(The personal side)

By Arthur C. Africano, CA

We arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on August 8, 1998 after a long flight from Los Angeles. Although it was 8 o’clock in the evening, the temperature was over 90 ° F and it was hot and humid.

We were met at the airport by excited relatives and warmly welcomed at the residence of my sister-in-law Betty and Mel Alfonso in Parañaque, Rizal. Having been away for twenty years, Tessie was delighted to see her brother and sisters and enjoyed every minute that she spent with her nieces and nephews.

After three days in Parañaque we headed to Paete to attend the summit. The Los Angeles Times reported earlier that there was water rationing and drought in the Philippines. This was true in some parts of the Philippines, especially in North Luzon. However it was lush and green in Laguna. The Sierra Madre was vibrant green and the water flowing from its rivers was clear.

On the way, we made several stops to buy sweets and other treats. We stopped at Los Baños to try the delicious buco pie and in the outskirts of Paete, we bought a basket of sweet lanzones and rambutan.

Paete seems to be buzzing with noise, activities and traffic. Everybody seemed in a hurry to get to his or her destination aboard the many tricycles town.

We decided to stay at the Gabriel’s Resort in Pangil to avoid the noise and the heat. I couldn’t ask for a better place. There was courteous staff and a 24-hour security guard mans the resort, and the rate is reasonable. There were air-conditioned cottages, three swimming pools and a basketball court. The resort became our temporary quarter and we commuted daily to Paete. We stayed in a 4-bed air-conditioned nipa hut equipped with a television and a small refrigerator. During our stay, there was a queue of relatives and friend who were eager to see us. Eventually we decided to move to a bigger room with eight beds in order to accommodate some of our guests.

Jetlag deprived me of sleep. I couldn’t sleep during daytime because of our activities. I would sleep around midnight and be awaken at two in the morning. I spent the early morning hours sketching and painting local scenery. The calm and tranquility of the night was occasionally interrupted by vehicles passing along the nearby highway and punctuated by the sound of crickets and frogs. The cry of roosters, which I haven’t heard in ages and strange honking from a distance announced the break of dawn. I found out later that the strange noise was from the kids selling pandesal or their bikes. It became my daily routine to wait by the entrance of the resort at five o’clock every morning to buy pandesal.

My kids spent most of their time swimming with their cousins. They were fascinated by the abundance of plants and insects, particularly the gecko (butiki), toads and the fireflies (alitaptap). They were excited to ride the tricycles and liked to stroll down the narrow and crowded streets of Paete. They were delighted by the attention from our friends and former neighbors. They asked me why I seem to know everybody and whether they are all relatives.

August 14 was a special day for me because it was Tessie’s birthday. We decided to celebrate it at Gabriel’s Resort. After the parade, we proceeded back to Pangil to prepare for her birthday party. Friends and relatives enjoyed the food and the kuwnetuhan. The party ended around midnight but the celebrant and the Orchids (Tessie’s old clique) continued the celebration at a disco club in Paete till the wee hours of the morning.

After the summit, we visited the island of Boracay on August 18, 1998. Boracay lies approximately one and a half-mile northwest of Panay. From Manila we flew to Kalibo, Aklan and traveled aboard air-conditioned bus to Katiklan and boarded a ferryboat for a 15-minute ride to Boracay. The island is shaped like an eggplant and it is approximately seven kilometers long and one kilometer wide at its narrowest part. The beauty and serenity of the island is impressive. White sand beach surrounds the island and coconut trees hide the hotels, cottages and restaurants that dot the island. During low tide the reef near the island is a favorite spot for snorkeling. Scuba divers explore the surrounding forest of corals.

We stayed at Mila’s Boracay Resort Hotel, which is located in the middle of the island facing east and Tablas Strait. Although we were in the middle of Southwest monsoon, due to the effect of "El Niño" the weather was calm and there were only brief and occasioanl rain and thundershowers.

We explored the island aboard the native boats and haggled with the vendors selling fruits, pearl necklaces, seashells and other souvenirs. My kids spent their time swimming and their money on necklaces, arm and ankle bracelets. For the first time since we arrived in the Philippines, we were able to relax and were glad to get away from all it all.

There were plenty of fresh fish and a fresh lobster sold for $15.00. The food was excellent and we had candlelight dinner outside every night and breakfast by the beach in the morning. Masseurs and manicurists offered their services to tourists along the beach. One could have full body massage manicure or pedicure for a few dollars.

My wife and I went disco dancing at night. My favorite part of the day was five o’clock every afternoon, when we played beach volleyball with other tourists and restaurant workers. The games would last for hours and I would be totally exhausted. We wanted to stay longer but unfortunately we had other commitments.

We returned to Manila on Saturday, August 22. We promised Fred and Tala Baldemor and Sonia Adea to visit them in Pasig. Fred had invited me earlier to join him and his fellow artists to a drawing session at a hotel in Makati.

We were warmly welcomed and had dinner at the residence of Sonia that Saturday evening. We enjoyed Sonia's excellent collections of paintings and sculptures by famous Filipino artists including the works of Fred Baldemor. Later that night we proceeded to the Baldemor’s residence to see his many paintings, woodcarvings and sculptures.

My visit was highlighted by a drawing session organized by Fred Baldemor’s publisher. Fred saw my paintings and noticed my interest in arts, when I invited him and Tala to our home in July 1998. Since I missed his earlier invitation, Fred invited me to another session at the residence of his publisher in Pasig.

What made this occasion really thrilling for me was being able to see the masters at work. There were two beautiful models from the International School who posed for us. But my attention was on the pen strokes and techniques of the masters around me. It was a privileged to sit in the company of masters such as Rudy Herrera, a former pupil of Fernando Amorsolo (whose style is reflected in his works), Solomon Saprid, whose works include the Gomburza statue in front of the National Museum, F. Cusi, known for his watercolor paintings, Carlos Babuco and Ephrain Samson. The angelic faces and refined curvatures remind me of the works of Italian Renaissance painters, and, of course, our multi-talented master from Paete, Fred Baldemor, who brings life to his drawings. We left Manila on August 28 homesick, weary and with a heavy heart.

The economic crisis in Asia is taking its toll on the economy and businesses in Manila. The number of unemployed in the Philippines in March 1998 was 3.4 million and the prediction was 12 million Filipinos would be jobless next year. Let us hope that the current economic crisis in Asia will end soon.

We had a good time, and it was indeed a splendid, delightful vacation. We were able to cram within that short three weeks almost all the activities we planned.

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