By: Telly Gonzaga-Ocampo
Paseo with Friends
Whenever we, friends in our senior years, feel fancy free, we go on a Paseo. This is something we used to do in our growing up years and we are doing again in our senior years. This time, the members of our Paseo group come from different places and grew up in different provinces: Carie Tharan is from the Ilocos region; Gemma and Cora are from Loon but have made Davao as their home until their parents’ retirement; Betsy is from Ozamis and now a resident of Panglao; Lailita is from Basilan with Bangkok and Baclayon as homes and I, a Baclayanon through and through!
My Paseo friends, in their retirement years, have decided to have Bohol as their home. Carrie is in her Cambanac (Baclayon) home where she can have a beautiful view of the Mindanao Sea and Tagbilaran Bay including Mount Banat-I, Panglao Island, Pamilacan Island and Siquijor. Her area is a beautiful place much more so that the interior barangays of Baclayon now have a good road network that stretches to the towns of Corella, Sikatuna, Balilihan, and Catigbian. These are towns that used to be part of Baclayon during the Spanish period. Going to those barangays at night is no longer a problem for the roads are smooth and solar lighted. Going to this place at night allows you to see and experience the fresh air and landscape.
During the Covid pandemic, we used to go out with Carie. One time, we were in Panglao, in a place that was abandoned and deserted. We also went to a mountain resort in Lomboy, Loay. Along the way, we saw flower pots, particularly in Albur. And these were already made in fiberglass since there is only one pottery maker in the place. We saw people who went into gardening – not for vegetables, but for ornament purposes. In the same place, Albur, we saw one German national who was into selling of sausages. Medyo mahal ang presyo, pero lamian gyud.
Now, two years after Covid, the landscape in Albur changed. The municipal building is now very beautiful. Being there would make you feel like you are transported back to the time when old towns were truly Spanish pueblos. We have the church, the plaza and the munisipyo – fully restored and well maintained. This is unlike in Baclayon, where our plaza is getting smaller and smaller to give way to the highway after the earthquake.
At this writing, I am turning off the radio. Tungod ni kay naay magsisibya nga gajama-jama na pud ug hisgut ug hilabot kabahin sa application sa LGU Baclayon about a hectare reclamation for our town plaza. Matud pa niya asa na kono modunggo ang mga sakyanan pangdagat. Aguy wa man siya ka kita unsa kalu-ag ang Baluarte. Naa diay gyud poy magsisibya nga magjama-jama.
Anyway, let’s go back to the towns of Albur and Loay. After the Covid years, ang mga nagbaligya sa mga sundang sa kilid sa kalsada, mibalik na. Ang asin tibook sa lungsod, gibaligya na. Makasabut ta kung nganong medyo mahal ang asin tibu-ok tungod kay dili lalim maghimo niana.
Just last Saturday, I and the mga balikbayan – Carie, Gemma, Caloy, went to a la lamyerda in a good restaurant in the “chicken city”. This is a place of former Dauis Mayor Bongalos and the restaurant’s proprietor is a former chef of Peacock Garden. It’s in a mountain resort in Baclayon that when you get inside, you have the feel of Heidelberg in Germany. The place, called a steak garden, is really unassuming. Wow, when you get inside, taas man diay imong panan-aw. There’s an alfresco type of place at the back outlined by a row of cute houses. Ah, the place is clean and the food is superb! The couple, who owns the resto, knows how to entertain you, well. The kitchen, though small, is open for customers to see and it is well appointed. Were we not fortunate to have visited the place to ourselves at lunchtime?
Paseo with friends, indeed, makes a senior’s day happy and free. Come, join us!
