SniperAngel

Last Thursday we travelled more than 7 hours in five provinces. It was the Holy Week’s expedition episode. A mixture of reflection, daydreaming, and lots of food.

Bulacan

We fetched my Aunt, Uncle and cousin in the town of San Miguel. They agreed a night ago to join us in our “pasyal”. San Miguel is a town of mixed heritage, from Chicharon and Pastillas, to haunted houses like the famous Bahay na Pula.

Nueva Ecija

About an hour later we reached my grandfather’s hometown, Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija. This is where my dad grew up as well as some of my aunts and uncles. Nothing much had changed, everyone is still living a simple life. Not as complex as the city life I’m used to in Bulacan and Quezon City. A perfect example of contentment, a vision of peace and tranquility. Families here toil vast rice fields and raise some piggies. And yes after several years I was able to eat Bulanglang and Dilingding again [I think they are the same?]. We bought traditional “pugons” and they cooked “tupig” for us. It was fun though very short. We left Nueva Ecija at around 1:00pm.

Tarlac

While thinking Tarlac is somewhat a new province for me it just looks like Pampanga, well lahar-wise. We tracked Capas, which I am only aware of it is one of the key locations in the historical bloodmarks of Central Luzon, the Bataan Death March. It looks dull for me [or maybe because of the hot afternoon and the dusty roads]. And it also displayed lots of deserted infrastructures. At this point my dad noticed that the van is starting to struggle with the load. [Well, two concrete stoves, two sacks of rice, six healthy people plus one paperweight which is me]. We decided to go back to Bulacan to unload, instead of the originally planned straight to Bataan trip.

Bulacan: Second round

We went back to my hometown and just had a bladder break and went travelling again. We noticed that the engine ran smoother this time around.

Pampanga

This is the conventional route we take everytime we go to Bataan. It is a two/three hour ride from Malolos to Mariveles, which is around 95 miles in distance. Even though the Pinatubo tragedy took place for more than a decade ago, you can still see the scars it left. Ashes still whirl around the city of San Fernando. But for a heavily damaged province, Pampanga is still there and standing tall despite the hardships along the way.

Bataan

Ahh, the great outdoors. Its been few months since my grandfather died and we went here. Things changed, some rocky trails are now applied with concrete and the main roads are smoother. The ancestral house is quite messy by the time we got there. But no matter.

The next morning, we went to my grandfather’s grave. It was now tiled and has bermuda grass around it. Some emotional outburst came through me as I remember him. Well, he was one of my patients in Bulacan whenever he came to share a night with my family. I check his vital signs and always ask him if he’ll ever come back. I got a good grip with my license and I can feel the tears rushing to flow. “Lolo, Nurse na po ako.”

For two days it was a wonderful experience for me and the whole family. To reflect more about things, and to learn about more of the scenes around us.