Get Lost and You Shall Find...McArthur - Visayas Leg Part 3

After that wonderful dinner at Guiseppe's we retired early as we planned to leave Tacloban by daybreak. Peluchi, a childhood friend who is now based in the city, suggested we go see McArthur's Landing, the monument erected to mark his return to the Philippines as was promised. As I moved out the parking slot of our hotel, I thought that we should just head straight for the road so we could catch the ferry to Surigao before lunch. So I plotted my course using Maps from my iPhone, taking the shortest route going back to the Pan-Philippine Highway. The Maps app had been so dependable all the way from Manila to Tacloban that I wouldn't head out without consulting it. Well what do you know! We got lost. We ended up at the coast instead of the highway, exactly where the monument was. McArthur won't be denied. So there we were at 5:30 in the morning wading with the giants!

If ever you're in Tacloban please don't ever miss this spot or at least try to get lost like we did and then end up here. We actually stayed longer than planned because it got Bettina curious about that moment in Philippine History. And if you are a single parent you will take any and all forms of motivation that would get your kids to actually love their history and all other subject lessons at school. And when your kid gets excited finding her schoolmate's great grandfather's name, once president of this nation, inscribed in the memorial then that would be the perfect time to reinforce that history is fact and not some fictional literature meant to torture young students.

I remember that I once sat on an Alumni Board and worked with Jose Rizal's great grand daughter. I had no idea they were related until years after when I read an article about the national hero's house in Calamba that she wrote about. For some reason, growing up I was lulled into thinking that our national heroes are similar to comic book super heroes who lived in a different dimension. I guess the glowing write ups about their exploits during their respective moments in history didn't help, as it made them look like fictional characters with their high ideals and patriotism. Too perfect, surely they don't exist or never existed. I eventually realized they were once flesh and blood. I also once thought of Jesus that way. Back in Grade 4 I demanded from my teacher, Ms. Nocete-Ampong, proof that Jesus once lived on earth. She went to her desk and gave me a bible :-). Could it be just me or are we wired to be cynical about heroes and their exploits?

For sure heroes are five sigma events, a statistical rarity with a 1 in 1,744,278 chance of occurring. There need to be a confluence of events that would allow an opportunity for one to be a hero. Aside from that he/she needs to be there at the right time and the right place. But like all statistical probabilities they do happen and will happen. And at times like how it was 10 years ago today 9-11, they would happen one time big time. I know now heroes do not just belong to the historical past and they all need not be doing one-for-the-books-and-will-surely-be-a-movie kind of act. Heroes and their heroic acts abound us everyday. I was moved by that little girl recently awarded for her patriotic act of saving the Philippine flag in the middle of a storm same way as reading about those passengers who fought the terrorists for control of the plane so it will not wreak more havoc. It is my responsibility to erase any doubt my kids may have about heroes like I had growing up. I have to make them believe that everyday somebody out there is a real hero, actually 3,884 of them at any one time if my 5 sigma estimate is correct. I hope you would make your kids believe too!

In the Eye of the Storm You will be Blind - Visayas Leg Part 1

There's a reason most people take road trips during summer time. The weather will spring no surprises. But where's the thrill in that right? Road trips should equal spontaneity. You make your usual plans of course, like where to stop, accommodations, safety considerations, weather forecast et al, the timing however should always be flexible. The trip somehow always starts right when it is decided on whim and your co-travelers are given just enough time to pack but not enough time to back out. That is the ingredient that turns it from a mere trip to an adventure. Road trips are really stories on wheels and so there's always a plot. Tension is built. First things go right and then things go wrong. Then when they're supposed to go right again that's when all hell breaks loose and things really go way wrong! But since a story will have to be told and retold somehow the character or characters survive not totally unscathed but either just thankful or hopefully better and learned. Visayas provided one of the tension or conflict and then the climax for our road trip from Manila to Southern Mindanao.

It started really well. We caught the 12:30 pm ferry from Matnog in Luzon island, the gateway to the Visayas, for the port of Allen, Samar. We were the last car allowed to board the boat. Had we been late it would have been another 2 hours of waiting time and we would surely be driving at night on the way to Tacloban City our planned pit stop. It was sunny and the sea was calm. The ferry ride was short around an hour and thirty minutes and since we were the last to board we were the first to alight from the ferry. We were on our merry way to Tacloban by 2:21 pm (yes, exactly that time per FB for iPhone Places feature). I estimated that the 250 kilometer drive would take us at least 4 hours. There would be 2 cities along the way Calbayog then Catbalogan both in the island of Samar. It seemed luck was on our side. I expected the road to be the worst in this part of the trip. Years back when I traveled the same route the road could not even be called that. Proof to my theory of the cycle of life of our paved roads in the country, it was very much newly reconstructed and smooth since it has just been over a year since the last National elections. We were at Calbayog by 3:30 and we decided to continue all the way to Catbalogan for some rest and snack. Again the ride was smooth as silk totally uneventful. We were there by 4:30 pm.

We found a restaurant in what seemed to be the chicken inasal (roasted chicken Visayan style) row of the City. The name of the place escapes me now. It was after the owner for sure and unfortunately I did not take any picture. I told everyone we could take our sweet time because we were already more than half way to Tacloban. Meal for 4 was 350 Pesos ( roughly 8US$ ). That was one whole jumbo size roasted chicken, unlimited rice, Nilagang Baka ( similar to Corned Beef in clear stew) and drinks. Things were all going according to plan. But I should have known better! One is always fed well before being guillotined. And when you actually have chicken it gets worse!

We left Calbayog City around 5:15. We were less than two hours away from San Juanico bridge. Fifteen minutes on the road it was suddenly dark and the rain came. We were still within city limits and the first ominous thing happened, we got lost. We followed the road hugging the coast but ended up in a dead end street. We had to travel back around 5 kilometers to find the Maharlika Highway again. By then daylight was gone and the weather has turned for the worst. The road too had turned from well paved and smooth to slippery, twisty, uphill and narrow. Visibility was 2 meters. We welcomed and cursed the fact that it was night time. It was comforting that at least we would know if other vehicles are nearby because of their headlights but then the pounding rain and the dark of night virtually made us blind. Unbeknown to us at that time we were in the middle of a storm. One of the most devastating of the year that eventually ravaged cities, towns, provinces we were just in a few days back. Typhoon Juaning made landfall in Samar and we were in the eye of it. I forgot and let this be a lesson to all travelers out there. The weather forecast time frame is meant for how soon it will hit the National Capital Region and nearby provinces leaving most Eastern areas in the Philippines facing the Pacific caught unaware of the severity of a weather disturbance.

We slowed to a crawl. We averaged 20 kilometers per hour. Stopping was never an option since we could feel the wind rock the car with its strength. We were very quiet. Three grown men and a little lady and only one was courageous enough to say what we all had in mind. "Dad I'm really, really scared...", Bettina's voice was trailing off fearing that the mere admittance will bring us to a worse condition. I could not remember what I replied to comfort her. Maybe because I was not too confident about it. I remember blaming myself though for enjoying the chicken inasal too much and lingering longer than we should have had at Catbalogan City. When Bettina broke the silence it somehow made all of us embrace the fear. And when that happens it's when the mind begins to work again. I was navigating and Roland was driving. I remembered we overtook a bus 10 kilometers prior. I told him to wait for it so we could use it as our guide. I assumed the driver of the bus who has taken this route many times over would help us safely reach our destination. And then I silently prayed. I guess He listened.

We reached San Juanico bridge at 8:30 pm. 2 hours behind our schedule. We were too tired to even stop and admire the bridge that was once the longest and most grand in Asia. Designed longer than necessary and most probably cost taxpayers many times more than actually needed. We only have this measly picture to prove we passed through it. But we had an experience of a lifetime that may not be too easy and comforting to share. However I think all answered prayers need to be because answered prayers are miracles no matter how small or insignificant hence this blog. For us getting out of that storm was Himala (Filipino word for miracle). Minor events all conniving for a good story to tell about the power of prayer. And it is also a good segue for me to leave you with another music video from a favorite Filipino band of mine, Rivermaya. The title though may be the only thing appropriate for this blog :-).

The SkyLab, HabalHabal and the like, Filipino Ingenuity at its Best

The Skylab according to Wikipedia "was a space station launched and operated by NASA, the space agency of the United States. Skylab orbited the Earth from 1973 to 1979, and included a workshop, a solar observatory, and other systems. It was launched, initially unmanned, by a modified Saturn V rocket, and weighed about 77 metric tons in orbit by itself.^[1] Three manned missions to the station, conducted between 1973 and 1974 by an Apollo Command/Service Module (CSM) atop the smaller Saturn IB, each delivered a three-astronaut crew. During that time, an additional Saturn IB was on standby for rescuing those in orbit.
Numerous scientific experiments were conducted aboard Skylab during its operational life, and crews were able to confirm the existence of coronal holes in the Sun. Thousands of photographs of Earth were taken, and records for human time spent in orbit were extended. Plans were drawn up to refurbish and reuse Skylab, using the Space Shuttle to boost its orbit and repair it; however, in 1979, before the shuttle was ready, Skylab reentered Earth's atmosphere and disintegrated, with debris striking portions of Western Australia."

The reentry was a big media event in 1979. In the Philippines people were scared that the debris would cause massive damage and death. I remember as kids we were told to stay indoors all day everyday even a month after the reentry. I think in other parts of the world most people would no longer remember this event some may never even know it happened. In the Philippines however it made such a big impression we named a people transporter after it. Behold the Philippine SkyLab.

It definitely takes skill to drive one but it also takes skill and lots of guts to ride one! Imagine your feet hovering just inches above the pavement or a rough road or worse over nothing when you traverse a small bridge! The one you see here is a small version. There are "models" that seat 2 each side and 2 more at the back.

Crazy you would say but economical is how most view this transport. And aside from that no one need to compete for riding shotgun. You can have all five facing front. In the Philippines you don't need to go to a show to watch daredevils perform. Just take a road trip south of Manila. 

I really think this invention should be as well acclaimed as the karaoke among the ingenious Filipino creations.

While in the subject of modified motorcycle powered transport there is another one called Habal-Habal which you would find servicing towns in Southern Mindanao. It simply extends a 3-seater into an 8-seater motorcycle. One would seat on the gas tank and then 6 others would seat behind the driver where the seat has been extended to accommodate all of them. I leave you with a Visayas version of a modified Motorcycle. I hope someday someone would send me pics of the convertible/topdown motorcycles of Davao which I failed to capture. In the meantime imagine a huge Starbucks outdoor umbrella atop a tricycle that could be removed anytime.