Tuesday, April 29, 2008

There is no summer without the beach!

This year, as part of our 23rd wedding anniversary and birthday celebration of my wife, we all went up north to a town called Bangui, some thirty minutes away from Pagudpud. It is where the clouds and the sea meet, where the winds break ceaselessly for hours making waves upon waves rush to shore to get some sand perhaps to transform it into salt and the night as silent as can be where one can hear an ant sigh if one really tried very hard. But not during those four days and three nights we have been around. We played and partied all night long that had we been doing these in Manila, the neighbors would have been throwing stones at our roof already.

family picture



We left at 10:00 pm and arrived there at 6 am ever thankful that the Yamaha guitar which I had to buy for Uncle Faer was still scratchless as the day I bought it for him. Surprisingly, it was not an uncomfortable ten-hour trip that I dreaded would happen as I am not fond of very long trips.
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me and Uncle Faer


The stop overs were just right when I needed them and besides, the bus had its own toilet (just to pee, thank you). There was enough leg room and the chairs were comfortable enough. We saw Uncle Peping who hurriedly met us as we alighted from the bus. He is an 87 year old farmer who commands his carabao in english, much to the delight of the kids.

Uncle Peping tending to his hay



We were immediately treated to a festive breakfast at Doc Rolly's house hosted by his lovely wife, Mimi, while at the other house, Uncle Faer's alalays were already preparing for lunch. Uncle Faer is the youngest of the brood in my mother-in-law's family. He is a retired navy who retired at the age of 44 and worked for the US Post Office where he also retired. He is a no nonsense guy who knows what he wants and has to have it at all costs. He just lost his wife this year which prompted his family to come over and bury her remains here as she wished. As the children are now working, they have all returned to the States while their dad chose to remain here being attended to by a number of alalays who cook, clean and run errands for him.

the cousins with the alalays




After lunch, the kids took off for the windmills, the latest addition to the town's otherwise plain topography. I failed to go with them as I was having a chat with our very gracious host, playing for him some kundimans that I can still play with my guitar. Bringing my guitar pieces was a good move after all, in spite of the bulk.

the latest touch of technology



The following day, we rented a mini bus to take us farther north near the border of Cagayan. We crossed the Patapat bridge and went to Agua Grande just for some photo ops as the kids were not interested in swimming there. Then we headed off to Saud Beach Resort where the kids opted to stay overnight.

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the cousins in a Pagudpud hotel



The following day, we just bummed around playing poker. The boys opted to go out with their cousin EJ to experience whatever is happening at the town as they celebrated the town's fiesta. We had a wonderful time!

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's obvious how fun this trip was for your family! I miss family outings like this. :) Thanks for sharing your stories. Loved the windmill pic!

Mec said...

una.... sana wag lumala sakit mo at gumaling ka na

ikalawa... panalo yung picture of the man and the hay... as in panalo!!!

{illyria} said...

i'm so jealous. i, for one, live for sun, sand and sea. it's heartbreaking not being able to go to the beach.

but you guys look stoked! loving the photos.

rolly said...

Toni We sure did. What is sad is that the kids are all grown up now and soon, they will have their own gimmicks. Hirap na nga kaming magsama-sana for a long time now eh.

mec I'm doing okay now, thanks.

Parang painting ni Amorsolo no? That was taken by my eldest son.

illyria I can tell from your posts that you are a sun worshipper. You still have more than a month to go to Boracay or El Nido :-)

rolly said...

Toni We sure did. What is sad is that the kids are all grown up now and soon, they will have their own gimmicks. Hirap na nga kaming magsama-sana for a long time now eh.

mec I'm doing okay now, thanks.

Parang painting ni Amorsolo no? That was taken by my eldest son.

illyria I can tell from your posts that you are a sun worshipper. You still have more than a month to go to Boracay or El Nido :-)

RJ said...

obvious naman na enjoy kayo ng family sa mga pictures nyo. hindi pa ako nakakapunta ng pagudpod, sulit ba ang 10-hour trip? hehehe.

Anonymous said...

Ten hours and you survived! That means I can survive the 5-hour drive to Dumaguete. I've not made a land trip for so long and I'm a bit apprehensive.

And I really admire your Uncle Peping! Still up and about at that age! My hats off to him!

Panaderos said...

That was a great family vacation, Rolly! Glad to know you got to spend some fun and quality times with your wife, kids, and relatives. I love the kids' photo by the windmills. I guess those windmills are starting to be such a tourist attraction there while at the same time, generating much needed clean energy for the people of Ilocos. Nice. :)

Anonymous said...

happy anniversary ulit sa inyo ni tita nitz!

batjay said...

ang sarap naman ng bakasyon ninyo bossing. dapat talaga sasamantalahin ang oras kasama ang pamilya dahil darating ang araw, isa isa na silang aalis sa bahay mo.

ayzprincess said...

wow tito rolly! ang saya saya naman nito! nakakainggit! hehehe

im supposed to go to pagudpod two weeks from now too, with friends, but i think we're going to la union and baguio instead as we dont have much time to spend din..

Anonymous said...

When I first saw your pic. I notice your sunken eyes and wondered if you’re alright. Then Mec’s comment confirmed my suspicion. What ever it is Ka Rolly, I hope you’ll recover soon.

What caught my eyes are the windmills. Meron na palang ganyan sa atin. If you don’t mind Ka Rolly, do you know the cost and the capacity of each windmill?

rolly said...

rj sulit na sulit at ang ganda ng beach. Tip ko, wag pupunta dun ng holiday. Maraming tao.

bugsy Uncle Peping is quite a character. Always try to talk to me but he doesn't know tagalog and I don't speak Ilocano. He tries his best to talk in english and we get by. He's 87 years old with a heart of a sixty year old.

Panaderos My wife's cousin, Uncle Faer's son, corrected me by saying those are wind turbines actually but because the folks there and even the media call it windmills, then windmills they are.

mari Thanks din ulit :-)

batjay sinabi mo pa. Actually, that will be my next post.

ayzprincess Actually wala yan sa lugar kundi sa company mo. the most elegant place will mean nothing if you do not have your loved ones to share it with.

rolly said...

Blogusvox I'm perfectlyalright now. It was just a threatened flu maybe brought about by the gust of wind in the area.

My wife's cousin, Tony, corrected me by saying these are actually wind turbines but since locals and media calls them windmills, then they are. Sorry, I don't know their capacity and cost.

ipanema said...

Pagudpud is beautiful! Now, it's great that you've taken time off with the children.

happy weekend! :)