A trip to Zambales

Last Friday I went to Zambales. I accompanied my father to Iba, the provincial capital of Zambales, to submit all pertinent documents for the transfer of my Grandmother's land to Dad's name. My Grandmothers land, around six hectares, is located at the outskirts of the town of San Antonio. It is separated from the town and immediately the town's cemetery by a river. I think the river acts as a barrier that prevents people from squatting on the land. For the past years Dad has been making pilgrimages to Zambales to affect the transfer of my Grandmother's land. His efforts seems to have been blocked or laid to waste by the red tape and the problems brought about by disorganised file keeping. The process of getting a new land title seems to have taken on nature of a quest. You have to go a series of obstacles in order to attain your goal. Getting all the documents needed and dealing with a host of civil servants. Do not get me wrong most of them were helpful and amiable but rules are rules and one must get the proper form and papers. Without it you will be doomed to go back and forth the building till you get things right. Anyway, that particular Friday the signs seem to point to a favourable disposition of the case. We had complied with checklist given. We left early to avoid the traffic of Metro Manila. The North Luzon Expressway welcomed us with no long queues at the gateway and what seemed to be a total lack of accidents cluttering the road. And through out the trip smooth travel all the way to the register of deeds office inside the provincial capital building in Iba. No long queues of people at the office. Then it happened. "Sir you are still missing one document" The lady, who checked our documents the last time and gave us the checklist, said we needed to get this form and re-submit it again. According to her we could submit it now but would have to submit the documents within ten working days. So we left the provincial capital building and found our way back to Manila. Needless to say my dad was frustrated about the matter. The time and money spent going to and fro from Manila to Zambales was no joke. I just told him that once we get the particular necessary document we would just send one person to submit it in order to save on cost. My dad cooled down and became retrospective after he had a sandwich on the road and lunch at Subic. In such situations I find that having a meal can soothe an angry head and makes one more reflective about the situation. It worked after a meal of taosi spare ribs, curry squid, goto, fried rice, black gulaman and topped with cold soft drinks. Afterwards we proceeded home. The trip was blessedly uneventful and the traffic sublime. Along the way I bought a couple of plants that I had been searching for as of late. All in our entire trip was not a total loss. First, the trip was uneventful and traffic-free. Second, I got to take some snapshots. Third, all of the people we met were cordial and helpful. They cannot really change the way things work - in an Asterix cartoons, "The Twelve Tasks of Asterix", one task was to get a from the house that makes one mad. Fourth, enjoyed a good lunch at Golden Tea House in Subic. Fifth, I was able to find and buy the plants I was looking for a long time. Fifth, We arrived at our home safe and sound.