NAPO TO BABAG TALES XXX: Manwel's Graduation Day

I GAVE A PROMISE to Manwel Roble, my young friend and future trail guide, that I would visit him on the occasion of his graduation from elementary where he invited me earlier to celebrate with his family. It had been a long time since I have last seen Manwel and his siblings Jucel and Juliet and it was on December 27, 2009.

We have been obsessed since January of a discovery of a new route from Guadalupe to Napo wherein we were afforded of a good trail that will not trudge on a hard surface of the concrete road to Napo. Given that, we tried to link this route to that of the trail passing by the Roble homestead going to Mount Babag. It wasn't easy. By the time we reached Napo we were already spent.

We tried hastening our pace one time but we turned back and spent a very late lunch in Sapangdaku River instead where there is a natural spring. At another time, in my solo sortie on February 28, 2010, I was able to reach the Roble homestead and delivered mangosteen and lanzones fruits but the children weren't there and I backtracked, too tired to go on to Mt. Babag.

So on this special moment – today, March 31, 2010 – I took a half-day from work since it was a weekday and go out to the hills again. I will have a perfect company in the person of old buddy, Ernie Salomon, and we met at the back of Our Lady of Guadalupe de Cebu Parish at 1:00 PM.

I bought two kilos of well-milled corn and 50-peso worth of bread for Manwel, Juliet and Jucel. It should be hot at this hour just after lunch and I feel the heat bouncing off the asphalt pavement. We decided instead to ride motorcycles-for-hire for Napo to save our shoes and our feet from walking on a hot surface.

Reaching Napo, we immediately set out to crossing the now-dry Sapangdaku River and into the Napo Main Trail going into the second river crossing. We reached it in 27 minutes, the fastest time we have done so far. As we took rest, I refilled my drinking bottle with the natural spring that still gush water even when this has been one of the hottest summer.

After this, we set to climbing the ascending route towards the house of the Robles with its mango-tree lined trail giving us shade from the glare of the high afternoon sun. We reached the Roble homestead after a little more than thirty minutes of climbing and it is 3:00 PM. This will still be our playground even when we have added a new interest in bushcraft and survival.

Both me and Ernie enjoyed our well-deserved rest on the bamboo benches and I happily parted away the milled corn to Manwel's mother who immediately arranged the firewood in her wok. Jucel claimed his deserved place with us and began to badger me with several probing questions until I could not handle it anymore and surrendered away the bread to him.

Fele, their father, slew a rooster for the occasion while me and Ernie decided to boil water for coffee. A hot coffee always give you that added pep to keep you awake and enjoy this moment with joyous vivacity. Manwel, meanwhile, is all smiles as he hurdled the last of the barriers in his elementary studies with his graduation. He is floating like he is in heaven right now.

From my backpack, I produced a long bottle of local brandy and two bottles of a popular soda energy drink and mixed these in a pitcher. It is a perfect match, smooth and non-volatile even without ice and magnify conversations into a lively and animated affair. I love this drink and the brandy glass moved like a tennis ball bouncing back and forth between me and Ernie.

An hour later, the meal is served. Free-rein rooster is best cooked in soup with horse radish and green papaya and it is steaming as it is laid down in a small table. There is also the chicken adobo to contend with plus the steamed well-milled corn. There was silence as everyone helped to himself until we stuff ourselves full.

Afterward, we resumed and finished the brandy to help digest the food we ate. It is already late afternoon and the sun made long shadows among the hills and valleys. Before we left, I parted away a cash gift for Manwel courtesy of Camp Red and we made this day memorable for him.

We left at six in the evening towards the lower valley and we didn't use flashlights. Even when there is no moon rising, the trail we followed are very clear in the dark. We didn't hurry but we walked cautiously and raised our feet higher so we would not trip onto something. Just the same, we reach Napo an hour later.

From Napo, we walked down into Guadalupe on the concrete road until we reached the back of the church at 15 past seven and, from the church, we went straight into our favorite watering hole where we were joined by Boy Toledo. After finishing four 1-liter bottles of Red Horse Extra-Strong Beer we decided to call it a day.

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AN AFFAIR IN MARINER'S COURT

MY MOM CALLED me up early in the morning of June 29, 2010 inviting me to attend and witness the swearing in to office of Vice Governor Greg Sanchez in Mariner's Court. I took the invitation as an opportunity to visit the said seamen's hub, located in the heart of the Associated Labor Union (ALU) compound near Pier 1 of the Port of Cebu.

Although I only saw a fleeting glimpse of the said building in my previous visits to Pier 1, I really didn't have that satisfaction associated with observing an object that close with both feet planted on the ground. Today I'm gonna have that chance and more.

I arrived at 2:30 PM and the design of the structure is already a magnet to lure anybody's attention. It is an imposing and colorful facade that is unique, in the sense, that it has, in its upper left portion, the shape of a ship's prow abetted by lines and curves imitating the waves of the ocean. Pastel blue, light blue, red and white dominate the whole concept of the center.

In the ground level are offices of various ship manning agencies and I helped myself to get inside in one of two wide-swinging glass doors and my eyes caught the large 2-dimensional mural on the right of the high-ceilinged reception area. Several lounge seats are conveniently placed on the right side where a large painting is hanging giving the impression that you are near the sea which, after all, it is.

It is seven storeys high with a roof deck and you could access each level by just being inside in one of two service elevators or you could just use the main stairway provided you are fit enough to carry your person up and down. Glass panels along the route of the elevators provide you with the view of the busy Mactan Channel as well as the waterfront area below you.

The fourth level is converted into a transient house for seamen and visitors while the fifth floor is home of the DYLA AM-FM Radio Station. Access to the roof deck should be coordinated first with the staff of Mariner's Court at their information desk in ground level but, unfortunately, the deck is closed temporarily pending some minor renovation to design.

In the third floor is located the function rooms where, in today's event, the folding dividers were pushed back to give way into a much bigger room space good enough to accommodate 70 to 80 round tables or about 700 people, most of whom are wearing yellow right now. My sister, Aileen Mae, and my nephew, Jon, is manning the visitor's reception table for this occasion.

My mother, Marietta, and my aunt, Evangeline, arrived at 3:00 PM followed by the vice governor, newly-elected officials of the cities and municipalities of the Province of Cebu. The dress code for this day is not yellow but Filipiniana. I took a vacant table with my lovely niece, Via, and, later, cousin Jay arrived with his four neighbors from La Guardia.

A Holy Mass was concelebrated by the chaplain of the Mariner's Center and the cousin-priest of the dear vice governor. After this, was the swearing of the oath of office of VGov. Sanchez before Hon. Meinrado Paredes, 7th Judicial Region Executive Judge. Judge Paredes is an old friend of mine and a fellow mountaineer. VGov. Sanchez then swore to office all the newly-elected ones.

Basically, this is a victory celebration of the local chapter of the Liberal Party. Losing LP gubernatorial standard bearer, Atty. Hilario Davide III, came in. Then ex-Cebu City mayor and now-Congressman Tomas Osmeña arrived with his city councilors to boost the numbers of invited guests. I saw online friend Ka Bino Guerrero observing and mentally taking notes of the whole proceedings.

What am I, a silent supporter of Gibo Teodoro, doing here? Well, I came here, first of all, because my mom invited me, who also voted for Gibo of Lakas-Kampi. Second, to partake of the opportunity to take on the feast afforded by limitless food and table wine offered during supper and, third, well, to enjoy the ambiance of the Mariner's Court.

The Mariner's Court is the result of the aspirations of the local seafarer's union to have a center that will cater to their needs. That dream had been realized in cooperation with the All Japan Seamen's Union (JSU) and the Philippine Seafarer's Union (PSU). As a former mariner, I feel proud that Cebu has one and it is a privilege for me to walk upon its halls.

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