CAMINO CEBU JOURNAL: Day Ten

DAY TEN :::: AM I IN A DREAM? Today is July 15, 2017 – a Saturday – and, later in the afternoon, the Archdiocesan Shrine of Señor Santiago de Apostol of the Municipality of Compostela, would kick off the novena for the town fiesta which would be celebrated on July 25. What timing? Or that the itinerary for this first-ever pilgrimage of the Camino de Santiago is just being true to what it was indicated therein. It is easy to say that but, the truth is, we pushed ourselves hard for eight straight days to reach this threshold. Yesterday’s leisurely pace – Day Nine – was unexpected. A bonus!

We started from the St. James the Apostle Parish in the Municipality of Badian on July 6th and crossed over the high Southern Cebu Mountain Range in 13 bewildering hours for the other side of Cebu, where most of the route of the Camino de Santiago is walked. We stopped and slept in six more parishes located in the most remote places of Cebu and we have their parish seals stamped on our provisional Camino Passports. On one occasion we slept under a covered basketball court which was converted into a chapel, another in a village chief’s home and, last night, in a local resort.

I am the guide for this Camino Cebu, patterned after its most famous ancestor in Spain, a long pilgrimage trail of almost 800 kilometers that St. James the Apostle travelled and it has existed for more than a thousand years. I have dreamed of establishing a Camino here in Cebu long ago but it remains a dream. But when a priest of the Archdiocesan Shrine of Señor Santiago de Apostol of Compostela, Cebu suggested it to me, it became a reality in three months’ time. The Camino Cebu is for those who are underprivileged and who cannot afford the expensive travel to Spain. What you will gain here is the same as what you gained for your soul there. But harder.

I believed I have led the eight pilgrims to walk more than 150 kilometers of rugged highlands terrain under a climate that was already harsh before the advent of global warming. This priest who suggested that Cebu establish a Camino for the poor is Rev. Fr. Scipio “Jojo” Deligero and he is one of the pilgrims. It is ironic. Fr. Jojo disdained walking for he has gout growing in each ankle which is very painful, but he accomplished that distance already in his hobbled pace. In that painful state, he has already performed his sacerdotal duty for his parish. In the Camino? He was simply biblical.

Another pilgrim worth mentioning in length is the incumbent mayor of Compostela. He is the Hon. Joel Quiño. This is his second term. Before he leaves for private life, he would like to see his municipality and his constituents earn the honor of being the pilgrimage destination of the Camino de Santiago of Cebu and for being the namesake of that famous place in Galicia, Spain. He is aware of that and he made himself available for this Camino to experience it, despite all the pressing problems and issues that hound a local executive. He came incognito without a police escort.

There is the couple Jemmelyn and Roderick Montesclaros. Then you have the parish lay ministers, Mizar Bacalla and Roger Montecino, and Alvie Rey Ramirez, a municipal employee, and all are from Compostela. Last is my subaltern, Jonathaniel Apurado. The only non-Catholic among us but he found the Camino a good exercise for the body, the mind, the heart and the spirit. Jon and I are from Cebu City and we are more identified with our Thruhike of the Cebu Highlands Trail, a route that traversed over the mountains from the Santander shoreline to Daanbantayan’s cliffs by the sea, 400 kilometers in 29 days.

All are now wearing the commemorative t-shirts that we carried through the rugged length and the unpredictable weather systems of the Camino. The t-shirts were provided by Bro. Cedee Neo of the Doneo Host Making Community, an ardent supporter of the establishment of the Camino de Santiago in Cebu. His involvement revolves around creating liaisons with the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela and with our own Archdiocese of Cebu, the Philippine Embassy in Spain, in a few offices of the Vatican, even engaging in the Camino Portugues together with his wife, Julie. 

After a breakfast of the last two packs of spicy Korean noodles, a half kilo of rice and the remaining fingers of chorizo Bilbao, we leave Gatubod Spring Resort, found in the village of Basak, at 08:35, and proceed on the last remaining kilometers of the Camino to the town center. We just crossed a dirt road fronting the resort and we are now on the outskirts of another village of Bagalnga. We need to climb up a hill through a trail to reach a big cross that was erected and finished there just recently. In all my travels up and down Cebu, I have not noticed this cross but I saw it yesterday for the very first time.

We passed by a remote abode with a small altar infront. The small earthen image of Señor San Roque is broken but it is vintage. Living there are two elderly sisters, in their late ‘70s, who are both unmarried. Both were deprived of cash doleouts afforded to senior citizens of the municipality since both are not registered voters and they have no birth certificates either. They remembered though that they were baptized in the parish when they were young. Mayor Joel promised both ladies that he will personally have their birth certificates and voter’s registration processed and that they will receive their senior citizen privileges before the year ends. 

As was practiced in all my hikes, Jon and I leave to the elderly ladies some foodstuffs and items which we have reserved for lunch, to include the extra emergency meals good for one day. The rest of the pilgrims did so with their untouched snacks. Mayor Joel left them a little something for their upkeep. Fr. Jojo blessed them and he just opened the floodgates of grace from heaven on the elderly women and on us all. My backpack is strangely light as we proceed to the higher heights where the big cross is located. That goes also for my footfalls. I am excited for this moment spurred on by my act of charity.

Right in front of me is indeed a cross but it is about 30 feet high and the trunk is about 6 feet wide. It is now almost finished except for the landscaping work. I reach it at 09:00. I learned the story from Fr. Jojo of how this cross came to be. This is a by-product – an inspiration – of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem which a well-to-do couple of the neighboring town of Consolacion engaged in many years ago. The husband had an illness and, before he would leave this world, he would first cleanse his soul by doing that pilgrimage with his wife.

When they came back to Cebu the couple planned to dedicate their experience of their Jerusalem visit by building a huge cross in their own place in Consolacion, then in Liloan. They were not able to do that and, finally, settled on a barren hill in Bagalnga, Compostela. Construction of the cross was stalled. In fact, it had even been abandoned for sometime when the wife suffered an illness instead and eventually died. To honor her memory, the husband brought all his energies, resources and time to erect the unfinished project. It became also a monument of love. The surviving husband is Celso Jordan.

At the base of the cross, I placed the pebble that I brought with me from my home in the earliest hours of Day One and the fossilized scallop that I found in Dagatan, Badian, also on that first day. That pebble represented my transgressions and I carried that weight all through the crests and troughs of the Camino Cebu. I took a knee before the cross and prayed for forgiveness. I wept and I felt static electricity run through my whole body, sending all my body hair on tiptoes. It is a very warm day but my sweat was cold, dropping on the concrete footing.

From behind me, I heard the footfalls of the oncoming pilgrims as I remained on one knee. Everyone reverently placed their pebbles on the foot of the cross and began their personal conversations with the Holy Spirit. I even notice roses included as offerings. I slowly back away and leave them in their own privacy. A cloud passes overhead and shaded the whole place. Cool breeze from the far coastlines removed a little of the day’s heat. I walked around the perimeter of the cross and it is well placed. A new landmark for sea travellers.

It is interesting to note that the base of a pillar that propped at its top an iron cross on the route of the Camino Frances became a mound made by pebbles thrown from the many generations of pilgrims. The pilgrims would pick up a pebble on the way and tossed it there and it would soon become a hill. This I read from a Cadoggan travel guide for Northern Spain. Our pebbles would soon start another one here in Cebu, perhaps in the Philippines and, maybe Asia, but it would not be tossed. The triumph of Jesus, represented by a cross, over sins! The Cross of Triumph.

The cross on the hill was the climax of the pilgrimage. What goes after here is another leisurely walk down the lowlands, among communities and into the national highway. We arrive at the Green Lagoon Park, a seaside resort, at 12:30. We rest for a while as we waited for our lunch to be served. From here it would just be a 20-minute walk to the Archdiocesan Shrine of Señor Santiago de Apostol. We arrive there at 13:30 under a pouring rain and we are way too early for the 15:00 Eucharistic Mass which will be celebrated by Rev. Fr. Gonzalo Candado. We spent the time for wash and rest. How I wished we have a large censer.

The celebration of the Holy Mass came at its exact hour, with bells clanging, and we were, at its timely part, received and presented to the whole congregation and community of Compostela. We were given white capes with the Cross of St. James printed in red at the back, locally-sourced scallops signifying our personal pilgrimage and the Certificate of Completion signed by Fr. Candado and Vice Mayor Fe Abing. Among those who witnessed the ceremony were family members and friends of each pilgrim. There was a feast afterward at the rectory and everyone partake of the food and refreshments.

Thus ended the First Pilgrimage of the Camino de Santiago in Cebu; in the Year of our Lord, July 15, 2017, at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Señor Santiago de Apostol, Municipality of Compostela, Province of Cebu, Philippines. I heeded the call of St. James the Apostle. So were Fr. Jojo, Mayor Joel, Jem and Roderick, Roger, Mizar, Alvie Rey and Jonathaniel.

Total Distance Walked: 9.93 kilometers.

  Highest Elevation Gained: 772 feet.

THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO IN ITS WHOLE LENGTH

175.18 KILOMETERS

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CAMINO CEBU JOURNAL: Day Eight and Day Nine

DAY EIGHT :::: SLEEPING HERE UNDER A COVERED basketball court converted into a chapel was never part of my itinerary. Neither that was part of the plans of Rev. Fr. Scipio “Jojo” Deligero. We are now in between the villages of Malubog and Pung-ol Sibugay, in Cebu City, and along the Transcentral Highway. We are simply here by an unexpected circumstance. We simply ran out of daylight. It is the eighth morning (July 13, 2017) of our pilgrimage of the Camino de Santiago of Cebu.

We started in the Municipality of Badian last July 6 and, thinking of the distance we covered and the difficulties the pilgrims encountered and overcame, I shook in disbelief. This crowd are not hikers. They rarely travel on foot half a kilometer away from their homes and their workplaces. Much less with the Hon. Joel Quiño, the incumbent mayor of the Municipality of Compostela. He may walk down or up the stairs to his office or bedroom but, once out of the doorway, he would rather ride a government-issued car or his personal SUV to an official function or a private family affair even if it is just 50 meters away for security reasons.

Much less Fr. Jojo. He could barely perform his priestly duties as gout growing in both his ankles prevented much of his movement. To think that the distance to the altar from the rectory is just 20 meters long, more or less. Badian, Dalaguete, Argao, Sibonga, Barili, Carcar City, San Fernando, Pinamungahan and Toledo City are now but history to Fr. Jojo and is it not amazing for someone who hobbled instead of walked? We are now in Central Cebu and are two days away to Compostela. Right now, the pilgrims could smell the familiar aroma of home and their morale is unstoppable.

It is amazing indeed! Even if I could stretch the itinerary to three more days to accommodate the crawling pace of Fr. Jojo, the accomplishment itself over an unlikely endurance to pain was incredible. But sticking true to the itinerary is badass! It is like Fr. Jojo climbing Mount Everest backwards. I cannot explain how he did it, especially on Day One, but I can only tell you that Fr. Jojo was in a different level. We have a term for that: mind over matter. On my part, I just shut off pain receptors in my brain and it needs intense concentration practiced for a long time. But Fr. Jojo’s way was different. His was meditation.

As breakfast is prepared, another kilo of rice is removed as weight from my bag and that of Jonathaniel Apurado. Better late than never! Along with that are four packs of spicy Korean noodles, two fingers of chorizo Bilbao and 275 milliliters of denatured alcohol which we used as fuel for our lightweight and very efficient Trangia and Alocs burners. I slept last night in my hammock tied to square concrete posts. It was better than my first option of a thick plyboard balanced over benches. The hammock has a bug net while those who slept comfortably at first on the plyboards complained of mosquitoes later.

We leave the covered court-cum-chapel at 07:15 to the next destination. I have identified a religious structure in the hills of Consolacion for that purpose, passing by the villages of Sirao, Pulangbato and Pit-os but, like water, plans could change on suggestions just like Day One where we got lost and travelled more than what our feet and legs could accept. The latest suggestion did not come from a local this time. It came from Fr. Jojo and he wants a parish in the village of Guba as the next destination which, I am bound to look for ways to get there.

We followed the Transcentral Highway once more, going west and taking a smaller road that goes to the mothballed Kan-irag International Golf Course, passing by the shoulders of Mount Sibugay and into the famous flower gardens of Sirao, which I am visiting for the very first time. The manicured flowery landscape is indeed a surprise vista of this Camino de Santiago. The pilgrims even have their provisional Camino passports stamped with the entrance seal of one of the garden resorts as a sport. At this hour – 08:00 – it is already swamped with many visitors.

We proceed on following the shaded road that passed by many scenic spots on the left and right of me. This is my first time here but I do not have problems with finding the correct route. There are people to ask of that and, for as long as you are polite, they give you back their politeness. The day begins to go warm, you move to the curbs and grassy ground to escape direct sunlight and the heated surfaces. Everyone are light-footed, including Fr. Jojo, as the distance to Compostela is whittled foot by foot.   

There are a lot of people indeed to ask questions. Most of them were warm in their conversations while a few were aloof and evasive. Cannot blame them. Perhaps, bad memories of a sad chapter when the barrios were swarmed then by idealistic strangers embracing rifles and an alien ideology. It wears away very slowly and the sight of a group of strangers like us could instantly trigger fear and suspicions. I am leading the pilgrims and I am the first to see and feel. Body language never fails to keep me updated.

We reach the village of Guba. This is one of the most familiar names for a hinterland village in Cebu City because it is not named after a plant or a prominent landmark like most places do. If you translate it to the English language, the name meant “broken”, “damaged” or “busted”. Long ago I chuckled whenever I saw public utility jitneys bearing the name of Guba as it cruise the downtown area picking up passengers. I just could not comprehend how is it associated to the hopeless when it is a beautiful place with beautiful residents?  

We arrive at the Santo Niño de Cebu Parish at 11:30. We were really pinched off by the warmth of the day. The shade of their covered promenade and their lofty location which catch cool breeze is most welcome. Just sitting on a wooden bench there is enough to return your strength and fix your awry nerves. We waited for a while as the parish priest is running a personal errand for himself but once Rev. Fr. Pete Necesario arrived, the mood of the occasion changed. It is always a good indicator of happy moods when two priests meet, don’t you think so?

We were treated to a good lunch by Fr. Pete. The soup was steaming hot notwithstanding the warmth of the day that we have just hurdled and barely survived from and would soon be embraced again anyways. It is delicious and who cares about the sun. Fr. Pete brought out the entire banana, papaya and other fruits he had received from his parishioners as offerings. We helped ourselves with eating all kinds of banana for soon it would deteriorate if left uneaten. We even carried some, placed inside plastic bags.

We thanked Fr. Pete and marched out into the bare day at 13:15, stomachs full but bodies fully rested. From here, there will be three more villages before we could reach the farthest limits of Compostela. These places are not very familiar to me since I have not been here. My guide would be local knowledge and that is where I aim to retrieve most of the information for navigation. As soon as I got a good cellular signal, I sent a text message of our location to the Operations Section of the Cebu City Police Office. I get an instant reply and felt safe.

I reach a crossroads in the village of Binaliw and I saw a group of uniformed policemen talking to some locals and they were in a festive mood. They were not from the Talamban Police Station and they were from another unit doing a different tasking. They do not know our pilgrimage and they were alarmed at my sudden presence. I thought these were the same policemen notified by CCPO to assist us. Not until I told them that one of my companions is a parish priest and another one a municipal mayor, did they lower their guard. It was a nice feeling to leave them all behind.

We reach the outskirts of the village of Mabini and we saw another group of uniformed men resting on both sides of the road. I talked to their officer and introduced myself and told him the purpose of our presence. On the other hand, they were from the Philippine Army and they were on a field training exercise. I can understand why there were policemen. They were doing security for this. The problem is that CCPO Operations failed to coordinate with their own units and on us since they knew of our activity weeks before. I made it sure that they are notified properly and early with my letter request.

 

Another close call and I thought that was the end of it all. But it is a good thing if the policemen or the army found our presence by themselves on the spot. What if a half-literate informant would report our presence to them? That was what happened when our presence was reported in exaggeration. An alert Army sergeant on another group of soldiers asked of my identification card. I even gave him my letter requests addressed to the governor and the police even if he asked none of that. We were reported as members of the Maute Group and he has to be sure that we are not.

Funny, but presence of government forces made you more uneasy instead of feeling safe, is it not? It is ironic on my part since I am a former man in uniform. How could that be? Communication! Sloppy handling and disseminating of correspondence and messages could result in confusion. In warfare, you lose battles. In peacetime, the very people you protect will lose trust on you because your line of communication are full of bugs and holes. CCPO is short of trained professionals handling correspondence. If that is low priority on their order of things, innocent people like us pilgrims could get hurt on mere rumors.   

I understand we had been walking on a ridge for some time. I could now see a small glimpse of Metro Cebu. Across me is Alvero Peak, the highest point of Consolacion, found in the village of Garing. We arrive at the village center of Mabini at 15:30 to rest and rehydrate and to ask for the quickest way to Compostela. A village peacekeeper pointed to me a way to the Municipality of Liloan by way of Lanipga and Mulao. I consulted Mayor Joel on this information but he preferred that we follow the main road we are walking for most of the afternoon. We now know that down this road is Paril, the last village.

 

It is a long way to the village of Paril and we passed by lonely stretches, full of bends and turns, farms and solitary houses. Also, when you go down a valley in a late afternoon, light becomes duller and grayer, projecting dusk ahead of its time. As you are in that situation, your footfalls tend to go quicker, so you could arrive to your destination with daylight to spare. Unknown to me, Mayor Joel knows these places very well and he had a calm composure and a cheery smile when I last saw him. It simply does not matter if we arrive in darkness. This is his homecourt.

Schoolchildren streamed out of their classrooms and are now company on the road. A lot of people to ask directions to. I bypassed the village hall and followed a road that goes at the back and crossed a small bridge. I am now on the side of Compostela. I remove my High Sierra Titan bag and waited for them here. The stillness of the place and the rest from the walk removed the stress of the day from my body and from my mind. A few sips from my Camelbak bladder are enough to remove thirst and to cool my body a bit. Ahhh, what a day. I believed my next destination would be the village of Tag-ubi.

From out of nowhere a red-plated white Isuzu pickup came from Paril and in it are Fr. Jojo and Roger. The driver and a companion were here on the instructions of Mayor Joel so he could sign checks for official government disbursements. The others have already crossed the stream and are on their way minutes ago to the village of Dapdap through a short cut, bypassing Tag-ubi. It is already 17:45 and, in a few minutes, it would be dusk. I get inside and settled beside Roger. This road we are traveling on are full of big holes and deep furrows caused by running water and the driver has to drive slowly. It is much safe to just walk. Good thing, this beast is in 4-wheel drive.

We passed by them in the last minutes of daylight, which meant that they were making better progress on foot than us inside the pickup. From them, it is but a mere 200 meters as the Isuzu parked beside a well-built house. We are now in Dapdap. Coming towards us in just a few minutes, with headlights, are Mayor Joel, Jem, Roderick, Mizar, Alvie Rey and Jonathaniel. The last one arrived at 18:40. The house belonged to the village chairman, Mayor Joel’s father-in-law, and we were welcomed to dine there, as well as to nurse our aching bones and sore muscles. I will have my revenge on my stinking body come morning.

DAY NINE :::: THERE IS AN ABRUPT CHANGE in the face of each pilgrim. They are in a joyous and victorious mood. It meant to them very much that they are now a day-and-a-half away from completing the first Camino de Santiago in Cebu and they are now in their home turf of Compostela. Today, July 14, 2017, there is not much to do except walk leisurely and rest longer. The determination to reach Compostela, by all means, has already been achieved. The stress and the pressure are beginning to lose its hold on them. I have felt it too and it looks like somebody from behind me just removed an arrowhead sticking out of my back. I have just finished freshening up and I am ready for today.

I have been wearing for eight days my dry-fit t-shirt provided by my sponsor, Silangan Outdoor Equipment, which I used during my explorations of the last six segments of the Cebu Highlands Trail and this, would be its last day. Silangan also provided me its quick-drying elastic hiking pants during the Thruhike of the CHT which I have worn for the last eight days too and would be so for this day and tomorrow. The pair of Jack Wolfskin Kreisel 1 hiking shoes, provided by Niño Paul Beriales for the Thruhike, have seen better days and is still much in demand for the Camino Cebu, although the traction have lost some of its zeal.

The High Sierra Titan, 55 liters of storage space, is now lighter and it would be much lighter still tomorrow – the last day. This bag which was provided by fellow blogger, Gian Carlo Jubela of Adrenaline Romance, have helped me complete the last half of the CHT and, in this Camino de Santiago, the big storage is a plus, as well as its comfortable shoulder straps and waist belt. I carried the name of Titay’s Liloan Rosquillos in all my activities and I made it possible that the pilgrims consume and supplied with this famous indigenous pastry called the rosquillos.

My blisters are healing well and I am bronzed dark to too much exposure to the sun. My meshed shawl, used to so many occasions outdoors, has protected my face. A pair of dark glasses provided by Zue Fashion, which I used during the Thruhike, protected my eyes from glare and harmful UV rays. Inside my bag are my primitive cook set, Trangia burner set, Camelbak bladder, taffeta sheet, hammock, two spare t-shirts, used elastic undershorts and socks, flip flops, survival kit, first aid kit, fire kit, William Rodgers camp knife, Mora Companion and Victorinox Trailmaster. Secured outside is a map case, journal and a Therm-a-Rest sleeping pad.

We depart from Dapdap at 08:30 after another filling breakfast. This Camino de Santiago, I noticed, is hiking in style compared to the Thruhike which I did for 27 days from January 17 to February 14, 2017. That time I ate spartan meals and the best part of that were warm suppers. It is nice to have Fr. Jojo and Mayor Joel as company for, without them, the pilgrimage would have been subsisting on simple fares of instant noodles, instant soups, energy bars, bread, coffee and limited rice. Also, with them, conversations with suspicious locals become smooth and trouble-free.

The dirt road led us to the village of Mulao. This one I am familiar with. Been here last year to rendezvous with my transport after the Philippine Independence Bushcraft Camp. We passed through it today. Strangely, I am not leading the pilgrims anymore. Mizar is. I am now crowding Jonathan at the back. I enjoyed the moment of being released from that responsibility. No more stress. No more worries. No more thinking. The Holy Rosary is prayed and, this time, I participated for the first time.

It was a good moment for a mayor to exchange pleasantries with his constituents. As for the priest, his parishioners. Whenever we walked, people would stop to greet Mayor Joel and Fr. Jojo. Sometimes, people would stand on their frontyard and waved their hands. We stopped by a small kiosk and the villagers offered us jackfruit. It was a stress-free moment for a mayor on leave when a caravan for St. James the Apostle, led by Rev. Fr. Gonzalo Candado, passed by. One of the passengers happened to be the wife of Mizar and they had a tearful but happy reunion. The caravan went on its way while we bade goodbye to the old folks.

We arrived at a place called Tagasa at 10:00, in the outskirts of the village of Basak. We rest in a stag farm owned by Mayor Joel. He is a fighting cock breeder and organizes stag derbies during fiestas and special occasions. We just sat and talked while drinking cold softdrinks. At exactly 12:00, our food is delivered by a private SUV. The sun shone hot and the shades were most welcome. Some of the pilgrims dried their wet clothes on makeshift clotheslines. As soon as it is 13:00, we proceed to our next destination, possibly, our host for the night.

We reached it at 14:30 and what a pleasant place to be in. It is a local resort called Gatubod Spring Resort. Mayor Joel chooses a long house and, for the first time in this Camino, all the hammocks are used. Colors come in red, blue, black and pink. After 17:00, when the resort will be closed to the public, the swimming pools will now be ours. A kilo of rice and four packs of spicy Korean noodles becomes our dinner. After the meal, we each gave our testimonies about our expectations of the Camino de Santiago and how it changed our personal convictions. It was a beautiful evening.

Total Distance Walked: 33.81 kilometers.

  Highest Elevation Gained: 2,047 feet. 

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