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.