argoffy's outlet: March 2011

The last two weeks I’ve spent with the 1^st Order GPS Re-Observation Project has been an adventurous ride—from the Island of Jomalig to Alabat Island; Tabaco City to Virac, Catanduanes, and to the remote outskirts of Albay and Sorsogon – Whoah! It was a whole lot of travel. So much than I’ve expected.

The experience seems so appealing to the adventurers, I believe, but surely the vanity-infected individuals will abhor such a thought of spending the night in an uncomfortable place, without aircon, or electricity. I can only imagine Ate Lala spending the night in the Barangay Hall and how she’d manage to sleep a night or two in such a place (hehe. I’m not saying that she’s vain though.). Good for Ate, she’s already a manager before she could come across such an experience. Hehe. Peace Ate!

As for me, the travels I’ve made for the last two weeks were superb. We departed from Manila on a Sunday. I barely had a good rest then after our 72-hour Tidal Observation in Sariaya, Quezon and Batangas City Port(that was from Monday to Thursday), report for work on Friday, and a GPS Observation for the calibration of the instruments on Saturday. And here’s the team, all ready for the mobilization just a day after the calibration.

I wish I had a digicam with me so I could capture more vividly each remarkable moments spent during these times. Nevertheless, here’s a simple account of the trip that made and pics from my phone:

Sunday, 20 March 2011 Mobilization Day. It was getting late in the afternoon when we finally get to travel to our respective points after hours of negotiations with our hired drivers. We departed from Manila at 5PM and arrived at Real, Quezon at around 9PM, spending the night at the house of Kuya Godo’s sister-in-law. By the morning, we were fortunate to know that a boat was scheduled to arrive and depart from Real, Quezon by 10AM.

Monday, 21 March 2011 - Island of Jomalig, Quezon.

The boat departed from Real at 12 noon and after 5 hours of sea getting dizzy and nauseated caused by the smell of the boat’s engine, we finally arrived in the island at around 5:30 PM. It came to me as a surprise to see the rich light-brownish sand of the island. The beach was so pure you could right your name on it so effortlessly. It was getting dark then and the sun was setting beautifully by the horizon and all I could do was to wonder how simple the life is on this island. The children sit by the sand, watching the boat being fully emptied. We were invited for a cup of coffee but Kuya Wapo refused the offer (knowing that there were cases of people being poisoned in the island).

I thought after the boat ride, just a few steps and that’s it, we’re on the point, QZN-2. But then a tractor was waiting for us by the basketball court to bring us to the airport, where the point is located. It was farther than I really thought. We passed by tall Cogon grasses, on a rough road that seemed like eternity. There were no street lights (you couldn’t even call it a road or a street anyway), and the light from the tractor was the only light guiding our way. It was scary hearing the sounds of the nocturnal insects as we passed by an uninhabited field of grasses and itchy shrubs almost covering our path. And if you’re a scary movie addict, you could immediately imagine the villains of the movie “Wrong Turn” surprising you and dragging you on the thick shrubs.

There were 7 of us on the tractor: a young ECE (of my age, I believe), checking on the SMART tower in the island as what he’s told me; his 3 co-workers, who’ve just had trouble carrying the ever so heavy dynamo, Kuya Wapo, the driver, and I.

By 8PM, we finally get to the airport and met Kuya Wapo’s ex-girl, whom he’d never seen for more than a decade. She’s fair and beautiful (she’s gained too much weight though as Kuya Wapo has told me), chatty, and conversational, as expected from an elementary school teacher. She led us to the old house she said she’s renovating. No light, no water – we have to settle for what we have, I told myself. And I survived two nights on that same house. Haha. The last night was spent drinking lambanog (my first time) with Kuya Danny, Kuya Wapo’s friend.

5-hour trip from Real, Quezon to Jomalig Island on this motoboat

March 24, 2011 - Island of Alabat, Quezon

After our observation in Jomalig, I went with the NetRS instrument to monitor its performance during the observation. The TA was supposed to bring the instrument in the mainland for ease in monitoring. However, the TA left the instrument’s antenna in Alabat Island when all teams went mainland for downloading. Hence, I was left with no other choice but to cross another island. I was still anxious then crossing another sea after our 5-hour wild and turbulent boat ride from Jomalig to Real, Quezon. Thank God, the ride was not as rough as we had in Jomalig.

Alabat is already a well-developed island with all the internet shops and a University (I never thought I’d find one in a small island). With about 5 barangays, Alabat has its own port with 3 regular boat trips daily. We stayed in the house of Brader’s grandma and saved on our hotel and food budget. Haha.