A Birthday Trip with the Gang
My college buddies and I decided that it was about time to go on a trip outside of Cebu after our last yearly get-together in Bantayan Island in December of 2018.
We call our awesome family Bogo Family. Bogo is a Cebuano word that means stupid in English. So the direct translation would be Stupid Family. 🤣 I know it’s weird but that’s just how we do things in our circle. Haha! Before I start another story here, we call our family Bogo because although our group is home to three Cum Laudes, one being the top student in our program, every time we are gathered, it seems like we’re stupid kids who couldn’t find common sense very common. It makes me laugh every time I remember that we had this notebook allotted for all the “sabaw” and “bogo” (stupid) moments that each of us will encounter the entire month and whoever has the highest count for that month will have to buy food for everyone. I’ll introduce my Bogo Family here some other time. They are so precious to me. ❤️
Going back, August of 2019, we had our supposedly birthday trip to Biliran with the eight (8) of us. In our group, three (3) celebrates their birthdays in August, including yours truly! Unfortunately, only 5 out of 8 were able to join the trip although everyone joined a send-off dinner before we depart to Ormoc, Leyte that night of August 23, 2019.
The Route
With the knowledge that the Philippines is an archipelago, you can always go to another island in various ways; the options are endless. For example, the Province of Biliran can be reached by boat or by plane. You can ride a boat from Cebu City Port to either Hilongos (overnight boat ride) or Ormoc (overnight boat ride & fast craft) and ride a van to Biliran. If you’re not a fan of boat rides, you may opt to ride a plane via Tacloban Airport and transfer to a van going to Biliran. Either way, you’ll reach Biliran in less than twelve (12) hours.
In our case, we have a friend who is working in Tacloban, whose then-boyfriend was based in Ormoc. We opted for the overnight boat ride from Cebu City to Ormoc and our friend fetched us in Ormoc early morning of August 24, 2019.
The Start of an Illegal Adventure
Biliran has always been on my list ever since I started my #Project81PH journey but circumstances never conspired to take me to Biliran anytime sooner.
Was there any itinerary? 🤔I wouldn’t call it an itinerary because we didn’t have a specific time for each activity; we just assigned a day for Sambawan Island (which I will cover in Part 1), Chasing Waterfalls in mainland Biliran (Part 2), and another Island Hopping (Part 3). We left all the things that need to be arranged in Maerose’s care.
Before heading to Sambawan Island, we went to the public market of Naval, Biliran to buy our supplies – meat, spices, chips, bread, drinks, water, and everything we need. Note that it’s important to buy supplies before heading to Sambawan as there is no market on the island, just a small Sari-sari Store that also serves breakfast meals.
That time the weather condition prohibits sailing via the main port, but we were there for Sambawan, how can we miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? We found someone who could take us to the island without going to the main port. Kinda illegal and against the safety sea travel protocols. The least we could do was to ensure that the boat had enough life vests for everyone.
I absolutely don’t have any idea where we went but we found ourselves in a small village that leads to the ocean where boats were waiting. It was roughly a 30-45 minute boat trip depending on the weather condition.
The Arrival
I’ve been in Camiguin a week before that Biliran Trip and Camiguin never failed to amuse me. But when we got in Sambawan, it was a different story – the serenity and simplicity were overflowing.
We had the entire island to ourselves for we were the only tourists until later that night when there were others who arrived. Our room was facing the ocean and although it has been a while I could clearly recall what a spectacular view Sambawan offered to us during our stay.
We spent hours taking pictures with my crazily wonderful family, playing with the waves, taking the much-needed break from all the chaos of the big city where we came from, and finally dipping in the beguiling water.
If it's not yet obvious, we take photoshoots as if our life depended on it. Haha! 😂
There were no serious discussions yet; we always save the chikas for the late-night talks – when people can be vulnerable, honest, and just open about anything.
This is paradise at its finest where you couldn't think of anything else — just the here and now.
The Viewing Deck
I couldn’t forget the first time I went up the viewing deck in Sambawan Island. It was breathtaking. I could see the nearby island of mainland Mariripi and other islands whose names I couldn’t remember now.
The wind blew as if it was also thrilled to meet us, as if it was happy to see us, as if it knew we were coming that day, that hour. And just like the first time I see something amazing, I always sit down somewhere and just savor what my eyes can devour. I always do this before taking pictures. I want the moment to engulf me as if I’m taken into a new dimension – me and the scenery; no one else, nothing else to think about. There were those moments of silence that just allowed me to be present, to be grateful for the beauty that took me years to discover.
We are definitely happy to be here, isn't it obvious? 😁
The thing about Sambawan is that everywhere you look, it's just idyllic. Here are the two most scenic angles in Sambawan:
And there's so much more...
The rest went back to our assigned accommodation while I tried to navigate some more around the little island of Sambawan, and just before the sun could set, I discovered this place...
If you know me well, you'll remember that the sound of waves after waves crashing on the shore or the rocks, in this case, is one of the kind of hymns I can listen to all day.
Maybe the night holds a little hope
After that unforgettable experience at the Viewing Deck, we all went down and prepared our dinner. Our food? As you may have guessed, grilled pork and fish are the way to go when you are on the beach. We also bought pusô which is basically rice cooked in a triangular pouch made of woven coconut leaves.
Hi Ma! If you are reading this, your daughter rarely drinks; let’s just say once in a year. This once-in-a-year drinking spree started when a guy didn’t show up in what was supposedly a barkada outing with plus ones in Bantayan. 😂 And yes, after that incident our Bogo Family decided that we will drink at least once a year, and mind you, I haven’t been drunk to the point of vomiting. Proud huh? LOL! 😂
We played drinking games inside our room. It was my first time dealing with drinking games that somehow succeeded in what it’s supposed to accomplish that night. We laughed hard. I’m just happy no one had a heart attack from laughing so hard. Haha!
After playing, we decided it was time to go to the beach to continue drinking, to chitchat, to dance, and to sing our hearts out.
And there you go, I bet the next things I’ll be saying are familiar. That moment when your friends will try to ask you leading questions and suddenly the spotlight’s on you and there’s no way out until you spill the tea. Does this ring a bell? Haha!
Two of my friends had their fair share of heartbreaks that August. While I was already on my way to healing, they were starting to feel how reality can suck at times.
Then there were crying moments – moments I’d never wanted to see ever again although that may seem impossible at the moment; pain is inevitable in this lifetime.
If there’s something that always reminds me how blessed I am to have these people in my life, it is in moments like this when you’re at your lowest of lowest lows that they can be your strength.
It sucks knowing that the only thing I could do for my friends is hug them and support them, comfort them and yes pray that just like me, they’ll find their way to healing. I couldn’t heal any of the pain they were feeling. I couldn’t even take a portion of it so it’ll be lighter for them to carry.
While seeing them in pain, I wondered: was this the same feeling they felt when they saw me at my lowest point back in 2018 in our Bantayan trip? The feeling of helplessness. I get it now.💔
We could cry all night and be sorry about how things ended so soon for my friends and their ex-lovers, but the night was young and the stars above us twinkled in approval that all is well, maybe not now but one day. In no time, we found ourselves dancing to the beat of the music that took us back on the days when there were nothing no worry about but balancing financial statement at 4 AM that are due by 8 AM while also managing a case study that doesn’t seem to have an answer at all.
We ended up singing until we run out of energy to sing. Then it was past midnight or was it already dawn? I couldn’t even track time because who does when you’re enjoying such an intimate moment with friends, right?
Mornings and New Begginings
Although we slept late that night, we promised to watch the sunrise so we did. With eyes still figuring their way in the lightness of the day, we sat by the beach,side by side, some heads leaning in another’s shoulder, some lay down in the sand while waiting for the sun to show itself. It was a slow morning, the breeze of the calm turquoise water breathed through my heart telling me to savor this peaceful moment for the last time. I value moments like this. And I long to have this kind of moment again with my Bogo Family — complete and happy.
During breakfast, we can't help but laugh recalling how things turned out the night before, who got drunk and very drunk, who vomited and all the funny moments that have to be played in our heads all over again. Hahaha! 😂
I couldn’t help but be emotional while writing this. I value this friendship a lot. And as much as I'd like to spend the rest of my life in Sambawan with these treasures, there were so many things to do and places to see. We said our goodbyes after a hearty meal.
That's it for Part 1 of my Biliran getaway with my Bogo Family. Are you curious about what else happened during this trip? Worry not for I'll share what I can in my next post which will be all about the waterfalls we visited during our Day 2 in the underrated Province of Biliran.
So stay tuned and I'll see you in my next post! Keep safe y'all! ❤️
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