; one way, yeah, as if we have a choice. We went to the boatman’s house for some
bladder break but were confused finding our way back – the place was a maze, we
passed by some more houses that led us to the shore: so – it’s what they called
the “back door operation”. It was 8 pm when we hopped into the boat, I thought
that they were just going to row it but in fairness it was motor generated but
it was a very small fishing boat with a max capacity of 3 people and it was so
light. Even if I have this life vest on and I know how to swim, I started to
felt nervous and feared for my life and of all the song that I could think of,
this was the one singing in my head – if I die young, burry me in satin – tae..
It was a 45 minutes boat ride with huge
waves crashing in and everything was peach black; I can hardly see the horizon –
a total buwis buhay boat ride.
It was a relief when we reached the island after an hour;
Bessie was with his friends, seated by at the shore waiting. We asked for food
to be served right away since we can’t bear the hunger anymore. We were told
that the room was at 2k overnight – aray, mahal din pala, still no choice. The
food was fine and we talked about all the adventure over a shot of Empe Light. It
was past 2 am when we decided to sleep but agreed to wake up at 5 am for the
sunrise. I set my alarm at 5:15 yet I woke up before that because it was so
bright, as if it’s already 6 am. That morning was so unusual, a not so typical
morning for I didn’t get the change to clean up even to wipe my sleep dust. We all
then rushed to the shore to get some photos and the island was a paradise – it’s
all worth the risk.
We went back for some breakfast and play some games then
after that we went boating. The island has a chain of resort, mostly owned by
locals from the same family tree. They said that a lot of team buildings have
been held in this island. Due to lack of power sources, the island doesn't have
electricity in the morning but they have generators at night. They have a specific spot where they take
their visitors to swim and it was a 30 minutes boat ride from our resort. This
spot was so perfect
