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.