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Published: April 15th 2008
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Finally, I was bound for Boracay Island and its famous pristine beaches. I took an air-conditioned ALPS bus going to Iloilo at the huge provincial bus terminal in Cubao Quezon City. The terminal itself is a living proof that this country is alive and well and is busy (24/7) to attain socio-economic prosperity. Giant buses were lined up at the huge parking lot of the terminal, waiting for passengers bound for the provinces south of Manila. People from all walks of life filled every available shaded space in the terminal. It was hot that day when I boarded the Iloilo-bound bus. My plan was to go to Caticlan, Aklan. From there, I would take a boat going to Boracay island. On the map of the Philippines, Boracay lies at the northeasternmost tip of Panay Island. It was a long trip. The bus first negotiated the heavily-crowded south expressway going to the province of Batangas. After a stopover at the bus's own terminal in Batangas near the Port of Batangas, we immediately drove inside the Port, where we stopped at the main gate and a security personnel boarded for security check and to count the number of passengers on board. Then on
to the port, where we were supposed to ride in a ferry owned by Montenegro Lines. This was my first experience riding in a ferry and heading through the choppy waters of the China Sea. Our bus, together with other provincial buses bound for Panay Island, were driven one after the other inside the huge ferry. The passenger fare that I paid at the bus terminal in Cubao included the fare for the ferry. All in all, the fare totaled over a thousand pesos. The sheer weight of the ferry as it crossed through the sea kept it stable and balanced all through the night. Inside the ferry, we never felt the effect of choppy waves or experienced any rough rough-and-shaky moment. There were a lot of passengers inside the ferry. We just sat at the rows of seats at the deck area and waited for the ferry to reach and find its destination. There was a small canteen inside the air-conditioned section of the ferry, where noodles, drinks, mineral waters, coffee and other essential items are sold. When I felt the pang of hunger as the evening got late, I joined the others who bought noodles and bread and
drinks. I ate the noodles and it felt good especially when warm breeze from the sea kept you fresh and energized. Up at the corner of the passenger lounge, there was a videoke machine where any passenger can share with the others in singing selected songs at five pesos a song to while away the hours. The loud music somehow competed with the roar of the ferry engine. But I did not take the the time to analyze whether the music or the loud engine noise was bothering me or serenading me as I was still feasting on this rare experience of having finally boarded a real ferry deep in the heart of South China Sea. I thought I saw no one bothered by any minute inconvenience that might pop up every now and then. In fact, I saw eagerness and smile in the faces of these people as they shared space with other people from other provinces. I took a light nap and for all I knew, we were already near the Port of Mindoro in Calapan. And we're still hours away to our destination. For me, Caticlan was my destination, as I was bound for Boracay Island. I was not the only one bound for Boracay aboard the airconditioned ALPS bus. There were others who looked like tourists and visitors from other countries and provinces who were also destined to the famed beaches of this popular island. From the Port of Mindoro, the bus again roared into action and negotiated the sometimes rough and zigzagged highways of mindoro. The bus was running late so it had to go a little faster, negotiate the curving sections of the road a little rougher. I had to hold on to the handle infront of me so that I won't fall off my seat whenever the bus abruptly swerved to the left or swerved to the right. But this kind of driving could be forgiven, especially when we finally reached another port at the other tip of Mindoro. I guess this was the port in Oriental Mindoro, where after a few bureaucratic hassles, like paying the terminal fee and writing your name on the ship manifest, and searching for the right ferry, we're finally bound for the huge island of Panay, and to Caticlan, where another boat was waiting for us, going to the famed isle of Boracay. All in all, being in Boracay and reaching this island after a back-breaking trip, was all worth it. It can be said that being in this island can be considered a personal achievement, that anything in life can be conquered and made to happen, for as long as there is a will and there is a way. Fo me that way is this highway, which the people in this part of the country has known to be the Nautical Highway of a Strong Republic.
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