Coming from Bicol, Gumaca is the breather one looks forward to in what seems like an infinite stretch of mountains, highways (400+ kilometers to be exact), and lazy afternoons that lend themselves to sleepiness. It’s where awe of how f*cking long Quezon actually is becomes overwhelming, its rich soil encompassing the length of two Camarines provinces.
Three hours from when you entered Quezon, from the highway in Pagbilao, you see a long hilly island in the middle of the sea, the mounds like mere dots in an endless wall of blue. You check your map and whaddayaknow. It’s still part of Quezon.
So being in Gumaca, the middle of a long and winding journey to home, is pretty much like arriving at the third of five connecting flights to your destination. You heave a sigh of relief while exclaiming, “Water! There’s water!”, followed by, “We’re only five hours away!”.
From the perspective of a tired passerby, these rural sights in Gumaca are sights that spirit redundancy away. They remind me that water is always home. And that journeys, however exhausting, always have an end and beautiful, fleeting in-betweens.
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| It was a Good Friday when we returned to Manila, and this was one of the very few restaurants open at the time (and serving meat at that!). Nice coastal ambience and super cheap Filipino food. Dirt cheap. |
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| This is not actually in Gumaca. It’s an abandoned property somewhere along Plaridel or Sariaya. So sad and so beautiful. |
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| Yep, we had dogs during the 14-hour trip. Both puked somewhere along Quezon. This is why I live for roadtrips. Lol. |
