Rod Bankero
actually have second thoughts as to whether I should write about this place called "Cielito Lindo" or in English "Little Heaven". It was one of those places you'd never expect to find just a few hours from Manila yet has this sense of mystery and beauty in its petite environment. None of us expected that we'd walk into the world of lovers, whose expression lives through the ruins of an island. The thought of writing about it would mean exposing it for the public to see. And imagining hoards of people flocking into that one small place doesn't appeal me. But instead I won't specifically disclose the place but just leave snippets of info and let the people find out for themselves where it is.
It was February 14, Valentines. Though there are couples among the group, we chose to go together and have a road trip to a certain province just outside the Metro. Valentines here is almost similar to Christmas in terms of commercialism -- It's one big marketing ploy. So to make Valentines more eventful we decided to do this road trip and veer away from people's usual celebration of the day. I designed the IT for the day trip which has this Waterfall most of us haven't seen yet as our main destination. But somehow this little island stole the show. It was our first stop in this little fishing village by the lake.
After more than an hour on the road and asking directions to various characters on the road, from a drunken tricycle, to a clueless policeman to a gas boy, we reached the village's fishing port. Arriving at the place would seem like there's nothing to see there. The port itself is very scenic though as it boast the landscape of everyday life in a fishing village. We asked around and I guess we were lucky to have spotted this lady who was related to the owner of "Cielito Lindo". It turns out that the place is a privately owned island and to get there we have to ride their bancas towards the little island in the middle of the lake where she was pointing. We asked if it was worth going there and what would we see there. She said there's an interesting nature scene there as well as some goats and chickens. "Goats and chickens???!!!" I thought, there's plenty of that around here. Still, our sense of adventure and discovery was strong enough to check out the place. The lady helped us negotiate with some of the fisherman to rent their boats. Mutya, Rod and I were the reconnaissance party to check out the place first if it was worth the time.
The Guys Docking on the Island
The boat ride was fun and scary as well. We had this very thin banca with a little water already inboard, and it wasn't comforting. Just getting out of the little port was challenging enough as Rod was paddling in different directions just to get moving. I think we were there for 10 minutes laughing out thinking we would already be submerged before we reach the island. But we managed to move on, and most of the time holding our breaths and movements, as with a little movement the boat becomes really rickety and would seem to turn over. Being submerged in the brackish water of the lake isn't on anyone of our minds. Our boatman pointed the island in front of us; with some birds flying around, fire trees galore and some colorful flowers around. It was little. It was beautiful.
