THE ROAD TRIP BACK / MAY 17,2008

It was a roller-coaster ride of expectations the entire time we were at CWC. Every time the sun shone intensely, we celebrated. Every time the rain clouds started to move in, we sighed. We did, after all, plan this trip with the whale sharks foremost in our minds. Sister Pusjing and I had more or less accepted the possibility that we may not be able to go. G-Genius refused to give up. Rain be damned, he will see a butanding before he gets on the plane to Manila! For his sake, I did pray that the weather will clear up by Saturday. Otherwise, we would go home to report only one butanding sighting. That butanding’s name would have been Toyang & Tweety. Hahaha! Augh. I really, REALLY (!) must lose weight. Hay….=(

All of Thursday and Friday was generally cloudy, with intermittent drizzles. I called the Donsol tourism desk early Friday morning to check if they were already sending out boats.

“Hindi pa po. Malabo pa po ang tubig. Umulan kase ulit ng malakas nung isang araw,” she said, “Baka po sa Sabado malinaw na. Baka po pwede na.”

Operative word: BAKA.

With this advisory in mind, Sister Pusjing and I decided to ride back to Donsol only after lunch of Saturday. We can arrive in time for the firefly river tour Saturday evening, then go whale shark watching Sunday morning. We figured that while baka on Saturday, the boats will be allowed to go out, the chances of seeing a butanding would still be relatively slim, and we really did not want to be stuck the entire day in Donsol with nothing to do. Sunday it is then, even if it means going straight to the airport after a quick change (possibly no shower, ack! =D).

Sounded like a plan. Then Friday evening rolled along and over dinner, strong (as in, STRONG!) rain and wind ripped through the CWC. We were all already seated for dinner, except for Hubby Sweet who had just finished wakeboarding and was still in the cabana taking his shower. We were all sighing and shaking our heads, wondering if: (1) we should give up all hope for the butandings, and (2) if our massages will push through because the massage cabanas have been drenched. =(

We were all in a dreary mood when Hubby Sweet ambled along, absolutely dry from the mid-thigh up, but totally drenched from the mid-thigh below. I could have wrung his shorts and it would seem like it just came straight out from the wash.

“What happened to you?” I asked, “How did you get here?!” I all of a sudden remembered that we did not exactly bring an umbrella with us (unlike Sister Pusjing who had turned into Mother who actually packed an umbrella and a raincoat on her summer vacation! Hahaha! ‘D).

“Wala ako makitang payong eh,” he said.

“Yes…….And?????” I asked, already expecting that my maabilidad husband had somehow found another (quite possibly hilarious) way of pulling through.

“Nakita ko yung XL na garbage bag that we packed for the wet clothes,” he explained.

“And?” I asked, “Ginawa mong payong?”

“Hindi. Sinuot ko, tapos binutasan ko sa mata para makakita ako, tapos naglakad na ako papunta dito,” he said, instantly explaining why his upper body was absolutely dry while his lower body was absolutely drenched! Everyone guffawed at the thought of him walking around like a gigantic garbage bag with holes for eyes.

“Ang dami nga tumitingin sa akin habang naglalakad ako eh!” he said. Goodness, you think?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! ‘D

The sun shone brightly early Saturday morning. It was as if the heavens just needed to let all the rain out. The hubby rushed out, excited to get at least half-a-day more of wakeboarding in, only to be disappointed. The park was closed. The cables were hopelessly entangled—obviously from the strong winds the night before. It would take rework and it was not likely that the park will be opened anytime that day.

Which brings me to Divine Intervention #2. =)

Hubby Sweet would never have left CWC willingly and whole-heartedly. The fact that the cablepark was closed with no hope of operations for the day instantly made him excited over the idea of swimming with whalesharks. Hahaha! ‘D Sister Pusjing and I also couldn’t help but marvel that if things had gone as we had planned everything (Firefly Tour: Day 1, Whaleshark Watching: Day 2, CWC: Day 3), we would have arrived at the CWC on that day only to find the cablepark closed. Wow. =D

And so it goes that after a quick lunch, we rode the rented van (P3,750 again back to Donsol). (NOTE: This was NOT our van. Hahaha! It was just an abaca truck that we passed by along the way. ‘Thought I’d include it here because nothing screams Bicol more than a truck full of abaca. =D)

Unlike on the first day when I was asleep for most of the trip, I stayed awake for a good part of the trip. Driving through provincial roads is always a stress relief. Open spaces. Green everywhere. Nothing hi-tech. Take this gasoline station, for example. When was the last time you saw a gas pump that was not digital?! Hahaha! Man, the rolling gas digits of my childhood still exist in the space between Legaspi and Naga. Haha! ‘D

For most of the trip, the entire brood laid asleep. Everyone jumped into action only when we reached the mid-way point and Manong remembered Hubby Sweet’s earlier hirit for a “libreng turon man lang”. During long trips, provincial buses usually have a pitstop. This makeshift hut was apparently the pitstop for a lot of vans making the trip from Legaspi to the CWC and back. The mounds of maruya and turon called out to us. Loudly. Hahaha! So loudly did they call, we ended up with two bags: one of I-don’t-know-how-many-maruyas, the other of I-don’t-know-how-many-turons. We ate like there was no tomorrow. Hahaha! Yum! ^_^

Now, you might think, why the heck am I blogging about maruya and turon?! Surely, there must be so much more exciting things to take note of.

Let's just put it down to learning to appreciate the simple joys in life, shall we? 'p

Yum.

Yum.

Yum! ^_^