Bolinao lies on the nosetip if you, like me, believe that Luzon has the shape of the face of an angry witch.
It was 9:00pm on October 25, a Thursday, when my bus for Bolinao left Manila, the mouth of the angry witch. A tropical storm was just leaving the Philippines at that exact time so there was an air of gloom while I was on the road. During the six-hour drive from the mouth to the nosetip of the witch, I alternated beween sleep and dreamy wakefulness, catching a glimpse of the ricefields in Tarlac and the fishponds in Dagupan all swelled up because of the rain. The water kept swallowing everything in our surroundings and we kept driving, looking for a safe place.
At 3:00am on October 26th, I awoke from my dream. The rain has stopped and I arrived in the small sleeping town of Bolinao. Knowing exactly where they were going, everyone in the bus jumped out hastily and proceeded to the homes of their families, their friends or their lovers. At 3 in the morning I had nowhere to go.
The place was cold and foggy so I hid in the comforts of my hoody. Some locals were up early though they didn't seem to have any business there at all. I walked around the town trying to find a place serving food. There were various cafeterias open. I chose the most decent-looking one with some tourists already present. Even they were quiet. The only sound I heard was an old song played from an old radio: "Sana...dalawa ang puso ko. Di na sana nalilito kung sino sa inyo..."
After finishing my lugaw and 3-in-1 coffee, I hired a tricycle to take me to my hotel. We passed through a dirt road with no electricity, the only light was coming from the tricycle. This time night bugs interfered with the silence of the town.
Exactly as the blogs I've read told, we would pass by a river opening to the sea. This water body would be teeming with life from the different water creatures and the scene would be beautiful. I reached that place and on the wooden bridge my ride slowed down to almost a halt and the view of the river opened up. It was in no way full of life or beautiful. It was dark and sad and lonely with dull grey tones. Then I heard a mysterious tune that I somehow heard from minutes or years before that seemed to lead me to that very bridge.
I reached my hotel at around 4.30am and slept so deep as if I was on my own bed. All the gloom of the previous hours disappeared when I woke up in the morning and I saw the beach and bright sun.
I proceeded with my intended itinerary: swim at the beach in the morning and take a walking tour of the town in the afternoon. I saw the lighthouse, the caves and the unique rock formation on the sea.
I took photos and captured everything beautiful in that trip as you can see below. It was a fun and memorable vacation.
On some nights however, I would descend back to that dark sad place in Bolinao and all my childhood fears would come back. I would feel the witch below the wooden bridge grabbing my legs with her slimy limbs, reaching for my chest, squeezing it while I hear her night bugs humming "Sana...dalawa ang puso ko..."
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| Swimmer |
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| Beach |
