2021-024 | A CAMINO OF A MOTHER & HER DAUGHTER

IF YOU WOULD JUST BELIEVE, nothing is impossible. Marianne Leila S. Flores, a veterinary doctor and professor of the University of the Philippines, Los Baños Campus, Laguna, decides to take a leave of absence one morning of July 2019, for a different kind of vacation to Cebu. She brought her daughter with her, Frances Marie, to treat her for graduating BA in Fine Arts from the University of Santo Tomas. 

That vacation plan was intended for a pilgrimage walk through Cebu’s own Camino de Santiago, recently recognized by the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain, as an equivalent to the ancient but more famous Camino de Santiago during the 2nd National Congress of St. James the Great Parishes and Devotees held last February 2019 in Compostela, Cebu. She believed there is something of a connection with her to St. James since her maiden name is Santiago!   

 

The Camino Cebu is 175 kilometers in length, which starts from Badian in the south and climbs over the southern mountains going north before it goes down to Compostela. It is walked in ten days with a guide, since the Camino Cebu does not have directional signs yet compared to that in Spain. Likewise, there are no waypoints to follow the route online and cellular signals are wanting and weak on almost all of the places.   

It does not have albergues yet but what it has are eight mountain parishes which becomes your resting places for each night. Meals and beddings are provided in exchange for tokens of donations. What is more is, you can catch and attend a Holy Mass that might be scheduled on an early evening or an early morning, depending on each parish. It is a Camino that is still in its unadulterated form reminiscent during medieval times. 

As of this time in the development of the Camino Cebu, hiring a guide is the only option but guideship tours are nonexistent except for this writer. He is the only one available because this route was established through his industry and of his specialty as a local explorer and adventure guide. It is by a predictable twist of fate, that Doc Lei and Frances Marie choose this blogger as their guide.

 

I met them at the Cebu South Bus Terminal on the early hours of July 8, 2019. They arrived last night from Manila and they were sorely deprived of sleep. I hope they could catch up on sleep during our travel by bus to Badian, which is two-and-a-half hours away. The bus left the terminal at 03:25 and we expect to arrive at the earliest at 06:00, but we arrived at 05:35 instead.

We proceeded to the ancestral house of Fr. Scipio Deligero, located across the St. James the Apostle Parish. Fr. Scipio was the parish priest of the Archdiocesan Shrine of Santiago de Compostela, our destination on this pilgrimage ten days from now, and he was visiting his aging mother. We came by way of an earlier invitation by him to partake of breakfast before we set out on our journey. 

The Camino de Santiago of Doc Lei and Frances Marie officially started at 06:50 of July 8 after having their credenciales stamped by the parish seal of St. James of Badian. The first day route is the hardest since you would be starting from almost sea level and progress to 780 meters elevation and it is 18+ kilometers long. Day One decides who proceeds to go on the journey and who does not. I aim to have both proceed and I led them along on an easy pace.

 

By 11:00, Doc Lei almost bogged down two kilometers before Tigbao, an upland village of Badian where we would take our noontime meal and rest. Lunch could wait and I let her rest for 30 minutes so she could recover from the fatigue of acclimatizing with the humid weather and the elevation gain. After that, she claimed her second wind and enjoyed the meal after arriving at 13:15 and claimed that one-hour rest.

We resumed at 14:30 and reached the Our Lady of Consolation Parish in Manlapay, Dalaguete at 19:05 after a lengthy fight on the notorious Ilong-ilong route of steep grades among forests. We were expected even though Fr. Eligio Almazol Jr. was not around to receive us. This was the first night stop and dinner was prepared for the three of us. The soft bed received my tired bones and body gracefully. I believed the mother and daughter felt the same and more! It rained that night. 

We left the Our Lady of Consolation Parish after breakfast and the parish seal stamping at 06:30 of July 9th – Day Two. We were walking on the “vegetable highway” to the next destination of the Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Parish, Colawin, Argao. Dalaguete’s mild weather changed to humid, when we crossed the municipal boundary into Argao. However, the presence of so many water sources and the different flowering plants along the road kept us hydrated and inspired.

 

Doc Lei could not believe that anthurium of all colors are left on the roadsides without being “molested” by plant collectors. We stopped for a while at the 600-year old sacred fig tree (Local: balite) at Botong which nurtured a clear spring spouting through its roots. We stopped for lunch at 12:00 at the small market of Bayabas. After a mandatory rest of an hour, the Camino Cebu resumed and we reached our destination at 17:26 where Fr. Benedict Into welcomed us in. 

The third day (July 10) would be the longest of the routes at 26+ kilometers and the Camino de Santiago would snake along the “vegetable highway” once again in another expected warm tropical weather. After breakfast and the credencial stamping, we left at 07:35, already quite late due to the warm hospitality imposed on us by the parish ladies, who insisted that we carry food along for our mid-day meal and for snacks.

After crossing over to Sibonga, it became very warm. We rested at Bae, Papan and Basak to conserve our energies and to keep us cool. We stopped at Cauluhan, Basak, to partake of lunch that we dutifully carried for hours. By 13:15, we continued and then it begins to go cloudy. We walked without rest until we arrived at Hunob, Guadalupe, Carcar City at 16:30. After 15 minutes, we walked on and arrived at the San Isidro Labrador Parish, Mantalongon, Barili at 18:30, where we were expected and welcomed by Fr. Dennis James Acedo and Fr. Lyle Carungay.

 

We heard our first Eucharistic Mass at 06:00 on the fourth day – July 11, celebrated by Fr. Carungay. We dearly need it and wished it everyday. Breakfast came at 07:30 and we bade goodbye at 08:00 after the passport stamping. The day was uncomfortably warm and we had to take a breather at Bagakay, Valencia, Carcar City at 09:40. By 10:00, we were on our way to Calidngan and stopped at the San Isidro Labrador Parish to observe our mid-day rest after lunch. 

At 13:00, we resumed with the Camino de Santiago. At Lunas, I wasted 70 minutes looking for the right road to Pit-os. It was déjà vu again for me in this same location just last January, guiding another set of pilgrims. At 16:30, quite rested after recovering from the exhaustion of my bewilderment, we set on again, arriving at 17:41 in the St. Augustine de Hippo Parish of Magsico, San Fernando. We were expected even when Fr. Murphy Sarsua was away on a personal errand. By the time he arrived he was happy to see us and invited us for dinner. 

Day 5 (July 12) would be the last of the long routes. We ate breakfast at 05:30, stamped our credencials and left Magsico at 06:00. It is a cool morning but once it is past nine in the morning, the world goes unbelievably warm. At 08:00, we stopped for a breather at Bandilaan, Patag, Naga City while enjoying the landscape. We proceed after 15 minutes and took another 30-minute rest at Alpaco. We resumed at 10:00 and arrived at Taghaguimit at 10:45 to take an early noonbreak.   

At 11:45, the Camino de Santiago of Doc Lei and Frances Marie continued under a favorable mild weather, the third straight so far. I wished this weather be everyday. We arrived at the San Roque Parish in Uling to rest for 15 minutes. By 13:25, we were on our way again until we arrived at the San Pedro Calungsod Parish in Cantabaco, Toledo City at 15:00, and warmly welcomed by Fr. Armando Orehuela. We nursed our blistered toes and washed our clothes due to a good surplus of time made on account of a very kind sky. 

Day Six – July 13 – is the turning point of the Camino Cebu when long days would be bygones and longer rests would be welcomed. The route is 14+ kilometers but it would be uphill. After leaving Cantabaco at 07:30, another “camino weather” day is before us, aiding our travel in the most generous way passing Camp 7, Minglanilla. After a 15-minute rest at Sinsin, Cebu City, we arrived at Sudlon I to enjoy an early lunch at 10:45. We resumed at 11:45 and reached the St. John the Baptist Parish at 12:45, under light showers. Fr. Bernard Oyao expected us and welcomed us in.

 

On July 14 (Day Seven), we heard our second Eucharistic Celebration at 06:00, celebrated by Fr. Oyao. After breakfast and passport matters, we bade this parish on the hill of Tabla goodbye at 07:30. This day’s route is the shortest – all downhill – and there is an absence of an urgency, even aided by another day of “camino weather”. After a 15-minute rest at Consit, we resumed at 08:45 until we arrived at a roadside market of Bonbon for an early lunch at 10:45. At 11:45, we continued on and arrived at the Birhen sa Guadalupe de Cebu Parish, Babag, Cebu City at 12:30. Fr. Mark Barneso knew our coming and welcomed us despite his busy schedule. 

It was on this day that Doc Lei received a not-so-good news from his husband. She decided to terminate their journey on the Camino de Santiago on account of a very grave nature and I had to respect that. Things happen which are beyond our control which she was experiencing in the middle of the Camino Cebu. However, she has to consult her husband when he calls back. The following day, July 15 – Day Eight – Doc Lei informed me that her husband decided that she has to go on with their journey and assures her that he understood their absence in his most wanting moment. 

With heavy hearts, we proceed to the next destination: Sto. Niño Parish of Guba, Cebu City. After breakfast and the matter with the credencials, we bade goodbye Fr. Barneso at 08:00. Upon arriving at Sirao at 09:40, we decided to stop when heavy raindrops fell. We resumed our journey at 10:20 after it stopped. We arrived at Santo Niño Parish at 11:40 where Fr. Peter Necesario had been waiting of our coming. Frances Marie was a revelation today. She was ahead all the time unlike on the first few days where she was adjusting to the long walks and saw her frequently stopping.

 

The third Eucharistic Celebration we heard was celebrated by Fr. Necesario at 06:00 of July 16 – the ninth day of the Camino de Santiago. After breakfast and the passports, we bade goodbye at 07:15. We crossed over the boundary of Consolacion and then of Liloan, where we took rest at Mulao at 10:00. After 15 minutes, we resumed our Camino Cebu, knowing that we are now in the threshold of nearing to our destination. We arrived at Mulao, Compostela at 11:00 for our noonbreak and resumed at 12:00. 

By 13:30, we arrived at our day’s resting place in Basak which is not a parish. It is the home of the Catampatan Family, who volunteered to convert their abode into a homestay for pilgrims of the Camino de Santiago. Husband Paul is a lay minister of the Archdiocesan Shrine of Santiago de Compostela while wife Minnie, takes care of their candle-making business. It was the second time that Paul and Minnie hosted me and my pilgrims in their humble home. The first being last February with my 10 pilgrims. 

After breakfast, the last day of the Camino de Santiago of Doc Lei and Frances Marie begun at 06:00, July 17th. By 06:45, we were already at the Cross of Triumph, on a hill of Bagalnga; thanks to the blistering pace of Frances Marie and the “camino weather”. This was the highlight of the journey where the pebbles you carried along the whole length of the ten days is gently placed on the bottom of the huge cross. It is here where you unload all your hurts, your most profound prayers, confessions of sins and prayer requests from relatives and friends.

 

At 07:30, it was time to go down to finish the last few kilometers of the Camino de Santiago and on to the Archdiocesan Shrine of Santiago de Compostela, which we reached at 09:45. Doc Lei and Frances Marie were received with leis by the welcome committee and both proceeded to the reliquary of St. James the Apostle, to offer prayers of gratitude and thanks and whisper once more prayer requests from relatives and friends. Fr. Scipio Deligero invited Doc Lei, Frances Marie and I to an early 10:30 lunch.

Both Doc Lei and Frances Marie endured the ups and downs and the trials of the Camino de Santiago and both connected perfectly with it. They each had the Certificate of Finish to show, signed by His Excellency Jose S. Palma, the Archbishop of Cebu. On our lonely journey in our threesome, there was enough space and distance for each to process thoughts privately and not too wide as to hinder a good conversation and sharing jokes. The Camino Cebu is most perfect this way.

 

On my part, I let them walk ahead so they could have privacy and not be stressed by somebody up ahead dictating the pace. They set their own pace and they stopped to look back, once in a while, at me, when the paths crossed one another and I would gesture with my hand going left or right or straight ahead and they would go on their way. It was kind of awkward to march up ahead or breathing next to them and walking behind is the best method that even endeared me to Frances Marie that she drew a cartoon version of me later. Funny… 

Doc Lei and Frances Marie ultimately spent a day in Cebu before planing back to Manila on the early morning of July 19, 2019. They brought with them their appreciation of their journey (disguised as a vacation) on the highlands of Cebu and rediscovered the other facets of their Christian faith by knowing better St. James the Apostle through the Camino de Santiago. A few days after this, Doc Lei informed me of a minor miracle of her sister’s friend’s niece. The sister requested her to pray for the recovery of the girl, which it did. 

Such are the ways of the Camino de Santiago and its spiritual healing on people and pilgrims. There are a lot of stories and this is one of the many experienced in our own Cebuano version. iBuen Camino! Viva Señor Santiago!

Pencil sketch by Frances Marie S. Flores