The Pathfinder | C-6 Second Part

I used to spend the weekends at my favorite aunt's place in Paranaque. When school gives way to a two-day break, she would pick me up at my lola's house in Santa Mesa and bring me home to be her son's playmate. The village where their house is located sits next to a super highway dividing two towns. (now both cities) For the longest time, I was curious as to what lies beyond the other side - the rotunda after the railway crossing in Bicutan. The early maps of the metropolis never showed any major roadways east of the expressway. Not even the favorite aunt knew what street comes after the elusive east service road.

Thus, a new world has been opened when satellite images from Google revealed the area that was once to me a mystery. Streets were unnamed, yet the major arteries connecting the realms already known to me were all too familiar. It was like feeling a blood stream of your skin. Still, expeditions were yet to be organized. We were confined to the mighty expressway darting swiftest to home in Manila. Exploring Bicutan going to the heart of Taguig and into Pasig City would remain a luxury only afforded by a promise once the breathtaking expanse of the lake comes into full view.

"Currently, the southern terminus is at Barangay Lower Bicutan in Taguig and connects with the intersection of M.L. Quezon and Gen. Paulino Santos Avenue. From here, the nearest major intersection is the Bicutan exit of SLEx."

- VistaPinas

It was a rainy afternoon when the mission was executed. I went to the favorite aunt's place to deliver the chocolates and snacks - of local variety - as a pasalubong for my cousins abroad. Time was running short for it was getting dark, but I was determined to pursue the expedition out of faith that something good will be reaped from the trip.

The overhead walkway crossing the expressway was thick with people. Most have defined destinations, while mine would be a journey of discovery. At the back of my head, I picture a lonely stretch of a highway at the far reaches of civilization. No houses would be in sight save for some nipa huts sitting far from each other. I am expecting an unpaved road, where no sane vehicle would dare pass.

Passing by the railroad crossing and descending into the rotunda was already a no-man's zone to me. I asked a vendor for directions and she instructed to ride a tricycle that would take me to Jollibee. This fastfood chain she referred to lies at the densely settled side of Bicutan - near the spot where the ground embraces the shore of Laguna de Bay.

It was past 5:30 in the afternoon, amidst retreating nimbus clouds and intermittent rain, the tricycle speeds across a downward avenue. Craning my neck to have a better view of the road ahead, I caught glimpse of a brown-blue expanse stretching beyond my poor eyesight could see.

The lady vendor spoke true. There was the bug-inspired fastfood chain to my right. Crossing the intersection and into a narrow two-lane road, I have finally discovered the southern terminus of the Bulacan-Rizal-Manila-Cavite Regional Expressway.

"Please just this once, do not let it rain." I let my thoughts drift in the air while a Pascual Liner Bus incarnation soars across the expressway. Thick clouds assemble in the eastern sky threatening to bring endless rain later that afternoon.

"I hope it wouldn't be too much to ask, but I want to see a sunset when I find myself walking by the lakeside."

-tobecontinued-