One very early Tuesday morning I came in a 24-hour fastfood restaurant in Centris area near a train station in Quezon City.

I arrived first and I had to wait for the others.

Minutes passed, I received a message from a group chat: three lovely ladies were already Inside the cozy restaurant.

Two FAMAS officers Francia Cheche Conrado (president) and Cristina Aliada (treasurer) with producer-actress-educator Teresita Tolentino Pambuan later treated me to an early breakfast.

Then came director-actor Romm Burlat, the celebrator (he turned 61) who invited us to Bolinao to visit the St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly, established in 2008 and run by the Little Sisters of the Poor.

After a visit to the disadvantaged old persons, we would have a tour of some scenic spots in Bolinao, dubbed as the Boracay of Pangasinan due to its powdery white sand beaches and coconut trees planted along the coast of Patar beach in which we we were going to stay overnight in a resort there.

As I came inside a cute van I was surprised to see a lovely dog that would join us in this long nine-hour journey to the north of Luzon.

Perk, a 7-year-old dog, has been traveling with director Romm Burlat to many places in the country. He has been the source of joy for the travelers.

We had a stopover in Dagupan City for the travelers’ lunch and bought some swimwear for the beach or the falls.

It was almost 4 p.m. when we arrived at St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly where we brought some new electric fans, which were requested by Sister Jeanne Maria, for the elderly poor. The group also made some cash donations.

The kind nun toured us to the place where we met old men and women abandoned by their families. They all smiled upon seeing us. Aliada and I cried for we were deeply touched.

At present, this haven for the old people takes good care of 47 residents aged 67 to 95. The residents sang a happy birthday song for director Burlat who was filled with enthusiasm upon seeing the residents’ happy faces.

After spending quality time with the residents, we had a dinner in a restaurant and later proceeded to a resort in Patar beach where we checked in.

Tired, we all slept by past 9 p.m. The next morning, it seemed to be a beautiful, adventurous day, a Wednesday for it was a holiday in the first day of May.

The white sands and clear salty water of the beach at Max N Resort in Sitio Abrac was alluringly enchanting in spite of morning’s heat.

Our driver, Pedrito Fajutnao, told us we were first to visit the Bolinao lighthouse, the country’s second tallest lighthouse, (which stands 351 feet above sea level). The said tourist site gives a panoramic view of the West Philippine Sea.

We ate our late lunch in an open-air restaurant and tried its specialty, a big alimango (crab), which the restaurant is named after, as well as other food like its poqui-poqui, a Filipino eggplant and scrambled eggs dish.

Next after, we passed by the fascinating Enchanted Cave, then we went to the Old Rock where we saw a beach resort and a hotel. It’s a nature themed leisure place built with unique rock patterns situated at the coastline of Barangay Arnedo. It is so lovely that I thought I was in James Hilton’s Lost Horizon. We stayed there a little longer, and I had my shower there.

Before we went to falls as our last of our tour’s itinerary, we wanted to see a historic church in Bolinao. It’s St. James the Great Parish Church where the first mass was held in the Philippines, with a marker of Blessed Odorico, or Odoric of Pordenone, a Franciscan friar and missionary from Italy. I was really mesmerized by the church’s face and its antiquated architectural design inside as I prayed solemnly for a safe return home.

As we were about to go back to Manila, I promised to return to Bolinao that has left an indelible mark in my memory bank as we were fed by a combination of religious and historically scenic attractions.

Truly in Bolinao, I came, I saw, and I smiled.