Three in one plus one

Yesterday, we explored the northeast corner of Laguna. After wading in ankle-deep streams and crossing muddy fields in a Siniloan barangay (for a research project and yes we are serious), we lunched at the Beatles Place in Pakil, photographed the town’s picturesque church, and visited the HQ of a geography field class (where I devoured two luscious mangoes).

Then we hurried to the quaint town of Paete as the dark sky started threatening. We walked around the narrow streets, saw artisans with their trade, bought fried cassava drowned in delicious spicy-garlicky vinegar, and sipped beer from a plastic container with straw. The beautiful church facade, like that of Pakil, still did not prepare us for the wonderfully ornate (and golden) interior. The drive home across scenic landscapes was rainy, and we stopped more than once to buy mangoes and furniture from roadside stores.

Today was graduation day and seeing so many former students finishing college reminded me again of aging. There were 18 summa cum laude, 190 magna cum laude and 800ish cum laude graduates. During our time it was 4, 80 and 400, respectively. If I were born 6 years later, things would’ve probably been so much different. But then again, nothing beats the experience of growing up during the That’s Entertainment days and I would never give that up for anything. In other news, I was seated very close to someone from 2005 and I was expecting it to be Jan 2007 again but thankfully there was nothing. By this analogy, Jan 2009 will be completely nothing by around April 2011 (maybe much earlier). And that’s like next week when you’re in your mid-20s, so it’s not too bad.

Tomorrow, I’m getting immunization shots for measles, rubella, mumps, diphtheria and polio. I guess my two upper arms will have to hurt.

Bag of snips

On travel:

Anawangin has lost most of its charms. The place has become dirty and crowded. On our last visit on April last year, there were less than 15 tents (and that was on the most crowded week of the summer). That number has multiplied by at least three times.  It is now  just a notch better than the stretch of beach in Pundaquit and is approximating the feel of a campers’ version of Galera (minus the loud nightlife). The best thing about our trip were the scrabble games. Scrabble on the beach by the candlelight under the stars while dipping corn chips in hot salsa is geeky paradise. Despite all this, Anawangin remains quite photogenic.

April 2008 (very few people)

April 2009 (flags, trash, campers under every available tree on the beach)

On health:

Drinking more than every other day for the past two weeks now for no reason. Bad for the liver and the abs.

On work:

Writing continues to escape me. It’s been more than three months!

On drama:

Love is gross. I want nothing to do with it and yet it follows me everywhere. Please be rid of me!

Apo Reef

Jellyfish sting marks and sandfly bites all over the skin of my limbs are a small price to pay for the loveliness that is Sablayan. Getting there is half the fun: a short bus trip to Batangas Port followed by a three-hour ferry across the Verde Island Passage before disembarking in Abra de Ilog for a scenic (and often rough) 3-hour drive across the northern half of Occidental Mindoro. Sablayan is a pleasant, quiet town and is the jump off point to Pandan Island and Apo Reef. A bridge over the Sablayan River:

Apo Reef, Asia’s largest atoll-like reef, is three hours southeast of Sablayan town. It is breathtaking above and below water,. Wildlife spotted: diving sea turtles, crawling baby sea turtles, escaping mantas, soaring raptors and various other sea creatures. No sharks and dolphins however. At night, sandflies swarm and they bite on any exposed skin and they are probably one of the most horrible creatures to have ever existed in the universe. A shadow of a lighthouse falls on the island’s white beach and clear waters:

Pandan Island, 20 minutes from Sablayan, has nice, white sand beaches, good snorkeling and plenty of foreigners. Nice place to relax. Spotted wildlife: lionfish or parrotfish (couldn’t tell!), sting ray, clam and many many colorful fishes. Pandan Island beach:

Damage: less than 4k for 4 days. Super worth it.

Next stops for me: Polilio/Jomalig, Caramoan (again!) and Calaguas. Crossed fingers.

Swallow

This is Cagbalete Island in Lamon Bay, Mauban, Quezon:

Along with Anawangin/Capones, it is the best weekend destination: really really low low tides, interesting birds and marine creatures, unexpected geologic features, deserted beaches, accommodating people. It’s hard to imagine that this place is very inexpensive (if you commute and camp) and so accessible from Manila. Just make sure you bring a good cook with you.

Hisamitsu

And I know I have been driven like the snow
But this is cooling faster than I can
This is cooling faster than I…

-Tori Amos, Cooling
.

Ilocos is nothing short of breathtaking. Clear skies, blue seas, crashing waves, lush fields, clean towns, good food, grand churches, rich history – a photographer’s wet dream. Attempts at giving justice to this beautiful part of Luzon.

Bangui wind farm

Paoay church

Five thoughts:

1. Saud Beach is lovely. I want to stay in Pagudpud for the rest of the summer and be gloriously unproductive.

2. Bumabata. I may probably possess some possible potential at being maybe good at billiards. Finally, a ’sport’ other than scrabble that loves me.

3. Sausage fest. I ate pork for the first time in three months (yes, this is important, breaking news that everyone needs to know). But not even Vigan longganisa dipped in Ilocos vinegar can convince me to eat pig or cow again.

4. Watermelons. Recently saw Tsai’s 2005 film The Wayward Cloud where, among other things, characters suddenly burst into campy musical numbers, and where watermelons are used in ingenous ways to make a porn shoot more interesting. Pinkish, watery fruit will never be the same.

5. Cooling. Although this has been cooling faster than I can, I am in no hurry to let go of this absurdity and move forward. This type of silliness doesn’t come too often. The last time that approximates this magnitude happened about a decade ago (and even then it was too complicated to be any fun). I’m set to face the most taxing four years of my life in a few months, so why waste time stressing now? I need to parteh! Governor Vi, come on tell me please, where’s the parteh?

Here comes the sun

Since ’summer’ is almost here, some beach recommendations! Seven best destinations within 4 hours of Manila.

7. Botolan, Zambales. Deserted, quiet beaches if you know where to look. (3.5-hour drive)

6. Nasugbu, Batangas. Nothing but fond memories here, although it’s been 5 years since my last trip. (3-hour drive)

5. Subic Bay, Zambales. Accessible, if a bit crowded, white sand beaches. (2.5-hour drive)

4. Puerto Galera, Mindoro Oriental. Peace and quiet is still present here if you stay away from White Beach. (2-hour drive and 1-hour boat ride)

3. Anilao, Batangas. Best diving in Luzon. (3-hour drive)

2. Laiya, Batangas. Laid-back beaches and some good snorkeling. (4-hour drive)

1. Anawangin Cove and Capones Island, Zambales. Stunning describes Anawangin, a place where the mountains meet the sea and where pine trees grow on white-sand beaches. Capones, meanwhile, is a rocky island with serene white sands, grassy hills, and a picturesque lighthouse. (3-hour drive and 30-minute boat ride)

In less relevant matters, summer haiku!

Let’s (#51)

sunsets melt on sand
where simian eyes stare back.
brown hills are pretty

.

Laiya (#53)

silent westward drift
I watch deep blueness pass by.
a boy dreams awake

Cardiac Arrest

Went to Manila again on Sunday and so I have to blog. Photos here!

Quiapo was our first destination and we went under the bridge, which turned out to be a bustling piece of tourist souvenir heaven. Intramuros was next and something must be wrong with it since it was getting lovelier by the minute. Chanced upon interesting corners that were previously unexplored. The Manila skyline was dramatic, the street art was colorful, and the old (or restored) buildings were glowing in the late afternoon light. Even derelict walls were suddenly exciting.

From the southern end of the walled city, we walked along UN Avenue to an Indian grocery where chickpeas, rotis and samosas were bought. Aborting an initial plan to head over to Paco Cemetery, we decided to try the samosas in a bakeshop instead. They were deep-fried, crispy vegetable loveliness.

In other news, I promise not to cause heart attacks on friends anymore! I’ve learned my lesson. But I’m deeply grateful to the two of you for understanding. Muchas gracias, grazie, merci, shukran, spasibo, khop khun khrap, cam on, kamsamhamnida, xie xie, arigato and whatever it is they use in Mars.

Captivating Caramoan…

…On the Cusp of Commercial Development

Instead of turning to Boracay or Palawan as a model for tourism development, I suggest Caramoan look toward Sagada, a success story of community tourism management with a notable absence of Manila and foreign capitalists. And I guess the best way to do this is to keep it inaccessible from mass tourists. Construct an airport and things will go downhill. Considering that an airport is planned in 2010, we have a year and a half more before that happens at least.

Caramoan’s charms lie not really on its wonderful karst landscapes nor on its powder-fine beaches nor on its clear, emerald waters, but on its unique marriage of nature, people, food and culture. A town deeply steeped in Catholicism (we saw several processions venerating the Virgin Mary) and rurality, Caramoan has a laid-back atmosphere where people go about with their everyday lives as they have for decades, and where you still become the object of curious stares from locals. When we hopped from one island to the next, we found ourselves totally alone (and this was on a weekend), except maybe for a solitary, persistent cat in Sabitang Laya (the island’s own Isadora). All these are bound to change with the town’s inevitable transition from its nascent version of tourism. If this happens, there will always be Casiguran.

More photos here.

Imeldific

Caught sight of the infamous former First Lady a few hours ago prior to dinner at the Bahay ng Alumni. Her face was powdered white and she wore her green dress with regal poise and grace. I was totally starstruck.

Journeyed to northwestern Luzon over the weekend. First stop: surfing at San Juan, La Union. Here is me in various attempts at not embarrassing myself.

I think I did moderately well and I would’ve enjoyed it more had I not been too eager to please my Manny-look-alike instructor. Even in surfing, I can be such a nerd. But oy, another possibly expensive hobby. Also, I was told my surfing skills was featured on a photo in the Feb 24 Sunday edition of the Inquirer. Someone send me a copy!

Climbed Baguio for the festival with flowers in the afternoon and the city was in total chaos. I was never a fan of Baguio, maybe because of the disillusionment that comes with its claim as a relaxing City of Pines with cool, fresh air (none of these is true, except maybe for the term ‘City’). During the trip, I saw Baguio as kind of a cooler, hipper Quiapo with good places to eat, and this actually gave me a renewed appreciation for the sprawling mountain city of half a million people.

Showbiz people:

Kimerald (She waved at me!!)

Barbara Sta. Maria-Lacson and Jomari of Pops

Melanie Marquez was here. No kidding.

In possibly less happy matters, I finally received a first comment regarding my thesis and it was a mixture of mostly positive and strangely negative news. It was supposedly a ’solid’ research, but it was apparently ‘bloodless’. How do you fix a ‘bloodless’ thesis??? Wrist-slitting over the title page? Transfusion? Rosa Rosal?

Children of Pasig

Off we headed again to Manila yesterday. First leg: Guadalupe to Escolta via the surprisingly serene Pasig River on a river cruise. Along the way we saw houses, bridges, birds, water lilies, Jejomar’s office, Malacanang (no picture-taking!), oil depots, industrial laborers, exhibitionists and the many many riverside people who greeted us with smiles, waves and probably swear words.

Second leg: Escolta to Binondo via foot. The latter was a feast of pre-Chinese-New-Year colors. Everywhere there were things red and round and edible and Chinese.

Lunch of seafood, vegetables and amphibian limbs was immediately beside a stagnant estero.

Third leg: Binondo to National Museum via jeep. I saw Spoliarium for the first time and almost cried. I also saw Hidalgo’s ‘The Assassination of Governor Bustamante’ and almost cried too. And I wasn’t even pretending to be cultured and arty. At least during that moment, not yet.

Fourth leg: National Museum to Quiapo and its sea of DVDs. Then back home, traveled and tired. Manila is a new favorite place (and it will remain so as long as I do not have to actually live there).