Recently I found myself taking the longest road trip of my life, sort of, I won't count the 9 hour trip that a Manila-Vigan excursion takes because well I didn't, haven't and have no intentions of driving it. By which I mean you don't immediately feel it because you can just doze the trip away especially if you take one of the overnight first class buses that makes the journey on a daily basis. This trip was actually 6 hours going and 7 hours coming, I used 13 mainly because it's got a better ring to it I think and in I drove the total anyway so it's still true. The time clocked doesn't count the regular driving i did around the city of Cagayan de Oro which is nothing in comparison when clocking anything and everything between 60 and 120 KPH. An extraordinary coincidence we discovered on this trip is that from the gate of our house to the gateway of CdO is 300 kilometers exactly by the odometer.
It was definitely long and draining to drive all that way even when I consider myself a driver, or rather someone who loves driving, there's a certain thrill of speeding on open roads that just gets me. That and it's the closest I'm ever going to get to any actual high speed racing of any form, one cause I have nothing near a race car and two mom's against it. Ironically though it was mother who called shotgun on this trip, and she didn't have anything against me swerving in and out on the single lane highway. Uphill, downhill, zigzag, and even in the dark she didn't have much to say about me gunning it full throttle, if and ever she did say anything it was that I should at least slow down for potholes and/or bumps which I rarely did. "Not good for the car." or "We should get the suspension checked." were the frequent remarks because of that but I had faith in my car and as I am proof here blogging we made it back unscathed, that's including the car.
One thing I have to mention, and I know I'll hear about (quite possibly later tonight) is that my mom's a terrible copilot and a barely-cut navigator. Know that I love her to death and for majority of the trip she was the typical dream mother that I know and love, that includes conversationist and travel buddy but for the times when I really needed a copilot and a navigator she was just preoccupied or quite frankly asleep. Case 1, in the early hours of the day we left after gassing up at a near by station she sets up her comfy travel neck pillow (which i got her) and konks herself out for the next two hours leaving me to listen to her slow and sleepy Bossa playlist till she gets up. Case 2, on the way back she gets caught up reading tweets (including the Pacquiao-Marquez bout, which I actually got caught up in to) via 3G that we missed our lunch stop and had to double back once we reached a hotel that placed us way passed our destination (mom really wanted to eat there, The Original Roadhouse Cafe, she's gonna start her new "eating regiment" soon). Again at this point I would like to reiterate that I love you mom, even if you are the way you are, thank you for training me well as a kid imbuing in me a great sense of direction by burying me in maps since I was old enough to read them.
That aside my mom is a pleasure to travel with, she's extremely informative when it comes to facts and locations though again, almost sadly, it takes me to get her their safe and sound one way or the other. She knows Mindanao just like the back of her hand, I on the other hand can't even remember the names of streets around Davao. She knows the local industries of each municipality we passed, the families that grew of those industries and even the ones who ended up dabbling in politics, to a certain degree of success I may add. Most of this was clearly travel talk of course, but this definitely brings to mind her obvious thirst for knowledge (and on a lesser note how she remembers it all). This thirst that got her all over the world and as much as I'd like to say I have that in me as well I honestly don't. It's sort of like I have a different version installed in my genetic make up or something. I have a thirst for adventure that's for sure and though I can appreciate learning and the knowledge that comes with it, I admit most of it has trouble sticking, those that stick are the sights, sounds, smells, directions, and experiences. Then again who knows maybe over time I might just lick that problem. Till then I'm stuck with my mom and I have no objections with that.
So lastly all along our trip from Davao to CdO I spotted places and sites along our route that made me do double takes. Yes I know that wasn't a good thing for me to do going top speed as a driver but I am part photographer and one very acute to awesome sites. That is on our return trip I talked mom into stopping along most of the sites I remembered, and here's what I have to show for it. Enjoy!
Davao-Bukidnon-Cagayan Express Road (I think)
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