When I got word that they were bringing along a writer for the "Malacañang to Bicol Mercy Mission", I knew I was the one going. Seriously. I'm 99% predisposed for assignments to far-off places so I wasted no time and signed on for it. The remainder of that Monday afternoon (and evening) was spent packing and unpacking.
The following morning, at the rendezvous, I found out our destination was Legazpi City, 577 kilometers south of Manila and, based on Kuya Cesar's last trip there, a 14-hour drive. Obviously, I've never been to Bicolandia and seeing Mayon Volcano with my own eyes would be akin to demystifying something abstract. I mean it's something you're told about year in and year out since starting school but you don't really grasp it. At least, that's how it was for me.
Anyway, we rolled out at around 11 am on Tuesday morning after a brief send off/photo op with the President and the news media. You all know they go: photographers are wolves and cameramen are bears, somewhere in the middle of the mess is your tiny head of state trying to give a speech. But hey, it's her circus.
By 11:30 am, we were plying SLEX, speeding ahead and darting in and out of lanes so Mr. Photographer can take photos of the caravan en route to Bicol. This can be a little bit nauseating because just as I got adjusted to the speed, the car would slow down to park on the side of the road.
We made a stop at Atimonan, Quezon to take one last group photo with the baby blue waters of the Philippine Sea as our background. It reminded me of the highway to Ilocos. Really nice. Unfortunately, we weren't even halfway to our destination so we continued on as the sun was hurrying to set.
Dinner time came around 7:30 as we stopped at a gas station in Calauag, Quezon. Someone said that it would be the last Quezon town before we enter the Bicol region. Oooh. We had a pretty modest supper compared to our lunch "lauriat". Now that was the shiznit! For some reason, food just kept coming one after another that even the yellow boys had to bow out.
Soon after leaving that truck stop, we made a right and onto a very long highway in the woods. They said it was Quirino Highway, a shortcut. Shortcut my ass! I took a couple of naps and woke up with the convoy still on that dang highway. You can also tell that it would be pitch black in there if it weren't for the headlights. Also, Toto (our videographer) had to put his dark shades on because oncoming vehicles were on bright and that was giving him a headache. This was my cue to take another nap. When I woke up, the landscape had changed.
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