A small sign announced the entrance to a cemetery. Me, with the rest of the De Silva clan (all 23 of us, excluding the 5 people who didn't come due to some reasons I forgot to ask) walked to the grave of the clan's patriarch. Francisco de Silva, my grandfather, had a face that was difficult to forget, marked by deep worry lines across his forehead. I call him Lolo Isko. He had kind eyes. And he spoiled us (his precious grandchildren) so much. That's why his death had a great impact on us. It was so sudden. But we all knew we have to move on, leave the past behind. These things happen for a reason.After visiting his grave, we went to Lipa, Mabini (still a part of Batangas). We put our bags and other belongings inside Tiya Leti's house. (Just a little info: Tiya Leti is my mother's godmother and she's an old spinster but she's super kind.)
We all chatted a little bit before we decided that we visit my Lolo Isko's land. It was so difficult to go in there. It's not a mountain but it was like we were climbing one. It was really steep and the yesterday's rain didn't help either. It just made things worst.
Mud. There was lots of mud. I was wearing a pair of my Havaianas that whenever I step, my other slipper just won't get off the ground. It was really hard. I saw Len-Len, my girl cousin, walked barefoot so I decided to walk barefoot also. Actually, if I only had my phone with me (I left it because it was low-batt), I would have took a pic of my feet swimming in mud. *grins*
Anyway, it was not as bad as you think. The only thing I wished while walking was that I won't ever get to step on a poop (ewww) or something. Gross.
Good thing, the journey turned out to be surprisingly wonderful. We washed our feet on a shallow river. That was the most amazing part of our journey. It was like we were in a Survivor episode or something. Cool. We even found a bukal. (I forgot the English term for bukal, sorry). At first, I was having second thoughts about drinking the water from it since I thought it was dirty but my Kuya Eric, another cousin, assured me that the water is pure since it came from the mountain.
The first taste of the water was invigorating. It was incredibly fresh and well, tasteless.
Minutes again and we reached Lolo Isko's land. Thank God. Anyway, it was vast. Unfortunately, the grasses were already high. I heard that Lolo's "right man" died already. I forgot his name. May he also rest in peace whoever-he-is. Anyway, there were lots of citruses everywhere. Dalandan, calamansi.. name it. There was also lots of sili, kalabasa, banana, etc. Each of us brought something while going back to Tiya Leti's house.
I was bored when we went back. So I turned the television on. But It was impossible to channel surf since there were no other channel than GMA 7. Oh God. And it was kinda hot too since there was no electric fan. For a province, I am not expecting an aircon in every house but I expect at least a single electric fan.. but I found none.
Her house was soooo many decades ago. (In fashion, sooo out).. It was made of woods, some of cement. The windows were like those windows during the Spanish regime. And believe it or not, there was not a single shadow of electric stove. Instead, she uses pots and forest woods for cooking.
For a girl who loved the comfort in front of a computer, the music from iTunes library, the feel of HBO, the thrill of blogging, staying in Tiya Leti's house was like staying on another planet. Oh gosh. I don't think I could ever survive living in that kind of house for straight one whole week. Much more for a month. The feeling was like I was entirely out of my element, like a fish out of water.
But you know what made my day the most? It was the hospitality. Maybe the house is short in terms of convenience, but Tiya Leti's hospitality was more than enough.
All in all, I had a good time.
Nah. That's an understatement. So let me rephrase it.
I had a great time. Really great time.
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Just finished reading this. As usual, it's from Booksale. Only 175 pesos. Haha.. I love Elyssa Wentworth's character. She's super cool. Anyway, this is the synopsis: "The Lipstick Chronicles introduced readers to Elyssa, Alix, Dana, Carole, and Robin, five best friends who make up Allheart.com, an online greeting card company in Washington, D.C. Now they're back in the second collection of interconnecting stories of women, love, sex, dating, friendship, and breaking the rules of romance. Elyssa-The powerful CEO is about to find herself powerless against the charms of a certain man determined to turn her life upside down..
Dana-She's a whiz at snappy greetings, clever rejoinders, and sweet sentiments. But there are no words to describe where love is taking the queen of the one-night stands..
Carole-She's just this side of jaded after the end of her miserable marriage. But as she's about to learn, the Y chromosome can still yield some satisfying surprises...
As for Robyn and Alix..
Between finding a Mr. Right who isn't all wrong and maintaining Allheart's booming business, they have their hands full keeping Elyssa happy, Dana calm, and Carole in line and under control. Wedding bells are going to be ringing for one of them soon, and they're all about to discover just what friends are for..."
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What I'm loving now? It's the gallery of TheTragicTruth-Of-Me in Deviantart. A little info about her: She is a female "dark artist" from United Kingdom. I personally love her The Treason In Trust (image on left).. Want a larger view? Click here. It's so gothic and pretty amazing, isn't it? I wish I could also do really cool images in Photoshop. (Ha! I wish!)