Driving

For over a year now we have been travelling to Marbel. Once a month we pack our bags and go 200 kilometers to that wonderful place. We have a client there. For over a year now we have used the bus to go there. But in our latest trip we decided that we would take the car for a change. (In short we mustered enough courage to drive all the way to Marbel) For some this might be just an ordinary thing but for someone like me, this posed some bit of a challenge. If you take the bus it normally takes 5 hours and we wondered how long it would take us with us driving.

So on our latest trip we left at about 8:30 so we could have lunch at GenSan. We were fortunate enough that it was not so hot and that we could drive along in our pace. We were quite excited about it really. I even prepared a playlist in my player. I made sure the list lasted five hours or more.

I like to drive because it soothes me. It calms me down and I just enjoy myself behind the wheel. The other thing that I enjoy is talking with Chona. I think the one thing that I shall never tire of is my talks with my wife. And in a five-hour trip you will talk.

When we got to Digos we stopped at Mers. But we resisted the temptation to have lunch because we were reserving our tummies for the steak lunch which we normally have when we get to GenSan. The Mers lunch was for trip back. We got in the car and drove all the way to GenSan. When we got there we were starving and ready for the big steaks either at Roland’s or Big Ben. This time it was the former. After lunch we headed towards Marbel which was an hour away. But we had to have the halo halo at Apareja. Their buko halo halo is famous. And so we did. And after that it was just a short drive to Marbel. We spent two days there with our client.

On our way home we decided to leave early because we knew we had to make a few stops. The first was Barrio Ocho where there were sinamak, camote and corn. I think we bought a store because the prices were insanely cheap. The next stop was Tupi. Tupi has a 40 kph speed limit and driving thru there is sooooo slow compared to the 100 kph in the highways. We ended up in a fruit place where once again we bought cheap fruits like pineapple. And the MG3 pineapple is really sweet. I asked my wife what our next stop would be and she smiled and said the Polomolok market for fish. My wife likes markets.

When we got to the market we found out that the fish arrived only in the afternoon and we were quite disappointed because I was really looking forward to fish. You see I am changing my diet now (I hope). My latest blood chem showed that I was normal in everything except my cholesterol was high and so I was given medicine. And so I had to avoid fatty food. (So goodbye to chicharon and liempo and all that).

When we got to Mers I forgot my diet. (Shortlived) I saw the lechon kawali and that was that but I scraped the fats and just focused on the meat. We also had kinilaw and sotanghon soup. After eating we bought some bibingka. When I loaded the bibingka I noticed that our car had a lot of stuff. Camote, corn, bibingka, our bags, chicharon not for me, the laptops and more camote, corn and our dinner of adobo and eggplant salad plus our pasalubong.

When we got to the Davao city boundary I had to remind myself that we were now in the 60kph limit. I swear I heard the engine sigh. When we got home we were relieved and happy. And grateful for the trip. Happy for the five hours well spent.

We slept awhile and after that we had to go downtown for a meeting.

We will be going back next month. And we are looking forward to it. It is such a joy traveling with Chona.