"It always feels good going back home."
We have been living here in Marawi City since 2018 and last May we went to Cebu to visit my sick grandma. We stayed in the province for three days. Then on the fourth day, we went to my father's place in the city and stayed there for four days. We were supposed to just stay there for a day because we planned to book our tickets the next day but sadly all shipping lines were fully booked due to many passengers going home for the election.
Its on the third day of our stay in Cebu that we went to Gaisano Mactan to book tickets for Cokaliong Shipping but I was shocked to know that the fare was so expensive. For the kids, the fare is almost ₱1000 or almost $20 each while mine was 1300 pesos or $26. So we just went home and I planned that we should book directly to Pier 1 where the Cokaliong Shipping is situated.
At 2 PM we went to the Cebu Pier 1 and thank God we were able to buy tickets for the five of us. The ticket cost $90 while if we book at Gaisano Mactan, it will be $114. We boarded at around 5 PM and waited for the ship to sail at 7 PM.
Here are my kids after eating our dinner. I took photos of them and sent them to my partner before the phone signal would be gone. They were so cooperative that when I told them to pose, they gladly do it. In the third photo, it's my youngest son "Adam" with no shirt on. He said that it was so hot so he took off his shirt and sleep without putting it back. He was really used to having a fan every time he would sleep that's why when he felt hot during our travel, he took off his shirt since we didn't have a fan where we stayed.
It was around 5 AM when we reached the Ozamis Pier. Those passengers bound for Ozamis started to went down until few passengers left. It took an hour before the ship started sailing going to Iligan Pier. So while we were still at Ozamis Pier, I took some photos again as a remembrance of that place since we had barely been in that place.
We also started preparing our things and since we only had four backpacks so we get done immediately. When we were done fixing our things, we went to the side of the ship where we could sit and do sightseeing. Before taking photos of the scenery that we saw, I took photos again of the kids. Oh, do you see that life-sized teddy bear beside our little Adam? It's Teddy, the newly bought teddy bear for him. Before going to Cebu, his father bought this teddy since he requested it. And when we hear the news about my grandmother, we started packing our clothes to be brought to Cebu and one thing that Adam never forget to put in the traveling bag was Teddy. We were supposed to just leave it here in Marawi but Adam didn't want to so we brought it along with us.
While the ship was sailing, we remained seated at the side where we could do sightseeing. I took photos of this beautiful view. I was amazed at how calm the sea was and the reflection of the blue sky on the seawater. There are still some photos that I took before but sadly, I deleted those that's why I only share two of those here.
When the ship slowly approached the spot where it would stay, I opened my Google Map. I then know that every ship from a different route has its path to follow. Updated Google Map is really amazing because even those nearby restaurants or establishments could be seen and revealed once it is zoomed in. Opening the Google Map is also what I did when we traveled by bus going to the South Bus Terminal. When I didn't know the current place where we were, with the help of Google Maps, I then know what the place was. To someone like me who isn't familiar with places, Google Maps is a really big help.
Here are my kids sitting in the back seat of the van. We choose to stay at the back of the van because we have lots of things with us and we were five who would occupy the seats.
Along the way, I took lots of photos but when we reached Baloi, one of the places here in Lanao del Norte the heavy rain poured around. I could see the water flowing at the side of the road. But good thing the rain stops before we reached Marawi City.
It was noontime that we reached the MSU Main Entrance gate. Entering the gate of the university makes me feel so excited to be at home. I miss our house and everything that I did here at home like being active with my online hustles.
When we reached home, I felt good. Truly, it always feels good to be back home. It feels good to be back to where I stayed for four years already. It feels good to see the green environment that I use to see every time I went out of the house.
Home is where my heart is.
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