Jandy and I were supposed to go on a beach camping and island hopping tour in Pagbilao (Quezon) but, at the last minute, my companions backed out and we were left with the possibility of, for the first time in a long while, of spending Holy Week at home.  While on Facebook come Wednesday morning, Ms, Violeta Imperial of Nature Awareness and Conservation Club appeared on chat and ask me where I was spending the holidays and, of course, I answered “nowhere.”  She offered her Sorsogon whale shark watching tour but, wanting to escape the oppressive heat of the city, inquired, instead, about her Sagada/Banaue tour.  There was only one slot left but Violet offered to check if there were Ohayami Bus (the only bus company plying the Manila-Banawe route) seats still on offer.    After about an hour, she told me I was in luck as the bus company had some “chance passenger” seats.

Our tour group

I returned to my usual packing, this time replacing beach wear with cold weather attire (jackets, woolen caps, etc.).  With our backpacks and a take-out Jollibee dinner and half a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts, Jandy and I were  brought to the bus terminal by my daughter Cheska and her boyfriend Marve by 8 PM.  Here, we met up with Ms. Jocie Dimaculangan, our tour coordinator, who also had, in her care, sisters Jessica and Jasmin Bez, Ms. Joy J. Tenedero, Ms. Desiree R. Benitez, Ms. Long R. Garcia, Ms. Eureka Joy Bueno, Ms. Diosa Diaz, married couple Lilia Kristina and Aldrin Tejada; and Mr. Donald Jesus G. Danao.

Our Ohayami bus

We soon boarded our bus and Jandy took his assigned seat while I waited for my “chance passenger seat” which turned out to be a plastic monobloc chair placed at the center aisle (there were 6 of us seated that way).  Truly, a first for me.  Our supposed-to-be 9 PM bus left the terminal by 9:30 PM and it had to negotiate holiday traffic to make it to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX).  It was lights out by then and everybody on the regular seats were soon asleep.  It was a different case for us “chance passengers” as we had to stay awake in case the bus suddenly speeds up or stops.  How I envied the others. Jandy and I were soon wrapped up in our jackets and woolen caps as the bus airconditioning was set to high.

Save Oil Gas and Restaurant

Our bus had a long traffic spell somewhere in Baliwag (Bulacan).  Past that, we made our first stopover for peeing and meals at Sevilla Sweets and Restaurant at San Miguel (Bulacan) by 11 PM.  Afterwards, I somehow was able to get some shuteye until I was rudely awaken by the swaying of the bus as it negotiated the winding Dalton Pass in Nueva Vizcaya.  Now I had to hang on for dear life as my chair moved with each turn.  We made our second and final rest stop, by 4 AM, at the Save Oil Gas and Restaurant in Aritao (Nueva Vizcaya) where I had a cup of chocolate. Peeing at its clean restroom set us off by PhP5 each.

Nature Awareness and Conservation Club, Inc.: 18 Pioneer St., Moonwalk Village, Las Pinas City, Metro Manila.  Tel: (632) 801-1720. Mobile numbers: (0932) 243-9478 and (0915) 510-1600.  E-mail: Mother_Nature888@hotmail.com.

Ohayami Trans: cor. Lacson Ave. and J. Fajardo St., Sampaloc Manila.  Tel: (632) 516-0501. Mobile number: (0917) 561-7344.  E-mail: ohayami@ohayamitrans.com. Website: www.ohayamitrans.com.