041322: My Short Trip to Albay

Hello! Long time no article postings here. I got so busy with my academic life, especially with thesis because our final defense is just around the corner. I also did prepare for my application for graduation and for the requirements for Civil Service Exam. Sadly though, I wasn't able to secure a slot but maybe next time. :)

For today's article I want to share my short trip to Albay last Wednesday, April 13, 2022. I was with my older brother and we travelled by his motorcycle. It was the longest motorcycle ride I had so far. The travel time from our province to Albay is usually five to six hours depending on the vehicle's speed and what type of vehicle you are going to use. I think we were able to get there after about five hours, because since it's Holy Week, we encountered people who were doing religious devotion or in Filipino language, we call it "pamamanata".

The reason why we traveled to Albay is to get my remaining stuff and clothes on the boarding house where I stayed for 2 years for university. My brother offered to help me because I really can't do it by myself. We left around 5:00 in the morning because we would also go home the same day so we left early to go home early as well.

While travelling, I had the thought like "Wow, you really see all sorts of things when you are on the road." And it's different from when you are riding public vehicles or vehicles that have closed windows like cars and buses because with motorcycles, you will able to see it nearer and in a clearer view because no window nor curtains that will be in your vision. It's like you're witnessing things firsthand. You can feel the wind brushing your skin, your hair's flying here and there and the best thing, for me, about it is you can freely see the sky. You can see it just above your head and the feeling is just so satisfying, it feels like you are flying. The trees looked so beautiful with the sky as its background. It looks like the leaves and the branches were painted and the sky is the canvass. It feels so peaceful and calming to look at.

We stopped by an eatery in Nabua, Camarines Sur to have a meal at around 8:30 and we had a funny experience there that we only realized when we're already in Albay. I paid a total of ₱262 (almost 6$) for our meal and my brother was surprised to learn that. It was because the viand that he chose cost ₱150 (3$) and he misheard it for only ₱50 (1$). I thought he was aware of that so I really didn't say anything to him though I was thinking it was a bit expensive. We only realized this when we're computing the expenses we had so far and we both just laughed about it because it's already done. Lol.

When we reached Albay province, we stopped by a tourist spot, the Cagsawa Ruins, it's a famous old church in the Philippines because it was beneath Mt. Mayon only half of the church or its ruins is visible on the ground because the other half of it were destroyed or submerged by the lahar and lava flow when Mt. Mayon had a massive eruption before.

We took some pictures and my brother also bought some souvenirs that he plans to give to his co-workers. Here's me in front of the Cagsawa Church. This is taken by my brother and I really loved this photo. :)

Below are some of the pictures that I took. I was only able to take a few because my phone's camera is really not that good haha.

That's my brother taking a picture of the Cagsawa. I was really not planning to include him in the picture but he suddenly walked forward so I just let it haha.

Sadly, Mt. Mayon didn't "show up" as you can see and it was covered by the clouds. I might post an article about the legend of Mt. Mayon next time. :)

We head straight to my boarding house right away after this and then I got my things, put them on the bags that we brought and then I returned the keys. I felt a little bit of sadness upon returning the key because of course I got attachments with the room where I stayed. That room heard my unspoken thoughts and witnessed all the crying and emotional moments I had those years of face-to-face classes. But I know I will always remember all the happy and sad moments I had in that small room. ❤️

Because we were riding a motorcycle, we couldn't bring the bags with us so we had it shipped through the public transportation, which is the bus.

When we arrived at Naga, we ate our late lunch at Mang Inasal at SM City around 3pm and then we waited for the bus to arrive. We shipped it through another bus again to Daet and then we head home afterwards around 4:00 in the afternoon.

We encountered some traffic because processions were held in some places but the ride was smooth when we reached Sipocot, Camarines Sur and onwards. We were able to arrive home at 6pm and then we just waited for the bus to arrive so we can claim our bags. I remember being so sleepy and tired after the long ride but we still had to go to the terminal for my bags haha.

I slept early that day because my legs and back started to feel a bit painful because of the long ride but I feel better the next morning. I am happy I was finally able to get the remaining stuff I had and I was able to had a joy ride as well and have a bonding with my brother. :)

That was a short but memorable travel I had.

Hello! I started to write this last Thursday but was only able to finish now because I had to laundry the clothes that we brought back. It's too many so I had it machine-washed. Tomorrow would be my beddings and jeans. 😆

That would be all for today's article. I hope you enjoyed reading this! Thank you and until next time!

— glossyberrycraze