Revisiting my Home Town

Part I

Two weeks before the annual Moriones Festival in Marinduque, I was asked by my friends if they can come with me to witness the spectacular tradition of the Marinduquenos. Without any hesitation, I agreed believing that this is the time to showcase what my province got. Everyone is excited.

April 16, 2014 – All the Buses are packed. 

We decided the rendezvous at Turbina Terminal, Calamba City at 2:00PM. Two of my friends need to attend to their job on that day but decided to go out early to avoid a heavy traffic and make it on time. Unfortunately, the 2:00PM call time became 5:00PM because of the crowd of passengers taking the opportunity of having a long vacation. All provincial buses are packed, so it’s hard to get one that can accommodate us. After several tries, we are lucky that we get one. Although we are standing, we are happy that we finally get the trip started. We leave the terminal at around 5:30PM. Along the street are groups of passenger waiting for buses. I wonder when will they reach their destinations if (even in the terminal), (the) buses can no longer accommodate the passengers?

On our way, some passengers get off the bus leaving empty seats where we can seat comfortably. We reached Dalahican Port at 9:15PM. We paid for our ticket and started boarding. The ships started its 3-hr course at around 9:45PM. The sea is calm making the travel more enjoyable. The moon is watching over our journey, lighting our way. The gently blowing wind gives us comfort. 

We’ve reached Balanacan Port in Mogpog safe and sound. The ship dock in the port 12:50AM. At the port, my father is waiting for us. We ride on our motorized boat to our place and walk along the hill to our home. At 1:30AM we decided to take a rest for the day’s activity.

April 17, 2014 – The Centre of the Philippine Archipelago

*You can reach the site by land and water. From the town of Mogpog you can ride a tricycle to Cawayan. From there you can rent a boat to Baranggay Hinanggayon. Using land alone, from the town of Mogpog you can rent a jeepney or van to reach Hinanggayon taking the national road to Balanacan, going to Argao and Hinanggayon. Your time of travel depends on your route but more or less it will take you for about 30min-1hr.

8:00 AM. Prepare for today’s activity – Climbing the center of the Philippines.  Breakfast’s done. All are set so we started. From our home (Baranggay Argao) it will take you 30-45min of travel (walking) to Hinanggayon depending on your pace.  Along the way you’ll get the chance to witness God’s beautiful creation – from green mountains, beautiful shorelines, up to stunning blue sea. We reach Hinanggayon at around 9:30 AM. We have to pay an entrance fee of P50/head in the local tourism. From there, we take another walk of about 45mins to reach the top of the mountain where the historical marker was erected. The stiffness of the mountain and the intense heat of the sun make it harder to reach the place.  Although it’s tiring, but as we reached the top, everything is relieved. The view on top is amazing. From there, you can see the deep blue sea surrounding the area, heading to nearby provinces. Balanacan Port (Marinduque’s gateway) is visible including the Argao-Balanacan cove. We get the chance to see the group of islets making the place more majestic. It is good to see the top view (almost) of the two islands San Andres Island (crocodile-shaped-island) and Natangco Island which is best for diving. The place is relaxing because of the scenery. One of the best destinations for nature tripping and adventure enthusiasts I should say.  

This rock serves as marker for the origin of

triangulation network of all the data positioning in

the Philippines (exact latitude and longitude). 1911

We leaved the place with beautiful memories and experience. We feel we’re starving and it pays off when we reached our home that a delicious lunch is ready. A local cuisine called Sinagol.

Sinagol is a local cuisine made of coconut meat (the one that is use in salad) cooked in coconut milk and luyang dilaw and seasoned with calamansi juice.

Late afternoon, we decided to get some fresh buko to refresh. And that concludes day 1. Everyone is in a high spirit for the Good Friday’s Moriones Festival.