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Monday, March 29, 2004
Echaves: The weekend turn
By LELANI P. ECHAVES
ON A dare, I took a trip by sea. This, after decades of bias for plane trips, whether for business or leisure.
I never learned to swim. I remember one time in my very young years how my head was bobbing in and out of the brownish waters in Talisay, and how my arms splashed crazily. I couldn’t feel the soil beneath my feet, and my little heart pumped so fast and so loudly I wondered why no one on the shore heard it. I was a goner, I was sure.
Until my father’s strong arms picked me up, and so I lived all the way to my golden years. Still, I never learned to swim. And when that first sea thriller, Jaws I, played on the big screen, the sensurround blasting the dum-dum-dum approach of the shark, I found my strongest justification for skipping swimming lessons.
And so, throughout my working years, sea travel was hardly an option. Besides, should my time come during those trips, I’d rather take the fast dive and quick end, than the cold sea with the shark tearing me apart.
Besides, my past sea travel experiences were far from pleasant. Narrow gangplanks, sidewalk shuffles to get from one end of the hallways to the other, tight rooms, dirty floors, cold baths, unkempt rooms, torn or worn-thin bed sheets, thin blankets, missing pillows, meals either cold, bland or rubbery, porters that were always busy somewhere else, and everything else that guaranteed long hours of discomfort and impatience at not reaching the destination port earlier. But compared to the devil and the deep blue sea, accepting those travel conditions was negotiable.
And then the invitation came to see how dramatically sea travel had changed since then. How about a Superferry ride from Cagayan to Iloilo? Close to the heels of another Superferry catching fire in Manila Bay and losing lives and properties last month, that invitation was, to me, a dare. And the weather bureau had reported a storm in East Visayas. Could it swerve to West Visayas? But half-fatalist, I believe that when it’s time to go, you gotta go. Besides, it was a weekend. So why not a cruise aboard Superferry 19?
I wish my family had come along. For the young ladies, there was David’s salon ready to pamper with a facial, a hair trim, a back massage, a foot spa, manicure and pedicure. And the Quick Mart convenience store for toiletries, chocolates and even vacation wear items. Their children would’ve gone to the E-port for computer games, while the little ones would’ve stayed in the playground with its colorful carpets, toys and slides.
The dining areas served more than delicious meals, whether for fine dining and continental cuisine, or for economy dining a floor above. In that thoroughly cashless environment, we merely had to whisk out our E-card and the delicious meals were ours. Like a prepaid cell phone card, it had a peso equivalent for the paid meals, and is reloadable. But better than a cell phone card, it refunds any unused balance.
We equally loved the ambiance created by various paintings hung on the walls, all veering towards contemporary art, and a view of the blue sea through wide floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Quite inviting for a poetry reading, or a leisurely chat over coffee.
The night was young, and we weren’t ready to turn in. Coffee first near the videoke units, and then the live band for their wide repertoire from the oldies to the goldies.
Specially impressive was the quality of cleanliness, so alike in all accommodations, from the suites to the suites or the economy level. Inside our stateroom awaited a relaxing warm bath, the soothing embrace of clean linens and thick blankets, and the nestling assurance of downy-soft pillows. Sea travel was never this good, and my decision to savor it again, never as clear and resolute.
(Readers’ comments may be sent to lelani88@yahoo.com)
(March 29, 2004 issue)
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