A vacation-turned-home quarantine to remember

A vacation-turned-home quarantine to remember

-

- Advertisment -spot_img

DUMAGUETE CITY — As always, I have been looking forward to my annual visit to friends here in the Philippines. I arrived in the country in January just when the coronavirus reared its ugly head. However, I decided to continue to book travel arrangements accordingly. Of course, being a born optimist, I did not anticipate any major problems. What a dreamer.

The first couple of weeks spent in Dagupan with my partner and her family was great, then I travelled to Dumaguete to spend time with dear family friends who, as usual for the last 14 years, have welcomed me with open arms. At that point, there were no travel restrictions, and I anticipated my return journey to be without any problems as well.

How wrong I was. Shortly after the community quarantine was implemented, travel out of Dumaguete became a nightmare. Even Cebu which is on lockdown was refusing the entry of boat passengers from Negros. How can I even get to Mactan International Airport? The original plan was to reunite with my partner Ofelia in Manila, and continue home to Vancouver on March 24. But all PAL domestic flights were cancelled until April 14. Can you imagine my feeling?

Then out of the blue, salvation seemed to be at hand. There were available flights from Negros Occidental to Clark International Airport in Pampanga. I was thinking it would be a piece of cake if only I could reach Clark, then take a bus going south through the reported checkpoints towards Manila, about 95 kilometers away.

All hands to the pump in preparing for the journey from Dumaguete to Bacolod City. The obvious and most direct route was by the Ceres coach. Since Orientwind Travel & Tours booked my Bacolod-Clark flight at 8:15 am, I had to travel on the bus overnight. I arrived at the bus terminal by 9 pm to catch the last bus for that day, departing at 10 pm. I waited. The time came, and went, but no sign of the bus. Thirty minutes later, the bus to Bacolod arrived, and people all scrambled aboard. My designated seat was #5. Not the greatest seat though as I am 6 feet tall, and the leg room was too short for me. But as I have realized, beggars cannot be choosers; so I made the best of a bad job, and crumpled up for the five-hour journey. We arrived Bacolod in five hours and 45 minutes. It was only a little after 4 in the morning.

I had about four hours before my flight, so I spent a couple of lonely hours at the bus terminal. By 5 am, I caught a taxi for the 40-minute drive to the Bacolod International Airport in Silay. Needless to say, I was getting pretty excited, and eagerly waited for check-in time.

At 6:30 am sharp, the PAL crew came to their desks, and we all started forward. Then disaster happened with an announcement over the loudspeaker: ALL PAL FLIGHTS HAVE BEEN CANCELLED. A deadly hush descended over the departure lounge before all hell broke loose.

Why hadn’t we been advised much earlier?

What do we do now? I was in Silay; I can’t be stranded in a place I’m not familiar with. My immediate thought was just to get back to the bus station in Bacolod, and return to Dumaguete. With no further ado, I pranced out to the taxi rank for another P500-long ride back to the Ceres terminal. Luckily, the same coach in which we arrived at dawn was just starting to rev up for its return journey. What a blessing! This time, I was lucky enough to get a front seat with a better leg room so the long journey back was bearable. Found myself back in Dumaguete by noon; after leaving the night previous.

I now rest comfortably back in the home of my hosts, reading another book, waiting for good news of the renewal of direct flights to Manila.

They say patience is a virtue? I don’t have many but hopefully, one will emerge in the nest at this time when we’re all battling with the risks of CoVid.

Needless to say, my sad experience here has not diminished my love for the Philippines, and the kind and generous friends who continue to welcome me. We all need to stay well, stay home, and be happy (if at all possible). Life is what we make it.

Maurice Newby
Tsawwassen, Canada

Latest news

City budget is dead  — Dgte Council

    Perdices resigns as Finance Committee chair “The Motion raised by Councilor Baldado for the approval of the 2025 annual...

Comelec to put LGUs  in ‘yellow’ alert

    Majority of the cities and municipalities in Negros Oriental are likely to be placed under ‘yellow’ category for the...

Who wins?

    The City Council’s Friday special session was meant to be about one matter: approving the 2025 annual budget of...

Canlaon completes P12M infra

    despite eruption The local government of Canlaon City turned over this week more than P12 million worth of infrastructure projects...
- Advertisement -spot_imgspot_img

Coop budgets P9M for CSR

    The Perpetual Help Community Cooperative, Inc. has lined up projects this year for its community development program in Negros...

PNP augments force for May polls

    The first batch of augmentation force from the Philippine National Police that will assist in disaster response, and perform...

Must read

City budget is dead  — Dgte Council

    Perdices resigns as Finance Committee chair “The Motion raised by...

Comelec to put LGUs  in ‘yellow’ alert

    Majority of the cities and municipalities in Negros Oriental...
- Advertisement -spot_imgspot_img

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you