Entering the ‘Solid’ North - Overview
From Southern Luzon, we traveled all the way up to the Solid North to visit and pamper our bodies from the stressful environment of the city. I will use this opportunity to execute my plan; will I succeed?
Last April 29, 2022, my family and I started preparing their bags and suitcase. I’m a bit confused, so I asked them, “Where are you going?”. They just stared at me like they were judging my soul. Is this still my family? lol. “You’re asking like you’re not here when we are talking about this.” my mother replied. I realized that they are already preparing for our vacation to Pangasinan. But for me, it is too soon since we planned on leaving the house tomorrow morning, yet right now we are already prepared hahaha. I guess Filipinos, especially our mothers, are just slightly paranoid.
As the night came, everything was prepared; from bags to ourselves. We are just waiting for the Grab driver to arrive. It's our first time booking on Grab and I am so nervous; What if it charges me more than it is supposed to be? What if they can't find our location?
Well, you can't blame me hahaha. I just don't want to destroy the moment and bring negative vibes.
The Grab arrived around 10 minutes after I booked. From Bacoor to Pasay, we traveled only for 30 minutes. The experience was smooth and we were not stressed from lifting those heavy suitcases.
Around 1:30 am, we rode the bus going to Alaminos Pangasinan. We traveled for 8 hours and arrived at our destination at around 9 am.
I didn't get enough sleep during the trip. As expected, I am not in the mood to socialize immediately. I can't fake myself to be talkative and sociable at the same time. I might get easily annoyed. I told my mother that I will just take a nap at my grandfather's house.
Almost 1 hour after getting some snooze, I was awakened by my mother's distressed call.
"Clifford si moshi patay na! Uuwi ako ngayon sa bahay.", she is on the verge of crying. Obviously, she doesn't know what to do while checking the screen of her phone.
Just a little background: We have two dogs named Bandam and Moshi. Several days before we left the house we asked someone to take care of them in exchange for a small amount of money. She seems nice. She's also a pet lover so it's a relief for us.
The caretaker called my mother. She sadly reported what happened. According to her, she thought that our dog was just sleeping on its mat but upon shaking it up, it was already not moving. The body is already hard- a sign that it is not already breathing for several hours.
Of course, it's painful that we can't even bid our last goodbyes to our dog. We thought she could wait for 6 days. I guess she loves us very much and that is what caused her to die.
The caretaker told us that maybe our dog sacrificed herself to accompany us on our vacation and protect us from possible accidents.
My mother can’t contain it anymore and grief later that day.
For the next few days, we continued our 6 days vacation. My mother also decided not to continue her plan of going back to Bacoor just to check on our dog. She said that it will be too hassle and expensive since the fare from here to there is not a joke.
We went to the famous Hundred Islands. Despite the thousands of tourists, the local government of Alaminos never failed to protect and maintain its beauty. They also successfully added new attractions, making the tourists come back again.
Aside from tourist attractions, there are also lots of fun activities. There’s the zipline, banana boat, snorkeling, island hopping, and other more. We tried the banana boat and I can say this is the most exciting part I have experienced in years!
Since we don’t have our own house in the province, we always do house hopping. Every night, we always go to different houses to find a place to sleep hahaha. Fortunately, our tita and tito are hospitable enough to let us in. Sometimes, my cousins will invite me to their house, and boom instant overnight hahaha.
On the last day of our stay, my cousins decided to bring me to the place they call Paraiso. We rode on a tricycle and traveled for about 30 minutes. It's an uphill slope so it's a bit difficult but we managed to reach our destination. At the top, a vast view of the ocean greeted us. We are exactly on the cliff and when you look down, you can see the ocean meets the land. Along with the view is the gentle touch of the light coming from the sun who’s just started to rise.
Final remarks…
This is just an overview of what happened during our vacation. I intentionally cut it into short pieces because there’s a lot to tell. I will continue to narrate for the next few days.
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I am so sorry to know what happened to your dog. :( I want to see Pangasinan too hehe especially the hundred islands