chapter one:  sunday – "the morning after"

the sound of rain pouring outside disturbed my otherwise restful sleep.   it was still dark, but signs of dawn breaking were visible from the window.  still lying down, i surveyed the room.  there were at least 8 of us inside, all except me were fast asleep.  the only thing i hate about sleeping in other places outside my room at home is that when someone or something wakes me up, it's impossible for me to go back to sleep.  yet i remained laid down, trying my hardest to get a couple more hours of z's, but to no avail.  my mind was already up and about, not to mention my stomach, perhaps looking forward to breakfast since i didn't have any dinner last night.  i checked my mobile phone and it read 5:30am.  so i decided to do what's normally being done when one wakes up:  go to the bathroom.  the moment i sat up, a blinding headache shot me back down.  "damn hangover," i said to myself as i steadied myself and slowly re-attempted to get up.  as i positioned myself at the end of the bed, my eyes getting accustomed to the dimly lit room, i started to tiptoe towards the bathroom, carefully not disturbing any of the others who decided to sleep on the mattress on the floor.

i went back to bed after going about my business and again tried to get some more sleep.  even with my eyes closed, not an ounce of drowsiness overcame me.  for some reason i just laid there, my mind just empty yet consciousness was very active.   after it seemed like an eternity of nothingness, i heard the others stir and slowly wake up.  grunting sounds then filled the room as my colleagues stretched and tried to make sense of what's going on.  eventually, we were all awake and decided to get some breakfast.  the others who arrived the day before hurried up and tried to take advantage of waking up early to do more things, like having massages, going on a ride on the banana boat, exploring the beach and of course, swimming.  the five of us, after composing ourselves, went to get some breakfast.  just like yesterday morning, stories and anecdotes of what happened last night filled the breakfast table.  i guess it's safe to say that everyone, and i mean every one of us was horribly drunk.  after breakfast, i decided to go to the beach where the other group was to get some more sun.  i didn't go back in the water for i was scheduled to leave shortly after lunch and i didn't want to go through the uncomfy feeling of leaving while having so much fun.  i just watched the others from where i was.  the sun eventually came out after being covered by a big ass cloud and everyone heaved a sigh of happiness.  i stayed there for a couple of hours, chatting while some of my colleagues took turns in getting a massage.

chapter two:  sunday – "the lone ride home"

my ferry ticket read, "1:00PM – 4/29/07."  'twas already 10:30am and i decided to go back to the room to fix my things.  i was the only one scheduled to leave that day, while the rest were set to leave early monday afternoon.  if not for some things i had to do on monday (read:  responsibilities), then i would've remained there in a heartbeat.  i mean, who could resist getting drunk again that night?  imagine, three straight nights of consuming alcohol and being in a state of… utter drunkenness?  yet inasmuch as it was convincingly tempting, my mind was already set on staying there until sunday only.  i took a shower and packed my things.  i didn't want to disturb the others who were having fun out on the beach so i went to eat lunch alone.  i also used the extra time to make another sweep of the stores to get something for the folks back home.  after some shopping, i went back to the room to rest up before the ferry trip back to batangas port.  i saw edon, nikki, chris and chuchay outside the room, already drinking the tequila they brought along!  another noontime session!  they offered me some shots, and being a good sport even though i was leaving, gamely chugged them.  after spending some time with them while waiting for boarding time, i bid farewell.  i thanked them for letting me tag along and for having such a great time.  handshakes and hugs went around, then off to the beach i went.

i sat by the bar near the area where the ferries dock, load and unload passengers.  it was already 12:45pm and there was still no sign of the ferry.  good thing some of my other colleagues were at the same bar, also drinking and kept me company while waiting.  the ferry arrived 45 minutes late.  after exchanging goodbyes with the other group, i proceeded to board the ferry.  it left the island after 10 minutes.  the ferry ride back was not as interesting as the one going to the island.  the pace was steady and i just listened to music on my ipod.  upon arriving at the batangas city port an hour and a half later, i looked for the bus terminal and upon finding it, got on board on a bus bound to alabang and waited for it to depart.  vendors climbed aboard, selling food and drinks.  i realized i was thirsty and a bit hungry so i bought two bottles of mineral water and peanuts for the trip.  i texted nikki, edon and chuchay, informing them that i just got on the bus and headed back to the city.  the bus left after around 30 minutes and i remember falling asleep about half the trip.

i arrived home with a smile on my face at 6:45pm to the delight of my mom, brother and sister.   they asked me how my galera experience was, and i happily told them how the place was, what we did, and the fun i had.  after dinner, i gave them the things i bought for them.  i texted nikki, edon and chuchay again, this time letting them know that i arrived home safe.  i also thanked them again for the fun i had, it being my first time there.  i was tired from the trip, so i retired to bed early, with memories of what happened for those two days still vividly etched in my mind.  just before i finally fell asleep, i thought to myself, "time to plan when to go back there!"

chapter one:  saturday – "sun, sun, sun!"

i found myself waking up with a slight headache, a direct after-effect of what i consumed the night before.  it was still early, probably around 5:30am.  i remained laid down on the bed, with eyes closed, but trying to recall what transpired last night.  slowly, the events all came back, like playing a video recorder on my head.  i felt my mobile phone was beside me, so i got it and saw that there were around three messages, all from work.  i didn't even bother replying to them since i was in no mood for any work-related stuff.  i tried to go back to sleep, but all i can manage was being half-asleep with the ambient noise from outside the room going back and forth.  the next thing i remember was nikki and chuchay were knocking on the door.  i opened it and saw them all dressed up, ready for day two.  but first things first:  breakfast.  we woke up edon and chris (and had quite difficulty doing so) and asked them to have breakfast with us.  it took around 20 minutes to fix themselves up for they were still feeling the after-effects of being the most wasted last night.  we then went to dream wave restaurant for breakfast.  chris and edon kept asking about the events last night since they claimed that they can't recall the latter part of the drinking session.  we told them all that they did, including edon almost falling asleep while taking a leak on the beach and chris slumped on the beach where the waves come in.  after having breakfast, we went back to our rooms to get ready to, well, hit the beach!  chris, nikki and chuchay were already in their swim attire, so that leaves me and edon going back.  the three went ahead and informed us of where they will be.  at first, we had a hard time looking for them since we thought they will be just within where most of the people are.  i then called nikki up on her mobile to ask where exactly they were.  she told us that they were on the far right side of the beach from our rooms.  so we trekked the sand with the sun beating down on us.  although i had to admit, the heat wasn't as scorching as what was in the city, so it was still quite comfy, and perfect for sunbathing.  we then reached where the three were and nikki and chuchay were already taking in some sun, while chris was in the water.  the place was beautiful, far from "civilization" so to speak, and has a rock formation as backdrop.  edon and i went to the water as well, and oh was it sooo nice!!  it wasn't too cold and it was very clear.  i spent a good thirty minutes in the water, although not going to the deeper end.  i also found some nice rocks which i thought of taking home with me, but thought twice of not disturbing where nature placed them.  i went back to the sand to take in some more sun and after about 20 minutes, edon and chris also went ashore.  with the heat from the sun getting increasingly hot, we then decided to head back to get some rest.

'twas around 10:30am when we reached a bar and lo and behold, we started to have beers!!  we were still talking about stuff from last night while taking some pictures.  i had two bottles, while edon had four, i think.  chris had three and chuchay had a piña colada.  edon and nikki went back to the water not far from where we were to take another swim.  imagine consuming alcohol late in the morning!  what more later tonight?  we then decided to have lunch and went back to our rooms to take a nap.  most of our other colleagues will be arriving later in the afternoon so things should get pretty interesting later that night.  i didn't feel sleepy, so i just stayed up and watched tv.

chapter two:  saturday – "i'm not drunk!"

i realized that i had fallen asleep when i found myself waking up with the remote in my hand.  i saw edon and nikki both asleep on separate beds (we transferred to nikki and chuchay's room since the adjacent room will be occupied by our other colleagues arriving later that day).  i decided to explore the area by myself, so i fixed myself up and went outside.  i visited the different shops and saw the wares they were selling.  from shirts to shorts, bracelets to anklets, purses to necklaces, and everything in-between.  i decided to do my buying for my family back home the next day before i leave.  i soon found chuchay and chris on the place where we had dinner the day before.  i joined them and found out that they already had consumed two bottles of red horse beer.  they offered me to have one, but i declined, saying that i'll have my fair share later that night.  our other colleagues arrived from manila a couple of minutes later.  both groups were happy to see each other and i then accompanied them to where they will be staying.  most of them quickly changed to their swimwear, taking advantage of still having daylight and headed to the water.  some went back to where chuchay and chris were and joined in their drinking session.  i, on the other hand, stayed in the room, continued to watch tv while psyching myself up for a longer drinking session later on.

we gathered at around 7:30pm where majority of the group was.  some are taking dinner, while some are just talking.  i wasn't hungry so the five of us (chuchay, nikki, chris, edon, and myself) decided to go ahead to the place where we drank last night.  we told the group where to find us.  it's not far from where they were at, so it was easy to find.  upon arriving, of course, comes the first pitcher of mindoro sling.  i ordered an additional beer as chaser, and we were off.  being a saturday night, there were more people than last night.  there was even a concert involving sugarfree and brownman revival on the other side of the beach where there was an entrance of 50 bucks.  yet we decided to stay right where we were and continued on.  the other group then arrived and we started to have fun together with the music being played on the background.  r&b, hip-hop, and trance tunes filled the air as we consumed pitcher after pitcher of the dreaded mindoro sling.  i again started to light cigarette after cigarette while slowly but surely getting wasted.  i then noticed some of the people on our table frequently going out and back to the table again.  i don't know if some of them wanted to have a private conversation, but the main point why we were there was to have fun as a group.  the comings and goings became quite irritating so i decided to do a leave of my own.  carrying a bottle of beer on one hand and a lighted cigarette on the other, i went outside beside the bar and drank and smoke by myself.  i occasionally took a walk back and forth around the area near the bar, and in my drunken state, started contemplating on my personal life.  i then remembered donna texting me a couple of days before i left (see entry titled, come and go).  i decided to give her a call right there and then.  her mobile phone was ringing, but she wasn't picking up.  i tried it again with the same result.  i continued to drink my beer and went back inside the bar where i drank some more.  i ran out of smokes so i went out again, bought another half-pack, and went back.  after what seems to be endless shots of mindoro sling and bottles (i lost count) of beer, i was dead drunk so i excused myself from the group, told them that i'm through and went back to the room.  to give you an idea how hammered i was, i bumped into not less than 15 people on the way back to the room.  yet my mind was lucid, and i know what i was doing.  i just couldn't
focus walking straight.

upon reaching the room, i crashed to the bed.  my mind was still up and about, yet i cannot move too much.  my mobile phone alerted me with a message.  it was from donna.  she asked why i called and that she was at work that's why she couldn't answer the phone.  i replied, to the best of my knowledge, saying that i just wanted to say hi.  after a couple of minutes, she replied back, saying that she was taking her lunch break.  i decided to call her up again.  this time she answered.  i tried to talk as normal as possible but she then noticed that i was slurring.  "where are you?" she asked.  i told her where i was and added that i was already drunk.  she then asked me why i didn't even invite her to go with me and i told her that it was with colleagues.  turns out that she hasn't also been to puerto galera.  she then asked me why i called and i told her that i just wanted to say hi and because i received her message a couple of days ago and added, "is it bad to call someone who i miss?"  while we're in the middle of our conversation, some of our colleagues came in the room, wasted as well.  but one of them, luanne, kept shouting, "i'm not drunk!  i'm not drunk!  i'm just tipsy, and i'm going back out with you guys."  she would fall on the floor several times while going to the bathroom and kept doing the same after coming out.  she kept slurring and saying things about how she could hack it, etc, etc.  i then asked donna if she would like to go with me back to galera before summer ends, since i'll be having another long vacation towards the latter part of may.  she agreed, but knowing her, this could end up nothing.  so i just played as if we're gonna push through.  there were some stuff i told her about thinking about her everyday and she refused to believe that and i said, "you know what, i'm drunk and drunk people end up telling the truth, right?"  after a couple of minutes, we ended our conversation and noticing that some of my colleagues were in the room already asleep, decided to do the same.  i remember saying before falling asleep, "why is the room spinning?"  one colleague just blurted out, "it's because you're drunk, that's why."  i replied, "me, drunk?  nah, no i'm not…"  that's when i blacked out.

chapter one:  friday – "are we there yet?"

i met up with edon and nikki at the office at around noon.  i have to admit, for some reason i didn't feel at all excited about my first beach trip in two years.  i was looking forward to it, yes, but not as giddy as an eight-year-old getting his or her dream toy for christmas.  we then proceeded to jollibee near the bus station to meet up with chris.  chuchay was already in galera earlier in the morning to take care of the room reservations.  we had lunch and proceeded to the bus station.  the ride to the port was as uneventful as it was a pain in the ass–literally.  we just put on our ipod headsets and minded our own music business while the bus traversed through traffic, smooth and bumpy roads, dropping off and picking up passengers along the way.  since the three of them all came from shifts the night before, they would doze off to sleep and wake up occasionally to say, "are we there yet?"

after around two hours, we finally reached the batangas city port.  we hurried off and checked the next available ferry to white beach and found one about to leave at 3:30pm.  we had around 10 minutes to buy tickets, pass through security and proceed to the docks so we quickened our pace.  sure enough, we made it to the ferry and after about five minutes, we were off.  this time, the ride was more interesting.  rough waves hit us towards the middle part of the journey and the driver (i'm not sure what they call him, but i'm sure he wasn't designated as the captain) would at times cut off the engine just to ride out the incoming wave in order not to force it and end up toppling off (scary thought).  i'm not seasick, thank goodness, so for me, the ride was pretty interesting to say the least.  after an hour or so, we finally reached the island and, like the first man on the moon, i was able to set my first shoeprint on the sands of puerto galera as i stepped off the ferry.

chapter two:  friday – "the infamous 'mindoro sling'"

chuchay met us up as we stepped off the ferry and we headed off to our rooms to get settled in.  edon, chris and i had one room, while nikki and chuchay had the one next to ours.  most of the other colleagues will be arriving tomorrow afternoon so we didn't think of the room-sharing part, at least not yet.  we unpacked our stuff, changed into more comfy clothing and headed back out to get something to eat.  my first impression of the place was it was like one big beach mall.  all the bars, places to dine, lodging and stores were all there.  there was quite a number of people already on the beach and in the water from where we sat and i could just imagine how many more will be arriving by saturday.  after an early dinner, nikki, chuchay and i decided to go back to our rooms to rest a bit, leaving edon and chris, little did we know, started the drinking session.  nikki wanted to sleep, so she and chuchay asked me to be their wake up call at 9pm, to which i obliged.  edon and chris arrived at around 8pm, obviously already tipsy after having a couple of beers and asked also to rest and to wake them up also at 9pm.  both were lights out immediately after lying down and i continued to watch tv.

around a couple of minutes before 9pm, nikki and chuchay knocked on the door.  they apparently couldn't sleep and just watched tv as well.  they saw edon and chris asleep and asked me what happened to them.  "they already started," i said, and taking advantage of the situation, they asked me to take a few pictures of them in their wasted state.  after having some fun at their expense, we woke them up and we hit the bar.  chuchay ordered a pitcher of mindoro sling, apparently the local specialty.  i'm not sure what was mixed in there, but i do know from the taste that it has either gin or rhum laced with juices and topped with apple slices.  we consumed one pitcher until we realized that the bar we went to was not that ok, so we transferred.  upon arriving at our second bar, edon and chris were obvuiously wasted, for their sleep was interrupted, hence the alcohol was still in their system.  we ordered another round of mindoro sling and a couple of beers to boot.  a pair of colleagues who were there the day before, spotted us and joined in.  chris and edon were the ones talking and joking around and the rest of us were just laughing.  a couple of minutes later, edon stood up and went to the beach, apparently, wanting to throw up, but can't.  chris then followed suit, went straight to the water to wash off the effects of the alcohol.  nikki and chuchay caught up with them, leaving just myself, markee and cris on the table.  i was getting quite hammered too, but continued on.  nikki and chuchay ultimately brought edon and chris back to the room for they were wasted as hell and couldn't continue.  i on the other hand, apparently taking advantage of the getaway, bought myself a half-pack of smokes (menthol) and started puffing away.  'twas three years (i think) since i last touched a cigarette so i thought, "why the hell not?"  obviously, the mindoro sling turned on the knack in me to smoke, so there i was.  after a couple of more hours and shots of the concoction and bottles of beer, we decided to call it a night and went back to our rooms.  i was still smoking while walking back to the room and i remember faintly walking not in a straight line.  i slumped on the bed and quickly fell asleep.

it was something i badly needed.  to get away from it all–stressful work, city life, scorching heat at home (in my room to be specific), among other things–and marvel at the view of the sea, the surf, the sand, the gorgeous ladies, and empty my mind of things both serious and useless.  not to mention having episodes of realizations along the way.  never mind the hordes of people who flocked there to spend the weekend, or to the surprising non-appearance of celebrities who, from word of mouth, frequent the island, or the amount of money i spent for food and booze (i nearly had nothing left on my wallet).  what's important is that i was able to, finally, hit the beach after two years.  over the next couple of entries that'll spread over a couple of days, i'll be recounting my three-day, two-night experience at one of the country's premiere summer destinations.  i thought of putting it all in one entry, but most of you might not have the patience nor time to read a very, very, very long entry (as if most of my entries are that short).  so better yet to spread it in installments.  now i'm not much of a picture person, but i did bring my camera and took some pictures.  i don't know if you can see them posted at the middle to lower left portion of this page, but some of them are also on my friendster account, so feel free to check it out.  for now, this prologue will do for today.  since the month of may starts tomorrow, and to celebrate my birth month, i'll do a 31-on-31 segment on my blog.  31 entries for each of the 31 days of the month to mark my 31 years on this earth.  and what better way to start my 31-on-31 segment tomorrow than day one of my galera getaway.  right now, i'm still having galera hangover.  anyway, hope everyone had a good weekend as i had.  😀

i'll be off to puerto galera tomorrow!!  woohoo!!  finally… i'll be able to get away from work and enjoy the sand, surf, babes and booze galore!!  i'll be back home on sunday.  until then, enjoy the weekend!!  😀