Walk on Water
We were sitting in the afternoon sun listening to humming motor in Quiapo ferry station’s waiting deck. I’m fading… A friend mumbled. Oh, I’ve been hours ago. My friend responded quickly. We were tired after being in and out the sun for six hours today. The heat had numbed my senses. I didn’t know what I needed anymore. Nibbling, drink, or cold shower.
My friend had reserved space for us to do Pasig River tour a week before I came. The tour is in high demand so we were lucky to be able to join the big group of 33. Pasig River is a river that joins Laguna de Bay, the largest lake in the Philippines, and Manila Bay. It took an hour from Guadalupe (the 4th ferry station) to Escolta (the 12th or one before last ferry station in Intramuros).
We stood in the ferryboat deck listening to the extremely popular guide (they called) explaining places and its stories along the river. Nice Filipino lady in her sixties. Energetic and experienced. I stood by her so could listen well. It was windy that it ruined my $2 umbrella. So for the rest of the trip I had no choice but stood in the sun with a fan to cover face.
Pasig River is clean with lots of water lilies floating and stuck here and there. I saw laundry hung in some parts of the river so was wondering where people wash. It’s easy to spot people use river water for washing in Jakarta but here? Later I learned that they collect the river water but do the washing alongside the river (no sloping down bank) with separate sewage that (hopefully) doesn’t go back to the river. I admire and wonder why can’t we suggest Jakartan to do the same?
We were taken to visit three old buildings owned by family for generations. It seems many places here stayed with and are preserved by the family. It’s a good thing. We were invited to visit a building owner’s office where he gave us a brief history of the family and building before letting us roamed the museum-like office. He was so generous to have us having a closer look at their stuffs that had been collected for generations.
The second building had a little museum in the mezzanine. Narrow room with musty smell of old stuffs. It’s still nice. It showed the building before and after bombing, clippings from old newspapers, and old advertisements. Observing the past is always fun. We giggled a lot when studying the ads. It’s so different now.
The third building was nice because the original interior is still kept the same. Like other buildings, the building now is used to house small offices of small business, I presumed. So many doors close to each other so it must be offices of less than 10 persons inside.
My friend and I took a pedicab to get to Nakpil-Bautista house-cum-museum where we had lunch. It’s an old house that has been used for generations. The lady of the house is a key figure during the 18th revolution against Spain. They open two living rooms for museum of the family (called The Katipunan Museum – named after the organization she was involved). It’s a nice museum with old furniture, some paintings and reproductions showing the family’s role in the Philippines’ history. By the way, the food was good. The dessert was fabulous. I enjoyed the way Filipinos treated banana. They are lucky to have nice smooth fat banana in the land. In the market, I saw they set two bananas in a skewer, spread with palm sugar, then put them in fire. I hadn’t had a chance to taste but heard it’s really good. It must be.
It was afternoon already when we finished the long lunch in the house. We were too lazy to get up and continue. Some had started to fade out. We walked to the last leg of the tour, San Sebastian Church, the metal church erected in the 18th. It looked ‘normal’ from outside but inside is all steel – the walls, ceiling, and pillars. We sat quietly on the bench admiring the architecture. I could not believe they did the prefab steel in Belgium and had it sent using steamboats to Asia that took ten years to complete. There’s always a way when there’s a willingness.
We had some 20 minutes shopping in the famous under-bridge market on the way. I loved the market, like always. So many capiz (shell handicraft specifically from the Philippines). We dragged our feet to reach our departure ferry station, Quiapo. That’s where we sat staring blankly at the water. Good the ferry came on time that didn’t leave us in uncertainty.
We were drained and happy.
Picture of a boat that transports people from both sides of Pasig River.