Row, Row, Row The Boat

3 47

Written by

Poet lost in the void

2 years ago

It is a personal experience as a fur mom travelling with Moshi for the first time.

Most of the time, our family gathers during the Fiesta in our province, not only to celebrate but also to have our family reunion once in a while. This year is different as I am officially a fur mom and I am also travelling with my friend and Moshi's little brother; Beau and the two kittens, Oreo and Presto. It was a 4 days and 3 nights vacation. In the van, Moshi and Beau were restless, we made them drink an anti-dizziness medicine before the trip.

Since we don't own a house in Batangas, I am expecting for the situation to be difficult because there are a lot of family members that we need to consider, and most of them don't own a pet. The day came when we were in Batangas. As expected, I told you, we were informed by my mom that Moshi, Beau, Oreo and Presto cannot be brought inside the house. Our plan was to rent a room in the nearby resort to also have our freedom. It was expensive and not practical but at least we won't need to leave our babies outside. Then another problem arises, we informed them late and the rooms were no longer available or it was hard to get there since it was already dark. We had decided to sleep outside with our pets. Our auntie's house had an open nipa hut.

I think out of pity, my aunt and uncle told us that we can bring the pets inside their home. We were sorry for the inconvenience we caused them and to our relatives. We found it hard to sleep during that night since Moshi kept barking at every movement she heard. I felt pity for her as well since every time she barks, I have to cover her mouth so that we will not disturb those who are asleep. I just talked to her and promised that we will look for a comfortable place to stay tomorrow.

The Fiesta

The next day is the day of Fiesta. We woke up early to watch the roro (a race among the boats). It was Moshi's first time to see an ocean. I was actually expecting that she would be happy and excited as I usually see online. She was rather afraid and restless for the unfamiliar scene. I even bought her a 5 mm leash so that she can swim far from me, I let Beau use it but he is also scared. HAHA! After watching the roro, we rode the family's boat. Supposedly, me and my friend will not join as we thought that it will cause harm and irritation to our pets. Good thing, we were informed by my cousin that they will not.

Seeing Moshi ride a boat for the first time made me happy. She was just calm and enjoying the view. I can see her wide smile. It was such a fulfilling feeling.

Going back to the place we're staying at, there was a lot of menu to choose from, as expected on a provincial Fiesta. Our babies of course were not left out. Whatever we have, they will also have a share. It was a fun and tiring day. My mother told us that instead of paying for a room rental, she talked to one of my uncles for us to stay there. I also decided to give something in return, though it was not required but we were causing too much trouble. The night went by so fast, we were in a deep sleep. We had our typical breakfast and were shocked by the high intensity of the earthquake. Luckily, it didn't last long. Due to that, the oldies hesitated to push through with our planned outing at Little Boracay.

As hard as a rock, I told them that me and my friend will still go as we were really looking forward to it. I even bought a swimsuit! HAHA. I don't want to show any attitude but hey, my cousins agreed to that.

So here it goes, after the majority won, my mom, aunt and eldest cousin went to the market to buy the food we needed. Around 8AM we were packed and ready to go.

The Struggles of not having an early reservation

My eldest cousin told us ahead of time that she knew someone in Little Boracay and we won't need to make an early reservation, as she will take care of it and ask for a discount. We were complacent that everything would go smoothly. However when we arrived at Calatagan, we were informed that there were no rafts available at the time since it is per reservation. Another option we had is to go to Matabungkay, Batangas, but they refused as we visited the area more than 5 times already and they want to explore for more.

As per the friend of my eldest cousin, there were still resorts near the area that we might want to try. We agreed since there were no options left. For another hour, we followed her friend until I didn't know where. It is a new resort and there's nothing special about it. We are still in Calatagan, though. But, even the locals in my family were not familiar with the area. It was a very quiet area with less people, understandable since the resort was only open for no less than a year.

We asked the personnel at the resort what activities we can do there. They mentioned that we can rent a boat to go to Little Boracay. My friend and siblings agreed to rent a boat along with our other relatives, of course without leaving Moshi and Beau behind. It was a smooth ride going to Little Boracay, but at the time of our visit, it was hightide so the sandbar was nowhere to be found. I would say that Little Boracay is typically the same as Matabungkay. There's no doubt about how beautiful the ocean was, but it was crowded with tourists at the time we went there.

When we went back to the resort we were scammed by the boat rider as they were charging us more than what we discussed and we didn't even finish the supposed tour package of the rental. My eldest cousin tried to be the middleman since we were starting to fire up, but with no help. The boat rider was firm about the charge and we just sighed it off rather than making the situation worse. We just enjoyed ourselves swimming and taking photos at the resort. My little cousins played "patintero" in the sand. I wouldn't say it was the best experience during the trip, but at least we were able to bond and play with our family members.

It was not an overnight stay, so at 6PM we were packed and ready to go. We took a few family photos, then drove off. Back at my aunt's home, my eldest cousin bought a "lomi", as she promised to my younger siblings. We went to bed early since we will leave Batangas tomorrow morning. That concludes Moshi's first trip to the ocean.Looking forward to the next one.