Sunday, July 27, 2014

Bicolandia. Typhoon Glenda. 20% cp battery.

Kahit kakalipat lang ng bagyo sa Manila, tumuloy pa rin kami sa Bicol once okay na ulet ang magbyahe. It is one of those experiences na alam kong tatatak sa'kin for the rest of my life. We left Manila ng walang kuryente; we arrived in Bicol with the same situation. Pero kahit walang kuryente, sobrang enjoy pa din. I met new friends (I was so relieved na marunong sila magtagalog), I found a new cute sister and family, I learned a new culture, I learned a new dialect (finally!=D).  I promised to come back. I know it will always be worth it.

Forgive me for the few pictures I was able to take. Sila lang nakayanan ng phone ko.

The Glends Ruins. It was my first time to actually see a "state of calamity" situation. Kahit saan ka lumingon, may mga bumagsak na puno, nabaling poste, nasirang taniman at bahay... Alam ko na hindi maganda ang aabutan namin lalo sa Albay, pero seeing everything with my own eyes was kind of traumatic. I was especially heartbroken with the coconut trees. Halos lahat ng nakita naming puno ng buko ay depressed dahil sa lakas ng hangin ni Glenda. Habang nagkukwento ang mga taga-Bicol, parang hindi na bago sa kanila ang ganitong karanasan. Pero kahit ilang beses na nila napagdaanan ang ganitong sakuna, kita ko sa mga mata nila na you don't really get used to things like this.

Bicol and Life's Irony. This is my favorite shot. I took this from the bus on our way to Legaspi City (it's the only place with literally one working ATM). It was really ironic because looking down, I felt sad for everyone living there. Then a tilt of my head and I would see Mayon Volcano and I can't help myself but feel excited and happy. I guess a lot of people was feeling that way during that time. After all, there was too much ugly that we couldn't just help but appreciate the beauty that there still was.

Shy Mayon. This was the view from my room. I was given the heads-up on our first day na cloudy so I might not see the perfect cone Mayon Volcano. Of course, I still hoped. Syempre, hindi niya ako binigo. I can stare at it all day. 'Yun nga lang, shy talaga siya and hindi siya visible all-day.

Freshest of All. They call it spring water. They were excited for me to taste it; I felt the same for myself. At hindi na kailangan ng yelo dahil sobrang lamig ng tubig na nanggagaling sa bundok na pinuntahan namin.

100% Bicolana. Thanks to my ever beautiful girlfriend, I had a happy first Bicol experience. Though the typhoon almost succeeded in ruining our trip, we found our workaround. This was at Bosay Falls, Malilipot, Albay. Sa lugar na pinupulot lang ang buko. Ang bata sa picture ay hindi talaga namin kasama. Pinagpraktisan ko lang siya ng limitado kong Bicol vocabulary. Siya si Ace at ang pag-Bicol niya ay kahanga-hanga (hahaha).

YOLO Your Face. The trip would not be complete without experiencing the famous Sili Ice Cream. Ang sarap awayin ni kuyang nagsabi na after-taste lang ang anghang. Dahil hindi! Inuulit ko, sobrang anghang ng pagkaing ito. There are things in life na we are sure we will only do once. Para sa'kin, isa ito sa kanila.

2 comments:

  1. Hope nakarecover na din ang mga taga-Bicol sa hagupit ni glenda..

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    1. yeah let's hope so. thanks rix! see you sa screening!

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