I had planned this trip since more than 2 months ago, immediately after my Leyte and Samar adventures alone, and after my fantastic escapades at Iloilo-Guimaras with my trusty travel buddies (see previous posts). Cebu Pacific had a promo last month so instinctively, without even contemplating the pros and cons, I bought a round trip ticket to Dumaguete. Two of the sort-of-eccentric people I've recently met have recommended Siquijor, claiming that a certain mystery about the place engulfs anyone bold enough to visit it. And I, being a fan of eccentrics and anything strange, immediately included Siquijor in my list of must-see-places for 2008. I had planned to bask in its mystery on my own.
As always, I'm not very good at keeping my plans secret. Some time last month, I blurted out my plans to Pats, one of my favorite senior residents, who was then recuperating from hypertensive spikes. Another wanderlust and alone-seeker, she managed to convince her dad to forget about her blood pressure and allow her to join me to the Central Visayas. So, there we were, two fun, smart, fabulous females, all set to go to the beautiful paradise of Siquijor on the weekend after Halloween.
Ahh, perfect. We haven't mapped out an itinerary. We didn't know where to stay. All we knew was we were going somewhere far away from PGH, some place where the wind is cool and the night is pitch black and where the fireflies thrive. Somewhere where magic can happen. Ahhh, magic. We desperately needed that.
(Pats is sooo kind to trust my amateur exploring skills. It's good she hasn't travelled with me yet. She still doesn't have any idea about the mishaps I always get into whenever I'm on the road. haha!)
And then there's VicVic, another of my favorite travel buddies. A diver and photographer at heart, she was dying to see Apo Island. November happened to be a relatively benign month for this Allergy fellow. In fact, she would be going Down-Under and the Lord-of-the-Rings paradise on that same month. Suddenly, last Friday, she decided to come along. I hadn't expected her to make it. It's her birthday on the day before we will be leaving. But when there's a will, there's a way. Having travelled with her several times, I'm sure she has also caught the disease: the Travel Bug that by experience, is certainly not easy to kick off. No wonder they call it lust. The need to travel simply consumes you until you obey it's becking and you allow your feet to take you where they want to go. (Please Vic, let's not be rainmakers this time...)
So, there we are. Three gorgeous (haha!) women, struggling in this huge hospital, with their sanity hanging on to that hope of a great adventure waiting for us at the end of two weeks. Three women who haven't stepped on the isle of Dumaguete in their entire lives. Three women would be enough to have a marvelous time. The practical side of me however reminded me that three women would be too much for a motorcycle habal-habal ride to handle, but too few for a hired jeepney, and too few for a hired banca. We need more people.
And so, I had to call on my trusty travel buddies again. Suspect number 1: Paulo, my med school and residency batchmate who is also a photography buff, snorkeling addict, and fellow lakwatsa enthusiast. I can't believe he actually went to Apo Island last month! (darn! we work in the same hospital and he didn't even get to tell me about it! this is how inhuman our working conditions are these days. tsk tsk). And so, both he and Joyce (his adorable girlfriend) are out. Sigh. Too bad. Suspect number 2: my ever elusive good friend Jojit who I consider my personal travel guru, the only lay person (aside from Joyce) who has sort of penetrated our little snobbish (yikes!) all-doctor travel group. By some miracle, he decided to take a break from his back-breaking hardwork and indulge his itching feet. He has been all over the area and so the man, though most of the time, almost nonexistent, will be very useful (terrible phrase? hehe peace!). Suspect number 3: Jill, my great outdoor buddy and cardiologist batchmate and a Dumaguete native (terrible word?). Always hating paper work, she still hasn't finished processing her appointment papers, which is equivalent to not receiving any salary at all for the past 7 months! Hence, the difficulty in making up her mind (oh, i hope she joins us. please, please). Suspects number 4 and 5: Two of my second year residents, Karla (who I did CDO and Camiguin with) and Omar (who also joined us in Caramoan) are still fixing their schedules. And I, their evil chief resident, is actually teaching them how to dodge work and travel instead (waaah! this is hilarious and really evil! remind me not to teach them to use the diarrhea excuse).
So for now, the group will just be me, VicVic, Pats, and Jojit. We would appreciate more takers.
So to anyone out there interested in joining, the final schedule is November 7. Destination: Dumaguete City. We ladies will leave Manila at around 2PM-something via Cebu Pacific. Our flight back to Manila will be around 4PM-something of November 9 via the same airline. (Jojit, an AirPhil guy, will probably say we have poor taste but I call this practicality and good sense. We'll keep on taking CebPac until all the other airlines lower their fares. hehe)
The itinerary? Don't ask me. That's exactly the point of this trip. We just know the destination: Dumaguete. Since I'm outnumbered by water enthusiasts, the trip might have to end in Apo Island (though I might break away from the pack to see my Siquijor shaman). Frankly, I'm tired of making plans. I've realized that the best travels are those that are unplanned. Just know your destination and the rest of the steps will come along the way. This way, there will always be more room for serendipity.
After all, this is what life is all about too, isn't it?
(Ahhh, serendipity again. Let me get a supranormal loading dose of it in 2 weeks time, please.)
Ahh, perfect. We haven't mapped out an itinerary. We didn't know where to stay. All we knew was we were going somewhere far away from PGH, some place where the wind is cool and the night is pitch black and where the fireflies thrive. Somewhere where magic can happen. Ahhh, magic. We desperately needed that.
(Pats is sooo kind to trust my amateur exploring skills. It's good she hasn't travelled with me yet. She still doesn't have any idea about the mishaps I always get into whenever I'm on the road. haha!)
And then there's VicVic, another of my favorite travel buddies. A diver and photographer at heart, she was dying to see Apo Island. November happened to be a relatively benign month for this Allergy fellow. In fact, she would be going Down-Under and the Lord-of-the-Rings paradise on that same month. Suddenly, last Friday, she decided to come along. I hadn't expected her to make it. It's her birthday on the day before we will be leaving. But when there's a will, there's a way. Having travelled with her several times, I'm sure she has also caught the disease: the Travel Bug that by experience, is certainly not easy to kick off. No wonder they call it lust. The need to travel simply consumes you until you obey it's becking and you allow your feet to take you where they want to go. (Please Vic, let's not be rainmakers this time...)
So, there we are. Three gorgeous (haha!) women, struggling in this huge hospital, with their sanity hanging on to that hope of a great adventure waiting for us at the end of two weeks. Three women who haven't stepped on the isle of Dumaguete in their entire lives. Three women would be enough to have a marvelous time. The practical side of me however reminded me that three women would be too much for a motorcycle habal-habal ride to handle, but too few for a hired jeepney, and too few for a hired banca. We need more people.
And so, I had to call on my trusty travel buddies again. Suspect number 1: Paulo, my med school and residency batchmate who is also a photography buff, snorkeling addict, and fellow lakwatsa enthusiast. I can't believe he actually went to Apo Island last month! (darn! we work in the same hospital and he didn't even get to tell me about it! this is how inhuman our working conditions are these days. tsk tsk). And so, both he and Joyce (his adorable girlfriend) are out. Sigh. Too bad. Suspect number 2: my ever elusive good friend Jojit who I consider my personal travel guru, the only lay person (aside from Joyce) who has sort of penetrated our little snobbish (yikes!) all-doctor travel group. By some miracle, he decided to take a break from his back-breaking hardwork and indulge his itching feet. He has been all over the area and so the man, though most of the time, almost nonexistent, will be very useful (terrible phrase? hehe peace!). Suspect number 3: Jill, my great outdoor buddy and cardiologist batchmate and a Dumaguete native (terrible word?). Always hating paper work, she still hasn't finished processing her appointment papers, which is equivalent to not receiving any salary at all for the past 7 months! Hence, the difficulty in making up her mind (oh, i hope she joins us. please, please). Suspects number 4 and 5: Two of my second year residents, Karla (who I did CDO and Camiguin with) and Omar (who also joined us in Caramoan) are still fixing their schedules. And I, their evil chief resident, is actually teaching them how to dodge work and travel instead (waaah! this is hilarious and really evil! remind me not to teach them to use the diarrhea excuse).
So for now, the group will just be me, VicVic, Pats, and Jojit. We would appreciate more takers.
So to anyone out there interested in joining, the final schedule is November 7. Destination: Dumaguete City. We ladies will leave Manila at around 2PM-something via Cebu Pacific. Our flight back to Manila will be around 4PM-something of November 9 via the same airline. (Jojit, an AirPhil guy, will probably say we have poor taste but I call this practicality and good sense. We'll keep on taking CebPac until all the other airlines lower their fares. hehe)
The itinerary? Don't ask me. That's exactly the point of this trip. We just know the destination: Dumaguete. Since I'm outnumbered by water enthusiasts, the trip might have to end in Apo Island (though I might break away from the pack to see my Siquijor shaman). Frankly, I'm tired of making plans. I've realized that the best travels are those that are unplanned. Just know your destination and the rest of the steps will come along the way. This way, there will always be more room for serendipity.
After all, this is what life is all about too, isn't it?
(Ahhh, serendipity again. Let me get a supranormal loading dose of it in 2 weeks time, please.)
3 comments:
One word for you: UNFAIR. why weren't we taking all of those trips when i was still in RP, hey?
*goes off to sulk now...*
because while you were still in the country we were still senior residents and we had no weekends off. come to think of it, our travels just started when you visited digos. and pahirapan pa yun di ba?
but don't sulk. you know this trip would be a lot better if you're around claire...=)
mother, next time we go off anywhere i swear i will hike, climb, and run circles around all of you guys.
oh, and look good in a pair of P-squared shorts and a new, halter type tankini, hahaha. :P
Post a Comment