Saranghae Omma!

It has been a couple weeks since Mom’s day and I am just about to post this!  For the best mom for me and my siblings!

mommy&me

Thank you for being the best mom you could ever be,

for the tantrums and for the smiles,

for the crazy laugh and hushed sighs

for being just you no matter what,

we love you most

with all of our hearts!

Summer 2010: Palaui Island, Cagayan Valley

I was in Paradise in my last trip and I never thought it can get any better but ‘lo and behold!  It CAN get better!  This time we travel far up north to Cagayan Valley. It’s about 14 to 16 hours drive from Manila and about 8 hours away (boat ride, yikes!) from the infamous Batanes group of Islands.

We were at first concerned with the low pressure area in the province since it’s been raining for the past few days.  There has been a threat of stronger winds and heavier rainfall so all participants prayed hard for a better weather.  Astonishingly, Heaven heard our prayers and gave us a bright and sunny sky when we arrived in Sta. Ana, Cagayan Valley.

From Port San Vicente, we went to a place called Anguib Cove to camp for the first day.  It was still part of the mainland but a boat ride is necessary to get there.  There’s no electricity and mobile signal and again it was just me, my friends and definitely, more new friends!

Anguib Cove

Walking

Socials' Bonfire

Beach bumming, picture taking, food tripping, swimming, and socials were the activities that day!  Some of us walked around and explored the rest of the cove, some waited and were expecting to shoot the sunset, some were just eager to swim and party afterwards and everyone just wanted to have fun.  Dinner was magnificent and socials’ topics were about yourself + politics.  Few more shots of vodka and red wine, the crowd turned in and called it a night.  Though we were blessed with a bright and sunny morning, we experienced downpour around midnight.  Luckily for most of us, we were too drunk to feel the cold and wet ground beneath us.

The day after, we need to wake up early, eat breakfast and break camp so we can go explore Palaui Island!  This is one of the best islands I’ve ever visited.  It has a wonderful cove and the scenes from the trek to the lighthouse was breathtaking!  This was something I didn’t expect and really gave me more motivation to visit Batanes!  More beach bumming and trekking towards the mini falls then off to the mainland where we rested, dined and had a few more bottles of vodka to drink.

Cape Engano

'Lighthouse'

on the other side

Closer to Heaven

Mini Break at the Mini Falls

It was past lunch time when we headed back to the Port.  We are now going to enjoy the rest of the day in a resort in Gonzaga, Cagayan.  We had merienda when we arrived and had our group room assignments. Some rested for a while but the others wasted no time and headed directly to the beach.  The beach is clean, with its fine, black sand and the stronger waves (the body-boarders are definitely enjoying this.)  Another night of fun games and socials, more stories and get to know moments before going back to Manila.

The Beach

Body Boarders

Socials

This is one trip I will never forget.  We had great food, good company, great weather, fun games, spectacular scenes and breathtaking views!  What more can I ask for?

**Pictures courtesy of my friends from this trip!

Bob Marley

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“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”

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“One love, one heart, one destiny.”

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“love the life you live. live the life you love.”

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“Wake up and live ”

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“The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for.”

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“Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.”

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“My fear is my only courage”

from goodreads.com

Only once in your life

“Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.”

— Bob Marley

Summer 2010: Calaguas Islands/Bagasbas Beach

Have you ever uttered these words? I AM IN PARADISE! I definitely have! I have been traveling and seeing a lot of beautiful places since I was kid but I haven’t seen anything like this place before. Welcome to the Calaguas group of Islands, Camarines Norte!

Mahabang Buhangin

My friends and I were around 10-15 minutes away from the shore when I realized that we were actually seeing the most serene and calming beach ever. What’s more exciting (for me) is that there’s no electricity in the island. No establishments. No chaos. Just the waves, the sand, the sun, the sea and the softdrinks and halo-halo vendors! 🙂 It is one of the best place for an ultimate beach bumming! You can swim all day long or bask under the sun or just eat halo-halo and enjoy the oneness of everything around you. If you want to be more expressive in capturing this wonderful island on film, start with a few jump shots or explore the island and just walk by the beach. Enjoy the beautiful sunset and experience the star-filled, vast evening sky. Now this is why they call this place, the ‘Happy Beach!’

'Beaming Aura'

Beachbum!!!

Rock climbing?

After camping out at this magnificent island, it’s time to head back to the mainland and get to ride some waves. Next stop is Bagasbas Beach in Daet. One of the beaches with fine, black sand and cool waves to ride!  There are resorts and restos just across the road from the beach where the tourists and travelers can eat and relax before and after indulging into any beach activity!  And though I missed riding the waves here, I still had fun eating street food and drinking coffee.  Well, I might’ve missed some activities but I am sure, this will not be my last visit.  I will definitely go back and visit the ‘Happy beach’ and finally ride the waves of Bagasbas!

Bagasbas Beach

Pump it!

*Pictures courtesy of my friends from the trip.

Where to?

My Lakbayan grade is C+!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

M-O-V-E!

“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are..”

Summer 2010: Baler, Aurora

Have you ever been mesmerized by the sparkling ocean water? Have you ever thought of being swallowed whole by it’s force? Have you ever thought of taming and riding the waves? Have you dreamed of doing any of this in your lifetime? I did. And I loved it!

It’s time to go back to the ocean and enjoy the sun. My destination, Baler, Aurora.

It’s the 2010 TF Surfvivor Beach Games and it’s time to ride the waves again. I missed surfing. I missed the sun. I simply missed being at the beach. Basically, the beach games consists of surf clinic, frisbee clinic and other fun games. It’s main event of course is the surfing competition. There were a number of participants and two lucky winners won surfboards and many more cool prizes. It was a crazy and busy three day event but it was all grand.

This time not only did I surf (&party) but me and my friends had a bit of a walking exercise going to the waterfalls and took a bumpy yet thrilling trike ride to one of the biggest Balete trees in the country. Enough said and time to show you where I’ve been and how wonderful it was to explore this beautiful place.

Surf's Up!

Balete Tree

The Falls

Summer 2010(Holy Week): Tayabas Quezon

Tayabas, Quezon was my destination last holy week. I was excited since it’s been awhile since I went out of town with friends on Holy week. I was clueless as to what will happen and as to what kind of activities were in store for me when we get there.

Day 1 – April 1
We left Manila before 6AM. I was taking pictures of almost everything I fancy on our way. Had some laughs and definitely sound tripping in the car. It was my first out of town trip with the Felicitas and I am not expecting much, just some time to see how they celebrate holy week and just to spend time with them. With heavy traffic we arrived around 1:30 PM. We had our late lunch and I started taking pictures. It was a simple and quiet day in the province. Not much to do but relax and just simply experience life in the province. We stayed at Mi Casa en Tayabas hotel and I felt it to be relaxing and very homey. There were a lot of antique furniture and I loved taking pictures. The aquarium was breath taking. I saw the town very well from this tower and had a breath of fresh air yet again. A thousand pictures after, I decided to rest and soon, we were back to the old house and then we’re off to Palaisdaan for dinner.

Day 2 – April 2
Procession Day. We were to decorate the float of St. Martha for the afternoon procession. It was so hot and I thought that the flowers will start wilting, good thing that it didn’t. It was exciting and mind boggling since I’ve never worked with very few flowers before. It was successful since Tin’s cousin was actually pretty good with decorating the float. We rested and cleaned ourselves for the procession and right after we were to give thanks to those who joined and helped escort St. Martha’s float by serving them dinner. A few more snapshots of the images for the procession and a shot of the Church’s long aisle was incredible. I was both mesmerized and astounded with the people, the images, and the food.

Day 3 – April 3
Time to go home. I decided to wake up early to get a few more shots of the place but was too lazy to go out of the room. Tita had some trouble with the billing and with a few yet long exchange of sides, it was all good. We left after a very hearty lunch at Palaisdaan and headed back to Manila… The ways and activities in Tayabas are really not different from the way other provinces or places commemorate Christ’s passion but being exposed to this kind of activity still gives me goosebumps and renews something deep within me. This simple and short vacation in Tayabas helped me again see our religious traditions and culture. It may be brief but it’s something we don’t see and definitely don’t feel everyday.

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Summer 2010: Singapore Adventure

I started my summer a little bit earlier than expected. It started with a tip to Singapore with my highschool friends. Though it was much more tiring and draining than expected, we definitely had a few laughs and shall we say… a few shrieking moments. Nevertheless, the trip was a success as me and my friends were given a chance to rediscover and get to know each other once again.

It gave me an opportunity to see how much they’ve matured as have I. There are times when I get to just sit around and think of the old and carefree days we had, still amazing. And now as the three of us explore a new place, we saw  more of each other and every minute spent together was a revelation. A word was like sweet honey or an overworked paper shredder. A new location a mirage of something we’ve seen as individuals but not as group of friends. Everything was not what it seems. Still, it’s worth my while… definitely does.

It’s still harder to put into letters what and how crazy we’ve been in the FINE City. So let these images show what my heart captured then.

And that was our Singapore Adventure!