I was bound for home during the third week of December. This time, I opted to take a RORO ride to the province. At this time of the year, more people are spending their most-anticipated vacation in their respective provinces.
That particular time, there was already an announced storm approaching the province of Samar. The news of having a storm or typhoon is a dreaded one especially if you are travelling by sea. It is always a risk whenever there is a weather disturbance and accidents in the sea are common within Philippine waters.
When we left the port of Batangas going towards the island of Mindoro, the sea was still calm. Though prior to boarding the ship, we experienced already a drizzle. The moment we were aboard the ship, the sun was totally obscured by the clouds and the blowing wind could be felt. When we were already in the middle of the sea and between the province of Batangas and island of Mindoro, a giant dark cloud formed in the sky. It was like a giant funnel and gaining more weight as each minute passed by. It was really a scary sight because of its enormous size, almost occupying the whole stretch of the sea til the next island.
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| image courtesy of Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Salem_Ferry.JPG |
The vessel that we rode is a slow moving one. Actually, we were at the mercy of the bus company who has affiliations with the shipping line. And depending on the schedule, one cannot choose which vessel to ride but to simply ride the next one in line which the bus will also ride. That time, the ship that was assigned to us was like a twin-vessel with hollow opening in between. The vessel is called catamaran.
From the looks of the vessel, it is a Japanese surplus ship and has been servicing the Batangas-Calapan route for several years now. Compared with other ships, it is a slow one. When we left Batangas port, after 30-minutes, we were overtaken by another vessel which is faster than ours. An hour after that, the other vessel was no longer in sight. That's how slow our vessel. Anyway, Calapan port of Mindoro was already in sight when we experienced a turbulent ride. And it was one hell of a ride.
We were nearing the island of Mindoro when the weather suddenly changed. The strong wind was blowing and we were along its path. Everyone was alarmed at the situation because the vessel seemed not progressing at all. For several minutes that felt like an eternity, the front haul of the vessel was tossed in the air and all we could do was to hold firmly on the metal railings of the ship. The more you look at the front of the ship, the scarier the situation becomes. The front of the ship became higher and taller every time the strong wind pressed against it. The rear part of the vessel, where we were standing on guard, seemed like to stand in a perpendicular manner.
The vessel was like a toy, a helpless one at the mercy of the mighty wind. Some passengers were vomiting already. Children were crying because of fear. A lady companion of the passenger next to me was shaking and crying at the same time. It was her first time and her ordeal was a baptism. It was good that there was no rain and the sea was calm. If all three of them will join forces - the wind, the rain, and the waves, it would be one hell of a fury to bear.
I don't know how long we endured that scary and life-threatening situation. Though we tried to put up a brave face, deep inside, our racing heartbeats could not hide our fear. The experience itself was a torture and it was like one-hell of a joyride. And it is in the face of danger like this one that makes you ask, what if your life is about to end?
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