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| This energy efficient fridge was my seatmate to Baler |
6:32 am to 2:15 pm, 9th April 2009
Less than four hours of sleep does not equate to a beautiful out-of-Manila morning. My cellphone's alarm clock went off countless times but it always ended up in 'Snooze' mode. Ten more minutes. Always ten more minutes.
By six in the morning, Cutie and I finally decided to stand up and head off to the bus station, still drowsy from sleep, or lack of it. My head was buzzing, only to become a full-blown headache when we found out all the Genesis buses headed for Baler already left, an hour or so ago, due to the heavy influx of Holy Week tourists.
There were three options: 1) to wait and pray that another bus arrives, 2) to take the local unairconditioned and cranky buses (that sometimes fall off the cliff), and 3) to take the likewise unairconditioned and cranky van. We can't decide, so we said hello to breakfast first. It seemed that, like choosing which form of transportation to take, we could not decide where to eat too. My patience was nearing the edge. Everything was clearly not following to plan.
To begin with, we only had P5,000 for this trip, less actually, considering that I used almost P500 while still in Manila. Cutee forgot her money in Pampanga and was literally pennyless. I insisted we still go, if only to save face as all my officemates knew I'm off to Baler. I could not imagine, or dare to imagine, the look on my mom's face if the trip was canceled. It would be humiliating.
Luckily, serendipity was still on our side. A bus arrived but it was full. Desperate to leave Cabanatuan, we decided to stand on the way to Pantabangan. Cutee said it was near and that we have to stand, for let's say, 30 minutes or so. We found a seat, thanks to Nanay Rosie who allowed us to sit with them at the back of the bus. We were so desperate that I agreed to be squeezed beside a refrigerator. The things you do for the sake of travel.
To say that the road to Baler was long was an understatement--it was achingly tediously annoyingly long. Cutee, in her friendly self, was exchanging conversations with Nanay Rosie and her family. Me, in my bitchy self, contented myself with listening to Sammy, leaning on to my seatmate so I won't fall off the seat as the bus traversed squiggly roads.
By the time we reached Pantabangan, Cutee and I were desperate for nicotine, hungry but choosy, tired but unable to sleep. An hour more and we're to reach Baler. Apparently, the trip to Pantabangan took more than an hour, thank God we decided to sit at the back of the bus!
Our Baler ordeal was somewhat similar to Sagada. The long road, the hard journey, the time delays. But something was missing--there was no reason no leave, nothing to run away from. It seemed at that moment, Cutee and I were floating in the world with no definite destination. We were not on the verge, we were not confused. We were simply moving.
As our cigarette sticks burned and the stop-over timed out, the bus lurched forward, only stopping when we reached the outskirts of the main town of Baler. Nanay Rosie offered us boiled eggs and we both refused. I knew we both regretted saying 'No' because the moment we stepped out of the bus, in the scorching midday heat, our stomachs grumbled.
Read Part 3: Stoked by Surfing
Read Part 1: Arriving in Cabanatuan
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