BLESSINGS WILL COME WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT IT PART 2

Friday. 30 July. Assembly time 0400 am at Genesis bus terminal in Cubao. Btw, Genesis is the only bus company who offers trips from Manila to Baler. They have special tires which can endure the roads to Baler. The roads are quite rough but they are currently under construction already to provide accessibility to tourists.

The travel time from Cubao to Baler is 8 hours, with three stopovers. We got there at around 12 noon. A tricycle took us to Bahia de Baler, where we were booked by the secretary of the Senator. Then, after arranging our things in our rooms, we met our guide (not our tour guide), Atty. Gail, for lunch. She was the one who took care of us during our stay there. She works with the Senator.

After having our meal, Atty. Gail, with the driver, and Kuya Allan and Kuya Jun, the official photographer and videographer, led us to Dica (or Dicasalarin, as what I can remember of the place's name). I thought that when we arrive at Baler, we can already tour the city by ourselves but while we were on the bus before leaving Manila, Louie told us that we have an itinerary and Atty. Gail will be accompanying us. So, in other words, we were treated like VIPs. hahaha. I was wondering why are we going to Dica. Atty. said that the Senator wanted to see us. Alright. We were all nervous. --- 45 minutes of travel to Dica. All we can see on our way to the place were the mountains, the sea, and the sky. So beautiful. At the same time, I was afraid because the roads are not cemented, well, only some parts, and the rest are under construction, and with just one wrong turn, we might fall on the cliff. Good thing the driver knows the way very well. 

We arrived at the Senator's place. Speechless. Then, he already approached us. We were all starstrucked. hahaha. He introduced us to his staff, all of them were fresh graduates, from UPLB and Leyte. He let us taste their suman. It was really good. Unfortunately, we haven't bought some for pasalubong because there were no cooked suman in the store on our way home. Anyway, after eating, he let us tour the place. We were brought to the cove. It was really beautiful. It was really a time for relaxation and nature appreciation. God's creations are indeed amazing. Here are some of our photos. :)

 

We really had a tiring yet great time. When we came back, we did a little discussion with him about our paper and the culture and tourism of Baler. The Dumagats (whom we met while we were on the cove) arrived with fresh fishes they caught. One of the colorful fishes was called Mameng. Senator have them cooked and invited us for a dinner. It was like a dream for us. Hahaha

BLESSINGS WILL COME WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT IT PART 1

Saturday. 24 July. I worked on our Cultural Tourism paper with my Baler group mates. We stayed at Kat's dorm. Meeting place was at 8 in the morning at Dapitan. By 10 o'clock, I, with Louie and Earl went to school and interviewed a professor at the Main Bldg. After getting information about Baler, we decided to go back to Kat's dorm since the professor has to meet his class by twelve. We finished the draft of the paper and decided to go home and rest and just continue it during school days. 

Tuesday. 27 July. Our cultural tourism professor asked the class who wasn't able to do their fieldwork yet. Unfortunately, we were the only group who raised hands. We talked to her to inform her that instead of going to the field which is already impossible since we lack time already, we decided to just interview a reliable person and start on our paper before the submission of the first draft. Surprisingly, she gave us a weird and discouraging reaction. She was against our plans of involving politics in our paper. (The professor we interviewed  worked for the government before.) Actually, we weren't about to involve politics, we were just asking for information and fortunately our informant who has a contact in the government helped us. She also said that we must do the fieldwork or if not, we must give our best shot on the paper 'cause if not, she might just throw it away. Pressure. Hopeless. How can we go to Baler with such a limited time? The submission of the first draft which she will grade was on next week. And, I don't have money for the trip. I don't want to add mom's problems.

Wednesday. 28 July. We received a good news. The secretary of a  Senator informed us that they will be sponsoring our trip to Baler. Surprised with the news, we grabbed the great opportunity at once. Our decision to go to Baler was very instant. Truly, this was a blessing from God. I informed my mom at once about this good news that will be a relief for her since I will spend nothing for the tour. 

Thursday. 29 July. Consultation period for cultural tourism. We informed our professor that we will push through with our Baler trip. She also apologized for her reaction with our past decision of not going to Baler. Then, she gave us some guidelines on our paper. Thank You Lord everything went well. We decided to not attend our classes on Friday so we can go to Baler. 

In the afternoon, we went to the Senate to get the money we will be using for our trip. Aah. All  expenses paid except for our pasalubong. :) Indeed, this is a blessing to the five of us. :)