VISITING ASINGAN IN '95

In a message dated 2/9/2006 Angelito Domaoan wrote:

  Hi Vic:  

I don’t know Rogel Baquiren, your student . He has brown complexion like me and he is a very nice guy. Our trek to Agpay; I remember every detail of it. Remember when we were encircled by some cattle at the top of the mountain.? The funny thing is that they were all looking at us in the dark.  Somebody commented that they might be  ghosts. One of us said let’s get out of here quietly so as not to disturb them. I breathed a sigh of relief when we are out of that predicament. Do you remember already the name of the younger brother of Rogelio Coquia? Let me know. Do you have the copy of our picture with the brother of Rogel Coquia? I love that adventure in Agpay...

*****************

For sure, I will write something about Agpay...Thanks for providing me the episode about the cows..Did you go there with us twice?...I think we enjoyed it because of the scenery, the camarederie and the sense of adventure..Passing thru the trail surrounded by trees, grass and rocks is the fulfillment of the fantasy scenes we saw in Tarzan or Jungle Jim movies..The only thing missing in the Agpay adventure are the headhunters..ha-ha! Baquiren was called JESS LAPID by some of his classmates before..He was a dead ringer for the Filipino action star..He's older than most of his classmates..His dad is the conductor of the defunct Angat transportation and he was a comical, funny guy..In one of my later Balikbayan trips, I met him again..He worked then as a tricycle driver for the sister of the late Mr. Gascon..The sister ( I  can't remember her name at this time of writing ) lived in a house 3 doors away from our old house. So Rogel and I planned and executed this picnic in San Manuel in a place called BUTAO ( what a name! ). Our companions were some friends from San Vicente led by Vic and Lita Gamazon..The photos of the resort must be in the San Manuel section of Pang.Org..We brought lots of meat dishes ( Lita sells meat at the market )  and then we just bought drinks from the resorts cafeteria. The swimming pool was natural made. Meaning it is a live spring and water changes every minute..The only problem would be the coldness, but it is not that cold..There are changing rooms, a second pool plus picnic tables..Sheltering trees also abound. Francisco Malala and Nonong Necessito accompanied us in this picnic. At that time, both of them were managing an Asingan weeky (Hometown News I think)..That was my longest holiday there in Asingan, about 3 months I think..I bought an open ticket and it took me a while before I was able to book a return passage to Toronto due to booking problems at the Cathay Pacific Airlines...I was so homesick during the last days of that holiday because the rainy season changed the atmosphere in Asingan from the sunny April days to the monsoon season of June..So happy was I to be back in Toronto!