BY HELEN J. CATALBAS
THERE’S more to bridges than what the eyes can see. Interesting, mind-blowing, amusing, irritating or any way you tell them, there are stories attached to these bridges that never fail to amaze us.
One such stories is even in song form, an immortal song telling a fair lady that a bridge is falling down as if there’s such a thing as a bridge falling up.
Bridges can take many forms, shapes, lengths and sizes. Their ages vary, too. There’s a very long one we know that symbolizes the glory that was then, the glory that was lost and glory regained now or at least being tried hard to regain before it is lost again in the process.
Another bridge we know is barely 500 meters long but it took six decades to complete, earning for itself the singular honor as the longest bridge in the entire universe. This bridge unfortunately also signifies a lot of corrupt practices that went into its delayed completion.
We were sent by the Philippine government to study Tourism Marketing Planning in a prestigious learning institution in a Western European country. After classes in the late afternoons we walked to the city center to enjoy light snacks on sidewalk cafes with classmates from 14 countries. We enjoyed the sight of a bridge parting in the middle to let ships sail through. The bridge then returned to its original form to let pedestrians cross to the other side of that fascinating river.
Two years before the pandemic our daughter bought a River Cruise Package and together, we went on a twilight river cruise in a North American country. It was a four-hour river cruise that saw bridges raised to let the cruise ship sail through below. If we remember right, there were three or four such bridge experiences that happened in the cruise’s entirety.
Among the highlights of the cruise were four different stops for shopping, dinner, cultural show and safari experience. (To be continued)/PN
