I’ve never seen so many people in the Philippines wearing shoes as I did on Christmas Morning mass. Everyone put on their nicest clothes and there wasn’t even places to properly stand outside the church was so full that morning. Dieter and Mark were impressed that I attended this every morning I had been there, since you can barely understand a word, but you can see the smiles and hear the songs. I forget what time this mass was, but it certainly wasn’t 4:30AM like the other days. When it concluded, waves of people went down the ramp to start the full day of celebrating, gathering, eating, drinking, and of course, singing. We went over to Melot’s place and ate food and listened to the many carolers. Mark got a bill changed into a bunch of coins so we could tip all the people singing their little hearts out. The legendary Nicknick surprised the island and came all the way back to help Mark and I with our quest, it was the best Christmas gift of all! Mark and Nicknick got to meet, and everyone mentioned how much Mark looked like Jim, to which he would typically reply with a polite “eff you.” Since it was Christmas, the drinking started even earlier than usual, and I quickly learned today would be a difficult day for a person like myself who no longer drinks. Dieter busted out a fancy bottle of whiskey he brought just for the occasion and set the pace for the morning. Every house we would pass by would try and invite you over to share a drink, sometimes not even asking, just handing you a glass full of whatever they were enjoying, beer, rum, whiskey, gin.. though the residents might not have had fancy material objects adorned to their life, they were always quick to offer to share whatever it was that they had. We learned that there was a second mass happening that afternoon, so there seemed to be a pause in the drinking for a little bit. Many people again went to mass but we were over at Melot’s while they did that, and after it let out the island revved back up the celebrations. Nicknick at some point went over to talk to the Barangay Captain, the head of the island, Mario, to ask for permission to install Jim’s lapida on top of the mountain. We aren’t sure what was discussed, but Nicknick came back saying it would be okay if we installed it on his property, to be seen from all as they walked up to the lighthouse. When he mentioned we could install it the next day, and had no need to climb the mountain during Christmas, the party boys decided it was time to pick up the pace with the rest of the island.
Mark, Dieter, and I were invited up on top of the hill to meet the captain, though Dieter had previously; this was the peak of the alcohol consumption for the day. When we arrived, Mario’s brother was already looping in conversation, and a younger guy was driving the pouring. They had a case of Red Horse, the strongest of the San Miguel beers, in liter bottles under the table. Tagay, the word for cheers, is also a style of drinking where there is one cup that is poured, and it is drank in the circle when your turn comes next. I tried to tell the guy I wasn’t drinking but I was handed the glass every rotation, to which I took a small sip to be polite and tried to pawn the drinks off on Mark and Dieter, who were happy to help. The pourer was opening beers with other beers and went through the entire case in maybe 40 minutes, and there was only maybe 5 people at the table drinking. There was a bottle of whiskey on the table that the captain and the man to his right were sipping responsibly, but that became the drink of choice after the bottles were empty and the younger man went back down the hill to celebrate elsewhere. We had nice conversation and got to know Mario better, and explained to him that with all the places in the world that our father went to, this little island was his favorite.
After the session ended we walked or stumbled back down the hill to Mary’s to shower off, and head to Riemel’s for food and karaoke. I made plans with Father Charlie to leave later the next day, so that we could have time to install the lapida. We had a detour where we went to meet the man who made the food where Jim and Dieter met, and made plans to have lunch with them the next day. Losing roosters were served as well as plenty of Red Horse beer, and many stories about Jim. Then it was back to Reimel’s, where hours of singing and food consumption went down, naturally. I stirred up some feelings in Mark when I did “Wish You Were Here” by Pink Floyd, he said it reminded him of our father and the ceremony we had on the volcano, and I replied welcome to how I feel every time I hear that song. When I did my last SE Asia trip when Jim was in the hospital, I would hear the song covered no matter what country I was in, and it really made me wish that Jim was there with me, and I’ll never stop feeling that way when I hear it. Zombie by The Cranberries seemed like a big hit and the sing-a-long was magical. Things started to wind down in the town and we moved to the beach, with a much smaller karaoke machine. Mark passed out in his luxurious hammock and I struggled to stay awake until midnight, when I decided it was no longer Christmas and thus I could appropriately retire. When trying to head back to my room, Dieter and I came across the Captain, Mario, and the Father, Charlie, sitting at Mary’s dinner table discussing matters. This seemed too good to pass up and we ended up staying up a couple more hours talking about the island, and how to preserve it. Johnny Walker was poured, and I was handed more glasses I was trying not to drink. Mark woke up from the hammock and went to bed, thinking Mario was just Mary’s husband, but either way he was too beat for much conversation. The discussion was an absolute insightful delight then I went upstairs to sleep hard. Dieter told me to make sure I woke him up to install the lapida the next day, and not take “no” for an answer.
Continue to the next page for additional photos from the day