September 25. I did not sleep a wink because I had to be at the airport by 3:00AM. At 4:30 we were on our way to Cebu. It was a short flight and so we were at our destination by 6:00AM. Mommie and I went straight to Castle Peak where we were booked for the night. I caught a couple of hours sleep before heading to our office in Mandaue where I had to evaluate training consultants who were applying for accreditation with our company. There were five applicants who were scheduled the whole day.
During lunchbreak, my officemates (Leo, Marlon and Nanding) from Cebu treated me to a sumptuous lunch at Salo-Salo, a native restaurant near the SMC Mandaue Complex. When the waiters started serving the food, I surmised that we won’t be able to finish everything. There were 6 types of viand on the table and there were only four of us. But lo and behold, 30 minutes after we started eating, there wasn’t a morsel left! Now that was my first taste of BISDAK (bisayang dako) hospitality. I nary had an idea that there would be more of these during my week’s stay in Cebu.You can imagine how sleepy I was the rest of the afternoon. Having eaten too much, and without sleep, I was ready for dreamland. But then again there were 3 more people to interview and evaluate. So when the evaluation session was over, the company vehicle brought me back to the hotel. Mommie and I just ordered room service because neither of us had the energy to dine out. I was asleep by 9pm, when I normally sleep at 1am.
September 26. The following day, we moved to Waterfront Hotel where I was billeted for the duration of the conference I was attending. While I was in the conference, my mom would go out with her cousin, Tita Florinda whom I met for the first time and loved instantly. She said I am “gwapa,” Cebuano for pretty, now why wouldn’t I love her for that?! She was cool for a sixty-something and is very liberal minded.
That night, while my mom was out with her cousins, Jonnabel (another officemate from Manila) and I were treated to another sumptuous dinner by the same guys who treated me for lunch the day before. This time we ate at the Lighthouse, a popular restaurant in Gaisano Mall. These are what we feasted on: Halaan Soup (Clams), Binakol na Alimango (Crab meat in Coconut sauce), Garlic and cheese Oysters, Scallops, Sizzling Squid, Grilled Fish and Chicharong Bulaklak (pork intestines – yummy!). I had a couple of beers but couldn’t take more because all the food I ate took up too much space! We were chauffered back to the hotel and I was a bit surprised that my mom wasn’t back yet from her afternoon with her cousins. About an hour after she returned with a lot of stories about her long lost cousins. Before they parted ways, another date was set the following day, both for lunch and again for dinner. I had a throbbing headache that night, good thing my mom brought with her “polar bear” a Chinese eucalyptus liniment which made me feel better.
September 27. It was the day for concurrent sessions of the conference so in a day I was able to attend four learning session about diverse topics. I carefully chose the sessions I will attend and made sure that the speakers I will listen to are quite competent. I was busy the whole day, but half through it, I remembered I needed to buy another blouse for the sessions the following day. All I brought with me were sports shirts thinking that I can dress casually the whole time. Silly me, I didn’t bother reading the dress code before I packed my luggage. I only had a couple of business shirts and all the rest were just too casual. I asked my mom to buy one for me but she was hesitant that I would like her choice.
That night, after the sessions, I waited for my mom and my Tita Florinda to return from their afternoon rendezvous because we were going out for dinner with Tito Franklin, Tita Mimi and Tito Aguinaldo. They fetched us from the hotel and we went to Ayala Mall to have dinner at Café Laguna. The mall was about to close and I was quite anxious to buy a blouse I could use the following day. While my mom went along with her cousins to find the restaurant, Tita Florinda and I hurried to find a shop that was still open. Good thing Metro was still open and I was surprised that my aunt had already chosen a blouse for me that afternoon when she went out with my mom. She went straight to the rack and told me to try it on for size. Good thing it was nice on me. In five minutes, I had a new blouse to wear the next day.
That night, after the sessions, I waited for my mom and my Tita Florinda to return from their afternoon rendezvous because we were going out for dinner with Tito Franklin, Tita Mimi and Tito Aguinaldo. They fetched us from the hotel and we went to Ayala Mall to have dinner at Café Laguna. The mall was about to close and I was quite anxious to buy a blouse I could use the following day. While my mom went along with her cousins to find the restaurant, Tita Florinda and I hurried to find a shop that was still open. Good thing Metro was still open and I was surprised that my aunt had already chosen a blouse for me that afternoon when she went out with my mom. She went straight to the rack and told me to try it on for size. Good thing it was nice on me. In five minutes, I had a new blouse to wear the next day.
Dinner was on me that night… whew, not on my budget at all! But it was fun being with my relatives. They kept reminiscing about their past, and I was listening intently trying to decipher every word because they were speaking in Cebuano. Before bringing us back to the hotel, my tita Florinda insisted that she be brought home first because she wanted me to meet her youngest daughter, my third cousin Duday. We were about the same age and she was very pleasant when we were introduced. Too bad she couldn’t come with us to Samboan that weekend because she has to work on Saturday. My Tita on the other hand just had a spinal operation so she wouldn’t stand a 3-hour drive because it was bad for her back.
September 28. Ah, the last day of the conference! The day started with a plenary session with speakers from different industries (academe, government, NGO, business, etc) talking about ways Human Resources practitioners can contribute to society. Blah blah blah… some were interesting and funny, while one was a tad depressing…
The morning session ended earlier than scheduled so we had time to freshen up before heading for another lunch treat by our Beer Division in Mandaue. This time all of us conference delegates from SMC where brought to Golden Cowrie, a native restaurant, a stone’s throw away from Waterfront Hotel. As expected it turned to a feast again, with our Cebuano officemates giving us another taste of Bisdak hospitality. Crispy Pata, Lechon Cebu, Pinakbet, Tuna sticks, Sinigang na hipon, Pandan chicken, etcetera etcetera. I was getting cross-eyed from overeating! After lunch, we went back to the hotel to rest because the next session was to start at 4PM. That would be the culminating session where a former SMC employee (Imee Roberts) was conducting a “learning concert.” When she started speaking, we all felt proud that we are from San Miguel, because she kept mentioning how SMC has helped her become the successful person that she is now. She is now an accomplished HR practitioner in the US and has been awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for exemplary contribution to society.
My mom and I just ordered room service that night, and settled early because the following day, we will be picked up by Tito Franklin and Tita Mimi for the trip to Samboan.
September 29. We checked out of the hotel and hit the road early so we could get to Samboan before lunch. I was asleep most of the ride but woke up just in time to see the sprawling beaches all the way to Samboan. The site was heavenly! Imagine, we were driving through a mountainous terrain but to our left was a white sand beach! Such beauty!
We got to Samboan in time for lunch, and it being the town fiesta, the dinner table was again full of food! Tita Nora welcomed us with open arms and immediately handed out plates so we could have lunch. I couldn’t eat as much probably because I was too tired. So I just went up to the bedroom reserved for my mom and me and slept all afternoon. The place was so laid back, there was hardly anything to keep one busy anyway. 
When I woke up, I asked my mom if she could show me the beach. It was just a few meters away from my Tita Nora’s house. When we got there, my mom said there had been a few changes from the last time she was there (last year) because some quarrying had been done to the beach. But nevertheless it was still beautiful. We only stayed a few minutes because it was getting dark already. We took a different path going back to the house, this time traversing a 100+ staircase going up to the highway. Now, I was never good at climbing stairs so you can imagine how difficult it was going up the steep and slippery steps! All that time I was carrying a bagful of white stones I picked from the beach. I wanted to bring home a piece of the beach where my ancestors used to live.
September 30. We only stayed in Samboan overnight because if we were to return to the City on October 1, we might not have enough time to buy “pasalubong” before our 3PM flight. Tita Nora gave us a bagful of homemade cookies, and torta which was too heavy to carry. It filled up my mom’s overnight bag to the brim. We decided then that I will have to hand carry the bag because if we checked it in at the airport, we will be charged for exceeding the luggage weight limit.
Tito Franklin drove us to Sarrosa Hotel where my mom and I were to stay for the night. I decided to try it out because it looked nice from the outside. Bad decision! The hotel was old, drab and run down and the whole time I was afraid that bedbugs will eat my mom and me alive.
October 1. The next morning, my mom and I went to SM City early to buy “pasalubong.” We ended up with one big box full of goodies and another box of Lechon Cebu. We returned to the hotel to check out and headed to the airport. After we have checked in our luggage, we headed for the boarding lounge where we were to wait for our flight. But as my carry on baggage passed through the x-ray, the airport personnel saw something odd…
Stupid me, I forgot to pack my bagful of stones in my check-in luggage! They said they have to confiscate it because stones are considered as weapons. What?!!! Do I look like a crazed maniac that would just hurl stones at people while inside the plane! Of course I didn’t say that to their faces, after all they were just following SOP. Oh well, sentimental as I was, I had to let go of my precious stones, plucked from the beach where my ancestors once tread.
The plane we rode was small, seats less than 200, and the weather being bad, we experienced a lot of turbulence. It was like riding a roller coaster! I knew my mom was praying the whole time, while I was trying very hard not to regurgitate my lunch! When we finally touched down in Manila, I thanked the heavens each of us came home in one piece.
Alas my Cebu Holiday was over.
