We first met Nanay Tetay in 1994 when we did an all-women’s climb to Mt Banahaw. She is from Bgy. Bugon at the foot of Mt Banahaw in Sariaya, Quezon. In 1994, five of us decided to trek to Banahaw and go down to the crater and exit out to the town of Sariaya.
The group was composed of Jing B., Nhel N., Irma B. , Radel T., and myself.
We followed the river out to Sariaya and ended up at the humble abode of Nanay Tetay and her husband at that time, Ka Donyong—a couple who must have been in their early 60s. We had no idea if they would allow us to use their bathroom, if we could wash-up there, or even have a glass of water. But, we asked and Nanay Tetay immediately invited us to drop our big backpacks and come in. Before we knew it, she was even serving us rice and whatever leftover they had. I dont remember now why we chose to stop at their place but I am glad we did. In the next few years, we would come and drop by after a Banahaw climb. And in one of those climbs, Jing B. became “ninang” to a young baby, an “apo” of Nanay Tetay. Irma B., also became a close friend to Nanay and her daughters Mercy and Margarita. Later, when our lives got busy and people moved and married and lived abroad, we still kept in touch with Nanay Tetay. These are some of our pictures of a recent visit to her this February 2011.
This was Nanay Tetay and some of her family in 1994. Recently during our visit, they prepared “calamay” and “nilupak” for us. Suddenly, we had an impromptu party. The big house was no longer empty. Nanay’s kids and grandkids came. I certainly dont regret choosing her house as a “wash-up” area in 1994. She is a treasure to me and my friends to this day.
