One of the Roads to 30
This is what's facing me as I type in a few paragraphs this morning on my iPad: the waves crashing down on rocks, coconut trees swaying, a faint conversation in French, Walk the Moon playing. My omelette is on its way and my brewed coffee is steaming beside me.
There were some initial fears on traveling alone to Siargao: It was the first time I'll ever do it locally, and it's not exactly a place that's easy to get to. I had to ride a four hour boat ride from Del Carmen port in Siargao Island, and a 40 kilometer tricycle ride to my resort so I didn't have to stay overnight in Surigao. When I arrived, it was sunset, and the surfers were just winding down with a beer in hand. It kind of felt like home on so many levels.
Not so ironically, my choice of book read during this trip is one that feels almost autobiographical. Kristin Newman's What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding was a memoir on her life during the time one by one, her friends were getting married and popping out babies. When you're almost 30, it's impossible to not be face to face with this pressure. It takes a high level of emotional quotient not to marry the first guy who shows interest. I'm glad that this life granted me high EQ. However, Newman spurts something that might've been in one of my very own journals: "Whereas in the 90s, the sign of a single woman was one cat too many, nowadays, it's the constant traveling." Here, now, alone in an island in the far end of the country, I understood exactly what she meant, but not completely related to it.
Unlike Newman, I had no vacationships to boast of. My single girl travels consist of part adventure, part trying to convince myself to get out of the bed, part being introvert, part shopping. Heck, my passport stamps won't even be able to compete with hers. I did learn about a lot of things from her, such as men in war-torn countries made love the best. Probably because they might not be sure if everyone's alive by tomorrow {or something like that}. There were so many things I took away from this book, I should do a proper review soon. It's nice to note though, that happy ever afters do find even the most elusive ones.
In other news, I did tick off an item on my list, and that is to back ride on a motorcycle. It wasn't the most glamorous, Lynyrd Skynyrd type, or what I had imagined it to be, at the back of a Ducati. Still, it was thrilling and necessary. Nothing I'd like to keep repeating if I don't need to, for sure.
More than anything, it has been a great adventure so far. I've made friends along the way, talked to locals, mingled with people I never would've met if I didn't come and saw people from four years ago. I also proved I can make it alive to here alone. Not sure if I wanna keep doing it in the future but at least I know that if I truly have to, I can.
Happy weekend!
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