Road Trip to Unknown : Off the beaten path

Hello once again fellow Readers! It is Friday finally! We will be having a break from our usual work ain't that exciting? What is your plan this weekend?

Have you tried going on a blind date? No. This one is not going to be about a blind date. But we know what a blind date is like, right? Meet with a person you hardly know most likely set up by common friends.

Before everything else... check these beautiful people out and their works ;)

Would you go on a blind road trip? It is pretty much the same as the blind date except this is with a group and it is a road trip rather than a romantic dinner or an awkward romantic dinner or just an awkward dinner. So it is a gamble for a fun weekend with strangers or a disastrous weekend with strangers.

What you know prior to the trip

• You know the time and date of departure.

• You know the meeting place where the van will pick the group up

• The things you need to bring to the trip.

• The name of the organizers - four in their team to be exact.

• The exact number of joiners.

What you do not know prior to the trip

• The destination itself

• The activity. Although you will pretty much have a clue from the must-bring items you will receive prior to the trip.

The Decision

Way back some years ago at exactly July 30 to July 31. I joined one program of the group that organizes such. I have been seeing their ads for a long time already and decided it is time to set it.

My appetite for thrill-seeking then was high. I also wanted to try going on a trip solo. Well, this one was semi-solo since I will be with a group. And the itinerary also was already set for us so I did not have to think. I pretty much just have to get myself and my stuff ready, be in the meeting place at the right time, muster up the courage and the mood to talk to people (challenging my anti-social self) because you would not want to be the spoil sport and follow the itinerary set. Besides, it is just over the weekend. Registered. Confirmed. Paid for. Booked. and I'm off.

The Trip

If I remember correctly, I only knew four (4) names from the organizing committee before the trip. Person One was from the receiving end of my registration. Person Two was the one who confirmed my booking and payment. Person Three and Person Four were our travel ambassadors who accompanied us the whole way towards the destination somewhere and back.

We only got to meet Person Three and Person Four.

Eton Centris is always the meeting place for people going on a trip joining another group. We were there at around Maybe because of the spacious lot area where vans can park. Arriving at the place and not knowing what to look for was half and half exciting and worrisome. We got the numbers of Person Three and Four. They gathered us inside for a little warm up and getting to know and maybe ease a little tension. That was 3am in the morning Saturday. Conversations were starting, everyone is trying to squeeze information from Person Three and Person Four but they were good at keeping it a secret.

Oh yes, there is a Person Five. The driver. We also tried to chat up the driver to tell us where we are going. But wow! He was also mum about it.

We get clues along the way when the vans started to pull out. But with a 3 am meeting time, most of us were beat. The best way to dodge conversations with strangers on a trip is to sleep. So we slept it off. Only waking up for the last stop where we can get a pee break according to the driver because the rest of the way we will go driving non stop.

The drive went on until we were at the port of Atimonan, Quezon. So we now know we are in Quezon but the trip did not stop there. We took a ferry to the Island of Alabat.

None of us have been there so the oohs and the aahs were there. We started registration with the tourism office and slowly the itinerary unfolded before us. Since it was with partnership with Canon Philippines we had a little workshop included in the itinerary. It was a photo walk workshop so wherever we go we were expected to keep shooting. And master Jijo will have a look at our shots after. It was a fun learning from these ambassadors.

We went to a bee farm. We were told about how they get the honey. I cannot remember everything we were told. As far as I know we were a bit scared haha. While the local farmers were doing demos, we were inside the hut with the protection of a net.

We went to the coco sugar farm as well. We had interesting time seeing the coco sap turn to sugar. The sap gets filtered. Sap gets heated turning to a syrup. Syrup dries up. Et voila! Sugar!

Then we went to the beach. The final swim was on the second day before we left for travel back to Manila. The first trip to the shore was just to check it out. Along the way to the beach we saw local pets.

 They do not have a sandy beach front. It's rocky almost from the start.

We were busy going about the whole day with lots of laughter. But the story telling got better during dinner time. The group got along which is nice.

The Verdict

All in all, it was a fun experience! The thrill was there and I am mighty glad I decided to push going. Security-wise had it not been with partnership with another entity, I am not sure if I would be going. That fact was an add-on to why I finally decided to go.

So would you?

Thank you for taking time to read !

© Pichi28

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