A Traveler's Confession: Puerto Galera

In my fist blog (June 12, 2014), I mentioned several reasons why do people travel— some for business or work related; yung iba, purely vacation or pleasure lang, they want to unwind with their family and/or friends. Syempre hindi mawawala yung reason na they want to forget something or someone; to forget momentary their present situation. Some people travel because of a certain request or as a fulfilment of a promise. Ang iba naman they want to see nature; to meet new faces, discover other culture and know the history behind the place. At ang iba, gusto lang nilang mag-emote— they want to reminisce the memories of the good old days. Ang iba naman they travel kasi they want adventure.

      

   For me, I travel because it is one of the best ways to learn more about myself. Getting away from home gives me the opportunity to reflect on my life. Nakakabago ng perspective sa buhay; it helps me to realize that there’s no one way to live life. Meeting people from other places shows me that my world view is not the same as everyone else’s. Travel also deepens relationships. The shared experience of travel brings people together. A family getaway or long weekend with your friends or officemates can strengthen important bonds. It will remind us, lead us to this question, "Paano nga ba tayo naging magkaibigan? Saan at kelan nga ba tayo nagkakilala?"  Syempre, paminsan-minsan, it is good to spend focused time together. Travel is also a great opportunity to make new friends. Meeting and befriending new people is a valuable travel benefit. Sabi ko nga sa Sagada blog ko-- "The beauty of traveling? Seeing new places and meeting new faces..." 

Before going to Puerto Galera, we spent one night in Victoria, Oriental Mindoro; bumisita at nangulit muna kami sa family ng aming kaibigan/kasama. 

While traveling to Puerto Galera from Victoria, we noticed one thing-- Parang ang bagal ng takbo ng buhay sa probinsyang ito. Imagine, in Manila, at around 6 to 7 o'clock in the morning, lahat na ng tao nagmamadali pero sa place na 'to, mukhang kasalanan ang magmadali. haha...

Puerto Galera is a nice place. In fact, it is known as one of the most beautiful bays in the world. But the beauty of Puerto Galera is not the primary reason why we decided to go there. More than the place, what made us decide to leave whatever we’re doing at that time is our desire to spend time together—to breathe in, to talk, to pray individually and corporately. Halos lahat ata kami ay may pinagdaraanan that time— major decision to make; emotional pain to release; crossroads in life to deal with; etc. 

But of course, we also need to see the beauty of Puerto Galera; we need to enjoy the place kaya go lang sa island hopping kahit na maalon haha... 

Eto si kuya Kim, ang aming bangkero...

After magpunta ng "cave under the sea"... stop over muna sa mga isla....

Man's bestfriend...

This travel or should I say “our journey” in Puerto Galera is not just an ordinary trip; it is not merely for pleasure but a reaffirmation of our commitment— to invest time, effort, and energy to build lifelong bonds of friendship among us.

Unlike my other travel blogs, na nag-uumapaw sa pictures, this PG blog ata ang may pinaka konting pictures. As I mentioned earlier, more on spending time together (talking, walking, etc) ang ipinunta namin sa place na ‘to. We talked about “life”— Ano na nga ba ang mga kaganapan sa buhay namin...    

It was late in the afternoon when we decided to walk around the area. Ikot-ikot lang, patingin-tingin ng pwedeng bilhin na PG souvenir. Since we want to witness yung sinasabi nilang “nightlife” sa PG, lakad-lakad muna sa dalampasigan.......until nauwi ang kwentuhan namin sa book ni Gary Chapman— “The Five Love Languages.” Ok, I think this is the highlight of our Puerto Galera gala. 

Our discussion about the five love languages was so intense. Started with this statement (from the book), “Much of the pain in broken relationships in our world stems from the truth that many of us xxx have never been serious students of love. We haven’t really taken it seriously enough to learn how it actually works.”

So, what was the reason why we discussed this Five Love Languages? Simple lang, all of us (including you, who are reading this blog) wanted to have a long-term covenant love relationship (we’re talking about all kinds of relationships). As defined by this book, covenant love is intentional love. It is conscious love; love that chooses to look out for the interest of the other because you are committed to their well-being. 

 What are the ways to give or receive love? Dito papasok ang five love languages... First love language-- ACTS OF SERVICE.  Eto yung mga simple acts that help to make the other person’s life easier or make things run smoother. It is service freely given, not out of fear, but out of choice. Second, QUALITY TIME. The central desire of quality time is togetherness. It means giving someone your undivided attention—putting away your phone and distractions and truly being with that person, whether that is having a conversation or going out and doing something together.  We're not talking about here "proximity." Pwedeng magkatabi nga kayo or sitting in the same room in close proximity pero pareho naman kayong may hawak ng cellphone at may kanya-kanyang kausap or naglalaro. Togetherness has to do with focused attention. Third, WORDS OF APPRECIATION. These are simply true statements affirming the worth of another person. Thanking the person in different ways or praising someone for who they are, what they do, and what you appreciate about them. Fourth, GIFTS. Gifts don’t necessarily have to be material objects, they could be sentimental—a hand-picked bouquet, a handwritten letter etc. Sabi nga sa book, "the purpose of gift is to emotionally communicate."  Fifth, PHYSICAL TOUCH. Embracing, holding hands, a pat on the back, kiss on the forehead/cheek, touch to the arm are all dialects of the love language physical touch. Sabi nga ng iba, in a time of crisis we hug one another. Kasi nga physical touch is a powerful communicator of love. If you have a friend or family member na ang primary love language nya is physical touch, at may pingdadaanan sya sa buhay, your words may mean little, but your physical touch (embracing/holding her as she cries) will communicate that you care. Caveat lang, the love language of physical touch never uses force but always seeks the appropriate time, place, and manner in which to express affirming touch.    

 "...we can't make other people change. But we can influence people to make changes" and  "[t]he greatest way to have a positive influence on anyone is to love them."  

     Hindi lang informative ang aming naging discussion kundi very reflective. Parang life jacket, pwedeng pwedeng isalba ang buhay mo. But of course, wala naman magiging discussion kung wala kang kadiskusyon. In other words, it is very crucial to be in the company of good, caring and loving friends-- who support, encourage, guide, correct and sometimes rebuke you just to make sure that your life is on the right track. 

    

     kaya pag-uwi namin sa Manila, refreshed at motivated na uli kami to live our lives to the fullest.