been to romblon :)

while romblon was never in my “to go to” list, i still felt a certain excitement at the chance of visiting this island province. romblon is the philippines’ leading producer of high-quality marble, which, according to wikipedia, is comparable with the marble produced by italy. nope wasn’t excited because of the marble. not planning of building a monument. well, at least not yet. :p

fly seair...

we were heading to the municipality of calatrava in tablas island. tablas is only 45 minutes by light aircraft. riding a 32-seater donier 328 aircraft instead of the usual airbus may be a big reason why i was dying to take the trip. i really did not know what to expect in romblon so its great that just the flight would make the trip worth taking.

the plane and i

i DID NOT think the plane was so small it was scary. but i do love flying. i love the feel of the plane wheel leaving the ground. i find it exciting when the plane suddenly dips while airborne. what i dislike is when the plane comes down to land. but i would hate it if it just came down period. i do hope it does not. although, sometimes, i have wondered how an emergency sea landing would feel. but then again, i would have to leave all my stuff. well that and all the trauma and panic involved. so, i would not mind not experiencing all that.

since it was just a 32-seater plane, only one stewardess attended to our needs. i wanted to volunteer to help demonstrate the safety features of the aircraft. i could totally do the “life vests are located under your seat, oxygen masks with the sudden drop in pressure” routine. :p

also, seair serves snacks . ok, peanuts and juice may not fit the exact definition of snacks but its WAY BETTER than nothing. certain low cost-carrier which i frequently ride, i’m looking straight at you. :p

once we landed in tugdan airport, we immediately set to calatrava which is still 1.5 to 2 hours away.

anyway, i was stuck in the back of the car with the bags, my big video camera kit, and about 50 kilograms of t-shirts for the event we were holding. and the road was BAD… narrow, bumpy roads along steep cliffs that leads to the rocky ocean bed. this, i was told, was still the after effects of typhoon frank a year ago.

we stayed in one the new ‘beach resorts’ in calatrava. i was actually assigned to sleep in another ‘hotel’ about a kilometer away with the other young staff. but since 2 of the bosses did not arrive, i opted to stay in the beach front. wanted easy access to the sea. the beach was filled with lots and lots of flat stones. round (or other 3d-shaped) stones would be hard to find here. :p

anyway, work work work. the next day, i spent almost the entire time under the scorching heat. long story short – headache. after a short nap, was ready to swim! i was ready to go by myself but good thing they (colleagues) wanted to take a dip too. the last time i went swimming in salty water was in 2007 (in okinawa) so you can say i was also really excited to be in sea water again. and that should mean a lot coming from someone who spent the first 20 years of his life living seaside.

sunset at calatrava, romblon

didn’t really have anything else to do. nor did i have souvenirs to buy. i did pick a stone that shimmers when hit by light but gave that away. her daughter collects stones, so she had a better use for it. if i kept it, it would be with me for a few months and i will forget about it. when i clean up, i will then throw it out.

anyway, nothing too exciting. just wanted everyone to know – “i’ve been to romblon!”.