I've always wanted to fly.
As a child, I used to dream of becoming like Tinker Bell with all her pixie dust and fly to the sky. Or several times, I envy the birds that fly high with the clouds and wonder what we look like in their point of views.
Although I've seen in the movies how tiny everything seems to be when you are flying high up in the sky, I guess it would still feel totally different and more rewarding when you get to experience it firsthand.
In this journey, I finally get to experience flying and definitely healed the childhood in me.
July 4, 2023
Even though I tried to finish all of my workloads on time so as I could still have my last minute preparation before my first ever flight tomorrow, I was not able to make it for I really had to extend an hour and a half in school finishing all the things that needed to be done since I will be on leave for three days.
I went home at six thirty. I was supposed to take a bus and travel from Santander to Cebu City which would take an approximately four to five hours of travel and perhaps stay for a while in the city for a few hours before my 5:30 AM flight the next day.
BUT, as I was done preparing my things and packed my bag, the heavy rain occurred. The rain pitilessly poured down as though it would never stop and it didn't want me to go anywhere but my room.
I waited. And waited for it to stop. I couldn't go out yet with heavy pouring of the rain because I didn't have an umbrella and my things would totally get soaking wet if I become courageous enough to cross the roads with the raging raindrops.
I waited for another hour. It was already 8:30 and the last trip for buses from Santander to Cebu City would be at 9 PM.
Gladly, the rain stopped after few minutes and that was when I started walking from the house to the highway. I stayed on the waiting area but it had been thirty minutes and there was still no bus.
The rain poured heavily again and I was stuck in the waiting shed -- hoping and praying a bus would come and fetch me.
But there was none.
It was already almost eleven in the evening but there was no sign of any public transport going to Cebu City so I decided to just ride a tricycle going to the bus terminal located on the next town to Santander.
When I got there, the personnel of the bus terminal said that there was no longer any trip going to Cebu City at this hour and I had to wait until 1 AM for the first trip.
Just how unlucky could I ever be, I thought.
I started to get anxious as to what if I don't get to catch my flight?
It was my first time travelling in a far place on a plane and completely solo. I started to worry but just ditched the thought and hoping I'll arrive to the city an hour before my flight schedule.
Luckily, I arrived at the city at 4 AM since there was no traffic when travelling at dawn.
July 5, 2023 5:00 AM
When I arrived at the Cebu South Bus Terminal, I immediately called a taxi to bring me to Mactan Cebu International Airport. The travel only took approximately fifteen minutes since there was no heavy traffic during those hours.
I went inside the airport and even though I was a bit nervous as to where to go and what to do, I managed to calm myself and acted as if it was not my first time. But there were really circumstances that would reveal the truth and slap you into reality that no matter what, people would know the truth.
As I was pacing to the entrance, I only brought with me backpack and a hand bag. I've heard that when you travel by plane, you need to check in your luggage if it exceeds to 7kg and I didn't want any more chaos happening in my first flight so I decided I'll just bring few clothes with me, my shoes for the wedding and an iron.
I didn't know why I was bringing an iron when I was supposed to be in my friend's residence so most probably, they have an iron I can borrow but yea, I just want to bring my iron, just in case.
I was already in the entrance gate of the airport. I just simply looked around and followed what people usually do and where they go. I was really nervous while I was on the queue for my bags to be checked because I didn't know what to do after that. Should I get my bag after it was checked or what?
I put all of my belongings in a basket and asked the personnel if I should get my bags after checking and they said that I just have to wait until I arrive at Laguindingan airport in Cagayan de Oro for me to get my bags. So I was like, okay.
I walked towards the departure area and I saw some people bringing bags with them, with their phone and all that and I was walking barely, no phone on hand, no anything. I was skeptical if I was doing the right thing but I just continued walking until I went to the departure gate and the security guard asked for my boarding pass but I had it on my phone. So I went back to the entrance gate and as I was on my way, the personnel on the entrance smiled at me and told me that I didn't check in my luggage so I can just carry my things to the plane.
I got my bags from them and I was just laughing to myself as to how I never thought of it? I just accepted the fact that I could not bring my things and my phone to the plane and had to walk down the aisle to the departure area like walking on a barefoot in a shoe collection fashion show.
How embarassing!
But I just thought to myself: Anyway, they don't know me. They'll just forget the embarassment I did.
July 9, 2023
Today was my flight going back to Cebu City. My flight was supposed to be scheduled at seven in the morning from Cagayan de Oro to Mactan Cebu but due to heavy rain and bad weather, it was cancelled.
I received an email from Cebu Pacific that my flight was cancelled and they rebooked it. I checked the email and found out I'll have connecting flight: Cagayan de Oro to Davao and Davao to Cebu City which was scheduled at five-thirty in the afternoon. That means, I had to stay in the airport morning til afternoon for I cannot go anywhere due to heavy rain.
5:30 PM came but the flight was delayed because the weather was still in a bad condition so I waited for another hour until at 6 PM, we boarded on the plane but the pilot announced that Davao was still on red light signal so we have to wait for another thirty minutes.
Minutes passed. An hour passed.
Finally, the plane had taken off to Davao Airport. It was already dark and the weather was still not in good shape.
After a few minutes, we were already above with the clouds and when I thought everything was going fine, IT WASN'T.
That was by far the LONGEST ONE HOUR of my life. It was as though my soul left my body. I just closed my eyes the whole time, hoping and praying I'll arrive in Davao safely. I was already imagining the worst. I never imagined it would be this scary.
The plane felt like it was going to collapse or land on the seas, just like in the movies. And we'll find ourselves in the middle of nowhere and we can no longer get to see our families. I know it's not good to imagine those kind of thoughts but I couldn't help myself. Everytime the plane felt like dropping and shaking, my heartbeat couldn't even be faster. The people inside the plane were already scared as well but I just closed my eyes hoping this would end.
After an hour of agony, the flight attendant finally announced that in a few minutes, the plane will land in Davao International airport.
I opened my eyes and looked at the window. I was in awe. The bright strip of lights from below looked like the blood streaming down my very veins and they shine like billion microplanktons on the surface of the ocean in the vastness of darkness at night.
They were beautiful. I used to watch city lights from up above a mountain and I thought it was beautiful. I never knew it would be more beautiful when you take a look at them from a plane.
I arrived at Davao International airport at eight in the evening and had to wait until 10 PM for my flight schedule to Cebu City.
As much as I want to roam around Davao, I couldn't since it was raining hard so I just stayed inside the airport, waiting for my flight.
July 10, 2023
Wonder why I jumped to August 10? It was only because at 1 AM on August 10, I was still in Davao. You might not have wondered but yes, the flight was delayed again due to the weather.
Just how luckily unlucky I was at this time.
My eyes were already tired for I cannot sleep and I had to stand until I get to have my flight because the airport was jampacked with people like me whose flights were also cancelled. I just amused myself with the things and people I see inside just so I could fight my sleepiness and tiresome.
Fortunately, after few more minutes, the flight from Davao to Cebu City had been finally announced and it was time for us to board the plane.
My last flight going to Mactan Cebu was just spent sleeping all throughout the journey because I was still jetlagged from the last flight I had and my eyes -- they've already surrendered their last drop of courage to open.
I may not have the most beautiful and safest first solo flight experience, but I guess the things I had encountered during my journey are what made this happenstance more striking and wonderful and it was all a combination of a nerve-wracking-never-again-but-definitely-wanna-try-again experience.