Day 11 & 12: Kalibo-Caticlan-Roxas, Mindoro-Calapan

At six ten am yesterday, after waiting for ten minutes to see if any local biker from Kalibo would turn out, I pedaled alone to Caticlan. Once again it was just me and the bike - no other bikers, no motorcycle police escort, no support vehicle and no ABS-CBN TV camera crew. I felt so peaceful. all by myself.
The weather wa perfect for biking -dark clouds covered the the sun and it rained a bit. I listened to the music of the Phantom of the Opera and of Joey Ayala on my mp3 player. There were a lot of climbing after 12 km of flat road. The toughest climb was the last 20 km, along a cliff overlooking the sea. I was struck by the beauty of the scenery. I pedaled furiously hoping to catch the ferry. I reached Caticlan at 10:05 after biking for 67 km. The boat for Mindoro was just leaving so I had to wait for 3 hours for the next ferry boat.

I went aboard the Grand Star which left at 1 pm. While trying to take a nap, I felt my throat becoming sore and my nose congested - symptoms of an impending cold. I spent time meditating on the healing light and praying for divine intervention.

When we reached Roxas, Mindoro by 6 pm, Fr. Rey Bandayrel, was at the pier to welcome me. I followed his car to the rectory and after taking a shower, I went out with him to a restaurant for dinner. Before going to sleep, I again did some healing meditation and ask the Lord to heal me of my cold.

I woke up at 4 this morning feeling much better. The cold was gone. I presided at the 6 am mass with Fr. Rey concelebrating. The mass was well-attended and I preached in Tagalog. Immediately after mass, I packed my things and set out alone for Calapan.

It was again a perfect weather for biking - slight drizzle. But the sun came out at 9 am and it became hotter. My jersey quickly dried up. I stopped by the way side for halo-halo and talked to some people who gathered around me. I continued biking feeling refreshed. After a couple of hours it rained again, this time it was a downpour. But it stopped again as I was climbing up some steep hills. The heat and the hills were slowing me down. After a hour, it rained again. I felt energized and thank the heavens for the rain. My pace quickened. Some 15 km before Calapan, I met a motorcycle rider who escorted me. Then I saw 20 bikers on the bridge waiting for me. The parish priest, Fr. Nestor welcomed me and we were led by a police patrol car to the cathedral.

After brief rest and a shower I went with Fr. Nestor to see Bishop Cajandig. We came back to the cathedral for supper.