Holy Road Trip 2007 - Day 1

Holy Road Trip 2007

Day 1 (Maundy Thursday, April 5, 2007)

With my housemates Roy, Red, Klark & Argus (our Siberian Husky comrade), we embarked on an unplanned trip to spend our country’s version of US’ Thanksgiving Weekend – the HOLY WEEK. It was supposed to be a Northern and Central Luzon trek with the likes of Baguio, Pagudpud, Pampanga and Hundred Islands as our itinerary, but laziness, unfamiliarity with geography, our desire to see our family, not to mention budgetary considerations, got the better of us and we settled on a more familiar and closer route to Laguna and Quezon. We left the condo around 5pm on board a borrowed gray 4-door Toyota RAV4 which comfortably accommodated the four of us and gave ample space for Argus at the back baggage section of the SUV.

I guess we traveled late and everyone came ahead of us because there are very few vehicles on the road, traceless of the typical rush-hour EDSA scene. So Red swoop the road like bread-knife cutting through fresh tofu, while Klark and I sit quietly at the backseat half-sleepy and oftentimes struggling, arms against fangs, to keep Argus from trying to get to our seat. First stop of the day was South Super Highway’s Petron Station, representative of Philippines newest hit travel culture and an offshoot of Filipino’s malling phenomenon - the Expressway Food Stops. So there we were at Starbuck’s bench for a hefty 45-minute stop, sipping frappucino, people-watching and planning our trip. Then we were back on the road to the next stop.

San Pablo City, Red’s Residence – We were welcomed by Red’s mom, dad and brother, in full smile and a unique Tagalog-accent typical of our kababayan’s in Laguna, Batangas and Quezon. With the barking of a couple of ‘askals’ on the background, the meet and greet session started and lasted a little less than one hour. Argus found some new playmates and being a work-dog that he is, has been running around non-stop chasing a new furry Pomeranian girlfriend named “Bangs”. As we left, we said goodbye to Argus, as he is going to stay put for the rest of the trek (sorry buddy). Then off to the road again.

Next scheduled stop was the beach resorts of Sariaya, Quezon, situated just before the town plaza. But the ‘sleepyhead guide’ (me) missed the sign and we instead ended up in front of St. Francis of Assisi Church of Sariaya, perfect place for the much needed pee-break. Armed with a digital SLR camera and a Nokia N-73 Camera Phone, Roy and I took pictures of the church’s well-lit interiors and the biblical scenes vividly sculpted representing the Stations of the Cross. The church houses the miraculous icon of Sto. Cristo from Burgos, Spain. We spent a few minutes to kneel, pray and relieve our spiritual need, plus a few more minutes to drop our zippers and relieve our biologic need, and we were back on the road tracing the missed turn.

It took us 45 minutes from the church to reach the shores of Sariaya and approached Dalampasigan Beach Resort. By the looks of it, with the parking space almost filled to capacity, we came too late. True enough we were told that they’re already full and cannot accept anymore guests for the night. With that dilemma, we were directed to check out Paraiso Beach Resort just beside Dalampasigan. At around midnight we started pitching our camping tent beside our P800 worth beachside canopied bench and table right at beach-front of the resort. And while the resort’s name promises some pristine time with nature, we were instead left to catch sleep at our tent and endure a collage of annoying sounds coming drunkards singing karaoke at the restaurant and the occasional laughter and screams coming from a bunch of guests sitting along the shore while staring at a campfire. Who said this trip is going to be easy anyways?