Since I came back home to the Philippines for good six years ago, I always had Dubai at the back of my mind. My years in the sandpit painted a perfect picture and any highlight reel in my home country paled in comparison to my golden years in the Middle East.
When I took this virtual job for a design firm in Dubai a month ago, things changed for me. My body may be in the Philippines but my mind was elsewhere 24/7. For the first time in the last six years, I have grown fond and appreciative of the place that I now call my home.
Relief washes over me when I log out and look out the window. I am grateful to be away, to be surrounded by nature. I am able to detach from this virtual professional life.
When a colleague asked me if I'd consider going back to Dubai, I surprised myself when I inadvertently replied, "No, I think I'm happy to be in the Philippines." My 2020 self may have answered quite differently but I suppose change is constant. We all change and this pandemic has completely turned us all upside down.
Fridays and Saturdays are my weekends. To break the routine, I joined my husband @iamyohann and his serious biker friends who call themselves Cebu French Riders for a motorcycle ride across the back roads of Alcantara, Ronda, and Dumanjug. Une balade, cruising on the motorcycle on unexplored rough roads deep in the mountains.
Our day started by loading up on gasoline and making sure our tires were well inflated. This is not our motorcycle, by the way, we just borrowed it from one of the French Riders.
That's @iamyohann and we're all good to go.
This is to give you an idea of the route we took this morning equivalent to 2 hrs and 32 minutes which was around 75 kilometers.
Tomatoes anyone?
We chanced upon a field of tomatoes in Alcantara and they're organic! While we stopped so I could take photographs, cicadas buzzed beautifully which became our morning bike ride soundtrack.
The sun was high and a bee sneakily went inside the sleeves of one French rider. It stung him so badly, we all stopped on the side of the rough road. I plucked the stinger out of his arm since I had the longest fingernails however short mine were based on female standards but they did the trick.
We continued our journey as soon as the pain subsided. I couldn't resist stopping to take a picture of this view overlooking Tanon Strait from the hills of Alcantara.
You might recognize both of them from @iamyohann's WhoAreTheyPhilippines videos where they go for bike rides on their way to hand over the reward of the weekly feature.
Somewhere in Ronda, we stumbled upon a stream that is linked to Lusno Falls where we found water buffalos enjoying a dip.
Spotted these water buffalos.
Here we crossed the concrete slab that served as a shallow bridge with ease.
Here's another view that we spotted in Ronda not far from Sibonga
Are you up for this kind of adventure?
A quick pause in Ronda
Taken along Sibonga- Dumanjug Road
At 11:55, we contemplated whether we should continue towards Badian and Mantalongon from Taloot Road but decided to keep that for another motorcycle ride. On our way back, guess what, Yohann was also stung by a bee.
My Takeaway
The gift of appreciating where I am is something I have recently received and am grateful for. As if a veil had been lifted that allowed me to see the brighter side of my country. The colors appeared sharper and lately, I'm less bothered by the things that I used to complain about.
Witnessing the real side of the Philippines, the back roads that reveal postcard-like images that veer away from heavily filtered unrealistic photographs is a privilege.
Here we saw terraced rice fields with a farmer plowing with his carabao, ladies handwashing clothes in a nearby stream, coconut and banana tree-laden landscape against the blue sky. The cool breeze caressed our cheeks during the ride while we breathed in fresh air under the canopy of trees and shade offered by mountains.
I am glad to be back home.
