a stranger

"kanino po kayo titira?" the lady beside me asked as they noticed that i was a stranger in the van bound to the town of San Andres in Quezon. "kila kapitana po sa isla ng Alibijaban". the man on one seat turned and looked at me, wondering. still unsure if i still have a slot in the van as some passengers just left their bags on top to reserve the seats. it was noon time and the trip would took about five hours. placed my bag on the side thinking that if i got a slot here, i was meant to go there. after half an hour, the van driver came and checked the rear part then looked at me "dito ka." whew! got one slot. the last slot. three hours on the road, suddenly we stopped. clutch problem. we had to wait for an hour on the road in between rice field. soon antoher vehicle came and pulled us to the nearest town. transferred us to another van and continued our way. the lady beside me gave me some peanuts. i didn't resist.sky was darker and by 7:00pm we reached the town of San Andres. it meant one thing. i cannot cross to the island, so i have to find a place to stay. the town has no hotel. the lady with her daughter led me to a house who accepts student boarders. the lady left me saying, if you won't find a house, you can stay with us. walking quickly but didn't gave her mobile phone number. few seconds, the owner of the house came "sorry. walang bakante ngayon".had to leave the house wondering if i'll look for the lady's house but i didn't got her name and can't even find the way to her house. had to pass by a small fod shop where i had dinner. asked the owner if there's a place to stay around. she said, you can check with Gilbert, not his real name, he has a room for rent. she called a trisikad driver and told the driver to bring me to the house.

just a block a way, the driver did not charge me for the ride. then came Gilbert, who looked at me and said, "wala na. ginawa na naming stock room yung kwarto". he then recommended me to go to kagawad, pointed the house which was just few steps from his house. walked and when i reached the place, there was party. a group of men about ten of them were drinking, it was somebody's birthday.

talked to the kagawad and generously he brought me to a small hut and said, you can sleep here. "salamat po. pero punta po muna ako sa may internet cafe. balik na lang po ako". left my bag and went to the nearby internet cafe. after an hour, returned to the kagawad's house but he approached me saying "di pala pwede dito. yung nagbabantay ng baboy dito matutulog."

he then endorsed me to a lady, Gina who mentioned that she has a cousin who might allow me to sleep at their house. walked to another block and when we reached the place, her cousin resisted. "puno kami". giving Ate Gina no option she brought me home instead saying "sige dun ka na lang sa anak ko, magpaalam na lang tayo kasi lumabas pa". we arrived at their place, watched television and after a while, her son came and looked at me. shocked.

i remembered him. he was one of the man who was at the kagawad's party. her mother introduced me saying i was looking for a house to stay over the night. after i introduced myself, he then started talking "alam mo ba kung ano nangyari pagkalabas mo dun sa bahay ni kagawad?" this time i was the one who was surprised. "pinaalis kaagad kami para umuwi at sabihan na may dumating na estranghero. baka daw may dalang grupo".

all the while, i didn't know that there was already a commotion around the village because of me. but good enough Ate Gina and the family welcomed me and shared their sala for the night. i slept smiling. the next day i crossed the island.

this post is my contribution to the Pinoy Travel Bloggers Blog Carnival. Compilation of solo travel wil be done by this year's Philippine Bes Travel Blogger Nina of http://www.justwandering.org/. check other interesting stories.