Homeward Bound II

 
Sometimes there is such an urgency to go home, the place which offers unquestionable comfort. That was what I seek, and this is one of such times. 

I packed my backpack and headed for the pier. I was catching a boat to Ozamis City. It was almost 8 o’clock, and the boat usually leaves at 7. When I arrived, the boat has left. I hurriedly checked the ones for Cagayan de Oro City but the boat has just left too as it was past 8 o’clock. But there was one more boat docked, and the crew started to raise the gangplank. I ran for it and hopped in. I knew it was going somewhere near my destination. 

The ship leaves for Nasipit, a municipality a few hours away from Cagayan de Oro. That means, I will arrive in my hometown the following day, in the middle of the night, and I will be on the road the whole time.

I scanned the Cebu City skyline as the ship moved away. The city looked quiet, and lonesome and innocent from a distance. For a few days I will leave her, but I know I will be back soon. This was a big ship, and I was at the topmost deck gazing on the dark horizon ahead. I long for home….

We arrived early morning in the port of Nasipit and I was taken by its strategic location. The ship entered a cove with an opening just big enough to allow the passage of a passenger boat. It was absolutely beautiful, just a few square kilometers of seawater, encircled by land and hills. It even felt like a private docking facility. But the clean and fresh water I initially thought abruptly disappeared in the form of a factory built smack in the middle!

I followed the other passengers going out of the pier and a tricycle brought us to the bus station. This was going to be a three-hour ride to Cagayan de Oro City. There was nothing unusual in this trip except that I noticed several papaya plantations along the way. I never imagined such plantations existed. Papayas are usually grown in the backyard. And it grows fast and easy, and gives you several years of good fruit before the fruits get smaller, and the tree itself grows thin which eventually dries up and dies.

The trip lasted for a day and I spent the night in Pagadian City. The following morning, I took the 40 minute bus ride to all that is familiar: The vast open space, blue skies and green fields, the smell of mud and drying rice stalks, carabaos, tractors, the old houses and streets, and familiar faces. Ah, this was heaven on earth. I was home!