by Jan Michael Yip

Created on: September 07, 2009

Manila to CDO: A 3-Day Road Trip

Almost 1400 km on land and who knows how many nautical miles, this was a trip that I thought would never happen. Road trips are economically and physically taxing and being the perennial homebody that I am, I'd rather catch a few z's, kick some alien butt on my PSP, see a nice movie in the comfort of our home or just read a good book. This time around though, I felt like I needed to just get out and go. So I went for it. The fact that Lino (Trip Boss)and I had been talking about doing this for some time and that he would be taking care of everything from the vehicles to our lodging made my decision much easier. Dex (Dr. Schumacher) and I were in between jobs so all we had to shell out was sustenance and our...ahem...highly developed pro driving skills.

It was a cold Saturday morning when The Trip Boss, Danica Patrick (Stella), Dr. Schumacher and I went on our sleepy but merry way. We were on the SLEX around 3 a.m. and Dr. Schumacher was first on the helm of Everest I. Ever the speed demon, Dr. Schumacher was eager to floor the accelerator of the vessel to showcase his Formula One prowess and display his oneness with the road. I was able to sway his urges early on (that didn't last, of course) so we were doing under a 100 km until we made our way out of the SLEX with The Boss trailing behind driving Fortuner 2 with Danica riding shotgun. We reached Lucena City around 6 a.m. and after maybe a couple more hours made our first scenic stop somewhere en route to the Gumaca town proper to stretch our legs and take in the fresh air.
Reaching the town proper, we unwittingly (I saw an old church and thought maybe it's something historic) made our way to the Cathedral of San Diego De Alcala and took a rather modest number of pictures because we simply didn't know back then that we were in the presence of the oldest and biggest Catholic church in the province of Quezon (from WOW Philippines website).

I was behind the wheel after we had brunch and if only Everest I could talk, he'd surely say "don't let that maniac drive me again" because Dr. Schumacher had a pissing contest earlier with another lunatic on the road. I don't remember who started it but neither driver wanted to back down and wouldn't let the other pass him. I felt like I was talking to a rabid dog who's seen a small animal run by as Dr. Schumacher ignored my instruction to slow down for my own safety. I don't condone reckless driving but Dr. Schumacher won that race hands

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