It was CHAOS as I excitedly wound my way to the lounge area of the Philtranco bus terminal in Pasay City on the evening of my trip. But what greeted me was the throng of people in various states and disposition as they were awaiting for their bus to arrive. Unfortunately, because it was 30 December and the height of the passenger season, all buses were late for as much as 2 hours.

Call it madness, call it a masochist’s trip but, after much ruminations, I finally made it…

The slow road to Caraga. If you want that, ride on a provincial jeepney. What usually takes 3 hours by van or four by bus can be an exasperating 6 hours by jeep. If you are short on patience, then forget about it. There are just too many stops, too many waits, too many bad roads coupled with a heavy downpour.

On an ordinary day, the highway leading to the municipality of Gov. Generoso in the middle of the western side of the long and narrow peninsula of Davao Oriental is lonely. Except perhaps for the occasional bus or private vehicle traveling to Mati, the province’s capital or to Tagum in Davao del Norte. Sometimes, a habalhabal, a motorized public transport, passes filled with passengers.

I really don’t know why the Agora bus terminal in the city of Cagayan de Oro always fascinates me. Its a modest strip of land just beside the Agora market in the often chaotic part that is just near the pier.

It is bisected by a short two lane road where the buses come and go. On each side is the covered bus bays, housing eateries, turo turo style, side by side with regular pasalubong stalls and a few ticket booths.