Vacation pa more

Netnet Camomot

WHAT a bummer that was for Bohol. And for the vacationers in Bohol. They bought airline tickets, reserved hotels, were looking forward to a well-deserved R&R during the Holy Week, and then, armed men arrived and the military arrived, too, of course, to drive them outta there. And they lived happily ever after? Nah.

Cebu and Bohol used to be safe, supposedly avoided by armed rebels who didn’t want to be trapped in these islands with no exit to escape through. Those days are apparently gone. The US released a travel advisory for its citizens to avoid Central Visayas due to intelligence reports on possible kidnappings in the area, and for this to happen in Bohol has proven the US to be right on this one. There were other kidnappings–actual or attempted–in Davao and Palawan beach resorts, with one happening at Samal Island in Davao in 2015, so, where should vacationers go now, to the Stations of the Cross located way up some mountains?

Bohol is the bigger version of Camiguin. Same ambience, peace, and quiet. You go there to swim, meditate, stare at the ocean, eat lots of seafood, and sleep. Like Camiguin, Bohol also has dolphins, although the tourist guide will insist you’ll see whales. My favorite joke whenever they say that is, I look like a whale–all I have to do is look in the mirror, no thanks to the excess weight. So, if there are dolphins and no whales, no big deal for me–I see one often, anyway, as long as there’s a mirror in front of me.

It’s in Oslob, Cebu that I saw a whale. Many whales. Well, they were whale sharks. But still, they’re whales, right? And there were killer whales at SeaWorld in San Diego. They’re called “killer” but they look so cute, you’ll forget the “killer” part once they’re performing. There are issues on their captivity and the circus acts they have to perform, and we’re looking forward to seeing them swimming in the ocean where human beings will again find a way to make a tourist attraction out of them. Oh, well.

A dorm mate calls Lamitan, Basilan as her hometown and way back in the early ’80s, she said she would invite us to her place once it enjoys peace and quiet. It has been 35 years, but peace and quiet have remained elusive for Basilan. I did visit Zamboanga City in the ‘90s for a Jaycee conference. We were having durian right outside a department store when cops approached us and asked where we were from. I guess we were obviously the odd ones there, and they could tell. Probably because only tourists would eat durian right there on the sidewalk. The sun had not set yet, but the stores in that neighborhood were already closing its doors, and the cops advised us to return to the hotel. They escorted us to a jeepney and asked the driver to bring us straight to the hotel. If that kind of warning doesn’t alarm you, I don’t know what will.

A week later, when we were all back in Cagayan de Oro, a public market in Zamboanga was bombed. The same market where we bought chocolates, towels, and blankets. The threat could have been there all along while we were there, but the cops could only ask us to return to the hotel pronto, not allowed to reveal intelligence reports.

Accidents and incidents happen all the time. Even a simple thing as your daily exercise can give you injuries. Or driving along the highway at Cugman or Bulua may make one a victim of a drunken driver, a wayward driver, a driver whose mind is far, far away and not able to focus on driving. The only thing we can do most of the time is pray. Pray for safety. Pray for security. Pray for peace. For we have no absolute control on others’ behavior. We can be the defensive driver, for example, but if the other car has an offensive driver, should we now brainwash him to defensive levels?

The Philippine government not having much control either on Pinoy drivers makes this country unsafe for motorcycles. Better buy a car. But with more taxes now waiting for approval to make those cars unaffordable, the motorcycle remains a preferred mode of transportation. Besides, bikes can breeze through traffic and motorcyclists say all that wind and rush give them temporary freedom from life’s harsh realities. Must be like walking or running which also allows one to meditate amidst the trees and the trails.

The Holy Week was there to give us pause. To reflect. To think. To see.

But there were those who had to work through the whole week. Like me. Vacation was so over by Palm Sunday. Wait, I had to work through that vacation, too. So, was that a vacation?