Why I Can't Forget that Cavite Trip in 1993 [2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indang,_Cavite

In February 1993, we were back to Indang, Cavite. This time we were armed with the makeshift surveying equipment Eddie, the engineer, made using a compass and chart of angles and degrees on an illustration board plus a long line and measuring tape in meters. We hoped it'd work and we were all excited to find out.

We left Project 8 early in the morning with Carlo, Eddie's nephew, and arrived there at almost lunch time. But we had stopped by barangay Talaba in Bacoor to buy some talaba (oysters) and tahong (shells). In the afternoon, we mixed some cement and sand to make our own mortar markers or muhon to mark boundaries with as we subdivide the property. Carlo and I did this the whole afternoon with Eddie as supervisor. Of course, with a lot of laughter.

About late in the afternoon, Eddie and I visited the community market where fresh fish and beef were sold, as well as a lot of farming implements, like bolos. I sampled some of the bolos and sickles and pondered about buying some. I love bladed things. Later, we bought choice beef and vegetables for our Nilagang Baka lunch for the next day. Eddie promised me the best Nilagang Baka I've ever tasted! We planned to have a picnic at the coconut plantation.

Then, for supper, we grilled the tahong and talaba. Being a February (and because Indang was near Tagaytay), the night was very cold and the grilled seafoods we were enjoying were just perfect--as well as the fire we grilled it on. We had lots of fun stories and laughter as the night deepened, and later at 9 pm, we decided to go up the veranda or lanai on the second floor to view the street vicinity. In Indang, at that time we were there, 9 pm looked like 12 midnight because the streets were dark, quiet and deserted. The silence was deafening, so we shared lots more stories and laughter to break the silence.

I thought the night was lovely, with plenty of stars in the sky!

Eddie and Carlo remembered the good old days when they had enjoyed leisure times at the veranda or balcony with old relatives, especially Eddie's parents--Carlo's grandparents. Carlo remembered how they would watch town parades from the veranda and how often he was picked to be among the participants in the Sagala or prosisyon (religious parade of the town's princes and princesses).

Then, suddenly, a huge bat flew overhead and swiftly glided past houses. "Is that a bat or a manananggal?" I asked, joking. "It seems as big as a human." Eddie and Carlo agreed. Later, the bat flew under a roof eave just a few meters from us and disappeared quickly. It was amazing how a giant bat like that could quickly disappear into a small hole in the roof's ceiling. That was when Eddie started telling us about the mystery of the old church in Indang...

[To be continued here]

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