Ifugao: The Young Mountaineers

On a sunny morning in June, my thoughts to do the things I love to do most, travelled through the air and reached those cold mountains of the famous rice terraces of the Philippines. I love to G.I.V.E. – that’s Give Intensely Victoriously Enthusiastically. I do it randomly, secretly. And this is the first time I am sharing it. To inspire and to influence. Because I remember when I was in my youth, giving was my happiest moments. 

Cateel, Davao Oriental: Amazing Aliwagwag Falls

Aliwagwag Falls: Magnificent Waterfalls Overload!

The trickling sound of the water enlivens my spirits. The splashing sound of gallons of water that streams down those rocks is more than marvelous. 

It vanishes all my worries about the world and enchants my mind and leaves it with nothing. These words and so on will try to express this astonishment at this nature wonder of less than a hundred cascades, its water coming from high up above, which certainly is even more extraordinary.

This end part of it is so reachable.  It is exceptionally beautiful. I can get enveloped underneath. And be lost somewhere in these white waters.

I can stay here forever. Until my senses get back to reality. But this is genuine. So authentic. The most stunning waterfalls I have stroked my soul with. 

Aliwagwag Falls. You leave me breathless. But each time my mind ponders with your magnificence, I awaken and you give me life all over again.

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Located at Cateel, Davao Oriental


Thanks to Olan, The Travel Teller
& to his brother, Noy. 

Care for the Ocean and Its Great Resource

Lost But Found

when i travel, i just go. i don't have a map. i don't research. i don't have a notebook. and i don't know sometimes what's that place called.o r where that place is in the map. i don't remember the name of some islands and beaches i have been to. i do not know sometimes how i got there. am i a forgetful crazy lost traveler?or what do you call me?

like the other travelers/bloggers, recently, i start to research, look at Google map, try to write in a notebook, and recall the names of the places, how much i paid for the boat, what jeepney i boarded, what street. gosh - i found it a task. ahaha. that's not me. had so much tasks at my regular job. when i travel, i just want to. see people, places & savor. so if you notice that i have not been writing lately, it's not about writer's block. maybe it's because i am more of a traveler than a writer/photographer.

but if you think i am all, thank you. then i think i should catch up with my writing and take more photos. :)

happy reading, enjoy life and see you on the road.

Vigan: Where the Town Explorer Lives

Vigan had always been a romantic place for me. I love walking along those streets with parallel cobble-stoned houses, where you can sit and talk a while on those antique-looking benches lined up on the elevated sidewalk. The horse’s metal protective footwear creates a sound so ancient such that when it hits the pavement, it sounds like it is dancing on a percussive instrument. It is a place of special cultural and physical significance.

Here lives a young man, a passionate writer and traveller. I have been seeing his posts flooding this exclusive group account of travel bloggers. And it was all about those towns in Ilocandia that I get to pass through when I go home to Claveria, Cagayan Valley to visit my mom.

Simply Authentic

Travelling is my indulgence. Being immovable & trapped, is the most morbid that can happen to me. I cannot be restrained. Just like my feelings. The more I manage and conceal it, the more puzzled I become. My world was filled with “maybe-s” for a period of time. I coached my heart to bring to an end all the presumptuous judgment. I was inclined to think. Friends theorize but you see this case is with no proof at all. Who am I to even think that something exists at all? I wouldn’t fall for fancy for the sake of delighting my senses. Because it is unlikely for me pretending to affirm. I dislike to be jammed in qualms. I go for the genuine. This is no hypothesis. I am real. Authentic. And I like it that way. ♥ ♥ ♥

Ifugao: The People of the Hills

Where is Ifugao and who are the people of the hills?

I am a traveler who admits that I do not know my geography. I just go to places. But sometimes the wind blows in a different direction that heaven suddenly brings the place to you.

I have never been to Ifugao. My usual spiel, “I do not know where it is in the map.” I never thought that a nature wonder had been sculpted in its mountains. I remember a foreigner who told me that he had been to Luzon. And when I asked where, he proudly said: “Ifugao, Banaue Rice Terraces.” I became so small of a Filipino, having heard that with all pride, and not having been there and seen those he mentioned. Yes, the famous. I only remember the black & white photos of these mountains in my social sciences books during my school days.

Since I had not been really seeing places in the past weeks, my thoughts would wander somewhere else, as I look at the box spaces in my 2012 Journey Calendar. I reflected, I need to fill in those boxes with something really priceless.

I usually do the things that I love to do towards the last quarter of the year. Since I was not going anywhere at the last quarter anyway. So I was thinking deeply. And that morning, it is what my mind had been engaged with.

And the winds brought my thoughts somewhere where the hills are.


Sharing with you the conversation on June 27, 2012.

****

this morning i was thinking on what to do late november and december. i was supposed to go to japan, thru my brother's invite. but will just go in 2013. i was thinking of the usual thing that i do, give. then this message came up at my skype. wow God works wonders. (some confi info have not been included)

just want to share.


Maureen Bugatti: hello po..
Heiz Ramos: who is this
Maureen Bugatti: maureen po from banaue ifugao..
Heiz Ramos: what can i do for you
Maureen Bugatti: im jaz thinking if u do some outreach or mission and we cud be a beneficiaries here in ifugao po..
Heiz Ramos: oh yes i do but small time its my personal thingy in december we can do that or late nov ohmaygad am touched that you asked which part in ifugao
Maureen Bugatti: please kep intouch po, i worked for the Boardmembers of Ifugao n am really searching for any open doors outreach that cud helf unfortunate people here in Ifugao po...in return we cud accomodate u and ur stay here po..
Heiz Ramos: allrighty what do you need so that i can start asking friends also please do PM me anytime : i am thrilled to help
Maureen Bugatti: school supplies po and medical-dental meds and we cud do feeding program po...what agency or company po kau so i cud make d resolution and copy furnish po kau..
Heiz Ramos: ohhhh maureen, am a private citizen. :) i can ask my friend doctors about a medical mission, am not promising yet. feeding program is ok. and i can ask donations for school supplies already. how many are we talking about.
Heiz Ramos: i am sooo touched by you
Maureen Bugatti: wats ur email po par mag identify aq wd the help of deped here in ifugao..thank you po for reaching out...
Heiz Ramos: oh wow. am simply journeying pinay. :) i give. i have my own project i give school supplies clothes and do feeding: my own i can do that but ill ask doctor friends for meds
Maureen Bugatti: thats good to know...
****

After the temporary goodbyes, who would not get crazily excited about that? That was so unusual. Tell me, how did that happen so promptly? Unbelievable. But you got to believe it. I have to. I have to convince myself.

Whatever is happening in the air, I am just going with its flow. I have done this before. Not a single cent that I shelled out. Only inspiration. And I did not know where it all came from. A natural charm definitely not from me. This has drawn more than 300 children enjoy a party. As if everything was placed there at the right place, at the right time. And all I have now is a grateful heart to all those who G.I.V.E. (Give Intensely Victoriously Enthusiastically).








Let me share how it started, as I find it interesting to reflect on now. This is the first time I ever talk about it. As I keep these things undisclosed. I hope you understand. Still, sincerely honestly, mindboggling for me. Some youth went to schools and randomly asked pupils what gift they wanted to receive. There were those who said basketball ball, slippers, blankets, hairclips, 1 can sardines, 1 kilo of rice, 1 pad paper, 1 notebook, 1 pencil, book, bags. Innocent children’s little wants.














Their young Ate & Kuya saved some of their school allowance. The day came of gift giving and you could see that the children went home with boxes full of goodies, which their little hands could not even carry. It was enormously incredible. Isn’t it?

The youth continued to do GIVE Waves. They craved for it. To give more. We did acts of random kindness by just going to barrio schools and just give gifts. We encountered challenges as some school personnel would want me to present documents that “I am an organization.” This is still so difficult for me to accept. Because I am not an organization. That I could not present documents. They wanted me to be given a certificate for doing it. I said that it was not important. But they did not allow us. Hence, we could not give gifts.


I was broken-hearted, but it did not stop us from giving. There were times I would call the youth to help me give and share. Because I know how glad they would be to hand over gifts to their little sisters and brothers. Done upnorth, I called it Adopt-An-Ading (Ilocano term for younger brother or sister).








Now, I would like to say that I am so blessed with many friends, I was able to get in touch with a friend who volunteered to take care of the medical mission and some medicines being requested in Ifugao. Some travel blogger friends have mentioned interest. A cyber friend had vowed to give me via PayPal his kind $50 (even if I already “claimed” it and persuaded him to give it to another reach in); his generous heart would like to give me more for these things that I do. As he read a blog by me. But I do not have a Paypal account. He said it has been long overdue.

This is the latest conversation on July 10, 2012:

****

Maureen Bugatti
yes po, am preparing the identified barangays here in ifugao supported by the status to be centralized at their schools, kc db u have 5days stay here and we need also 5 schools deserving to be a beneficiaries on your outreach,,jaz wait for my copy furnish..

Journeying Pinay
ooohhh wow that is sooo exciting.so notebooks and pencils?how many pupils per school?malalayo ba, or pwedeng 1 event lang for all?I need data ha?number of pupils.we might hav epedia, obgyne and surgeon doctors.what to give? para i can already announce lang sa volunteers

Maureen Bugatti.
yap medjo remote areas target natin, y dont u come kaya for inspection and we will tour u to the remote areas and also you will meet boardmember bontiwon that will assist your program? wat do you think??

Journeying Pinay
allrighty.how do i go there? i can go 27 28 29 July

Maureen Bugatti
u have to come kc u need to present yourself as the mentor of this program...

Journeying Pinay
i can sleep in a sofa

Maureen Bugatti
yap i understand..il do my best for your accomodation or actually qung cowboy ka you can stay with me..simple lang tirahan q pero atlist mei matutuluyan ka...u will be meeting my kids n family as well..hehehehe

Journeying Pinay
i can drink buko and eat bread i usually fast when i travel surely i can stay with you
THANKS for that

Maureen Bugatti
un na nga ala pa aq consolidated na people..let u know tomorrow ha??ikaw pa lang ang contact namin..

Journeying Pinay
Allrighty like is that 100 kids? 200 kids? would you need an obygyne, surgeon?

Maureen Bugatti
i think obgyne would be ok..kc open gym place natin or in a municipality,,kaya nga u have to come para mapag usapan din natin ng maayos qung ilan kc bka masyado kmi sumobra s counting..

Journeying Pinay
Hahahah oh no am not a big time thingy. but i organized and 300 kids benefited last March 2011

Maureen Bugatti
foods and school supplies and medical mission n some vitamins n meds..un i think qouta natin ei 300 children in IFUGAO,

Journeying Pinay
oh ok thats clearer Medical Mission Vitamins, meds and school supplies

Maureen Bugatti
anything you think na good we will be open kaya nga u need to come n see para magka idea ka..

Journeying Pinay
yes i will go.what will i visit on 28Th

Maureen Bugatti
will go around banaue and a part of alista na medjo far from banaue n mayoyao..

Maureen Bugatti
no c boz q lang mami meet mo, retired supervisor ng deped and now 2nd term BOARD ans super bait promise u will be treated well..

Journeying Pinay
SURELY am sure of the TREATED WELL i trust you

Journeying Pinay
300 kids. school supplies. and medical mission. so do we go to the areas to GIVE?

Maureen Bugatti
cge..im so touch also with your efforts po..

Journeying Pinay
youre welcome, i have done this before by gods grace.just inspiration.and prayers
i am thrilled and i am so touched already.ang tagal pa pero if we collect earlier--then we go earlier? kids need bags?

Maureen Bugatti
thank you..yes they need also bags n slippers as well..

Journeying Pinay
or can we identify na targets by july 28?

Maureen Bugatti
maybe we cud identify them wen we u get here and pag napunthan natin ung mga schools..

Journeying Pinay
seeyou then. i already got $50. donation

Maureen Bugatti
galing ah! good very good po!

Journeying Pinay
yah matagal na yan e. he pledged na before pa.pag may gagawin daw ako

Maureen Bugatti
godbless them...make a list also s mga donors natin i would like to thank them also after our outreach..

****
I am honoured and blessed to organize and GIVE to the people of the hills, whom I have never ever met. 300 children. Bags, Slippers, Notebooks, Pencils, Ballpens. And some food to eat. My doctor friend will hopefully bring along more doctors for the consultations.

When we travel, I am sure how God’s wonders tickle our hearts with joy. How those waterfalls ignite all the veins in your body and get thrilled with the trickling of water. How those peaks of mountains mesmerize you with those views of the horizon. How the sunsets rise those romantic spirits within you. You are God’s most wonderful creation. More wonderful than the terraces created in the mountains. Now is your time to spread happiness. To the people of the hills.

God bless you more! My heart is overflowing with thanks for whatever sincere gift you can contribute.

Then let’s go there, join me, and give your gifts.

Enjoy life, more happy travels to all of you!

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The GIVE IFUGAO is set to happen on

November 29, 30, December 1, 2, 3, the year of our Lord 2012.

A P150-200 per head budget per child is being explored to
cover for the bag, notebook, pencil, slippers.

Cash and Kind (bags, slippers, notebooks, pencils) will be much appreciated.
You may entrust your cash to my account so that we can buy the gifts.

BPI Current/Checking Account / Hazel R. Go

Anyone who can share his/her PayPal account so that those who
wish to transfer gifts thru PayPal can do so? Please let me know.
Please PM me at http://www.facebook.com/journeyingpinay

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THANKS to Ean, EAZY Traveler, who gave me an idea to write this.
He is also raising funds for the T’boli School in Lake Sebu.

One Hundred Islands: The Beginning of More Than A Thousand Journeys

I had been visiting Pangasinan for a year as part of work and I just passed by its highways. I go as far as Alaminos. During a lunch treat, I was brought to that side of town and I was told that those islands I was gazing at are part of what they call Hundred Islands. I felt that that traveller soul in me awakened.

Going to hundred islands was just part of travel wishes on a lunch get together with officemates before. When one gets trapped in the world of work, those islands seemed so unreachable.

Boracay Beach: That Powdery Bright White Seaside

I am not a beach. Not a beach person. I remember that childhood beach summer moment at Claveria coast when my father had to run to me, carry me, and dip me into the water; me struggling to get untangled from his hugs and grip, shouting a screaming “Nooooo!”. Fail. There I was, standing by the waves, smiling at all the relatives at the picnic hut. Click! Captured by the camera; my photo now in one of my mother’s best kept albums.

Was that the distressing event which lead me not to wet my feet with ocean water? Or river water? Or waterfalls water?

I have been to a lot of beaches: Batangas, Quezon, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Cavite, Bataan, Zambales, Subic, Bohol. I have seen a lot of coast lines. But I wonder why my friends would yearly go to the place they all call Boracay.

After three years of persuading me to travel with them, they finally succeeded, and did all the arrangements for me. I just tagged along. Packed my bag, no swimsuits, just what I had available from my closet. They would usually prepare and really get so excited in going, even if they have been there a number of times.