QUEZON, Bukidnon (MindaNews / 15 December) — It depends how daring and crazy you are, and the type of vehicle you’re driving. I did — with a lowly front-wheel Suzuki Ertiga — and maybe I shouldn’t have. But I have this attitude toward risks that other people find crazy.
If you’re driving a 4×4, then it’s a no brainer. But for the lowly mortals among us, read on. When I learned I have to attend a meeting in Davao, I got excited. The photojournalist in me so wanted to shoot the damage of the October 18 landslide that halted traffic in one of Mindanao’s busiest highways, even after almost two months since the incident.
So when I learned that the zigzag road in Sitio Kipolot, Barangay Palacapao is now passable for “light vehicles,” I thought I should take that route, from my home in Iligan to our office in Davao. Heavy trucks and buses are still not allowed.
For the average driver, that’s a savings of over two hours compared to taking the route via Carmen, North Cotabato then Digos City in Davao del Sur.
My plan was, if my car turned out to be not good enough for the temporary road, or if I got scared, I’d just make a U-turn and take the longer route. An hour wasted for the back and forth from Maramag to zigzag road, plus over two hours via Carmen and Digos, I could live with that.
As we joined the queue along the zigzag road, I started to feel regret. Driving manual on an inclined road is not easy, especially when there’s a stubborn car behind you that’s just too close.
After 30 minutes in the queue — I drove on a Sunday, December 14, but people in the area said the waiting could last two hours on weekdays — I started to worry when we were only two cars behind the front. The traffic controller was wise enough to only allow one car at a time to negotiate the rough road.
Every time a car or small truck huffs and puffs its way up, you could see dust fly all over.
Okay Bob, no turning back now. I opened the windows and turned off the aircon to give the car as much power as possible.
Yes, the drive up was scary. Doubt a little and you might just stall in the middle of the 130- meter climb or, worse, slide back down.
As we started the drive, Boy, seated beside me, began singing at the top of his voice: “Don’t let me down! Don’t let me down!”
The car was swaying, the tire screeching, the smell of burning rubber floating in the air. The short drive passed by in slow motion, as decades of driving experience tried to balance when to push the gas pedal, and by how much, and how to balance it with the clutch.
Driving automatic would have been easier, maybe, but thank you very much; I’ve decided to continue driving manual as long as my mind, my hands and my feet can still manage the coordination needed.
I’m not a professional driver; in fact, after three decades of driving, I did not upgrade my license to professional. I’m just a city driver, and the rough roads I’m driving these days are mostly just the unpaved portions of our subdivision.
But I do have my share of scary drives all over Mindanao with my lowly city car sometimes doubling as a tough off-roader. I survived the mud in the remote roads of Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao with my Adventure, the soft road leading to Lake Nunungan in Lanao del Norte. I’ve traversed the creek in Malimono in Surigao del Norte with the Ertiga, and even the landslide-prone roads of Rogongon of my hometown using my wife’s Wigo.
And yes, I survived that short stretch of hastily-made temporary road to make the zigzag road passable in the meantime.
“Yehey!” cheered the people at the end of the climb who were probably just waiting for some poor drivers to stall so they can push them uphill for a little fee.
We shouted back, and laughed. (Bobby Timonera / MindaNews)
