We change, we wait

March 5th, 2009 |

Posted by Rem

I am now back in the office – sitting on my chair, looking at my laptop and the stack of paperwork I left behind. The past few days went by like a blink but every song ends, is that any reason not to enjoy the music?

The travel started last February 28. Five college friends were at the airport waiting for a flight to Cebu. All were sleepy and somewhat tired from the tedious pace of their respective yuppie lives. The theme of the trip was an unspoken universal truth that all of them needed a vacation badly. After all, they are young and they could disappear for a while or could afford to lose a day or two.

I have to admit that I am not a big fan of flying – I’m willing to drive for hours or ride a boat for days, as long as we don’t need to board a plane. It also didn’t help that we got cheap tickets from the airline formerly known as Asian Spirit. I’ve heard the jokes (you fly an Asian, you arrive a spirit had been tossed around a lot), but surprisingly Zest Air was ok: a good 8-out-of-10 in my book. The little airline could deliver on-time flights, short check-in queues, roomy planes, smooth rides and Zest-Os. Yay for Zestos!

Arriving in Cebu in one piece, we went straight to Gren’s relatives. After lunch and a power nap, we’re off to the Cebu port for our SuperCat trip to Tagbilaran, Bohol. We arrived at night and checked-in at a Panglao resort. It was dark outside, yet the beach still has that magnetism that attracts tired bodies, confused souls and question-filled minds – oh, and also foreigners walking hand-in-hand with their wives, friends and Pinay girlfriends.

March 1 began and we were off to the tourist spots: Hinagdanan Cave (may nauntog), Blood Compact, Baclayon Church (may lamay), Python park, Tarsiers, Loboc River (I’ve never seen anything more beautiful – so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes), Chocolate Hills (my logs killed me), Hanging Bridge (conquered acrophobia) and Bohol Bee Farm (Corn Coffee). It was a tiring day and I capped it with a short swim in the beach. Clear waters, mild waves, white sand and a spectacular view of the blue horizon soothed my tired body and mind. I think it did the same thing for my friends.

But as the trip came to a close, I realized that although things after college didn’t turn out as planned (we didn’t plan on being a quintet; I didn’t plan to be a chain-smoker; Ajie didn’t plan to be single at 23; Gren didn’t plan to handle the family business; Tats didn’t plan to stay at one place at 23; Eya didn’t plan the possibility of Calbayog), the ride to the unknown has become more bearable, less scary and at times funny because of this friendship that started seven years ago in a school somewhere in España.

So yes, things didn’t turn up as pictured, it’s terrifying but it’s ok. At the end of the trip, I realized that our idea of Vienna (that Billy Joel song) is still waiting for us, still there. Still within reach. It takes patience to get there and it’s nice to have great friends that will wait with you. “Seven years and counting“, tama nga si Ajie.