C'est l'histoire de ma vie. . .: --- Mes vacances de semaine sainte ---

My family spent the holy week in my dad's hometown.. Cauayan, Negros Occidental.

We left Manila March 20, 2008 (Maundy Thursday). We were onboard Cebu Pacific Flight 5J479. Yes, it did not disappoint. The air pressure started building up between my ears soon as we were airborne. It felt like my head started to tighten just like my feeling during previous occasions I had rode a plane. The view from the window blurred fast into a sheet of clouds as I slipped in and out of my unconscious. I was trying to catnap, yet the buzzing, along with the sound of the engine, refused to be ignored. (I began to imagine the "Air Crash Investigation" I watched on TV). To relax, I reached out for a travel magazine (Smile) but I couldn’t find a map. I wanted to know exactly where we were flying over just then. Soon enough, there was a clear spread of island forms in varying shades of green and aquamarine, with coastlines defined by shifting waves. There were slices of white, which I rightly presumed were sand on some beach.

Finally, we're told we have reached our destination: New Bacolod-Silay Airport of International Standards at around 9:30am. Bacolod is just 45mins. travel to and from Manila via air and 20 hour leisurely cruise aboard world - class sea vessels.

The New Bacolod-Silay Airport of International Standards opened January 18, this year. It sits on a 6-km. stretch in Barangay Bagtic, Silay City, which is about 20 kms. from Bacolod City. Its runway is 2-kms., more than twice longer than the 900-m of the existing airport in Bacolod City . It has provisions for a 500-m extension which will accommodate bigger crafts serving international routes. The airport has 15 check-in counters and three pre-departure areas that lead to three tubes. It has a viewing space, open to the public on the third floor.

The old airport in Bacolod City that began operations in 1936 closed down after the last flight out on January 17, 2008. It cannot be retained because of its proximity to the Silay airport that is within the prohibited distance set by the International Civil Aviation Organization.

The Municipality of Cauayan is located on the southern portion of the Province of Negros Occidental, approximately 113 kms. south of Bacolod City (the City of Smiles), the capital of the province. From Bacolod City, one can reach Cauayan via public utility vehicles in approx. 3 hrs and private car in 2 1/2 hrs. Air-conditioned and non-airconditioned buses are available at the Bacolod City South Terminal. There are also taxis and vans for hire.

Well, thanks to Tito Jun and his wife (Tita Lanie) who fetch us at the airport and take us to the Ceres Bus Terminal. Also, our gratitude to Tito Tiks for the free bus passes! =).

DAY 1: Maundy Thursday

We arrived in Cauayan at around 2:30pm. At long last! We were very, very hungry after so many hours of travel. Good thing, my aunts (Tita Josephine & Tita Luisa) prepared lunch... sweet & sour fish, grilled fish, steamed crabs, adobong sugpo, paella valenciana and spaghetti. We rest for awhile and gave them our pasalubongs.

DAY 2: Good Friday

We woke up early the following day. We had breakfast at my aunt's rest house built near the sea. What a comfy place! The blue sky, bright sun, clean and fresh air, cool wind, white sand and the calm and smooth sea provides a soothing sensation, relaxing enough to suggest yet another dream moment.

After breakfast we went to the cemetery to visit our deceased loved ones.

On our way home, we dropped by at the parcel of land my parents bought 5 years ago. On this site will soon rise our dream vacation house. =)

In the afternoon, we joined in the traditional Lenten devotion, the Stations of the Cross. These stations are the traditional ones which begin with the sentencing of Jesus by Pilate (First Station) but end with The Resurrection of Jesus (the fifteenth station). After the procession, the religious images were brought to the church and was covered with black cloth.