Road Trip

So, what's new?
We travelled 1100 kilometers by land.
Can you imagine how long we've been sitting on our butts?
We left Saturday Morning at about 3AM. It was still dark but I know we could handle navigating the first stretch. When the sun rose, we were already at Quezon Province. I've been there a couple of times before but haven't reached the boundaries. It was a grueling ride! The road is awful, much like the surface of the moon! To make things worse, there were no restaurants opened at 7am. Good thing we saw a roadside eatery called Delicious. As usual, I ended up ordering Wanton Noodle Soup which is my favorite. I didn't expect the food to be that good. I particularly liked the egg noodle and the wanton with the shitake mushrooms in it.
As we went on our way, I realized that we had to go through the zigzag road along the mountain. I didn't get to sleep through the whole trip. We passed by the fishing villages of Gumaca, Quezon, the coconut plantations of Camarines Sur, and some other scenic places.
It was 11AM when we finally reached Naga City. We were able to get accomodations at Naga Regent Hotel, by far the best hotel we could find in the city.
The wedding's at 2Pm so I immediately started preparing. Jayson took longer to get ready. I was starting to get frantic when we couldn't find the church. When we got to the church, I thought that the mass has started already which really made me pissed. Good thing it was the wrong church. We were lucky enough to reach Our Lady of Penafrancia Basilica. The reception was held at an indoor garden more similar to the place where we got married. We don't know most of the people around so were seated with a couple of locals. It was a beautiful wedding full of traditions and love overwhelming. It was worth the trip.

Sunday morning, we left Naga and headed further south to see the infamous Mayon Volcano. We made a stop at the Cagsawa Ruins (an old Spanish Colonial church that got buried during the volcano's eruption in the early 1700's ) where all that is left was the bell tower. It was a little cloudy when we got there so we never really saw the peak of Mayon until later in the afternoon.
Then we went on to find the white sand beach of Masibis. The way to Masibis was steep. After reaching the end of the road, they said that we have to take our vehicle with us on a ferry ride across the river because there's still 5 more kilometers of driving before we reach the place. We chickened out and couldn't take that risk. We headed back, disappointed and a little rattled about the situation. We passed by the beaches of Kalaykai and Bacacay where the water is clear but the sand is so black. Far from what we had in mind. It was getting dark and we just wanted to find a place to stay. We were lucky enough to find a decent and private resort in Mullner's. We went for a swim in the warm water and dark night. I didn't stay long because I felt my face burning and itching from the saltiness of the water.

Monday morning, we woke up early hoping to have a clear view of Mayon volcano but it rained on the most opportune time. I'm afraid that it was going to be a bad day to travel. After breakfast, we started heading home. Our tank's almost empty and we couldn't find a nearby gas station that accepts credit cards so we had no choice but to pay in cash and sacrifice our lunch money. I was the one navigating so I chose the shorter road to take. It was too late to turn back when we realized that we will be travelling for hours in a road beside the mountain cliffs of Iriga. I couldn't move or say a word. There was silence in the car. I guess we all got petrified when we saw that we had to pass by the eroded part of the mountain. It was like being in Jurasic Park without the dinosaurs. I saw the Island of Catanduanes on my right side with the white sand we were dreaming of. The view was breathtaking but still, I couldn't even move a finger to get a shot. Is this the way that I'm going to die? I started praying to all the angels and saints to keep us safe! My gosh, it was the most exciting and horrific part of the trip! I never doubted Jayson's driving abilities, and I know that was the time to believe in him. We got to the plains safely, and God granted us with sunny skies through the whole time we were at the mountain. I've never been so happy to see rice fields again in my life! It was already night time when we reached the nearest City which is Lucena. Famished and tired, we screamed at the sight of Max's Fried Chicken. After that, the trip home seemed faster. We reached Manila after 12 hours of road trip. I'm just so glad to be home!