Ilocos Adventures Part 2: Lola's Pamisa, Pagudpud, and Cabangtalan

So, I never really got over my mini Ilocos vacation. I loved it so damn much that I had to go back!!

So we went back :D

Lola held the Pamisa (prayers for our relatives who passed away and a feast to celebrate their lives) during the last weekend of April.

We got there around 9am. When we got to the house, everyone was already up cooking and slicing away at  two giant pigs they had killed early early in the morning. It was a good thing, we missed out on that.

I was too exhausted from the bus ride, so I showered and slept until noon. I woke up to noises of people talking outside. "People" is an understatement..it was more like "crowd." There was at least 100 or so people outside waiting for the food. It was insane, the whole front drive way was filled to capacity with people, relatives, neighbors, random people who just wanted free lunch.

Then my lola held a mini prayer session inside the house. She lit around 15 or so long candles, which represented someone who had passed away. Afterwards, everyone joined in and prayed the rosary. When everyone was done, people started "analyzing" the candles to see which ones melted and which ones didn't. According to local beliefs, the candle that melted the most meant one of our relatives is sad and the ones that didn't melt were happy. :)

The next day we took a trip to Pagudpud. We intended to take max 30 people, but instead 50 showed up. I was soo frustrated and annoyed at all the random free loaders that got on the bus. I was tempted to kick them off (I would have done so) except my mom thought doing so would make us look bad. So we had to bear with the massive amount of uninvited people to free load off our bus and the food we prepared.

We stayed at Pagudpud till noon then we went sight seeing in the Marcos Museum. It was essentially, their family's version of the hall of fame. In front of the museum there was a huge "Gun Free Zone" sign, which I thought was sorely ironic considering Marcos was a former president who favored hard power and used extra-judicial killings to get his way.

The way his tomb was laid out was unnerving. The adjacent hallway gave his history, random quotes that was suppose to instill national pride in people, and, of course, pictures of his wife. The building behind was a huge room filled with family pictures of his children (all running for politics..not surprising) and his grand-children.

Marcos was definitley a smart, charismatic, and eloquent leader..then again so were most of the dictators in history. The entire museum was not impressive. In fact it had that old-aged and erie feel to it that negated any possibility of reverence or awe on my end. Then again, the Marcos family is sort of like that..still struggling for power but not getting up to par with where they use to be.

The vacation went really well and we took the bus back to Manila at night, which was way better because we could sleep and escape the afternoon heat.

There was also another beach, Cabangtalan, nearby that was cheap, not crowded. and child-friendly (because the beach at Pagudpud had huge waves and was really deep). We just made lunch and took it out to the beach to enjoy. The sun was out and the water was nice and cold. Freaking Amazing.

We stopped at a mini store that soled "Royal Bibinka," a dessert that screamed ooey gooey Jello-ey butter. The best part about these deserts is-THEY WERE FRESH OUT OF THE OVEN. I bought a box of 24, and, I kid not, I ate 3/4 of the box in one sitting and in one hour. The only thing stopping my momentum was its freshness. It was piping hot.

(courtesy of http://www.foodtrippings.com/desserts/ilocoss-royal-bibingka/)

(because by the time I realized I should have taken a picture of the food, I had eaten it all. Sorry)

The trip home was sad, because I knew my mom would be leaving soon. However, it gave me a lot of amazing memories. I am definitely looking forward to my next trip..ghetto bus style :D

Ilocos Adventures Part 1: Mom's Return and Being Touched by a Ghost!

Sauna Bus Ride:

It was literally a 12 hour bus ride from Manila to Sinait, Ilocos Sur. We left at 8am and arrived at 8:30pm. I am never EVER taking the morning trip again. The bus stopped so many times and the afternoon heat penetrated the windows leaving most of the passengers sweating buckets. It literally felt like a sauna. My face was plastered to the air-condition vent from noon till 5pm. When I got off the bus, I was definitely not a pretty sight to behold.

To top off the heat, we were also stuck in traffic because most Filipinos in the city were clamoring to get out with us to enjoy the Holy Week break and there were also numerous processions occurring on the side of the road that re-enacted Jesus' final moments. I guess it was wrong to have gone during Holy Week but Cebu Pacific airline tickets were too expensive and it was the only time I could get time off from work.

Regardless, we arrived safely.

Grandma's House:

My grandma's house has a nice big porch that overlooks the front lawn. It's big enough to seat at least ten to fifteen people and that was where my mom had received and entertained visitors and friends, from long ago, during the weekend we were there. People came, literally every hour, just to see her. I was surprised people weren't getting a number to wait for their turn.

The following day we went to the nearby wet market to buy fresh fish and vegetables. It was scorching hot, but my mom wanted to be fancy and wear her nice dress and cute hand bag. People from her past stopped her to hug and kiss her. She was sweating a lot and I could tell she wanted to get out of the heat. Regardless, she continued on--entertaining old classmates, neighbors, and distant relatives who bumped into her in the market and were surprised she was back in town.
The whole weekend was a celebration of her return, which consisted of the most amazing food and a weekend of karaoke.

Grandpa's Eldest Sister:

On Friday afternoon we visted my grandpa's eldest sister. She's blind, paralyzed, has no teeth, and is bed-ridden. She almost died three times, but for some reason she survived and outlived her parents and siblings. My mom sat on the floor next to her, stroked her head, and said "I'm here now auntie". Then all of a sudden, I heard her whisper my mom's name, "Rosie." My mom cried and I got teary as she stroked her hair and talked to her, grateful to see her once again. Most of my lola's and lolo's siblings passed away. To have one remaining is a rarity. For me to meet her was a blessing.

A Ghost Touched me:

On Saturday, after visiting Badoc to book our bus tickets to Manila, I was overcome with nausea and dizziness. I didn't know why or how I got sick. I realized it couldn't be the food because no one else got sick. I realized it couldn't have been due to car sick because car sickness does not last for 4-5 hours. I literally slept in bed for an hour and woke up to the most debilitating nausea I had ever experienced in my life. My grandma came to me, felt my arms and legs, my aunt came to me too and felt my ears and neck. I was clammy and cold even though I felt so hot. I reached over to my mom and asked if someone had put a curse on me (apparently superstitious stuff like that happens there). She said no, but my grandma and aunt thought my nausea was due to my dead uncle being near me or touching me.

As a solution to alleviate my vomiting and nausea, my lola gently rubbed mallungay leaves on me. Then they took some leaves, also known as Attis (sp?), and made me sniff it constantly for 30 minutes. The leaves smelt like Vick's. Then my grandma mixed a teaspoon of gasoline with salt and rubbed it, like ointment, onto my legs and forehead.

After an hour I vomited the remaining food I had in my stomach and slept for a half hour. When I woke up I felt fine, like nothing had happened. Weird but true.

Mother-Daughter Bonding:

At the end of the day, after the exhausting introductions to her best friends, close cousins, and her aunts and uncles that took care of her when she was younger, I sat on the porch with her. My legs were up on her lap and as she stroke my feet, she told me stories about her teenage days growing up in Sinait and how all the boys followed her around like love sick puppies. She told me stories about her best friends and the mischief they got themselves into and what they would try to gossip about when my lola wasn't around. She told me stories about how she use to sell kerosene, fish, vegetables in the market from morning to night. She told me stories about her first love and how she broke his heart. I caught a glimpse of her childhood: the hardships, pains, and joys she faced. Moreover, I was astounded by the immense sacrifice she made for her family at such a young age.

It was indeed a beautiful moment. Something I wouldn't have been able to share with her if she had not made the decision to visit me.