We were so excited on this day, specifically, me because I could finally bring my girlfriend to my hometown, which was in Quezon province. She hadn’t visited yet my province due to distance and travel time issues from Cavite to Quezon. We prepared early because it will take us at least 12 hours of motor drive. Can you imagine how far it was? I think we left home around 4:50 am from Naic, Cavite, and our first route was to reach Tagaytay, followed by Sto. Tomas, Batangas, to San Pablo, Laguna.
I felt so sleepy during our rides but I have to be conscious and focus on driving or else something bad would happen to both of us. At first, we stopped at the gas station to pee and rest a bit my body and my girlfriend’s back were aching as well. We continued our journey, and the weather seemed fine. It was a good indication that we would have a fast drive.
After a few hours of a long drive, we felt hungry and decided to find the nearest fast-food chain and luckily, we found Mcdonald's. This McDonald was at Tiaong, Quezon. While we were eating our food, my girlfriend asked if we were already near their hometown. And I answered her that we were still far from our destination. Although we were in Quezon already, we were only halfway through. I kidding and said, “Let’s go back to Cavite, we already reached Quezon and ate at McDo.” After we finished eating, we continued our travel.
While we were traveling, we stopped numerous times to capture beautiful elements of environments such as mountains. I do not remember what mountain I took because it has been a while since I visit Quezon. But it was really alluring. My girlfriend also complained that her butt was burning because of a long drive. It was understandable because I felt the same thing as well. We took breaks and eat alongside the highway when we felt hungry. That was our way to survive the extreme heat and minimize our tiredness.
After a few hours of traveling, we arrived at Lucena, Quezon. I can’t feel anything but happy because finally, I could smell the distinct smell of my province. The time I was still living here when I was young flashed back. I couldn’t help but become emotional during that time. Also, I think we met halfway through the travel distance so, I told myself to bear a little more time and we can reach home. The home I missed so much for several years.
From our breaks, we arrived at Bondoc Peninsula. Did you know that the peninsula consists of 12 municipalities? They were named Agdangan, Buenavista, Catanauan, General Luna, Macalelon, Mulanay, Padre Burgos, Pitogo, San Andres, San Francisco, San Narciso, and Unisan, all in the 3rd Congressional District of Quezon. Those municipalities are hilly and have beautiful spots and views. It was a quick fun fact about my province.
We stopped there and bought a sim load because we were going to Bitukang Manok Road. This road route specifically I am now familiar with so I have to use the map. I was wondering why my map wasn’t working but then I realized that my location was turned off. How dumb I was, lol! We were going to Bondoc Peninsula or also known as Padre Burgos Road. On the left side, you were going to Bitukang Manok Road. After a couple of minutes, we decided to continue our travel and we realized that we were already nearby.
After taking pictures we decided to go back to the route because that only route, I know. Every time we arrived at other municipalities, we took photos to serve as memories and also a sign that we already passed them. It was a satisfying feeling to know you were getting nearer and nearer to your home. I missed the place where I was born and raised from.
Finally, the long wait was over. We arrived at my hometown which was Malunay, Quezon. My heart beats so fast that this municipality I was truly aware of. We only need to travel a little bit more and we can finally reach home. But before that, we stopped and took photos of some beautiful spots in Malunay to show to everyone.
It was a refreshing sight to see this sea because growing up, I used to see this because most of the time, we passed through here. In my hometown, the main source of income is harvesting coconuts. That was why there were plenty of coconut trees. In the next blog, I’ll show you how many coconuts we have near our homes that were cared for by my family, specifically my parents.
When you see this church it's the sign that we are almost there just a few meters away and we will reach my home. We started our travel at 4:50 am we arrived at 2:30 pm. Can you imagine the travel we had using a motorcycle? I bet most of you think that was tiring and it really was. First of all, I just wanted to thank the Lord for guiding and protecting us while we were traveling because we arrived safe and sound.