Hello Hive!
It's been a while since I've written a proper travel blog. I've been so occupied with finishing my master's degree thesis and hopefully, I'll be able to finally finish and graduate. Fingers crossed!
This travel is quite close to my heart. This was a trip I made before I started my master's degree three years ago. This was also a birthday trip. And above all, this was my first ever solo trip.
How fitting that on the night before my first solo trip, I'd be watching a Les Miserables play, a story about redemption.
Graduate studies are not for everyone. Not a lot of people wish to go back to school. But I did.
After trudging my way through my first job after college, I knew I wanted something more, somewhere I could escape to and start anew. And that place for me was school.
Before the solo trip had to start, I was going solo already. I watched the play alone. My girlfriend gave me her special-seating ticket because she couldn't go. I'm not an avid fan of theater but I know Les Miserables has a gripping story and I wanted to see it played live.
The actors were high school students from different schools in Cebu and they were impressive. I was blown away by their performances. I didn't believe that such quality could come from so many young people in Cebu. I guess I'm underestimating our local talent.
I went home in high spirits inspired by seeing the display of young talents. What a good note to sleep on before my trip.
My flight was in the morning and I was giddy with excitement. Traveling all by myself. How brave! I've never spent a long time being away from home and I've never gone on a solo trip before because I never felt the need to and because I've never had enough money to go on such a trip.
I was a bit dramatic when I was younger. I used to take endings and beginnings way too seriously. I remember wearing my school uniform during the last day of my college education even though we were allowed to wear civilian clothes just because I wanted the day to be special. This trip was one of those dramatic acts. Another one is me shaving my head because I was about to resign from my job.
Going on a trip alone before going back to school was like the act of turning a page before reaching a new chapter of a book. It served as a cleanser. I wanted a clean slate and I thought I couldn't have that without bringing myself away and alone.
My flight took me to Clark International Airport in Pampanga. My main destination was Zambales, a province in the northwestern part of the country. I still had a long way to go. This trip was in August and in that month, the whole country is in Habagat season marked by heavy rains. I didn't think much about the weather when I planned this trip. My itinerary was initially full of time at the beach and riding boats to get to scenic coves.
Little did I know that my itinerary would be washed away by the heavy rains that welcomed me.
I exited the airport armed with my well-thought-out itinerary. My optimism was still high at that time. I encountered my first problem outside the airport. I knew there was a bus that I had to ride to get me to Olongapo City, my first destination. There were a lot of buses and they had signs for places I didn't know.
One of my biggest problems on this solo trip was my foolish belief that I didn't need to ask anyone about anything. I know. I said foolish, didn't I?
I chose what I thought was the right bus. I went inside and saw that I was the first passenger. The conductor asked me where I was headed and I told him I was going to Olongapo City. He didn't object and that's how I knew I took the right bus.
After a few minutes, the bus went on its way. The sky was gray everywhere but I didn't mind. Or I chose not to. Clark City was distracting me. It was clean, wide, and oddly deserted. There were empty lots full of trees and verdant grounds. The roads looked newly paved and some lamp posts looked like they had underground cables. This was a modern and well-designed city.
We eventually exited the city and that's when I noticed the rain. The bus went through an expressway and I saw that the ground looked soft and muddy. The plants around the roads looked overly watered.
We passed by this enormously wide river. The water looked brown so the rain must have been strong upstream. I spent most of the ride gawking at the wet scenery. The vast plains, wide rivers, and looming mountains were all new to me. I wasn't expecting to see such sights on my solo trip. I imagined this trip to be a summer getaway. How wrong I was.
My first destination in Olongapo City was the Inflatable Island. It's the biggest floating playground in Asia. The photos online showed a bright beach full of different colors. I was ready to play at the inflatables although only by myself. I had my beach attire ready. I was even thinking about how I'd take proper pictures of myself.
I arrived at Olongapo City and it was just so dark. The winds were so strong. I received an email from the staff of Inflatable Island telling me they weren't accepting visitors for the day because of the weather. They told me I had to rebook my visit.
I was dismayed. I was looking forward to that colorful beach. Instead, all I got was gray skies. But I still had days left on this trip. I was sure I could find some color along the way.
The next on my itinerary was Nagsasa Cove in San Antonio, Zambales. I had recalibrated my expectations though. I spent the night of my first day at my Uncle's house in Olongapo City. When morning came, he told me there was no way I could take the trip that would take me to that scenic cove. The weather was still bad.
Another botched plan. But I was still in Zambales, miles away from home. That still counted! My uncle offered to go with me to Santa Cruz, Zambales even though he didn't need to. I was glad for the company because I was starting to think the next on my itinerary was going to be canceled as well.
I changed my plans. This was no longer going to be a solo trip to the beaches and the coves. Instead, this was going to be a trip to spend time with family I haven't been with for most of my life.
We took a bus to Santa Cruz and again, these extremely wide rivers greeted me. I must have counted at least four of them. My uncle told me the rivers were created by the lahar flow from a major volcanic eruption many years ago.
The towns in Zambales were named after saints and San Felipe had this striking public market building in red. We just passed by and I was curious about what was inside.
My spirits were perking up as I saw that the weather was improving. The sky was getting clearer and brighter. Was there light at the end of, well, this road?
I arrived in Santa Cruz with renewed hopes. I had another uncle who lived there and I went to him to ask if a trip to Potipot Island, the next on my itinerary, was possible.
I'll leave you on a bit of a cliffhanger as I end this post.
This was just part one and although my itinerary was completely thrown out the window, many things still happened. You'll find out in part 2 whether I got my much-needed time at the beach or not. See you on that one. Cheers!
