Lay witness to my so-called fundamental existence.

After sending off our friends to the airport, Bro Bear and I went to Ginza Restaurant at J. Panis St. or simply the old Banilad Road to celebrate his mom’s birthday.

 

Ginza Japanese Restaurant may sound expensive and discriminating, but it’s not. Although back in the days when there were not much restaurants in the city, people would think that only the rich could afford to dine at Ginza.

Food rates are comparable to, if not a bit lower than any fine dining restaurants in Manila. Bro Bear thought that the restaurant had reinvented itself because of the changes that he had notice about the restaurant.

 He remembered the tables where the chef or staff would cook the food. I watched him as he fixed his stare on those tables and I found out that they often sit around those tables back in the days when he was still studying here.

And he had come back to Ginza to commit to memory the moments when he feasted on ebi tempura, the miso and the teppanyaki with his family. I listened to his recollection about Ginza. 

   

Day 18. This would be our last weekend before he’d return to the capital. As much as I had wanted to, I decided to cancel our Davao trip so that I could give my weary self some time to recover and gather strength. Development at home must have to be addressed too.

It would have been wonderful if we could go to Davao. My friends in Davao were dying to meet Chong and I would have loved to show him around town. But I knew some time soon that there would be an opportunity for us to travel to Mindanao together.

And since we already cancelled our Davao trip, Bro Bear and I decided to just let the time fly. We just wanted to be temporarily detached from the world. Like ivory towers at a city corner.

Day 19. I helped out in the search for a decent hotel room for Bro Bear. We found a business hotel along J. Llorente St and he booked the room for 3 days. The Apple Tree Suites provided the best value for money. We were quite lucky to get a room with 2 beds for less than a thousand pesos.

We still had 3 days left before he‘d return to Manila. We needed to go somewhere.   

Day 20. There were some places up north that we wanted to visit. So we left the city at 7am and embarked on a road trip towards the northern tip of the island.

Our first stop was the City of Danao, 27 kilometers north of Cebu City. People used to say that the city was the cradle of corruption and political family rivalries in the late 20^th century but it had since transformed into an industrial city with considerable peace and order.

 

      

   

We stopped at the Church of Sto. Tomas de Villanueva.  The church used to be made of sugarcane and rocks. It was partially destroyed during World War II. But fire had also hit the church, leaving only the stone structures undestroyed. What stood today was a far cry from what the church looked like in the 18^th century. And just like any other church in the island, it faced the open Camotes Sea.

A few kilometers further, we stopped at the Parish Church of San Antonio de Padua. It is located inside the Ramon Durano Foundation compound in Barangay Guinsay. The religious monument had a mortuary chapel, hundreds of busts of the popes starting with St. Peter, the Last Supper and the 14 stations of the cross as well as the mysteries of the rosary.

I remembered that we had a field trip here when I was in the second grade. I was petrified when I saw the busts that scattered all over the complex. Back then I thought they were just the busts of the local parish priests. Seeing the bust again, I thought they were the terra cotta figures guarding the remains of Shih Huang Ti. Now the busts seemed to be left unattended. We could barely read the name plates below each bust.

 

 

The Church of San Antonio de Padua was adorned simply with stained glass and arches. It could be found behind the school of the same saint’s name. The church had a couple of carved wooden pews that were identical with the old pews of the Sto. Tomas church. I tried to sing the Ave Maria Purissima and the church allowed the music to echo within its walls.

We went on to the town of Catmon, passing through the town of Carmen and its church with the green dome. Catmon figured well in the Cebuano history, particularly during the 1898 revolution. Gen. Maxilom and his forces retreated to the mountains of Catmon after they were defeated in the battle against the Americans. The resistance movement in Catmon was also strong during the Second World War.

What survived during the hard times was the San Guillermo Church. It rested on a steep hill overlooking Camotes Sea. The church may have served as a fortress with its belfry that functioned as a watch tower. 

    

The town of Sogod lies 60 kilometers north of Cebu is about a few minutes drive from Catmon. The Church of St. James the Apostle could not be viewed from the national highway, instead, we decided to continue on to the towns of Borbon and Tabogon.

These two towns may have been established more than a hundred years ago but then their houses of worship were already new. We had a brief stop at the town of Tabogon. The villagers pointed to the old municipal road leading to a modern church. Bro Bear and I could not see any trace of the old church.

We rushed to the City of Bogo and had pizza and pasta for lunch. The restaurant occupied the ground floor of an old stone house which we later found out that it was owned by Chong’s classmate.

  

  

 

Bogo City’s church is found on a hill. Several flights of stairs led to the Church of San Vicente Ferrer. It used to be under the parish of Bantayan in the 1500s but in 1850 it was made into a visita.

  

  

Some details of the renovated church was patterned after the Cebu Cathedral. This church was one of the few here in the island where the nave’s flooring is sloping down to the altar. We wanted to take photos of the church’s interior but then there was an interment being done and the priest was administering the last rite. 

 

 

One of the church’s gates had a rainbow arch. Bro Bear was elated to see such kind of structure. Whoever suggested the rainbow arch may had been given blessings from up above. 

The northernmost town of Cebu is Daan Bantayan. It had been a look-out town for any attacks by the Moros. Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, it was believed that Datu Daya was one of the first Malay settlers in the area. People celebrate the Haladaya or Kandaya in honor of the datu who was said to be the founder of Bantayan. 

 

     

This town had an old stone church in honor of Sta. Rosa de Lima. A fine example of a Spanish settlement, the church is near the presidencia or the town hall with the school, the mercado and the plaza located in the same block. The old stone church faces the open sea and had served as a fortress during the spanish era. 

 

Sta. Rosa de Lima Church had a different charm. The damp corral stone walls had green moss spots that made it look even older. The facade was not typically flat, it was almost semi-circular in form. 

We sought permission from the convento to enter the church. The lady led us to an entrance near the transept to a series of connecting chambers where old images of the pieta and the crucified lord were kept. Behind the altar, we explored the huge room filled with icons. Some were already damaged by time, others by neglect. 

     

 

     

 

We moved on to the central aisle, to the church’s nave. Natural light entered the church and played dramatically on the images and sills. Some rose details were engaged on the walls and also at its facade. The old wooden doors continued to serve their function. Ornate chandeliers dangled from the ceiling.

I wondered if the villagers sought shelter here during the Cebuano-American war, or if they ran away and fled to the hills to escape from the attacks. Much of the church’s structure remained as it was in the 19th century.

It was the northernmost parish in Cebu. I was so glad that Bro Bear and I shared the experience together.  A little past 2pm, we began our long travel back to Cebu City.

Day 21. My gout began to surface at the joints of my left foot. It was difficult to go around the city with a painful limb. I was afraid that it would climb up to my knee. I could still recall that certain pain when I had gout for several days. Bro Bear touched my left foot and worked wonders on it with his magical hands.

We had a simple dinner at Chika-an. We were a bit silent. There was not much conversation except for the moment when Bro Bear shared his dreams and wishes with me.

Yes we do plan for our future. We do want to be together. It’s such a shock for us that we visited a lot of catholic churches and marveled at their physical and socio-cultural significance where in fact, these churches would not recognize, much more administer, same-sex marriage.

We want to be together for the rest of our lives.  Bro Bear and I longed for the day when we could live together under the same tiled roof with solar panels.

Day 22. I somehow felt sad when the day had come for Bro Bear to return to Manila. I knew that we would be far from each other again. I would miss rubbing his belly. I would miss running a hand through his hair. I would miss our conversation, our hugs, his company.

And after our dinner at Krua Thai, I brought him to the airport and waited for him at the lobby. We just spent the remaining time in silence. We had been to a lot of places this year and we’re happy that we’re still together. I would have wanted to stretch the time a little bit.

I was definitely happy about the several road trips that we made this year. Other than the great feeling of visiting several old churches, eating delectable Filipino dishes, taking photographs of old places and traveling to cultural and historical sites, the road trips made us even stronger as a couple. Distance may have kept us apart for the most part of the year but every time we would see each other, we always let ourselves enjoy each other’s company.

Bro Bear entered the pre-departure area once more. And just like the last time, I waited for him to wave and say good bye before I left the airport. He waved at me and smiled.

I slowly walked to ZeeWee with a contented smile and yet with a heavy heart. Turning the engine on, I felt the pangs of loneliness. Part of me was missing; there was emptiness, but there was hope of seeing him soon.

I hit the road again. I looked at the side but there’s no one in the passenger seat. I only had ZeeWee to keep me company.