Monday, April 7, 2008

Leaving Marinduque

I just spent the entire Holy Week in Marinduque. For sure it was an exhilirating adventure and I have some of the sweetest memories of the province. The whole experience was utterly engaging and can hardly be forgotten. I'm thankful to the Marinduquenos for giving me a temporary home while away from my true home.

I could have gone there with a companion, but I decided to go alone. I am by no means a loner, and I have several friends who would have gladly come with me. But I wish to be alone on this kind of trips. Nothing to worry except myself. I could go in and out of my hotel anytime. I could go to one place or another on impulse. Wade into the fields, hike into the hills, walk down the spreading sands of the fine beach. And it was wonderful. Sometimes, to be really alone with yourself can be one of the happiest moments in one's life.

Leaving the island of Marinduque after the week-long joyful festivities is quite saddening. On the Monday after the Festival, the flags and banderitas were lowered down, the welcome signs were being pulled down, tourists begin to leave, and the island becomes once more a place of simplicity, complacency, and beauty. I'm sure every tourist who visited the island leave with a kind of sadness in their hearts.

Meantime, here's a short video of the Port of Balanacan as we leave the island of Marinduque to head back to Luzon. I know that I will come back to Marinduque sometime in the future. And if you haven't gone there yet, schedule your first visit there on the next Holy Week. The good people of Marinduque will warmly welcome you, as I had been.

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