2013: A Year of Holding On

The year that passed left me with tribal inks that I believed confirmed all my authenticity. That was indeed traditional, as considered by many. That was a conventional yearning that later mystified my identity in the customary scheme of things.  It was the traditional which was considered as not conservative by several.

The year that passed, which was filled with travels that happened every now and then and even more than often, moved me to go for more this year. But this time, it was literally chasing my trips, running after all of the reserved flights. More than the usual journeying me, the travels were more utilized for reflection purposes.

Travel: I Fly With My Dreams

a travel friend once observed and told me, "you are getting bolder, braver in your travels and adventures."


when i told another friend that i went to KM 0 in Governor Generoso, he asked me, "what did you do there?"


I replied, "I went up to the ruins of the old lighthouse to see a perfect view of the pacific ocean. then i went to the rock forms."


He then asked, "why do you do that?" "who was with you?" "alone?" "i have never even been there" and even said, "you might have been kidnapped."


until now, i am left speechless not because i cannot answer him but because i know that whatever i will utter, he will not believe, anyway. so why bother give a reply?


most of you who travel, maybe like the way i do, solo, would have ready answers to those questions. and might be similar to mine. i am still smiling thinking of those thoughts in my mind on how i could have answered. but i chose to give my answer to those who truly care.


and by the way, i am not racing in my travels. i am not in a hurry. so why tell me that "you have never even been there, and that i have been there, with the perspective that you have been living near the area, and i got ahead of you?" c'mon man. chill.


and am sure you have never ever been to where i have been. and i don't care. and i will never tell where i have been so far to those who do not even care.


what i know is that i know who i am, what i want, and what i can do.

and that i am happy.

so stop racing with me.

i am not.

i don't race.

i fly with my dreams.


Don't race in your travels.

Fly with your dreams.

Live.Love.Travel.

i am braving the limited horizons that some reality can offer.

they make my world so little.

which sometimes prevent me from being me.i feel battered deep inside.


but i choose to see the world and beyond and be braver.

in the next days, i will be enclosed in a vacuum,some walls,and some sparkles.

but my heart desires for the sun and be sunblazed;

for the jungle and breathe;

for some rushing waterfalls and be refreshed;


if i can only skydive and jump from the plane and land in a great wonderful place;

if only i can let my spirit free and be somewhere else while i am seated in meetings for 12 hours

if i can only finish the inks in my sleeves;

if only i can just pack and go like before;

and just dropped somewhere else from a bus.


i am full of hope to be free-er soon.

fill my heart with much love.

because that is the reason i live.

Davao Oriental's Governor Generoso: A Short But Sweet Lovely Trip

I had been rocked and stoned. And the most unpleasant would be feeling my heart end beating in joy.

Loving life is my lifestyle. It makes me human. It forms my being. And it allows me to enjoy every single gasp of air.

Living a life of happy-ness is my choice.  When tears of sadness run down my cheeks, it breaks my heart and kills my spirit.

Choosing to live is not an option. But it is something that lingers in every cell in my brain and exists in every drop of blood in my veins.

Fighting for breathe is fighting death to overrule my enthralled existence in this world. I may be endangered. But I am not dying out. Not now.

I was going with the flow of plans, time that I do not have control of. And boom! There it fell on that lovely day. And all I can do is pack my bag, catch the earliest to fly and touchdown by dawn, where all I could witness from my window is a light orange bluish horizon by the sea, as I begin to gather my senses back.

In pink, and jeans, I wrapped my hair on a flower-design headgear. With my loyal backpack filled with dyed shirts and food, its heaviness made me feel that, Yes I am finally back! Back to how I do my travels.

i screamed when the water splashes over me and the escorts would warn me to get out of here

La Union: The Circle Hostel's Random and Wonderful Bits

Choosing to pack & go is an easy decision. Leaping to a pink Florida bus going to La Union is exciting as it is like a comeback for me to travel the roads to North Luzon again. The almost 8-hour trip from Manila courtesy of a safe slow driver is a test of patience.Not knowing where to drop off is my usual brainless attitude when I travel. I am always confident that I will cross the bridge when I get there. And my "Asking Skills" would always lead me to the right path.

Oops. Missing the Urbiztondo Grill  along the highway is not intentional and being in San Juan Plaza is a relief. I know the tricycle drivers know where The Circle Hostel is located. Oops. They do not know.

How can anyone from San Juan not know this cool, colorful, and amazing bunk hostel at the end of the road? Where a huge mango tree drops its  mango fruits randomly on the gravel-laden ground? And the best part is, you can have the mangoes you pick for free. I had not one,but two.Freshly sweet.

C'mon. How can anyone not like to stay in this rough, unique, open home? Larry, the caretaker is accommodating. The colors that make this native-looking huts bright would simply lift your heavy-laden weekday into a wonderful escape from the squares of corporate and city living.

Cagayan De Oro:The Kiping and My Brigada Eskwela Experience

It is my first ever official Brigada Eskwela in my life time.

Being in Cagayan De Oro, Mindanao for various work-related meetings and events, it was a destined time for me to be there. I arrived in Gusa Elementary School and the volunteers have started  to place in the ground the new plants at the frontage of the school. Some were painting,  sweeping, and as the other crew mentioned, cultivating the soil.

Outside the gate, I noticed an unusual street food. I saw two little girls, who were sisters, Marianne & Maicah, who were preparing their basket full of this pancake-like foodies. “Kiping” is P5.00 each.  Kiping is wafer made of rice paste. A sweet syrup made or “latik” is poured on it.  Latik refers to a thick syrupy caramelized coconut cream used as a dessert condiment.

Babuyan Island: Calayan Island's Amazing Coves

From afar, Calayan Island for me was not an island, it was a country. Ahaha. Two hours away, the steam coming from the ocean gave me a sight of a mountainous and immovable land. The right side of the island reflects not soft but irregular, rough & sharp edges. As the boat got closer, the thirty minutes seemed like hours. The island was getting bigger as I imagined. It was not flat like the Fuga Island that we passed by. 

Babuyan Islands: Sunburned and Drenched On My Journey to Calayan Island

The tail end of the cold front on a holy day teased my senses more in going to the big island in Babuyan Group, Calayan Island. The boatman said that afternoon, as he looked up in the sky: "There is an advisory from Taiwan that sailing is not permissible." Then a cold gust of wind touched my cheeks and made those little braids of my hair shift.

If Lost, Just Travel

i really am not an itinerary person.if ever asked about details, maybe i would answer:

1. ask around.

2. risk and go where their lips and fingers point to.

3. if lost, ask again.





4. if lost again, go to a store or restaurant, sit, relax, breathe, eat a bit, savor. (if lost in the jungle, sit on a rock, do not cry, be brave)

5. if still lost, pray. God will show you the way.

Pagudpud Beach: Perfect Place for a Blooming Heart

Every year since 2007, i go to the white pebbled/sandy-shores of Pagudpud, in Maira-ira, Balaoi. If I happen to visit my mother in nearby Claveria, Cagayan Valley, in any month of the year, I go to the said public beach. 

I choose to go there because of its intriguing cove and quietness. The waters are still and shallow. 

The colors reflected by the rays of the sun that beams in its sea, is soothing to the troubled mind and rocked spirit. 

Beaches in the country may seem to appear the same. I agree. 

But as one immerses self and let the waters touch ones feet, body, and skin, the Pagudpud beach is novel. It looks so pure. It is a coastal paradise to me. 

That part of the cove remains to be unexplored. And that is what makes it beautiful to me. 

The crowd in nearby resorts may seem disturbing. But not really true. 

People who go to Pagudpud beach can enjoy its unscathed scenery. 

The only noise one can hear are amusing laughter of beachbum yuppies, who are away from work, who gets thrilled riding the banana boats;

the shouts from mommies having a difficult time calling their little ones to get off the beach; youngsters who really choose to stay wet by the waves and blazed by the sun rather than fill their tummies; 

and the gentle sounds of the waves and the breezy winds that calm the soul. Or no noise at all. Only silence. 

Silence that mixes with picturesque Pagudpud beach is simply a perfect place for a heart blooming to be inlove with life. and God's wonderful creations. 

Visit my secret place in Maira-ira Beach, buy freshly picked coconut and sip its juicyness, while you look far enough, and get lost in the beach's exotic beauty.

Tagaytay: There Is No Other Place Like Taal Vista

Living at the foot of the hill, Tagaytay, is more than a luck for me. It is a blessing. The cool breeze and winds of Tagaytay would be felt at mornings and evenings where I used to live. Frequent Sunday morning road trips up to the hill would excite me all the time, either with friends, or family. 

Choosing to leave the foot of the hill, and deciding to live again in the city, made me miss that comfort zone. After many years of travelling Baguio and the rest of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, there is a sweet spot in my heart that lingers me to go back to Tagaytay.

A superduper unexpected invite landed on my lap with a surprise. Who would not be thrilled to stay in Taal Vista? The comfortable and certainly a perpetual view of the Taal Lake and Taal Volacano is uncompromising. That is just one reasons why choosing to stay in Taal Vista is unparalleled.

the perpetual view of Taal Lake and Taal Volcano

Kalinga's Wang-Od: How To See Buscalan's Oldest Tribal Tattoo Artist

Eversince I wrote about how I got inked by Wang-Od, the oldest tribal tattoo artist of the Philippines, I realized many people would like to meet her.Since I usually do not write the how to's to my trips, because of my reason, that I usually do not have an itineray, and just pack & go, I was asked by many and I really am surprised how eager they are to go to Buscalan.

From Manila, I boarded the Florida Bus that can be found in Lacson Street, Sampaloc,Manila near the University of Santo Tomas in Espana, Manila. They also have a bus station in Kamias, EDSA, in Cubao, Manila. I took a bus going to Tuguegarao. I cannot estimate the duration of the trip since I dropped off at Isabela and roamed around; slept at a friend's house in a far-away barrio. In the morning, I took a bus from Isabela to Tuguegarao. In Tuguegarao, in front of Jollibee Tanza, there is a van going to Tabuk, Kalinga. It was a scenic trip from Tuguegarao to Tabuk. Since I was not mindful of the time, I got stuck in Tabuk with no available Jeepney to Tinglayan at that time I arrived. I waited another day. The next day, I boarded a jeepney, on topload and headed to Tinglayan. It was a trip of mountains, zigzags, and rice terraces in 360 degrees.