6pm. That was our deadline.
It was the indicated final check-in time of Michelina Princess Guesthouse in our online booking. We needed to get there on time in case the caretaker will leave by then.
We left Panglao airport at 4:30pm with a needed gas refill first. A detour that cost us a few precious minutes from our 36-kilometer ride.
Along the road I felt my stomach rumbling so I asked Hon to stop over a bake shop for merienda. A few munches pushed our ETA to 5:49pm.
By 6pm we arrived at the Loboc plaza and Waze told us to turn right. Right where exactly?
We couldn’t see any road from the throngs of scattered people, jeepneys and motorcycles. Despite the agitation of being lost, I still noticed a policeman in uniform doing his rounds. But where is the bloody road?
We saw construction work in the middle of where we should be turning so we assumed that the road was closed. It’s already dark and we’re getting lost. Great.
We tried turning right on the following road, trusting Waze will reroute. We were passing by houses already in the inner barrio. Where is it?
6:05pm.
Thank God Waze rerouted successfully and the guesthouse’s gate was still open. But there was nobody around. I couldn’t see any reception.
I left Hon to park our ride while I rushed, oblivious of the slippers at the bottom of the wooden stairs. My rubber shoes squeaking as I took every step.
At the top of the stairs, I saw a morena beauty sitting in front of a table.
She smiled at me.
“Reception?” I asked.
She quietly nodded while smiling.
I told her my name and reservation. She handed me a form to fill out while she prepared our room. I dutifully filled out the details, noting the presentation of a valid ID. When she came back, I gave her the filled out form along with my ID.
She politely declined the ID.
“Di mo na kelangan ng ID?”
She quietly shook her head while smiling.
She ushered me to our room and left the key with me.
She only uttered two sentences in our whole conversation.
I was astounded.
This has been the quietest and calmest check-in experience I ever had.
