Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar

Photos by Joel Darwin
(except the one of him, I did that)

I still have a hard time believing that we’ve been married for three years. Three years is infinitesimal but it can feel like a lifetime sometimes. We dated for almost a year before we got engaged so we’ve been in a relationship for four and it’s the longest one we’ve been in. Joel surprised me with a quick trip out of the city for our anniversary last August and he refused to tell me where he was taking me until we were on the highway.

I asked if I could make vague guesses. “Are we going South? No? North? No?”

We’re a road trip couple, in the sense that we don’t mind being stuck with each other on long drives and we’re pretty good with maps. When Joel hesitated when I started asking if we were headed east or west, I knew we were going somewhere that we haven’t been to before. I guessed Bataan when I eliminated everything else as too far for an overnight trip.

I love how Joel knew that I would appreciate being around old houses. Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar is a seaside resort town that features restored heritage houses that were “rescued” from ruin or thoughtless gentrification. These houses were carefully dismantled and then were reassembled back Lego-style. A lot of these houses have amazing back stories to them and daily tours go by the hour.

The whole property has workshops that equip Las Casas to be able to construct, furnish, and restore anything they need. Joel and I spent the second day touring the workshops and renting bikes to visit all the houses. My mother’s family is from a heritage town (Vigan, Ilocos Sur) and I grew up with old houses and a fondness for Filipino furniture and craftsmanship. Even my parents’ house in Manila harks of it and I was and am never too far from solihiya and heavy narra tables.

Joel is an old soul and this is one of the things we like experiencing together. I’m convinced we’ve shared lifetimes in rural areas because as much as we’ve committed to living in the city, it’s too easy for us to romanticize dropping everything and living off the land. It’s a dream that will forever lurk in the back of our heads and I wonder if there will ever be a time where we’ll be able to do it, even just for a bit.

My big wish is to be able to see more of the Philippines every year — preferably by road. It’s during those zips down SCTEx and TPLEx that Joel and I have some of our deepest conversations happen (some of our most intense fights, too — and there’s no escape!).

If there’s one thing I’m very grateful for in our three years of being married, it’s the fact that I have the best conversations in the world with Joel. We’re both very sensitive and emotional people, so when we bare our hearts, we usually end up in tears, either by way of spiritually connecting or of laughing at something really disgusting. I’d like to think this is one of the best features of marriage.

I get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of places we can readily go to now compared to before. I’m all for new experiences, escapes, and exuberance but there’s something to say about the universe of stories and rumination that end up pouring out of you when you travel. About the possibility of never being the same when you come back. About the clarity we pick up when we start seeing God’s hand weaving through our lives, past, present, and future.

I overthink it, I know. I’m not sure I’m making a whole lot of sense, but I know Joel gets it.