Our trip to Camarines Norte lasted for 9 and a half hours because our drivers did not take the famous “bituka ng manok” road. They said it’s dangerous for vehicles to pass through it at 3am because of the zigzags and there are no street lights. It could have saved us 2 hours in the trip but they did it for precautionary measures.
We arrived at Labo town in Camarines Norte at around 8 in the morning. Although I told the group to pack breakfast and pack lunch, some were not able to do so. In the end, the group ate at an eatery in the said town.
After our breakfast we headed straight to Paracale. I was a little confused because the eatery owner told me that Paracale is straight ahead while our drivers told me we need to take the left turn. They told me that they asked two men before concluding the path. They also told the drivers that we need to travel 30 minutes more but it took us almost an hour to reach our destination. Maybe the people in Labo town are just being true to the meaning of their town name. Labo in English means uncertain.
We arrived at Paracale at around 10am. I was a little distracted because the weather was gloomy. I asked the boat owner if it is still feasible for the group to push with the itinerary. He said the water is calm and safe despite the gloomy weather. Upon hearing this, the team took one hour break to get some food, water and other provisions in the market.
The Annoying Part
I was disappointed with the boat owner (Nelson Gomez) because he kept on insisting that we should hire additional boat (a smaller one) because he thought that the big boat will be overloaded. He tried to charge us additional 2000Php for the supposedly additional boat. I was irritated that time because when I asked him during our haggling session over the phone, he told me that the boat can accommodate up to 30 persons. One week before the trip, I confirmed to him 24 participants only because the 12 cannot make it. I added 3 headcounts because our drivers will be with us and I was not able to confirm the additional participant. He kept on repeating his mantra that I only confirmed 24 so the additional 3 should have another boat. Moreover he told us that we have lots of load so there is a big possibility that the boat will be overloaded. One thing more, he kept on mentioning the name Angel expecting I knew another organizer by this name. I told him I am not connected to any organizer and I do not know anybody named Angel who belongs to another group. I was upset when he told me he gave the 12 life vests to the girl named Angel thinking that we were in the same group assuming that the 12 participants brought by Angel were the same 12 participants who were not able to make it in my group. I had to calm myself in that part because my head is beginning to heat up. He told me that we should buy the additional life vests since it will only be few hundred pesos. I told him that he should provide the life vests since it is included in the cost he told me few weeks ago. He insisted that he thought Angel is a part of our group. I told him he should have asked me first before concluding and it is his fault why he had to buy additional life vest.
When we boarded the boat, the boatman (different from the boat owner) said it can accommodate us all. So Nelson was just trying to bluff us on the safety issue so that he can charge additional 2000Php. To add to my dismay, we only had few life vests during the trip. The boatman pushed with the trip even though the life vests were not complete yet. The boatman and the boat owner do not have coordination. I should have called the attention of the barangay officials because they violated what was agreed upon but I decided to shut up and just prayed. Next time I will be strict with the rules so as not to put the team in possible danger.
The fun part
It was an hour and a half boat ride to Calaguas island. The sea was calm despite the rain drops. The team just shrugged off the annoyance on the boat owner and decided to make the most out of the trip. The laughter began. We talked about anything under the sun. And it helped me ease worries on the storm we are about to face.
We arrived at Calaguas at around 12:30 in the afternoon. It was raining and we were disappointed to find out that the supposedly “hut” for our team was given to Angel’s group because of that assuming Nelson Gomez. We camped next to Angel’s area. Funny because I was not able to formally get to know Angel or her team but I keep on mentioning her name.
The people of Calaguas were very warm. They helped us set up our camp and
even provided us the wind breakers we needed. We finished setting the camp at 2 in the afternoon. Everybody was soaking wet and hungry. I called for lunch but not everybody was given food especially our drivers. I was sad to learn this because they were both sleepy and tired and having no food for lunch is a total disaster. Good thing, Jimmy provided them bread and canned goods. Thanks Jimmy!
The weather gave us a window to play some ga
mes. It was already 4 in the afternoon when we formally welcomed the team in Calaguas and officially opened the event. We divided the team in to three groups to make it easier to coordinate everything.
team coolest (with jenny)
mai-team (with paul)
team barney
We had the cheering competition first where each group will prepare for an hour. The competition was entertaining and everybody participated. They were competitive and nobody wants to be left out.
The next two games were played to build team spirit among team injury members. The first game was “Pass the Hot Ball” where the participants formed a circle, were given instructions and a category. They need to give an answer on the category and need to pass the ball within 5 seconds crossing the center of the circle. Everybody should touch the ball once and gives answer only once. A penalty is waiting for those who are not paying attention.
The second game is called “Count me in” where participants need to count of from 1 to 24 (24 participants). No two participants are allowed to count at the same time and no one is allowed to repeat the number. If two or more participants shouted the same number, the count of will reset. The catch in the game: participants were not facing each other so they need concentration and timing. We repeated the count of until we reached 24. They were very happy to reach the last number. They clapped and jumped. Who will not be overjoyed if you have to repeat the count of almost 10 times before perfecting it? Hahaha! J
The night came fast because of the bad weather condition. We had to prepare dinner early, eat early and sleep early. We were not able to play more games because we do not have a big dry area to hold it.
The typhoon made it hard for me to sleep because I was worried about the team’s safety. I woke up several times during the night only to hear the rain drops and the strong winds that kept on smashing our tents. I silently prayed and hoped for a better weather the next morning.
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