Batangas Adventures

I wasn't able to sleep. Literally, because it's not yet bedtime and we're about to leave at bedtime.

DAY 1
8 Stops to Batangas:

1 - From our house to Charles', because we're to fetch them there
2 - From Cabanatuan City to NLEx Petron Station, to meet with the other 3 cars [Paras, Morgan and Adriano family]
3 - From NLEx to GMA-Kamuning, to meet with Victory family [Aunt Mila, Ate Jhaymee and Nathan]
4 - From Quezon City to Sta. Rosa, Laguna, to have a light breakfast at Kuya Ding's house in Terra Fortuna subdivision (past Enchanted Kingdom!)
5 - From Sta. Rosa, Laguna to Pink Sisters Chapel, Tagaytay, for the stations of the cross
6 - From the chapel to Nasugbu, Batangas Public Market, to shop for our three-day food

On our way, some old van hit our car. Good thing it was just a small scratch, and my dad let the driver go in the end [nakipagtalo muna siya.] But yeah, HINARANG TALAGA NG DAD KO. He said, if it was a worse one, he has the authority to confiscate that driver's license.

7 - From the market to a 7-11 branch to park and wait for my aunt to finish shopping
8 - From the market to the port, and then BOAT to Sunset Beach!

The island was gorgeous, totally. Kuya Ding made a good choice [as expected]. Everybody went to the resthouse, and yeah --- it was toooooooooooooo far from the seashore. From the boat, we are...

1 - enter a gate
2 - past a lobby
3 - a swimming pool
4 - past a bridge
5 - a long and steep pathway [and the pathway floor is made of boulders of rocks]
6 - 40-step stairway of different sizes of steps (or whatever you call with the width of steps)
7 - another short pathway
8 - another 20-step bouldery stairway

Come to think of it: Kung kumain ka ng marami, naubos na lahat ng energy mo pagpunta pa lang sa seashore.

We went to the seashore. Kaya ka nga nandoon para i-enjoy ang alat ng dagat, ang kapinuhan ng buhangin, at ang paglubog ng araw. We went to the water. Well, some of us. Haha. Charles caught a nice video of the sunset. [abangan niyo na lang sa MULTIPLY ko]

Dinner. I slept early -- you'd know it because I didn't sleep last night. Inantok ako sa mga naglalaro ng Tong-Its.

DAY 2
Nothing but waters

Morning. Breakfast. We swam at the pool. Pool na lang, mainit na ang araw --- iitim tayo. At least there's a shade in the pool. Well, that was our philosophy. Late kasi kaming nagising lahat.

Lunch. Afternoon, nothing to do. I asked Charles for a game of chess, woo-hoo. I missed playing with him. But unfortunately, he lost two games against me. Haha.

We went boating. I think there's 25 of us in that big boat. Boat, i say. It's bigger than most of us think. Anyways, I had this semi-useless life jacket.

SEMI-USELESS? Well, I jumped into the water [10 feet high] knowing that I would still float with that thing on, but no, nakafloat ako pero hanggang dun na lang yun dahil yung kalahati din ng ulo ko nakalubog which should not be happening.. Mabuti na lang at di pa ako nakakaalis malapit sa boat, if not, then I'd be partying with the sharp corals until now.

We were supposed to view the cave. Pero ang nangyari, bahay lang ni former President Ramos ang nakita namin (nasa harap lang kasi namin), ang puti, ang laki. Only the "young ones" (Koko, Kevin, Nicole, Kuya Jep, Kuya Jay, Ate Inah, Ate Corinna) were able to get there in the cave, but not me. SCREW that SEMI-USELESS LIFEJACKET.

My aunts were disappointed with the boatmen we hired. According to Koko and Kevin, hindi ganoon kalayo ang hinintuan nila nung pumunta sila dati. Mas malayo ngayon. Oh well, usapan na lang ng matatanda iyon. Bahala na sila.

Basta kami, PUSOY DOS all the way until morning! I was coaching Charles against Kevin, Ate Corinna and Auntie Jo. And by 3 am, my mom woke up to go to the bathroom... napagalitan pa ako because I'm not yet in bed. Tee-hee. So I went. Auntie Jo said my mom was a KJ... when I was asleep, I was eavesdropping about their talk the following morning -- Auntie Jo and my other aunts. Oh well, nabawi naman daw ni Charles nung huli yung natalo niyang pera nung umalis na ang coach niya. [ako]

Oh! But before PUSOY DOS moments... there were GAMES! GAMES! GAMES! The first one was done in pairs, husband and wife answers a question and they're supposed to have the same answers. Ako ang pinaghanap sa ballpen, because I was so quiet daw and that was the way I can talk to everybody.

GAME 2: Charades.

GAME 3: Pic-Pac-Boom // this is a family game played ever since Inang, my grandmother, was still alive. Unfortunately, hindi na natuloy kasi marami nang gustong matulog.

Lastly, nasugatan ako on Good Friday. They say it's bad. Boo-hoo, who cares, nangyari na eh. Three of us were injured in that circular set of woven sofa. [Charles, Tito Edgar and I]

DAY 3
Sino ang may balat sa puwet?

Morning. Let's get over my eavesdropping. I stood [buti hindi ako nauntog sa ceiling, because I'm on the topmost level of the double-deck]. I went to the pool, 1 hour left to swim!

Lunch time!

Departure. Ang tagal dumating ng boat. That's all I can say. Nasiraan pa kami sa gitna ng laot!!! Pero nakarating pa rin kami.

So there, traffic in Tagaytay. After passing Tagaytay, traffic din sa lahat ng puwesto na may Colette's --- ang tindahan ng buko pie --- lahat kasi gustong bumili. And because there are 6 convoy cars, kapag huminto ang isa hihinto ang lahat.

We stopped at another Shell station in Silang, Cavite. My aunts saw a store in which pineapples are sold at 3 pieces for 20 pesos, so every family spent 20 pesos. Haha. Kuya Ding parted as we exited Sta. Rosa Laguna. Then, Ate Jhaymee also parted with us at QC.

4 cars left. We bid farewells to each other at NLEx Petron station, and then we parted ways with them as we took San Simon, Pampanga exit on our way to Cabanatuan. Back home.


It was another happy memory. NEXT STOP? Boracay na daw.

And at last, they made a plan in Bora --- sana naman matuloy.