explore my optimistic world

In advertising class, we were assigned to make two TV ads. After Bayawan bio-diesel, now is the time for us to explore Baslay hot spring.

Let me share to you my experience in going there. . .

At first, I thought Baslay is just near the highway roads of Dauin, but I was wrong. It is almost 10kms from the proper Dauin. It may sound just a short distance, but 3kms of this is what you need to walk to reach the spring, because of a bumpy road. The motorcycle cannot anymore resist to the roads, so we need to walk.

What’s funny was, we got the wrong direction. There was no signal so we can’t contact our two other companions (Jonas & Kirsten) who went ahead of us. We were supposed to walk more before we saw a man and asked the way to the spring. Only then we knew that he is the caretaker of the place.

Finally, we find it. But the misery of walking did not end there. We need to pass the thousand steps of their developed ladder in going down to the hot spring and the river near to it.

There we meet (I thought they were also lost) and I saw the beautiful, serene hot spring, a truly magnificent gift of nature!

We made our commercial; we bathed, ate and had picture takings. That was so nice; I even regretted some of our group mates who were not able to go with us because of other things to do. They really missed the adventure.

We left the place when it was almost dark. Since we cannot be together in one motorcycle, I and Kirsten were left. I was really afraid and almost about to cry because we don’t know the place. It’s near 8:00 pm, but the motorcycle has not returned yet to fetch us. Baslay is a mountainous place, dark and silent. But we still continued walking while waiting for the motorcycle to come.

While walking, we saw a woman shouting. We thought she’s insane, but she explained that that was the way they call each other because of far distances. We also passed through a group of drunkards, standbys and a “lamay” before the vehicle came.

Thank God we reached Miriam’s house safely. It also took an hour for us waiting for an easy ride to send us back to Dumaguete.

What a rare kind of experience I had! From laughing, then to near crying and so much fears, and ends with more big smiles reminiscing all that happened to the four of us.

Until now, the clothes I wore in bathing in the spring still smells sulfur, and that would remind me of Baslay hot spring.

PS: Sir, muntik na kaming mapahamak sa pag-uwi galing hot spring, pero okey pa rin. At least na experience kong maglakad ng napakalayo sa isang lugar na hindi ko kabisado, at sa gabi pa.

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