We were now on a narrow road that lead to Legazpi City. It was dark all around as Reming had knocked down everything in it's path. I saw a sign that told me we were now in Camalig, one of the severely affected towns. The amount of damage swayed conversation through various degrees of disbelief. Large mounds of earth had been shoveled to the sides, abandoned houses with their roofs blown and windows torn, downed electricity posts and trees, and empty streets.
Now, the windows were down because our driver wanted some fresh air and it had gotten rather chilly with the A/C on. As we surveyed the ghost town that was Camalig, we passed an area that smelled so bad and so we had to roll the windows back up as quick as we could. Then I noticed some men with surgical masks and gloves on. I told the guys that it must be where they were still digging up those carried off by floodwaters. Several white wooden crosses were also found on the side of the road not far from them.
As the smell of death overcame our senses, I could see the great Mayon Volcano's shadow at a distance. I recognized it because of its red-orange tip that made it look like a one-eyed dragon watching us.
It would be almost 1 am when we got to our hotel in Legazpi City. As we drove in, it almost felt like we were the only people in there. I didn't realize how late that was until the hotel clerk staggered to her desk to attend to us. She wasn't grumpy eventhough she had been disturbed from sleep, thank God, but she barely said a word either.
The arrangements had me sharing a room with 5 other girls who were mostly young doctors. I was a little hesitant about it at first because from my experience, newbie doctors represent the worst of the yuppies. Fortunately, they were nothing like the DLSU-UMC kind. They were well-mannered, considerate, and humble. Had they not been, I don't think I'd have stayed in there one more minute. I fell asleep without any bed space or noise issues.
After only 3 hours of sleep, we were roused to get ready as activities were scheduled to begin at 8 am. I heard one of the girls say, "Ang ganda ng Mayon!" So I got up and walked outside to see the Mayon for the first time.
It truly is a thing to behold. I stood there and stared for a good five or so minutes. There I was, a visitor paying respects to the king of the land. It was awesome. From the moment a kid enters school age, this mountain has been one of the most mentioned and most revered natural wonders of this country. Seeing it with my own eyes made me understand just why that was so and why tribes have worshiped mountains for thousands of years. Mayon Volcano is every bit a monolith over Albay yet, unlike the mountains up north, not at all foreboding despite the destruction it had recently brought. But in spite of that, I felt that this elevation was not responsible for the onslaught we had come to ease. It was very weird.
My day involved interviewing and gathering data. I spoke to a few of the locals who, in between their Bicolano and Tagalog, reminded me once again of that Filipino resilience and cheerfulness in the face of tragedy.
Two medical missions were carried out by our group that day in two different evacuation centers. You can't help but wonder how impossible life would have been if Reming had happened to a different kind of people. They had lost their homes and loved ones but there was no anger nor despair in their eyes, only gratitude.
The following day, we drove up Lignon Hill which is the Mayon Volcano observation deck for PAG-ASA. We got to the top and my acrophobia set in. Still, I couldn't let it get in the way of taking pictures of the amazing 360-degree view. We had been in Legazpi for two days but I still hadn't grasped how close we were to the coast. I only realized this as we drove up to the top of the hill. The view is simply spectacular: the Mayon to the north, all of Legazpi City and the mountains of Sorsogon to the south, Daraga and neighboring Albay towns to the west, and the incredibly beautiful blue Albay Gulf to the east.
Keeping my sweaty palms and feet in check, I tried to get as close to the edge as possible to get a good photo. Man, it's so hard to get a good position when you're on a hill and deathly afraid of heights! After that, we headed back to Manila with a better grasp of how lives have been changed by Reming and why Mayon will always be the same.
We got back to Manila at 3 am that Friday morning. I was exhausted and sleepy but still thought of Bicol. There is definitely an abundance of reasons to keep believing in this country.
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