A Moment in Paradise

It is not too often that college students enjoy a real and true-to-goodness vacation.  There may be scheduled holidays or intermittent breaks on account of calamities like typhoons, or whatever nature it is, but a pre-planned outing to enjoy a break from academic activities is more often wanting, or even illusory.

The recently concluded Chinese New Year-weekend partakes of an exception.  Although a bit short of planning, it turned out to be a successful and enjoyable sojourn in an out-of-town paradise...the “Paraiso de Diosdado”, - my Grandfather Dodie’s (Lolo Dodie) rest haven - in Puting Buhangin, Orion, Bataan.  

It all started with eight closely-knit classmates at the University of Santo Tomas College of Commerce-Department of Marketing, agreeing to spend the said weekend at a place outside Manila. It was less than three days before the upcoming weekend, so much so that plans had to be finalized in so short a time, particularly the venue and time of departure, as we still had classes till noon of Saturday of that week.

The group unanimously decided to spend the holiday weekend in Bataan, upon my recommendation of my grandfather’s resthouse. Fortunately, though, my grandfather offered no objections and willingly approved my request for accommodations.  He even offered to furnish our transportation and services of driving us to our intended location.

Immediately upon conclusion of classes on February 06, 2016 (Saturday), our group departed from UST for Cubao, where my grandfather was waiting for us at his residence. We left Cubao at exactly 4:00 p.m., on board my grandfather’s van, for Bataan, along with my mother, Queenie, and younger brother, Egie Boy. Everybody was jolly and in a holiday vacation mood as we hit the road to exit the city.  There was singing, laughing and eating all along.  As we entered the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), there and only then that we were comforted that our dream was unfolding into a reality.

Our first stop was at the “Double Happiness”, a motorists’ rest station in Lubao, Pampanga. It is a place where provincial buses, like the Victory Liner, and other motorists pull over to enjoy food and to answer their call of nature.  After visiting the restroom, we all indulged in the purchase of ‘chichiryas’ to nip along the way.

We arrived at our target destination – the “Paraiso de Diosdado” - at around 8:00 p.m., after a brief stopover at the Balanga Public Market in Balanga City, where my Lolo Dodie and Mom Queenie bought extra pillows and blankets for the use of our group. It was a twenty (20)-minute drive from Balanga City to Puting Buhangin in Orion, Bataan.

Amazingly, the route to the “Paraiso’ was thrilling, as our vehicle entered and traversed a narrow path – just enough for one vehicle to pass - leading to the inner labyrinth and sanctum of the place. At last, we have arrived!!!

Nestled in the heart of the coastal forest-cliff of Puting Buhangin, in Orion, Bataan, surreally surrounded by “greens”, i.e., fruit-bearing trees, vegetation and both wild and ornamental plants, wildlife, livestock and poultry, coupled by an overlooking tranquil and mesmerizing view of the adjoining magnificent and majestic West Philippine Sea, and the edible aquatic abundance of the waters surrounding the Bataan Peninsula, lies the “Paraiso de Diosdado”. This will be our getaway for the next two nights and two days.

Upon entering the gate, we were met by the “Paraiso’s” K-9 Unit composed of five healthy and adorable dogs namely, ‘Chichi’, ‘Chuchu’, ‘Chichu’, ‘Chuchi’ and ‘Galsi’, who did their respective parts in welcoming us by licking our legs. The “Paraiso’s” wildlife pet – a cute little monkey – named, ‘Guapito’, had his own way of greeting us by making high-toned screeching sounds. The place was quiet, windy and cool that night, and all one can hear are the sounds of the ocean waves, the humming of blowing wind and the occasional sound coming from a reptile known as ‘Tokai Gecko’ aka ‘Tuko’.

As soon as we have unloaded our belongings, my mom, Queenie, started preparing for our dinner. That night, we had ‘Sinigang na Sugpo’, which we all heartily enjoyed, especially the hot and sour stew. After dinner, the group found time to share stories and personal experiences in the bedroom, while some stayed at the viewing terrace and chatted with my grandfather, who was enjoying some cans of San Mig Light to while away the night.  We all retired to bed at around midnight, ready for the next morning’s activities.

Everybody woke up at 5:30 a.m. the next day, Sunday, before the sun was up. The first thing that entered the mind of everyone was to enjoy the adjoining sea. Descending a steep cliff, we carefully hiked towards the sea. It was low tide that morning, and big rocks were clearly visible and enjoyable. The rocks are covered by water and not visible whenever the ocean is in high-tide. Despite the low-tide, each one managed to wade and do their kind of swimming. My grandfather, in ensuring our safety, engaged the services of his Pareng Ariel - a veteran fisherman and seafarer - to keep a watchful eye on us and act as our guide in every tour that we decided to make.

At 10:00 a.m., my grandfather rented a boat to give us a tour of the surrounding areas. The boat took us to the breakwater composed of big rocks, where we all alighted to enjoy the breakwater on-foot for some souvenir photographs. 

After the boat tour, Pareng Ariel gave us a tour of the forest surrounding the “Paraiso”. But before the forest is reached, we had to take a tedious trail from the coast.  As we walked along, our guide showed us the caves beneath the hills contiguous to the shore. According to our guide, Pareng Ariel, those caves were etched and carved by sea waves hitting the foot of the hill over a period of time.  As we ascended the rough trail and woody forestry surrounding my grandfather’s resthouse, a panoramic view of the ocean below came into view, and was just irresistible to be photographed on. The girls (our group) negotiated a maze of forest terrain – ornamented by the works of nature like trees, shrubberies, poultry and livestock altogether - until we finally wound up back to the “Paraiso”...in time for lunch.

We were all ‘starving’ after that trip to the ocean and the surrounding forestry, but all that got compensated when lunch was served by my mom. My Lolo bought loads of ‘blue crabs’ (alimasag) for our group’s consumption, so much so that lunch consisted of ‘Alimasag con Misua Soup’. Nap followed lunch.

Later that Sunday afternoon, after our siesta, we decided to make a trip to Balanga City, to buy something to surprise my grandfather whose birthday was forthcoming. We wanted to surprise him even with, at least, a birthday cake. We commuted to Balanga on board a public jeepney.  Having purchased the cake, we proceeded to get a tour of the city before heading back home to the “Paraiso”.

It was past 8:00 p.m. when we got back to Puting Buhangin.  Dinner was ready then, which had several entrees... stewed ‘Batotoy’ (a kind of shellfish) and ‘adobong pusit’ (squid).  Everyone had a hearty dinner that night; some had their first hands-on on that type of shellfish, which was similar in texture to mussels (tahong) but with a uniquely different shell appearance. The shell had a combination of black and white colors, with hairy-like structures on the shell’s surface.

Card games followed the satisfying dinner. The girls played “pusoy” and “123-pass”.  Short of monetary betting, bets were in the form of an imposition of a ‘consequence’ on the losing player. Anyone who loses a game was penalized through a performance of an act agreed upon by the winning players. There was shouting, jeering, laughing and teasing till late that night.We cut the game short at 11:00 p.m., to eventually carry-out our intended surprise for my Lolo Dodie, who was to celebrate his sixty-first (61^st) birthday in two-weeks time.  My Lolo was enjoying his beer at the terrace that time, when the group agreed to turn the lights off in the entire house, creating an impression that there was a power outage.  But before he can even react to the seeming brown-out, all of us - including my mom and brother – burst out the door and chorally sang the ‘birthday song’.  With a lighted candle on the cake we bought at Balanga City earlier that afternoon, we approached my Lolo and handed him our surprise birthday present.  After the blowing of the candle, we all posed for a photograph with him.  That concluded our Sunday night.

The next morning (Monday) was a moment of truth for all of us.  It was the day culminating our stay in Bataan, particularly at the “Paraiso de Diosdado”.  The morning was spent chatting, and exchanging impressions and experiences relative to our out-of-town weekend.  Depending on personal preferences, some of us went back to the shore to say goodbye to the ocean, while others returned to the surrounding forestry. In-between-meal snacks were not spared, as there was a sari-sari store across the resthouse. Some bought bread with a ‘Cheez Whiz’ filling, while dirty ice cream sold by a peddling vendor with an ice-cream cart became a bestseller.

That same morning, we also had a chance to visit the “Paraiso’s” wildlife sanctuary and poultry section, known as “Paraizoo”, which was situated right within the property perimeters of the rersthouse.  The poultry section was occupied by two (male and female) “Ulikba” chickens (chicken with black meat) and two (male and female) turkeys. The “Ulikba” chickens are named, “Max” and “Savory”, while the turkeys are “Thanks” and “Giving”, for the male and female, of each class of fowl, respectively.

The “Paraiso’s” wildlife pet monkey named, “Guapito”, was a sight to enjoy as well.  He was so friendly, especially when given something to feed on, but could easily get irritated when teased or refused something that he wants to grab at.  We fed him some of the ‘chichiryas’ we had. To our enjoyment and astonishment, he boasted and exhibited his climbing and acrobatic stunts within his cage.

Despite our late-morning merienda, lunch still became a main event. My mom, Queenie, served us with her own version of “Spring Fried Chicken ala Max’s” and fried “hasa-hasa” (a type of fish).  We ate lunch together in a mood of the “Last Supper”, enveloped with emotions of anxiety and sadness, as it was our last meal together at the “Paraiso”.  Nevertheless, it was lunch to remember!

After lunch, a restful wink followed.  Thereafter, we all started packing for our trip back to Manila.  Everybody experienced a sort of reluctance to pack-up.  We felt that our weekend stay was too selfish in terms of time, and wishing that it should have been lengthier. 

At exactly 3:00 p.m. of Monday, February 08, 2016 (the Chinese New Year Day), we again boarded my Lolo’s van, but differently this time.  Compared to the boarding on February 06, which was filled with excitement, our group boarded with a heavy and misgiving heart.  It was our return trip to Manila, a trip back to reality, for the next day was another school day.  A photo-op with my Lolo Dodie brought our holiday weekend get-together at a distant getaway to a close, as we expressed our thanks and gratitude, and reluctantly and regretfully bade farewell.

Our holiday weekend at the “Paraiso de Diosdado” in Puting Buhangin, Orion, Bataan, was indeed a moment in paradise, and a dream come true!  But as the lyrics of a Barbara Streisand song would say...”some good things never last”!