atin-atin lang

last weekend i went with some of my workmates/friends to Buruanga, Aklan which is the town next to Malay (where Caticlan is). i was invited by one of our workers to their barrio chapel’s mini-fiesta celebration. one of the perks of living away from Manila is getting to travel cheap to many previously unvisited places.

i’ve heard about the place Buruanga a lot of times at work since most of our locally-hired workers come from that mountainous town. about an hour’s bus ride away from Caticlan, Buruanga seems like your ideal rice-planting town at the foot of forested mountains. the pastoral scenes were quite refreshing, much different from the beach vistas that i have here on Boracay (not that i’m complaining). the ’syano in me was very happy and excited to visit a place such as this, which reminded me of my parents’ hometowns in Leyte.

my host lives in Barrio Nazareth, about 20mins from the town center via semi-rough roads on a single motorcyle. there are much fewer houses and most of them are built of wood and nipa, although some were also of concrete (a status symbol in the provinces). this is a place where everybody knows everybody and almost all are related by blood or affinity.
having arrived at around 2pm, we were served lunch (although we already ate before leaving Boracay).

i took a walk around the area after eating my second lunch. i found myself getting invited by another co-worker to his barkada’s hangout and was served fresh BJ (buko juice! what else? hahaha!) and freshly cooked biko. talk about binging. as long as it’s free! soon after, we heard the sounds of singing nearby. i thought that somebody was having a party somewhere in the barrio.

i later found out that it was coming form my host’s house. apparently, a cabinet in the living room was opened to reveal their "hi-tech" videoke setup wherein we would select and program songs via remote control. kahit dito na lang ako sa sala magdamag, ok na. videoke is one of the things that make my day and help me unwind. solved na ako rito! and what would a party be wthout the booze? of course, beer and brandy were almost instantly served. not too keen on hard drinks, i stuck to beer (Gold Eagle, pare). i realized that that particular brand tastes better than SMB or Beer na Beer (which was later served in the evening).

activities lined up for the following day included light trekking/mountain hiking and swimming. we started out late since i wanted to enjoy an undisturbed sleep (i was on vacaton anyway). we took off around 10am and began our slow trek up a nearby mountain traversing a very stony river. the scene here can be the same as in other mountain rivers — huge boulders, a canopy of trees above (almost covering the width of the narrow river, only 10 meters or less), and cool, clean water. after about 30 minutes of balancing ourselves atop those stones and boulders, we reached the waterfall area and lingered there awhile, dipping in the basin and taking pictures of ourselves. at around lunch time, a companion arrived with fresh coconut and everyone feasted.

the smaller of the 2 waterfalls in that area was like a hydromassage jet and we took turns at getting our muscles battered or caressed (whichever you prefer) by it. my tummy looked as if it was slapped a hundred times after the "massage." it was soothing and painful at the same time. sarap! we went further upstream and we reached a taller waterfall with cascades and decided it was another perfect photo-op. click-away! all this time i was wondering how we would go back to "base" as we have climbed pretty high already and the boulders that we passed looked scary to descend. our "guide," a 10-year-old boy, suggested that we take get off at the next trail that leads to their house — and back to "base."

it sounded like a better idea and we all agreed. i soon discovered that the path would be equally challenging as it would take us along a ravine above the river and it was less than a foot wide! i was half-praying and half-excited the whole time. good thing that the vegetation blocked the view of how high above the river we were. i would’ve crawled my way back! or maybe not. hahaha. there were parts of the trail where the climb was almost vertical. Extra Challenge talaga. but it was all worth it. i wouldn’t mind doing something like that again in the future. the view at the top of that path was magnificent: the trees on the mountainside, the breeze, the gushing river below, and the sparkling blue sea beyond the mountains. What a feeling!

it was downhill from there and we passed rice paddies, grazing cows & carabaos, and swine and poultry freely roaming. once back at the house, it was eating time once more and we were well-fed, as usual. another round of drinking ensued but i decided i would have less this time to avoid another hangover the following day. i made another discovery: Gran Matador Brandy tastes a lot better than Emperador Brandy. another piece of useful information. hehehe. all the day’s activities brought me down so i turned in early(?) at around 9pm.

we left for Boracay the next morning at around 5 to make it to work at 8am. mondays are very busy at the Caticlan Jetty Port as most of the workers in Boracay troop back to the island early, coming from nearby barrios and neighboring towns. some of these places i intend to visit next, given the chance.

barely a week since my weekend break in Buruanga, another instant vacation is looming ahead since wo don’t have work tomorrow and on saturday. there will be a Chairman’s Cup Golf Tournament here at Fairways & Bluewater and all construction activities will be minimized if not totally stopped. that means i don’t have work

i want to go to Iloilo and tour their heritage sites and sample their cuisine! it’s just a 5-hour bus ride from Caticlan anyway. i got in touch with a friend who’s based there to ask if she could accommodate me but she’s unforunately unavailable this weekend. bummer! looks like that trip will have to wait until my next break, hopefully next month before i vacation in Manila for the holidays.

meanwhile, i’ll probably just stick to the sea and sand at White Beach and savor Boracay some more. buti na lang tourist season na.