It was three in the morning. Power was out, and the air inside our room was getting suffocating. I, however, dared not open the window. I’d been up awake for more than a couple of hours, watching the branches of a mango tree in the yard get whipped in all directions by Typhoon Noul/Dodong’s signal… Continue reading Batanes after a storm, and some musings on traveling
I just love how unique place names in Batanes are and how they make you pout your lips as they create sounds and stresses you never realized existed in a Filipino language: Kayvaluganan. Mahatao. Imnajbu. Ivana. The last place, which you pronounce with the stress in the first syllable (EE-va-na), is the last of the five (out… Continue reading A Tour of South Batan, Part Three: Ivana
Brgy. Imnajbu (pronounced im-nah-boo) in the municipality of Uyugan has a very cool name and one of the smallest populations in the Philippines — just over 100 people! Its rugged landscape is captivating, especially more so the day we went there, what with a signal no. 4 typhoon coming. Imnajbu has a lot of claims to fame for… Continue reading A Tour of South Batan, Part 2: Uyugan
When you tour Sabtang Island, you actually see only the eastern side of the island, one that is near the coast. After visiting the stone houses of Savidug, we took a long road to our next destination. Along the way, we stopped by a limestone kiln — essentially a hole in limestone-rich ground. They light the makeshift kiln up… Continue reading Sabtang Island, Part 2: On the way to the Chamantad-Tinyan Viewpoint
According to rumor (and the great thing about guesthouses is that everyone makes chika there), a famous Filipina actress who went to Batanes alone decided not to push through with her Sabtang tour because, uh, she was disappointed that no one had gone to her feeding program the previous day. There are two lessons to be learned from… Continue reading Sabtang Island, Part 1: The Savidug stone houses
A little story: My fears about meeting an accident right before my wedding came to a head when, to the surprise of everyone except me and my close friends, I fell into the gutter of a crowded but dimly-lit street — and sprained my foot. Now I like to run and hike, and I have done… Continue reading A Tour of North Batan, Part 2
Batan is considered the main island of the Batanes group. It has the most population, for it has the largest habitable and arable land area. The municipality of Basco is in north Batan. Our first day in Batanes was a tour of the northern part of Batan Island through BISUMI Travel and Tours. The trip packs… Continue reading A Tour of North Batan, Part 1
The temporary title of this blog post was, “How to take pictures of your Bohol day tour with a 50mm 1.8f manual focus lens,” because I may have destroyed my go-to 18-55mm zoom lens for good when I went to Sagada before Christmas. It’s really hard to shoot with a fast lens when traveling, but, as… Continue reading Bohol Island in a Day Tour
Let me reminisce a bit about my first climb, way back in August 2013. With some friends, I climbed a mountain in Daraitan, Tanay, Rizal. It has been called Mt. Daraitan, though upon registering, we were told that it was called Mt. Samit (samit, summit, you know). I can find no reference online saying that… Continue reading Climbing Mt. Pulag (with a prelude on Mt. Daraitan)
Ang Lakwatserang Guro 