Visiting Jones, Isabela

Two years ago, we traveled to the hometown of my partner's mom to visit his ailing grandmother. This article was published in my other blog site (click here) and reposted here. All contents are mine.

Taking a break from work and the city life, our itchy feet took us to one of the rural municipalities of Isabela, which is Jones.

Isabela is an 8-hour travel by bus from Baguio City. It could take you longer than that depending on the traffic along some parts of the route going to Isabela. However, you can cut your travel time in half if you take the Ambuklao Road. This province is the second largest in the Philippines. I spent four years of my high school in one of its municipalities and frequently visits one of its cities but my visits have become rarer as the years went by. The last time I was here was probably 8 years ago.

This time, my visit took us to a place I have only heard of but have never been to.

We took a night travel by bus from Baguio City and arrived at Santiago City around 5:00 a.m. Stepping out of the bus and smelling and feeling the familiar warm scent of the place brings back memories. We ate breakfast in one of the 24-hour fastfoods there and then took the first trip of utility vans going to Jones.

We passed by rolling fields of rice and corn kissed by the morning sun patiently rising up to give a beautiful warm morning and life is rising up with it. It is a big difference when you are used to the life in the city where there is always something going on day and night. In the provinces, there is peace and quiet that you can see and feel.

It is another one-and-a-half hours travel from Santiago City to Jones market where we waited yet again for the van going to our final destination. That will be the last ride we will take to reach our destination. We then decided to buy food and groceries while waiting for our ride.

We arrived early and we had to wait an hour or so for the first trip and then another 45 minutes for the van to be filled with passengers. What other way to while the time than to take photos.

These earthenware are displayed behind one of the eateries. A lady asked me why I was taking photos and I smiled and told her I like how they look and she laughed, probably weirded out what is there to like about them.

I find that dogs and kids have similarities. Just give them a treat and you are the best of friends later on just like what I did to this stray dog and the kid of the other store. I shared Oreos with them and they loved it and kept coming back for more. This dog was not that friendly at first.

I decided to just divide the remaining cookies between them. I'm not sure if this is a stray dog but it seems to be friendly enough once I gave the cookies.

Maybe some of you are wondering and probably concerned about safety and such when you see this photo. This is a common thing here in the Philippines especially the provinces and far flung areas where transportation is limited.

Picture this car full of passengers/goods inside and on top traveling unpaved narrow roads and if it is in the mountains where paths are dangerously narrow and at the edge of a cliff, would you go for it? But that is just the way things are. People adapt and do what they can with what is available to them.

This jeepney is not even "full" because there is only one passenger sitting at the hood and I can still see some spaces on top.

Utilizing this kind of transportation, one would have to let go of fear and all thoughts of what if. It is "safer" here in the lowlands because the roads although unpaved and rough are wider and no cliffs to worry about.

Even vans were customized with carrier to carry people if there are no luggage to be placed on top. We rode on top of a van when we went home.

Here we passed by fields and fields of corn, cassava plants, and other crops. It is planting season so most of the fields are bare.

The further we are from the market, the roads became rougher and rougher. Some portions of the road are cemented but it is mainly for the purpose of drying crops.

We arrived at my friend's aunt's house. The main reason of our visit is to check on my friend's grandmother who is in her 90s. He has not seen her in a long time and it was a tearful and happy reunion. Her memory is already failing to almost gone but she is still delightful to talk to. She can no longer walk because her hips are weak. She is well taken care of to the best of her family's ability.

It was almost lunch by the time we arrived. Meals were prepared and we ate then rested for a bit.

Hand water pump such as this is where the source of water come from for cooking to bathing to laundry and a setup such as this is where you can do all those things.

Cooking using wood is still practiced even though there is stove and gas available. There are still sources of firewood around that the locals can get from. I remember when we were kids when we go home to our grandparents that we were asked to gather wood near their homes. Sometimes we picked wood along the way and carry them home if we go to their gardens. Mostly these are used to cook food for their pets such as pigs and dogs. Sometimes it is for cooking food when gas ran out.

When the temperature drops, we like to gather around the fire and warm ourselves while drinking hot beverages.

The only problem with this is that the washing of the pots later on.

I was browsing through my photos and only now noticed that a cat was enjoying the heat from the fire. This cat found a happy place.

After our lunch, we rested for a bit and me and friend went to the river a few meters from the house. Once again, the kid in us reveled in this paradise.

My friend's uncle showed us where to swim and cautioned us not to go to the deep waters because just recently a kid drowned there. It is the belief that the river "takes" people. Belief such as this is common I guess because of the fact that even the experienced ones can drown.

We swam to our hearts content. We enjoyed it a lot such that we did not mind the heat which caused us to have sunburns later on. Thankfully, it was an overcast day that once in a while the sun will take a peek which makes the heat bearable. We did not even mind the time because my friend's uncle would have to come calling for us. He had been to town and back only to find us still swimming in the river. We went home only to realize that they were concerned because we were gone for a long time.

We then rested and spent one night then headed back home the next morning. We wanted to be early to catch the earliest ride to take us to town, travel to the city and then wait for a bus going back to Baguio.

I woke up to a beautiful warm sunny morning, promising a lovely day.

Life is simple in the province (or wherever you are) because there is nothing else you can ask for if you know what you are doing. We picked fresh vegetables planted around the house. We even drank coconut water from coconuts picked from the trees near the house. There are other fruit bearing trees but it is not their season yet. All those are for free.

The majority of houses are still built with wood as the second floor and concrete as the base. This is the way of building houses, an upgrade from the traditional nipa hut.

We passed by the town's cemetery which is just beside the road. I bet tales of ghosts from the locals are aplenty. Imagine yourself passing by this area in the dead of the night.

It was a quiet and peaceful break away from work, from stress, from unending man-made noise. The sounds of animals and insects is a pleasant welcome. It is during these times that I feel alive and enjoy and appreciate and be grateful of simple and small things.

Take a break. Everyone deserves to have one. One day, two days. It does no matter. Go places. Enjoy the things in life that are free.

Thanks for dropping by. See you on the next article!