
September August was cruel. And in the next four months, from September to December, my travels were more of an escape. Come to think of it, whenever I am in Makati, I just get depressed that I have all sorts of excuses and reasons to travel. That’s what the heartbreak did to me, travel to seek refuge of being anonymous, travel to distract oneself. But no amount of traveling can console me.
I went to Davao City for five days with a stop at Samal City, supposedly for vacation (but more of distracting myself) but was still able to find work for a magazine article that I did interviews, food tasting and shoots in the last two days.

October Just like September, I was traveling for 25 days. I was wearing myself out. I was scared to stop. Fortunately, October was full of travels locally and abroad. And I always had excuses to hit the road, to ride a bus to a far province or ride a plane and cross international boundaries.
I got invited by Microtel to visit Baguio again. And I was just thankful. The cool weather is always welcome and I always feel safe in her embrace. This month’s pain was lesser now, compared to August and September. But there were still moments when I just break down.
After Cagayan, I was able to snag a free Manila – Zamboanga – Tawitawi – Zamboanga – Manila ticket and off I flew without hesitation. Another travel opportunity to go back to these places again and again. This time, my travels are unhurried. I just spend days without doing anything or just visiting old haunts in both provinces and take pictures. Just enjoy without thinking of what to blog or write about.
I was again in Cebu for liesure. With some friends, we explored Oslob and visited the whale sharks and that beautiful waterfall and spent a night in Crimson Resort and Spa in Mactan.
Maguindanao was peaceful at that time and we were hiking to the Mt. Firis complex with the other Tedurays.
All the while that we were trekking, they also have this party of gong players who accompanied us all to the site. And in the middle of this, as the sun was about to set, all things just came together: the rythmic sound of the gongs, the reason why these proud tribe is going, filled with hope and longing, and in my own emotional state, I experienced my thin place for the first time and I just got weak.
After arriving again in Makati, I changed clothes and packed up again for my flight to Siem Reap in Cambodia. Invited for the Blogfest Asia, I was able to explore the city and Phnom Penh without exploring the temples and Angkor Wat. The place is just beautiful that I am planning to go there again and spend a month.

November I was still in Cambodia for the next four days but have to cut it short for a work assignment in Vigan City, Ilocos Sur. Nothing fancy about this month, just the usual travel to Baguio, Tarlac, Cebu and a short trip to Iloilo where I visited Dingle for its beautiful neo gothic cemetery chapel.

December The end of the year started with a trip to the Bondoc Peninsula in Quezon province with my friend Jan. There, we explored for old churches and other heritage houses. We visited Unisan, Pitogo, Macalelon, Catanauan and Mulanay before heading to Atimonan and Gumaca.
This month is meaningful. After the tumult in August, we were still on and off. And it was, finally, this month back in Cebu where I stayed for many weeks for an assignment, that we finally parted not in the best of circumstance and with bad blood. Enmity. I have to do it. There’s no more choice left. Its no longer worth it. From bf, I became a third party and I don’t want to lose more of my self respect or whatever’s left of it.
The last few days of the year were spent in Bohol, which has been great. I traveled the whole length of the circumferential road network of the island province and enjoyed eating breakfast of seafoods in Caingget. It was a great way to cap off a rather tumultuous year for me and my heart. With a friend’s visit on the last day of the year in Cebu, I’m on to the path of healing and living again. Writing all this stuff is catharsis.
2013 will be my year of grace.
Warm hug 🙂
Thanx Lauren 🙂
It was a roller coaster ride bai. But time and travel will, hopefully, heal everything. Ayo-ayo 🙂
thanx bai 🙂