The adventure almost done They are strangers no longer Though soon they separate ways This adventure ties them forever		Tale of a Rafting Adventure
		Prologue	The Cast	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	The Crew

t i n g l a y a n @ k a l i n g a - a p a y a o	Day 3: Winding Down
by Rika Lazo
The adventure done, we slept in for the day. Our bus ride was set for 3 pm, so we knew we had a lot of time to burn. We were up around 8am, and were just getting ready for the day, when to our surprise, Mang Edgar was already picking us up. We managed to not let him wait so long. We were again brought to our host's house for yet another feast of a breakfast. After breakfast, the things we had planned to do for the day included going to the bus station to reserve our tickets, and then to the market to buy whatever "pasalubong" we still had money for. Tita Nati accompanied us this time. When we got to the bus terminal, we found out that our bus departure time was actually much later on in the afternoon, 5:30 or 6pm. Whoa! That means that we would have to wait all day, with nothing really planned, before we could leave. We were at the mercy of Tita Nati who was going to have to keep us entertained until we left. But it was no big deal. Our bus reservation tickets in hand, we headed to the market. The Market For some reason, I wasn't prepared for this. After having so carefully tried to avoid too much exposure to the sun during this trip, I found myself without any protection when we went to the market. You see, the marketplace was not a big sheltered area. Instead, it was more or less a gathering of people who had goods to sell, in an open area. The vendors had their umbrellas, but the shoppers who were not familiar with the place (like us), would not have thought to bring their own sun shields. No wonder Tita Nati wore that huge hat. Anyway, after Jona, Cha Cha and I bought some Kalinga coffee for ourselves, we quickly found some shade, and stayed there. The shade was a covered court that was big enough to house several other vendors and their wares. There was a variety of goods in that area, most of them quite cheap. After circulating, and eyeing the best deals, Jona was able to buy a contractor's measuring tape, some playing cards, and whatever else. Cha Cha got her niece some hair pieces. I don't remember what Marko bought, but after awhile, having not bought anything yet, I was feeling somewhat out of place. So I decided to get myself a 10 peso hair pin. Tita Nati subsequently found us, and we headed back to her place for, what else?... Lunch! Lunch Well, it was a bit too early for lunch, actually. So we sat around, watching television. Jona tried to help out with debarking the rattan. Yup, you read it right, we were going to eat furniture for lunch. No kidding! Well, apparently, the inside portion of the rattan can be eaten. In addition to the rattan, we were going to have mushrooms. That certainly makes for an interesting meal. As the preparation of the meal got underway, we began to watch a movie. Tita Nati has all these DVD's that certainly come in handy. We were just getting into the movie when lunch was served... Okay, so you are probably wondering how the rattan tasted like... Well, it was like ampalaya, so yes, it was bitter! But the cooks prepared a tomato filled dip, that complimented and neutralized somewhat the rattan's bitter taste. The mushrooms were exotic, and quite delicious. Also, there was fried beans baked like a lasagna. That was excellent. By now, we had eaten so much that I was already wondering how I was going to lose all the weight that I had gained during this trip. A Lazy Afternoon The rest of the day was spent like a lazy afternoon. First, we finished the movie (don't bother to find out what we watched, okay?). Then we would have probably watched yet another one, but Tita Nati, feeling a need to keep us occupied, decided to give us a tour of the city. After picking our things up and checking out of the hostel, we first visited this kiddie rehabilitation center called "Lin-awa", which actually sounds so much like the tagalog equivalent to the name, "Ginhawa." As the name implies, these center was meant to comfort those that came to it. Unfortunately, as it was the weekend, the children had gone home, and the center was essentially closed. A caretaker, however, allowed us to look inside, so the visit was not really wasted (especially since we had to cross some rice paddies just to get there). Then we proceeded to the municipal hall where we had a photo-op session. Finally we went to visit the school where, Mae, Tita Nati's eldest daughter teaches. Mae was supposed to be there (at least that was what she told Tita Nati), but when we got there, she wasn't around. Oops, nabuking! That made up our afternoon. The Bus Ride Back We finally headed to the bus stop, Tita Nati accompanying us all the way, and staying with us until the bus came. Now that is hospitality for you! We were all so tired, and we were ready to go home. Similarly, the bus ride back took about 10 hours. Jona got off in Bulacan, while the rest of us arrived in Quezon City at 4 am of September 22, 2002. That certainly is an odd time to arrive but good thing Cha Cha's brother Pipo picked Cha Cha up and gave the rest of us a ride home. The Plan Now although this trip is done, remember that we never got to do the Tinglayan run. So that means that we will definitely be going back to Kalinga. Watch out for that one, tentative date February 2003. Everyone is invited to join us!!! Contact us to get on the mailing list for the February 2003 Kalinga Rafting Adventure. Tinglayan, here we come!!! Photo Album: Day 3 Previous page \|Back to top\|Next page Contact us

Day 3: Winding Down

by Rika Lazo

The adventure done, we slept in for the day. Our bus ride was set for 3 pm, so we knew we had a lot of time to burn. We were up around 8am, and were just getting ready for the day, when to our surprise, Mang Edgar was already picking us up. We managed to not let him wait so long. We were again brought to our host's house for yet another feast of a breakfast. After breakfast, the things we had planned to do for the day included going to the bus station to reserve our tickets, and then to the market to buy whatever "pasalubong" we still had money for.

Tita Nati accompanied us this time. When we got to the bus terminal, we found out that our bus departure time was actually much later on in the afternoon, 5:30 or 6pm. Whoa! That means that we would have to wait all day, with nothing really planned, before we could leave. We were at the mercy of Tita Nati who was going to have to keep us entertained until we left. But it was no big deal. Our bus reservation tickets in hand, we headed to the market.

The Market

For some reason, I wasn't prepared for this. After having so carefully tried to avoid too much exposure to the sun during this trip, I found myself without any protection when we went to the market. You see, the marketplace was not a big sheltered area. Instead, it was more or less a gathering of people who had goods to sell, in an open area. The vendors had their umbrellas, but the shoppers who were not familiar with the place (like us), would not have thought to bring their own sun shields. No wonder Tita Nati wore that huge hat. Anyway, after Jona, Cha Cha and I bought some Kalinga coffee for ourselves, we quickly found some shade, and stayed there. The shade was a covered court that was big enough to house several other vendors and their wares. There was a variety of goods in that area, most of them quite cheap. After circulating, and eyeing the best deals, Jona was able to buy a contractor's measuring tape, some playing cards, and whatever else. Cha Cha got her niece some hair pieces. I don't remember what Marko bought, but after awhile, having not bought anything yet, I was feeling somewhat out of place. So I decided to get myself a 10 peso hair pin. Tita Nati subsequently found us, and we headed back to her place for, what else?... Lunch!

Lunch

Well, it was a bit too early for lunch, actually. So we sat around, watching television. Jona tried to help out with debarking the rattan. Yup, you read it right, we were going to eat furniture for lunch. No kidding! Well, apparently, the inside portion of the rattan can be eaten. In addition to the rattan, we were going to have mushrooms. That certainly makes for an interesting meal. As the preparation of the meal got underway, we began to watch a movie. Tita Nati has all these DVD's that certainly come in handy. We were just getting into the movie when lunch was served...

Okay, so you are probably wondering how the rattan tasted like... Well, it was like ampalaya, so yes, it was bitter! But the cooks prepared a tomato filled dip, that complimented and neutralized somewhat the rattan's bitter taste. The mushrooms were exotic, and quite delicious. Also, there was fried beans baked like a lasagna. That was excellent. By now, we had eaten so much that I was already wondering how I was going to lose all the weight that I had gained during this trip.

A Lazy Afternoon

The rest of the day was spent like a lazy afternoon. First, we finished the movie (don't bother to find out what we watched, okay?). Then we would have probably watched yet another one, but Tita Nati, feeling a need to keep us occupied, decided to give us a tour of the city. After picking our things up and checking out of the hostel, we first visited this kiddie rehabilitation center called "Lin-awa", which actually sounds so much like the tagalog equivalent to the name, "Ginhawa." As the name implies, these center was meant to comfort those that came to it. Unfortunately, as it was the weekend, the children had gone home, and the center was essentially closed. A caretaker, however, allowed us to look inside, so the visit was not really wasted (especially since we had to cross some rice paddies just to get there). Then we proceeded to the municipal hall where we had a photo-op session. Finally we went to visit the school where, Mae, Tita Nati's eldest daughter teaches. Mae was supposed to be there (at least that was what she told Tita Nati), but when we got there, she wasn't around. Oops, nabuking! That made up our afternoon.

The Bus Ride Back

We finally headed to the bus stop, Tita Nati accompanying us all the way, and staying with us until the bus came. Now that is hospitality for you! We were all so tired, and we were ready to go home. Similarly, the bus ride back took about 10 hours. Jona got off in Bulacan, while the rest of us arrived in Quezon City at 4 am of September 22, 2002. That certainly is an odd time to arrive but good thing Cha Cha's brother Pipo picked Cha Cha up and gave the rest of us a ride home.

The Plan

Now although this trip is done, remember that we never got to do the Tinglayan run. So that means that we will definitely be going back to Kalinga. Watch out for that one, tentative date February 2003. Everyone is invited to join us!!! Contact us to get on the mailing list for the February 2003 Kalinga Rafting Adventure. Tinglayan, here we come!!!

Photo Album: Day 3

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