Patag

Way back at Lear, Patag has already found its way on my must-go list. The opportunity, however, presented itself just lat month. I wasn't even invited yet I have managed to join a very intimate group of the Sendicos and their extended family that included Junrey, Marc and JD who asked me to tag along.

The outdoors, whether the mountains or the seas hold an inexplicable amount of interest in me. The thought of hiking and bathing under the waterfalls had me up before sunrise and on the road even before breakfast.

Of the many treats that the place is known for, we only visited the falls that feed the dam and the shrine that was built for the many local heroes who died during the Japanese occupation.

National Parks in the Philippines face the same problem, accessibility. Going up, we waited an hour for the PUJ to fill. Going back to the city, we had to cut our party short to make it to the last trip at 2:00 PM which we nearly missed. The trip back literally was a breeze with the PUJ almost flying, I decided to keep my eyes from the blur of trees we passed by rather than risk losing lunch.

The Ideal Destination

Today was all about giving Marlo as much as we could in terms of cultural, geographical and gastronomical experience that is distinctly Negrense.

 After a very long first day, I left the house with him still sleeping on the couch while I went about marketing and preparing breakfast. When I got back two hours later, he was already up and about we walked to mother's to eat and walked back to prepare for yet another long day.

The road construction along Valladolid got us held up for a good thirty minutes, it was already lunchtime when we reached Bacolod. We alit in front of the old City Hall so we could walk downtown, crossing the city plaza stopping by at the Cathedral for the angelus before heading to the Capitol. There, we checked out the contents of the museum which is not that much from what I can remember then strolled at the capitol lagoon before walking the rest of the way to Pepe's for lunch and meet Annie as well (who elected to join us for the night at the house). I ordered him Salpicao while I had my usual Lamb Stew which he sampled sparingly.

Annie had the rest of the afternoon mapped out for us. She was able to get two girlfriends of her drive us to Silay and Talisay for the must visit Balay Negrense, El Ideal and the Ruins.

The search for Balay Negrense (which we called Balay ni Gretchen in reference to Annie's anecdote of it having been called as such by some tourists) was over after our novice driver got over her confusion over going straight ahead or turning left or right. We were the last to arrive and the staff were starting to call it a day. Having been there before, I was good after getting a good shot a sitting at the porch bench.

There are two ways (I learned during this trip) in which to reach the Ruins. One was through a private subdivision (which we used when I went there with Lira) passing through Rose Lawn which offered a refreshing look at memorial gardens with their amazing lights that cast soft gold glow, it makes you think of an outdoor party. We took the easier but longer route which passes through the airport access road bu turning left on the second stoplight (where we had to wait about two to three cycles as the green light was out of order...it was a funny one).

After many wrong turns and liters of fuel and bouts of belly-aching laughter, yes we did all what we had set to do and see. That included eating dinner at Ading's where I had JD join us. Suprises for the night include JD graduating in the same school and year as Annie's :)