MY OWN TOUR DE CEBU

I HAVE BEEN LOOKING forward for a long time to travel the whole island of Cebu in a long and continuous journey. When I was a young man and plenty of time then, that was more than twenty-five years ago, I used to go out to the far reaches of the province to the north and into the south, yet I was not able to complete that dream trip.

Then on June 28 and 29, 2009, my life-long dream of going on a circumferential trip were fulfilled when my employer tasked me, along with Omar Pace and Eddie Alberca, to distribute packages to all the district hospitals and properties of the Cebu Provincial Government.

We started from Bakilid, Mandaue City on June 28 at five in the morning on board a Mitsubishi Delica. Eddie was designated as driver, Omar as back-up driver and navigator while me, acted as logistics man, recorder, part-time navigator and unofficial historian and I took a seat at the most spacious and most comfortable part of the vehicle.

The opportunity gave me a high-spirited yawn when I settled at the back as Eddie steered the wheel for the South Road Properties and good open spaces that gave me a luxuriant view of the Babag Mountain Range and the Mactan Channel. I did not have a proper camera with me so I have to settle with a cell phone camera of a lower pixel and took a shot of a sunrise at sea and a cloud rising over Babag.

The south coastal road took us to the belly of Talisay City; we exited at Linao and arrived at our first stopping area in Minglanilla District Hospital at 5:53 AM. Fifteen minutes later, we were on our way for the land of chicharon, bocarillo and ampao. In a blur, we passed by Minglanilla proper, Naga, San Fernando and, finally, Carcar, where the J.M. Paras Memorial Hospital is located.

We left Carcar at 6:55 AM and passed by Sibonga until we arrived at our next stopping area in Argao District Hospital at 7:27 AM. After our business there, we took a filling breakfast at eight in Carmen's Carenderia. Eddie stepped on the gas pedal the moment we left Argao to propel us for the next engagement in a short time as possible. Goodbye torta lovers!

The weather was perfect. Very sunny and, oh yes, the highway is in the best condition. It snaked along seaside cliffs and near shorelines as we passed by the towns of Dalaguete, Alcoy and Boljoon. This is one of the most pleasant stretch of beautiful coastal areas that are very familiar to me.

White powdery beaches line the shores while clear blue-green sea sparkled on a high tide. Beautiful tiny Sumilon Island simmered in the distance. I bickered, in jest, at Eddie to halt the vehicle to take a quick dip! In the end, the saner part of me won. I have a job to finish this day and we have a long way to go up to the north. By 9:12 AM, we reached the district hospital in Oslob.

Afterwards, at 9:33 AM, we left Oslob for Santander. At Santander we stopped by at Mayor Wilson Wenceslao's convenience store and bought for ourselves bottles of mineral water and energy drinks. Omar relieved Eddie at the wheel and we went around the southernmost tip of Cebu at Bato in Santander before going up to Samboan, Ginatilan then in Malabuyoc, where we arrived at the M.J. Cuenco Memorial Hospital at 10:44 AM, located on the seafront and right across the town parish.

We left Malabuyoc at 11:04 AM as Omar exerted pressure on the pedal and the Delica sped like a crazy rocket. I miss this Sunday's Mass and I have to content myself singing the Our Father. We passed by Alegria then in Matutinao, the first barangay in Badian. Oh, Matutinao. How many times have I been there? I love to camp at the end of the river – at the source itself – and caress my back with the large spring. I saved a life of a youngster there and I'm well remembered by the folks.

We reached Badian proper and drove up a hill to where the district hospital is located. We arrived at 11:40 AM. We stayed for twenty-two minutes and I took the opportunity to stretch my legs at the front lawn of the Santiago de Apostol Parish. I took a shot of the old church. We then left Badian for Barili.

Along the way, we passed by the beautiful southwestern towns of Ronda, Alegria, Moalboal and Dumanjug. We arrived at the Barili District Hospital at 12:43 noon and, thirty minutes later, we took a very late lunch at Shamrock Bakery and Restaurant. After the quick meal, we directly went up to the Farmer's Training Center in Boloc-boloc, Barili and we arrived there at 2:23 PM.

At 2:48 PM, we left the training center and proceeded for Pinamungajan town. Eddie now was back on the wheel. We took a detour and went up the Carcar-Barili Road going to the direction of Carcar. We reached a junction just ahead of Mantalungon and took the road left to Aloguinsan. The road to Aloguinsan was the loneliest stretch of road I have ever seen in Cebu and it passed on a very mountainous terrain.

We reached Aloguinsan and passed the sleepy town for Pinamungajan, where we arrived at J.M. Borromeo District Hospital at 3:50 PM. Ten minutes passed by, and we went on our journey north to the next stop in Balamban. We made a brief stopover at Toledo City though for refueling before resuming our journey.

We arrived at the Balamban District Hospital at 4:54 PM and took a quick rest and a little refreshment. We left Balamban at 5:15 PM bound for Tuburan. The sun started to set on the horizon and Tuburan is still a long way – about 30 kilometers. We passed by Asturias and a great distance separate the two until at 5:53 PM we arrived at the Tuburan District Hospital.

We left Tuburan at 6:06 PM for Daanbantayan – another long distance. Along the way we passed by the municipalities of Tabuelan, San Remigio, Bogo and Medellin. At the coast of Tabuelan going to San Remigio, I saw a very lonely sunset in my whole life. A teenaged boy sat on the plank of a bridge gazing at the spectacle. I stopped the vehicle and took a hurried shot of the scene.

At the junction of San Remigio, Bogo and Medellin, we stopped and eat a full dinner. After the meal, we proceeded to Daanbantayan and arrived at their district hospital at 8:20 PM. It had started to rain hard and we stayed for the night, the three of us, inside the van, at the hospital's parking area and slept soundly. The rain fell and it never stopped until around 2:00 AM.

We woke up in the early morning of June 29. We decided to start early for the port of Maya and left Daanbantayan District Hospital at 6:50 AM. We intend to cross over the sea to Malapascua Island to deliver four packages. While waiting for the first boat trip, we took a hearty breakfast of linarang pakol, tinuwa'ng malabunok and squid broth – all freshly caught.

Eddie and me decided to go to Malapascua instead while Omar will stay behind to watch the van. We arrived at the island at 8:45 AM and we were met by out host at the reception area. The island is a sunbather's and diver's paradise and is famous for its thresher sharks that are found within its depths. Although smaller than Boracay Island, it has powdery white sand beaches and clear blue-green water that would rival the over-congested resort.

We were treated to a stew of juvenile thresher sharks cooked in coconut milk by our host which were caught by net the night before. We obliged the tempting offer and took a second breakfast. It was my first time to step on Malapascua. We ended our visit at Malapascua and left at twelve noon. We both arrived at Maya Port at 12:49 and we sped towards Hagnaya Port in San Remigio to rendezvous with another contact from Bantayan Island who crossed over to pick up his package.

We arrived at the Hagnaya wharf at 1:22 PM and took lunch there. Fully refreshed, we resumed our trip bound for Sogod at 1:58 PM. We passed by Bogo and Tabogon via the once-dangerous Ime Road and arrived at the district hospital located in Damolog, Sogod at 2:34 PM. Omar had a brief reunion with his daughter who is undergoing internship at the J.B. Dosado Memorial Hospital. We then left at 3:08 PM for our last engagement – Danao City.

Now that the Delica is several kilos lighter, it sped over Sogod proper, Catmon, and Carmen along a cliffside highway. The familiar places brought me pleasant memories of my past. Oh, how I wished Eddie would not step on the gas too hard. We sped away and overtook as many vehicles as possible until we reached the Danao District Hospital at 3:32 PM. We rested awhile until it was time to go for our last stretch and left at 4:16 PM.

Finally, we arrived at Mandaue City at 5:11 PM. We were all tired but not exhausted. I finally make true my dream of traveling the whole island of Cebu to the south, west, north and east with an island-hopping segment in Malapascua. On the whole, we churned out 480 kilometers, more or less, over two days and I see another sequel of this in the future.

The office staff clapped their hands upon seeing us and our vigor came back where, eventually, we stayed for a couple of hours to check on the logistics for tomorrow's activity. I was the last to check out at eight and brought a pack of pintos to my wife and kids.

Document done in OpenOffice 2.1 Writer.

NAPO TO BABAG TALES XXIV: Full Circle

IT HAD BEEN A year already when I first climbed Mount Babag by way of Ernie's Trail, a steep and challenging route named after my climbing buddy – Ernie Salomon. That was on August 17, 2008. Since then I have climbed her twenty-three times alone or with a group. I aim to complete a full year cycle by climbing her again on August 23, 2009. This would be my twenty-fourth incursion there.

I brought two hawk feathers for this occasion to celebrate the passing of a year the old way. Two feathers for Courage and Generosity. The hawk feathers will now be a regular fixture in my head band everytime I climb Mt. Babag as it had been a regular fixture in my South African veldt hat that I carried on my head during major climbs. The feathers will dance with the breeze along with me.

Boy Toledo, another of my climbing buddy, completed one year yesterday on August 22. He have climbed the Babag Mountain Range many times more than I. Boy T is a stroke survivor. He now make things happen for him and of others. He climb here every weekend and you are cordially invited to chase him up a trail.

Those previous weekend hikes brought me to a lone house on a hill that became a refuge, a well-deserved stop-over, enroute to Mt. Babag. In it lived a family of four who are generous of their space and of their young coconuts. Ha ha, I paid for those. In return I brought them gifts, food, used clothes and books for the kids. I even nurtured a 13-year old boy, Manwel Roble, as a future mountain guide in this area. Others followed my trail and parted their charity to the Roble family.

In that sunny Sunday morning, I ate just two cinnamon bread for my breakfast and left Guadalupe at 7:15 AM. I brought a 17-meter kernmantle rope as my weight load and an extra dry shirt but I forgot to bring my Nalgene bottle and that deprived me of water intake. The only watering area for me between Guadalupe and Mt. Babag would be at the river crossing where there is a natural spring and at that house on the hill. I walked on, reaching Napo forty-six minutes later.

Resting for a few minutes, I continued on my journey by crossing a river and, forty-one minutes after, I arrived at the spring and drank. I tarried a while there enjoying the cool shade and the silence. The moment I will leave this comfortable refuge, the sun's hot rays will be upon me again. But I'm used to the heat. My body have developed acceptance (or resistance) to it. I have received this fate living near the equator and I have accepted to hike without hats, sunglasses and those greasy sunblock creams.

It is still 9:30 AM when I got caught in the middle of Busan Trail under the mercy of the sun. I ran in short bursts uphill and it felt good. I perspired more than what I have swallowed and I felt the tiredness of my body as I gasped for breath and rested more often. My breakfast were inadequate and my body took its toll. God, it is hot and I thanked my reddened eyes for spotting the crest of the great tamarind tree that marked the house on the hill. I am now very near for the next stop-over.

My throat is parched dry and I'm dying for a drink when I got there. I waited for Manwel to arrive. He is servicing yet the Ewit Mountaineers who have stayed overnight at Manwel's Peak above us and isn't available. Meanwhile, his mother offered to slay and cook one free-rein chicken for me. I told her that I have a packed lunch with me. Nevertheless, it was the wish of his husband and I could do nothing but be swayed over by the opportunity of eating native chicken again.

I reclined on the cool bamboo bench under a duhat tree and slept for an hour until a nudge from Manwel woke me up for a well-deserved lunch. My thirst already gone, I slurped the hot soup seasoned by lemon grass and bunched-onion leaves. Ahh...heaven. I ate on their dining table together with Manwel, his mother, his siblings Juliet and Jucel, and his uncle and aunt. We talked as we ate. I took several servings of rice to accompany the choice cuts reserved for me.

After the meal, Manwel climbed a coconut tree and collected five young coconuts. How in heaven could I consume five coconuts? Manwel opened three fruits for me and I drank its sweet liquid. The rest of the coconuts, well, I reserved it for my wife and placed it in the bottom of my backpack to bring it home. I slept again slapped by the cool breeze. It was already one after noon when I decided to move on. I have a very full stomach and I think I could not make it to the summit of Mt. Babag in such a bloated condition.

I decided to follow Jucel, Juliet and Manwel instead down a short-cut route for the Kahugan Trail. For the moment, the downhill hike is a better alternative to digest my food in a moderate pace. It was hot and we snaked among tamarind, mango, santol and other endemic trees as well as groves of bamboo. The Kahugan Trail were as wide as ever but I did not run the trail this day. My feet - the toes - are hurting. I bade goodbye to the Roble children and followed the downhill route.

I arrived at the river crossing where there is a spring and drank the cool water. After a 10-minute interval, I am off again on my way to Napo. The main trail is of rolling terrain and I met just a few locals going in the opposite direction. It is ten past two in the afternoon when I arrived at Napo and drowned my thirst with a bottle of soda drink. I stayed maybe twenty minutes on the newly-constructed community bamboo benches beside the river.

Passing by were three youths on a hunting spree for catfish. They were armed with minute spears and one of the boys carried their prize. I went down and took pictures of their catch. Wow, it was wonderful to see the river coming alive during the rains and giving up more bounty. The river packed a lot of water today and I saw small fishes upriver frolicking in great numbers. A cycle of rebirth have just started.

Leaving Napo again, I started for Guadalupe on a hot 2:30 PM sun bouncing its arrows upon the concrete and asphalt pavements. At this hour, the shadows are sparse and far between each other. My feet soles ached walking on the hot surface and I find remedy walking on weeds growing on the curbs and pebbles and dirt accumulating on the street. At least, the temperature there are a degree or two lower. My shoulders are numbed by the added weight on my back but I have to go on.

Finally, I have reached the end of my journey of a year. A full circle has been completed. Twenty-four episodes in twelve months that makes it two climbs per month on average. Not bad for a forty-ish guy – an old man, if you may – who have developed the courage to defy the monotony of the same trail for a year. In these same trails, I have accomplished another virtue far more valuable than all the others – generosity.

I brought two hawk feathers for this occasion to celebrate a new life the old way. Two feathers for Wisdom and Perseverance. The hawk feathers will now be a regular fixture in my head band everytime I climb Mt. Babag as it had been a regular fixture in my South African veldt hat that I carried on my head during major climbs. The feathers will dance with the breeze along with me.

I am now a part of the mountains and forests. I have gone native.

Document done in OpenOffice 2.1 Writer.