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Published: September 14th 2007
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May is the time of most festivities in the Philippines. "Fiesta". Many people from the cities would usually take time off to attend their town fiestas in the provinces. I went to visit a friend (whose only daughter is also my godchild). My friend Emie's cousin, Lina was also going home to Homonhon Island for the May fiesta. I took the land trip with her, with her son Nathan, and nephew Rigel.
We took the Eagle Bus Transport. I almost backed out of the trip because the bus was "fully loaded" on the aisle. Passengers had a lot of things, boxes they put within their seats and on the aisle. And some passenger were arguing with Lina that our seat were theirs. It looked confusing inside the bus. But I thought of my friend and wanting to visit her. I haven't seen her since she left Manila about four years ago.
Cellphone. The GSM service have not yet reached the remotest town in the country but I still brought along my Nokia5110. When there is signal, I can text or call my mom to tell her where we are.
I was asleep most of the time. I'd get
up when we had rest stops. We were suddenly awakened as we were cruising Quezon Province. The bus almost fell over the cliffside of the road. Before daybreak, we were in Matnog, Sorsogon; where you cross Luzon to Visayas via RoRo (Roll on, Roll off Ship, passengers at the top, vehicles at the bottom). I started taking pictures here when the sun was up. I was excited because it's my first time to cross Matnog.
After several hours, we were on the Visayas Island, on the town of Allen. I had to use the rest room in one of the restaurants by the port. There was just a hole and you pee or poo, I was looking down the sea and i can see fish swimming. I was staying awake because we are cruising along the coast but later fell asleep again. It was still a long trip from Western Samar to Eastern Samar. We arrived at 11pm that night. We went straight to sleep in a friend's house in jetty port Guiuan. The trip was about 30hours or more.
By morning we rode a motorized banca (outrigger boat) to Lina's town in Habag. There was no electricity
in the island of Homonhon. The locals have generators and some townsfolk subcribe to them so they have lights from 6pm-10pm everyday. So gas lamp was still used in this place in the 21st century. It's very basic but I managed it because I recall my camping days when we just have our flashlights and tent at night. It was "bisperas", the eve before the fiesta and activities are lined up for the night. The basketball tournament had begun and awarding was at the night of the fiesta. I was excited to look at their beach in Handig. It's a few minutes walk from the plaza. It was clear blue waters and white sand with huge rocks and a cliff. Swimming together (with the townsfolk) is after the fiesta.
I also got the chance to experience their town fiesta. But I just stayed up at Lina's house fronting the basketball court, watching at night when there were disco dancing and the famous "amenudo" dance. The "amenudo" dance is by partner, a man and a woman who dances spontaneously (they do have dance steps though). This also is a fund raising activity of the town (usuall for improvements of their
parish church). The chosen "amenudo" dancers flips paper money into the air and people on the sidelines also give money. Througout the night, the disco dancing alternates with "amenudo".
My friend Emie and her family went to Habag on the day of the fiesta. I was so happy to see her and her family. We went from house to house to eat, that's what's Philippine fiesta is, people open up their homes and serve food to everyonr during this time of year in their town. I still spent another night in Habag because I'm joing the townsfolk to the beach after the fiesta. After this, we went to Bitaugan Daku by banca (about two hours) the following day. I went there with Lina and her family and relatives.
On this island, their relationships are very close to distant, almost everyone is their relative from immediate family to second cousins, to his uncle is my grandfather's cousin or her sister is the daughter-in-law of my brother-in-laws' cousin. For the older generation such as Emie's and Lina's they knew almost all of their relatives from both sides of their parents as they grew up on the island.
I stayed
with Emie for the rest of my vacation in Homonhon Island. Her family's home is by the beach so i get to swim everyday (high tide). When it's low tide around lunch time until 4pm, the sea is far out. But it's also the time when Mark, Emie's husban would go out to the sea and catch fish and "lato" (seaweed) that we can have for lunch or dinner. I call their home the five star resort on Homonhon because their house is facing the sea while the other houses by the beach faces the road. Mark calls it APO Sanama Beach Resort. He also put a 3 par golf and at low tide, it's a driving range.
I went to Bitaugan Diyo's town fiesta too. We just walk going there about an hours walk through boulders by the shore. It's the town where Emie's ancestral house stands. We slept there overnight. We just spread mat or cloth over the wooden floor. The next stop is Culasi's fiesta, we rode a motorbike going there. We passed through the mountain, it's on the other side of the island facing Suriagao. It's a rough road and when we were going home
that day, we just walked through the rain. It was refreshing than if it wasn't raining. There was a school we passed through and the thing they call solar was up there.
I went back to Manila via plane. Emie and Lina accompanied me to Tacloban City in Leyte. We stayed for a night in Guiuan ( across Homomhon Island) at the Guiuan Pension. We had a city tour. We went to see Tanghay Lodge, the Bureau of Fisheries, the old airport (which is close). We left Guiuan before daybreak and the trip to Tacloban was more than four hours. The road was still under construction then and I got dizzy so I slept on Emie's lap. But I hardly was able to sleep because I can feel the bumpy road. The thing is as we passed through towns they are having their fiestas too and I can hear the "amenudo" song. I just told Emie to wake me up if we are near San Juanico Bridge.
San Juanico Bridge is the long and scenic bridge that links Samar and Leyte. It was a project of the former President Marcos (and his wife, Madam Imelda hails from Leyte).
It was truly awesome to see it the first time. It was still dark and the bridge lights are on. We stayed in a pension house as we wait for the day to begin. I was not able to get on the plane that day because it was fully booked. I was not able to make a reservation from Guiaun as the telecommunication at this time is still through a local telephone company where you line up and get to one of the telephone booth box to talk with someone outside the town. My cellphone was off during my visit to Emie in Homonhon Island.
We stayed for another night in Tacloban City. It was a good thing because I was able to have a city tour with them. We checked in at the Leyte Park Hotel, very good location and view by the bay. We visited the San Juanico Bridge, we asked permission from the police on duty if we can go up and take pictures and he let us walk up the bridge. We also went to the famous MacArthur Shrinein Palo. General Douglas MacArthur who said the famous line, "I shall return", during World War II.
And he indeed returned to the Philippines to help fight to free the country from Japanese occupation.
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grace elba padulaga
non-member comment
thank you!
im so happy to see photos of Homonhon island. My father is from Brgy. Canawayon, Homonhon. i spent few years myself in the island before i transfer school to FAMNCAT Guiuan just next to the airport. i have not been back since i graduated high school. I miss these places so much!!! i am home sick. i thank you for sharing the photos! thank you.