Suroy-suroy

I’ve always dreamed of getting on a bus without knowing where I’m going and just stopping at the first place I fancy. I still have not found the courage to do so but got a taste of what it might be like last week.

I was supposed to meet someone in Boljoon. Due to a scheduling snafu, I found myself in southern Cebu with a lot of time in my hands. It did not take long for me to decide to take the long way back to the city and to go around the southern end of Cebu. It helped that I knew that the car’s gas tank was almost full, that the driver knew his way around the area, and that my cousin was as eager as I was to see the towns that came after Boljoon. I also knew that we had at least four hours of daylight to go sightseeing. Best of all, my grandmother had sent us off with a huge plastic container of butter cookies. Even if we got lost, we would never get hungry.

Our first stop was the Oslob Church. I had been there shortly before it was burned last year. Construction was ongoing when we saw it. The roof had been replaced. The trees beside the church were cut and the logs were piled near the walls. We got down and posed like tourists. Suroy-suroy sa Sugbo was on.

Our next stop was Santander. We passed by the diving resorts that had proliferated in the area. A friend had mentioned that he made a trip to southern Cebu fifteen years ago and had difficulty finding a place to stay the night. That will no longer be a problem now. Even Boljoon has several resorts. Not too long ago, only Argao had one.

We argued if the name “Bato” meant that there was a rock that the place was named after or if it was because the place was rocky. We also visited the pier where pumpboats going to Dumaguete were found. Negros was so close that we could see its trucks moving. I was sorely tempted to make the 30-minute ride to another province but decided to save the adventure for another day.

Samboan was the farthest I had been before that. I was excited to see the towns that were between it and Badian, the farthest I had been in the western side of Southern Cebu. I lost track of the names of the towns and got reminded of them only when we were near the signs that said “Welcome” and “Thank you for visiting.” I was just so enamored with the beaches and the mountains all around us. I was also surprised to see several huge trees along the highway. We made a photo stop beside a huge dakit (balete) tree that was allegedly haunted.

In Malabuyoc, we had our pictures taken outside the church. It looked like a smaller replica of the Oslob Church. In Alegria, we took pictures of old houses and the kilometer sign. I loved the intricate designs carved on the ceilings and windows and wished that someone would write a book about old houses in Cebu.

By the time we reached Ronda, school children were coming home from school. We also saw people gathering shells along the shore in Dumanjug as it was low tide. It was wonderful to be in a different town at various hours of the day and to discover the rhythm of life outside the city. 

We made two stops for pasalubong—the Dumanjug Market for inasal na manok Bisaya and Carcar for chicharon— before heading home. The impromptu trip has made me dream bigger dreams. One of these days, I will get on the bus, the ferry, and whatever mode of transportation is available and explore not just Cebu but also its neighbors.