PART 9

On The Run Part 9 by Patrick Duffey

I have spent my days basking on the beach walking through plansconstruction of my simple house being built. Even though I have many years of experience in construction it has little or no business to do here. To be truthful, nor does anything else in the ways that thing are done back in the U.S. In between the storms and with the weather permitting I visit the chain of islands that I looked upon from my house for a few days. Unknowingly, I have been adopted by the teacher from Hilibian that I met last year on the island close by. Charming and fun, along with her abundance of questions – we are both teacher and student alike. New Years Eve gives me the chance to dance once again the "carasha" with her.

One of my good compradres from San Francisco now lives here upon this island. Paul is Filipino but has lived for years in San Francisco. He has recently built a nice house down at the edge of town on the beach. He shares the same overwhelming excitement that I have here in knows how incredibly special the place called paradise is. Not at the ends of the earth, but instead the beginning. Some say that I am doing the “ survivor” thing that’s popular on TV. I’ve been doing this years before the show started and I just don’t survive, I’m ALIVE! I’m breathing in and out and living. It’s funny what becomes important when you have only the basics.

Time has come once again to head that the nearest ATM, nearly four hours south to Tacloban, Leyte. Much smaller than Manila and much larger than Bornongan, Samar. It is a nice city, clean and friendly. In Manila, there has been no garbage pickup for about a month or so. The trash was transported by ship to Palawalan of all places. It being one of the last sea turtle habitats anywhere, untouched natural waters filled with marine life. The people stopped it from being dumped and someone’s pockets went to unfilled as well.

Tony has accompanied here and he has introduced me to his old high school classmate and girlfriend. Lochie is a social worker for abandoned children and needless to say, quite kind and beautiful. To theirs is a story of untold passion lost when Tony had relations with another woman, now his wife. He was told by Lochie to do the right thing and she sent him away. Lochie and Tony throughout the years have stayed the closest of friends, but only as friends past the heartache of losing a what they thought certain that should have been their’s. It’s nice to see that some people can still be friends.

Plans are arranged through the department of tourism and permission is granted to visit Solholtan Natural Caves. Recently opened to foreigners to experience, this was reserved only for the important few. By car we travel for only one hour, we then pick up a pump boat and a guide. We travel up the windings rivers in the deep forests through the barrios dotted along the banks. Towering cliffs overhead with roots from trees finding their way to the water amongst the ferns and brightly colored orchids.

After two hours by boat we arrive at the caves where Jun Jun, our guide leads us along the cliffs with the rapids below us on a walkway made of bamboo and lumber connected to any rock or tree strong enough. He asks the spirits of the cave for approval of my camera and video equipment. Most times he tells of others equipment unexplainably stop functioning all together completely. I later find out how fortunate that I am once the photographs are developed. In one of the photos there is a white stream of fog against the inside of the rocks inside the cave. There is absolutely no eating, drinking or smoking permitted anywhere in the caverns and it is not from the Coleman lanterns. It is up to you what you wish to believe. The Photoshop also said it is the first time they have every seen such clear photographs developed.










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