The Weekend We Traded Deadlines for Saltwater, Laughter, and Lechon

Weekends cannot be completed without any experience or trips with people close to us. It could be your family, friends, or colleagues who will unexpectedly invite you to an escapade on a random weekend whenever available. Weekend experiences are born on random Saturdays or Sundays of our lives, and accepting an invitation is a one-way gate to complete relaxation. Well, that is a real one, and my experience yesterday with my family was an exciting proof.

My weekend experience yesterday was indeed one for the books. It happened in a white, big, and elevated cottage we rented in Paypay, Daanbantayan with all family members belonging to my mother's side. Most of us are students, and classes in some schools are in asynchronous mode, so we really are bored in the house scribbling our modules and textbooks while making sense of online classes. I was happy to know we would have a getaway on the beach where my auntie lives, and all family members from the city got home in the province.

Paypay is a barangay in Daanbantayan situated along a long coast of the municipality. It is known for its rich marine life and produce, which is the main source of income for the people who live near the coast. My auntie also lives near the sea, so basically, her family's source of income is also fishing. My uncle is a retired seaman, and he continued his passion for the sea through fishing using his pumpboats we often ride whenever we visit their house.

In the photos, that is the back part of the house of my auntie: clear, turquoise water reflecting the vast blue sky, and a peaceful view from their balcony. One of the advantages of living near the water is they could get fresh sea produce from it in a convenient way, especially that my uncle was a seaman and knows the water very well. But living on it is not good when typhoon comes because when the waves get bigger, they go inside their house and even destroy the balcony. Their balcony was renovated at least for the fifth time because of typhoons that pass in the north.

Going back to our beach experience, the whole family or, let's say, our clan, was very happy to be gathered under the same roof after three months of not seeing each other because folks are busy with their careers and silly lives. We are actually not complete in these photos because some were not able to join since they live in far cities and countries. Only the family members from Cebu were able to go home. Don’t be bothered by the three cakes my cousins were bringing; they are funny ones, and the reason why we have them is that from August to October, each month has one birthday celebrant, and the birthdays were not celebrated because of our other priorities. To have an actual collective celebration with the family, we bought cakes to let the celebrants blow the candles with our presence so they can feel their birthdays.

When I say family members, our dogs are included in this celebration. My other cousins brought their dogs with them because dogs really love beaches, except for those who find the water their greatest villain. Just like my chihuahua. Our family is not choosy about dog breeds; in fact, we own dogs we adopted from the streets. Yesterday, I saw Kali (the chihuahua), Pluto (Aspin), Cassy, and Ashley (the shitzu-poodles) walking around the beach, except Pluto who was afraid of getting near the water, so he stayed behind his owner, who happened to be my auntie.

We cooked a lot of foods for the whole day since we stayed until sunset. While some of them were enjoying swimming, I was busy watching my eldest brother grill the lechon belly on a corner. Lechon belly is just the same as the iconic Cebuano lechon but the difference is the latter cooks the whole pig while the former only uses the belly part of the pig. Same process of cooking, same ingredients, and same taste. Lechon belly is for budget-friendly and small pax gustatory experiences. It was already enough for our family whose elders don’t like eating meat, especially my mother.

I was called by my cousins to join the table while I was watching the lechon belly only to find out they were already having a drink early in the morning. I laughed hard when I found it and even joked to them that they inherited my grandparents’ and great grandparents’ pastime. I only had a glass of drink but later on I found myself staring at two boxes of hard drinks. These cousins of mine can’t spend a celebration without liquors. So silly. LOL.

We then ate on the same table when the foods were prepared and displayed on the cottage. We enjoyed the food very well because of the lechon belly and also because we had a drink before. Such a stomach was brought into life and health again.

After feasting on our foods, we then reached the water to have a swim. At first, it was only me and my cousins, but when the elders found out we were already dipping ourselves in the cool of Daanbantayan, they followed us and continued their conversation in the water.

If you look at the photos, you can see how cheerful my family is. My cousins were carrying my other cousins on their necks when we took photos, and then they would fight in that position. Some were already smiling because they knew anytime from then they would find themselves pushed under the water for seconds because one of the cousins decided to make fun of us. But no problem, it was a safe joke because the water is shallow and we all know how to do the joke without harming others.

These are my aunties and elders of the family, chilling on the sand while having some conversation. They swam before this but they could not bear with the younger ones’ energy that they had to put themselves on the corner. My mother was wearing a white polo beside the one wearing the yellow shirt. These women are very empowered in our family and they have raised our clan very well in respect, dignity, and intellect.

We had some TikTok from time to time yesterday and another batch of drinking and singing karaoke. It was truly a day filled with laughter, sun, and the kind of chaos that only family can create. Moments like this remind me that even with our busy lives, we always find our way back to each other. And maybe that is the real magic of weekends—how they bring us home in ways ordinary days cannot.