My Unforgettable North Luzon Journey

Being assigned as the “byahera” (that’s how I label what I do and make it a blessing) for North Luzon stores has enriched my life.

The moment when I touched down at every destination, 38 all in all – after a really long land travel along McArthur Hi-way, made my heart calm down; I feel safe.

Arriving in sunglasses, pretending to be a customer, was the most exciting thing. Then those who do not know me would think I was who they were all getting prepared for and get gold. :) Dah-ha.

Seeing teams happily smiling, or in spite of loads of tasks to do – relieves me of the monotony of my long travel.

And it starts to energize my every muscle.

Knowing a little bit or a little bit more about their lives has touched me.

Their thoughtfulness and sweetness had made me so, too.

Their courage made me brave-r. Such that when stormy days follow me during my visits, I stay alive and still see them.:) 

Those simple kumustahan secured me that they are all right. If not so, I hoped to have enlivened them, and made them overcome and move on.

Being inside those cubes would take my breath away, literally. I usually stay somewhere open.

They know very well how absorbed I am to stay in their territories. And how i try to be awake to catch the graveyard and witness the closing event. They have seen me chase buses.

But I chose to stuck myself, talking and dining with them in the four walls of their comfort zones. And i loved that. I loved listening to the stories of their lives and dreams. And understanding the circumstances of their daily living.

Hence I did not get to roam around  and see which places they spend their rest days.

But I chose to explore around during my rest days and planned vacation. :)

Journey, visit Kapurpurawan & the monstrous Windmills, Laoag! Also, Vigan at night is romantic. Ilocandia never fail to amaze me. Your e-tour is worth exploring it in the actual.

Apayao: Church Ruins in Mataguisi

the locals asked me, who do you know? i replied, none. what will you do there? see the church ruins. they did not want to bring me there. 

i had been to pudtol,  apayao once in April 2012. but i only saw the church ruins near the municipal hall.  i told them so.

they said it was not safe. i can sense from their ilocano conversations. as i understand a bit. one said, what if some people might just want to kill him? another one said, there are some uniformed men around the area. in short, they were all discouraging me. i did not know if i would like to even believe what they were saying. one tricycle driver said that it was not worth the money he will earn if he takes me there. he was even undecided. they were also saying that we had to notify the police station that we would go there.

maybe they thought i would back out and not proceed. i was even more determined to go after hearing all that they said. but  a lot of what ifs were playing in my mind. i forgot my knife and i have not replaced my lost whistle.

with a braveheart,  i went to mataguisi in apayao, to see the church ruins. though i have seen a majestic one in fuga, this was still a beautiful structure.