There were only two or three dozen people to see us off the next morning. Lyn had visitors up to the last minute. It took us a long time to break away from my other family, but eventually we did. We brought along a cargo of sacks of bananas, cassavas, and coconuts, which had been harvested from the land that Tatay, Lyn's father, had just bought. A few months earlier we had sent the money to buy the land. We heard that Tatay had a policeman accompany him from where he picked up the money over to the bank.
We brought along a few people, too. Lolo, Ate Rosie, her Nanay (mother), and her two sons (Jun-jun and Gil) were to be dropped off later on in the journey. Randy, Joel, and Jun-jun followed us down the road in a tricycle. As we turned on to the paved road we waved goodbye to the threesome and watched them turn back.
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Just like the ride down, the ride back up was a "white knuckler". The games of chicken continued. We had lunch at Max's Restaurant, which is a very famous chain. We originally intended to stay at Lyn's former employer's house that evening, but because of my injury, we changed plans and went straight to Martial and Lynn's house. They couldn't believe that I had once again had problems. I thought that I could get the things I needed for my foot: a large bag of ice to bring down the swelling, an ace bandage for compression and stabilization, and crutches to take the weight off. Unfortunately, the crutches were Asian sized, there were no ace bandages in the drug store, and only small amounts of ice could be obtained.
We discussed the possibilities. We soon realized that going to Boracay, a beautiful little island, as planned would be too hard on me. I didn't think it would get better very soon, so we decided to just make our way back, as soon as possible, to California. We left two days after arriving back in Manila, with many of those remaining hours spent with me in the bed with my foot up in the air. I read and watched television, soaking up whatever I found out about the turn of the century. It saddened me to read about a ferry that had sunk in the Philippine Sea. It had been delayed in port for several hours, because inspectors had discovered the ship was overloaded and the extra people needed to be taken off. However, the ship was still overloaded with too many people when it left port. The captain decided to take a shortcut through dangerous waters to make up for the delay in port. His gamble failed as the ship hit a rock and sank. Also, I read the want ads, where its okay to ask for single females, 20 to 30 years old, to fill accounting positions.
We were even able to retrieve my ATM card which had been swallowed up several days before when we were going down to Tubas. I saw the "Cirrus" symbol and thought I could withdraw some money, but what I didn't see were the words "International Cards Not Allowed". The machine devoured my card and I worried about its fate for over a week until I could return to Manila to retrieve it.
Martial and Lynn provided us with some wonderful conversation and food. We appreciate all the help they have given us. We also thank Tito and Rea for driving us where we needed to go. And, of course, we thank all the members of the family down in Tubas.
In San Francisco, as we stepped outside of the terminal building, I was surprised to be comfortable in shorts and a short sleeved shirt. Wanting to get home quickly, we inquired about taxi fare to Mountain View - about $85. We decided to wait awhile for a shuttle bus. Eventually we were able to catch one and it dropped us off at the house. Everything was okay at the house except where the cats could get to. There was fur all over the place. It was clear they had been on every piece of furniture they could reach. The vacuum cleaner and a little work brought things back to normal. I saw the doctor the next day and found out there was a fracture. I was given a removable cast (velcro straps keep it on) and a cane and told to come back four weeks later. Just another uneventful vacation!
