Alamon: Before airplanes

BEFORE airplanes, or at least before air travel became accessible for the common folk with the rise of budget airlines, interisland shipping vessels were the main means of transport between the islands. For my generation, and for those of us who come from the South, we would board these fabled ships of old for the annual trip to Manila or Cebu to visit relatives and family during this time of the year.

As a child, I went on this annual sojourn through the seas with my family just like many and there is a treasure trove of memories that is even more timeless than the destinations of these travels that I was surprised to discover. I went onboard a ship from Cebu to Cagayan de Oro this week and it spurred a lot of happy recollections from the time when the ship was king.

The smell of seawater, mixed with smoke and oil from the loading equipment, and the jostle of travelers, porters, and vendors create the electrifying atmosphere of the journey’s start. Stepping on-board these ships, one is welcomed by the metronomic vibration of the engine reverberating throughout the ship’s superstructure and for the uninitiated this can be a disconcerting experience especially when it is matched by the rocking motion of the ship being cradled to and fro by the waves.

But for the regular sea vessel traveler, especially those of us from the South who are island-dwellers, whose cultural DNA includes a natural affinity with the sea; all these visceral inputs make a familiar even comfortable experience.

Boarding a ship, already feels like you have somewhat arrived at your destination. Here, there is no need to code-switch one’s mother tongue for the dominant language of the North. And hearing the sing-song intonation of the Southern languages of one’s roots elicit many good feelings of welcome even if the boat has not even left the port.

Negros Navigation was a household name for many from the South as their ships plied the route from many ports in Mindanao with stopovers in Iloilo and Bacolod en route to the nation’s capital and vice-versa. Boarding the fabled vessels of the past such as Doña Florentina and M/V Sta. Ana felt like arriving in Iloilo or your hometowns in Panay and Negros. With the all-Ilonggo staff, there is bound to be a relative who can upgrade your accommodations or at least tolerate the child who has a third class ticket sleeping in first class quarters with the parents. Just make sure that the kid hides in the CR or behind curtains during ticket inspection.

There are also activities in a ship that mark the different stages of one’s travel. While the boat is waiting to leave port, you can amuse yourself with the dance of forklifts as they deftly transport tons of cargo from the holding area on the port to the cargo hold of the vessel. It is a fine display of excellent driving skills as the forklifts pass to each other the cargo in a mind-blowing quick process of backing and turning while avoiding ramming to each other and dropping their precious load.

Before the security was tightened in our ports owing to the threat of terror, it used to be that relatives and well-wishers can send off their passengers on board. Minutes before the scheduled departure, the loud speakers would announce the call that all visitors should disembark otherwise they would be forced to join the trip to the next port of call. The announcement of “Puera Bisita” would mark the beginning of the journey and elicit quick goodbyes among relatives and expectation for the travelers. It is sad that this practice has been discarded since no visitors are now allowed to board.

Once the ship has left port, then, there is the fascinating process of exploring the corridors and alleyways of a ship. There are maps and blueprint of the ship posted on walls, but all of the details are usually printed in Japanese. Up to the present, I believe, we are still importing two decade-old vessels from the industrialized former colonial power, refitting their discarded ships to become our economic workhorses to transport people and goods between the islands.

Looking for the bow of the ship or the roof deck is the fun part. But you have to wait for the ticket inspection process to complete before embarking on your exploration. While walking around, you note where the interesting persons are billeted in the hope that you and your gang can befriend them later on. The next task is to ask them to join you on the deck to gaze upon the free but priceless vista of a thousand stars visible to the naked eye on ships on moonless summer nights.

There is an inherent romantic air on a ship that is absent in the perfunctory and efficient processes of travelling via airplane. Every once in a while, when time and circumstances allow, it is still worthwhile to travel via the seas to remind ourselves that it is the journey that is special not the destination.