I think I must've packed too much stuff.
Well, that's two years of traveling will do to you. Packing skills get rusty from lack of practice. But take a leave from work, I must so as not to let my accumulated leaves carried over from last year to go to waste. Besides, the boondocks are calling and my body, mind, and spirit are telling me they need a change of environment. I must have been a farmer or hunter in a past life as I live in a city out of necessity but feel more at home in the forests.
It's interesting to find out how things are outside the city as well. What has changed? I hope and pray my friends (the dogs included) in Maligcong, Bontoc are okay after two years of the pandemic. I also don't have much expectations with regards to my canine friends remembering me with fondness. Last time I was here, I walking away from a barking Maku who, I think, was wondering why I was leaving him tied up to a post even as the brood was also leaving for the lowlands.
It turns out I shouldn't have worried. TamTam, the black Lab already spotted me on top of the jeepney (the vehicle was full once again) as it turned the bend and Maku followed suit running to me as I entered the driveway. Kunig was there as well. It was as if I was only away for a day.
The terraces are green with newly-planted rice seedlings. The air was nippy just as I remembered it. I have no agenda or itinerary on hand but to rest and drink in the scenery and the vibes. The city, the lockdowns, seem far away.
