A Day of Fun and Mourning

I had the opportunity to visit a southern island province last dry season. I took this chance because rainy season usually provides a more rough sea experience, and honestly i hate boat rides. It is not a real fun time though because it was the 9th day after death of my nephew's wife, who after 6 months of marriage succumbed to the BIG C. For Catholics, it is still spent for prayers for the deceased both in the house and the cemetery where the body is laid to rest. Relatives gather together to show the bereaved immediate kin of their support, both physically, spiritually and financially. Those who  can give some amount do so, while others just come for the needed presence. It was also a day of eating, talking and also a reunion. It is not uncommon for many family members to only see the clan when someone dies, most specially those who live in very far places or abroad. I am the best example here, as i stay mostly in the big city.

Calapan, Oriental Mindoro is 1.5 hours boat ride from Batangas International Port. Fast craft boats, which are actually hydrofoils are the fastest available. We left at 5:00am from Manila to catch the 8:00am boat trip, then commuted from the Calapan pier via jeepney and tricycle to the house of our relative.  We arrived just enough to rest a bit before lunch. The boat back in the afternoon was at 5:00pm, when the sea was already a little rough, and i got a little scared.

                                                        Calapan, Oriental Mindoro pier

                                            tricycles wait for passengers from the boats

                                           our boat's tail waves while at the middle of the sea

                          Sunset is lovely on our way back, but movements of the boat limit my PnS shots

    A lovely dusk sky silhouette greeted us in Batangas City, but it is totally dark when we reached the shore.