It's the last day of the FPE 25th Anniversary Celebration. I made sure I woke up early so that I can hear mass in the town center.
I requested the guard to take my picture with the welcome tarpaulin.
I'm wearing the Nine West loafers I found at a bazaar in the Ayala Mall nearby for a tiny fraction of the brand new price. It was the genuine article and it was comfortable so I got it. I love the idea that I can have it blessed by going to church too.
I took a Ceres bus and told the guard to drop me near the church. He said the church was just a walking distance from the highway.
It was drizzling and it was nice to breathe the crisp morning air.
I passed by a walled mansion. It is said to be owned once by a sugar baron. People were setting up stalls for what seemed to be a weekend market. But it was still Friday so this must be an everyday thing.
The San Nicolas de Tolentino church was an impressive structure.
And has an impressive interior, too.
I took a seat near the front -- somewhere in the 4th or 5th row.
Many things are sold outside the gate, like these fresh bulubitoon and other charms.
I traced back my steps and more stalls were being set up.
I found a stall near the police station and had breakfast of coffee, laswa and pritong galunggong. I almost did not mention rice because it is a given.
Interestingly, a sound system near the ukay ukay stalls was playing "Marawi". And this is Silay City, Negros Occidental, hundreds of miles from a war-torn city tottering back to its feet.
Having my full, I walked again. I had to remind myself that I cannot buy anything bulky because I will be travelling by plane later.
Ilonggo Bagoong. Hmm. Sarap sana. Indi lang anay, day a.
Then there's these plants that I saw for the first time. It looks like it comes from the ginger family and the flowers are like large carnations. I resisted at first, but asked a lady vendor up ahead and she told me what it was. She said they call it Twilight.
Each bunch already has a sucker for every color (red, yellow, fuschia, pink, white). Just three bunches for a hundred. Irresistible. I can trim off a couple of inches from the top, wrap it in newspaper and tuck it in my luggage. Hmm. Ok. I'm happy now.
I took a jeepney back to Nature's Village. Finalized my things and requested the front desk for a bellboy and a taxi. That would be three hundred pesos to the Bacolod City Wharf.
Other convention participants were in the lobby. The front desk clerk asked if it was ok for me to car pool with two other people. Perfect. That means we three can split the fare. An unmarked Toyota Revo pulled up and off we went -- Dann Diez of Cebu and Darlene Blando Surriga from Roxas City.
Had to receive two phone calls thus it was impossible for me to really concentrate on the passing scenery. All I could remember was there was always something constructed every dozen meters -- a road, a building, whatever.
We got our tickets and boarded the boat.
It was no longer drizzling; a bit cloudy but the weather was just right with some sea spray. I see boats in all shapes and sizes. A handful of sea gulls too.
We approached Lapuz Port (there are several ports in Iloilo). Again, the port is clean and it does not smell.
Darlene introduced us to Lucky, the son of Iloilo City's Vice Mayor. He was easy to spot because of his movie star complexion. Seems like a well-grounded young man -- courteous; and that it was endearing to think that he was in the economy section along many of us ordinary folk.
I took a taxi to CitiMall where the Parola Port is located. Had lunch at Chow King and spent 30 minutes in one of the self-operated massage chairs.
I whiled the time away while waiting for Ely to take me to Guimaras. Lots of pasalubongs. Local brands.
I buy a ticket and handed the cashier one hundred fourteen pesos. She handed me back the one hundred peso bill. Fare to Guimaras is only fourteen pesos. One Four.
The pre-departure area is squeaky clean. There were only three of us but they did not stay long. A boat leaves every 15 minutes, that's why. That means my ticket was not for this particular boat so I had it refunded. When Ely arrived he got me a ticket and sure enough we went straight to the boat for Guimaras. It was hard to see what was outside because the seats are below the boat's hull. In less than ten minutes we were in the Port of Guimaras. Yes. It's clean. No garbage floating on the water. No ugly smells.
We take a tricycle to The PitStop Restaurant in the Municipality of Jordan. PitStop is the home of the Mango Pizza. Guimaras is famous for its mangoes so what else would be a fitting pizza flavor but mango.
Simple but delicious. Thin crust.
The PitStop Juice is refreshing: Lemons and Cucumber. We had it refilled with water and it seems the taste did not change.
We dropped our luggage at the house of Ely's brother. They have a dozen or so turkeys and ducks feeding on azolla. He borrowed his brother's motorcycle and we went to see the wind farm in the next municipality.
Since it was already late in the afternoon we had to go back to see the proposed People's Farm, a site where people will soon be trained on basic food security. Many of Guimaras' sons are seafarers; and while there's money circulating in the island, most of its everyday fruits and vegetables have to be bought from mainland Panay or other provinces.
While Ely spent most of his life in South Cotabato, his mother's dream is for him to take care of their land in Guimaras.
Supper was native chicken tinola with green papaya and malunggay. After dinner beverage was turmeric tea. With intermittent internet signal, sleep was quick and deep in a one-room kubo in the backyard.
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