a day in the life...: 888 kilometers

how far would i go in search of a thrill? that was the question on my mind as i boarded the bus to cagayan. my destination is jabonga, agusan del norte, its jump-off being butuan.

i arrived at the terminal around 11:15pm. "no bus to butuan till 1am? just missed the 11:00pm ride!" those were the circumstances before the journey. i hate waiting, so instead of riding the yellow bus (bachelor, going directly to butuan), i rode the red one (rural, going directly to cagayan de oro).

i slept most of the way to cagayan... twas a pleasant ride, seats are luxurious, but somehow sleep wouldnt visit my tired body. i was awake in most of the 6 hour ride. i even marvelled at the almost full moon at the stop-over in quezon, bukidnon.

from cagayan to butuan then to jabonga, the scenery, still very majestic, with the sea touching the sky in the horizon. this route has always been one of my favorites. if only it has a taste, it could be likened to the new iced tea, earth and sky, being sampled in the malls last weekend. a bit more tangy than nestea, a little less sweet than lipton.

that leg surely was a tiring one. i slept at butuan after the women's intertrading meeting in jabonga. a simple room and a cable tv service which i tuned in to the discovery travel channel. in the morning, i was awoken by a quote, it goes...

a good traveller has no good plans...
... and no intents on arriving
lao tzu (philosopher)

i always regarded myself as a traveller of sorts. i smirked openly because lao tzu, hundreds of years after he mumbled this quote still speaks to my being.

probably it is the itch in my feet, or the newly developed mole in one of my toes, or just the thirst for travel and something new, that has ignited my butt to take the longer yet scenic route to butuan.

before going home finally to davao, i passed by butuan's national museum and had a trip down history. the last museum, i visited was the one in manila, almost ten years ago. visitng these sorts of places really has a special place in my heart. the feeling of reliving the past, imagining the dynamics of time is like looking forward into the future whether predestined or one that would be chosen.

i was tempted to visit the other museum at the site where the balanghays were excavated, but decided against it. i knew that i would be back, and there is always the next time to look forward to new and more discoveries.

though my body was dead tired, i knew deep inside that i would take this journey again anytime, expecting that it would be unique and as different as the ones before and the ones that will be.

so how far is a thrill? that would be 888 kilometers of roads, faces and wonders... as the trip last week has been.

some pictures...