Tadlac Lake, Laguna: Taking a Break from Work and Catching a Sony / Sunny Sunrise

Tadlac Lake Sunrise, Laguna • Handheld Sony A6000 + Samyang 12mm f/2

Just want to share a hand-held sunrise shot taken during a break from photoshoot assistance work for a friend in Los Baños, Laguna.    Location is Tadlac Lake, formerly known as Alligator Lake, about two hours travel from Manila.  A good time as any to test the Sony A6000 paired with a Samyang/Rokinon 12mm f/2 lens (so I've taken the mirrorless path after more than a decade shooting with Nikon).  

After typhoon Domeng and the rains caused by the habagat (southwest monsoon) we were blessed with a day of intermittent drizzles, squalls and somewhat sunny conditions on days 1 and 2 of the shoot; we were entertaining thoughts of a milky way night sky over the lake (not!) but nonetheless, the heavens cleared up on the morning we were set to wrap up work.  Among photographers, we share this universal joke akin to Murphy's Law -- the weather improves just when you are leaving.   Very much like what they say about life, it's "weather-weather" or in the vernacular, pana-panahon lang.  May my season finally come then.

Aroma Beach in Morong, Bataan: A Tummy-Busting Chillout of a Weekender

Swinging above the beach water at sunset

The Aroma toiletry kit

Bill Bryson, one of my all-time favorite travel writers, once wrote that nowadays, most people seem to enjoy nature through a glass barrier, either in an artificial climate-controlled room or vehicle.  Instead of fully connecting with the outdoors, people can sometimes be wary of what's out there, never fully immersing in nature, the fresh air, the warm sand, the billowy leaves, the crawling critters, and the flying creatures.  I would like to think myself an anomaly to the general thinking, which is why, this invitation to sleep out under the stars in Bagac, Bataan for our first trip this year with longtime friends is something I simply cannot let pass.

My mother's side of the family hails from nearby Limay but goodness, I haven't really been frequenting Bataan for travels.  The last few times I've been there were strictly for business, shooting a shipyard and a campus for various clients; for adventure travel, I only ventured here to hike up Mt. Tarak back when I was still active in mountaineering. 

NAGLAYAS NAG-ALSA BALUTAN, NAG-CHILLOUT SA BATAAN.  Morong is some 141 or so kilometers away, a 3-3 1/2 hour commute by bus from Metro Manila.  To get to Aroma Beach Station, we had to ride a boat headed northeast from the shores near Bagac Bay Beach Resort.  It's a 25-minute ride on the boat decked with lounging beach chairs headed towards the landscapes and seascapes that resemble fingers when viewed from the air.  I was sleepy on the bus trip and subsequent boat transfer so after a very hearty mid-morning snack and lunch, sleep was my priority.  It wasn't hard to give in to slumber as our accommodation was an open air bamboo cottage facing the sea, the ground level made from bamboo with stair steps leading to a tree house.  Even during high noon, it was cool and conducive to slumber.

Eagle Point Resort in Anilao, Batangas: Staying Put on A Stormy Seaside Staycation

Eagle Point Resort Pool and Eagle's Nest Restaurant in early evening

We came to Anilao, Batangas, on the cusp of a brewing tropical storm.  I wanted to stay home since I was feeling under the weather the past few days leading to the staycation but my friend told me the fresh air might be what the doctor ordered.  Commuting to Anilao was, thankfully, speedier than I remembered it as many buses, including JAM Transit near the LRT-Buendia station which is nearer where I live, ply the Manila - Batangas Grand Terminal route (around 2 1/2 - 3 hours).  From there, either you can ride the jeepney headed to the Bauan - Mabini intersection (it leaves when it's really packed full we call it alas puno; with space for only two more people, we felt compelled to pay the P35 x 2 pax fare so we can leave after waiting almost an hour) or hire a taxi (around P1,000 or so we're told by the cab office on the terminal premises).  From the intersection, it's one more tricycle ride away (P40/pax, around 15-20 minutes) to the highway entry road leading to Eagle Point Resort, passing through a circumferential coastal road that's hilly, causing the tricycle to grumble where the road rises a hundred or so feet in places.

My one and only memory of having been to Eagle Point Resort was ages ago, in the 1990s when I was a senior copywriter in a small, local ad agency, and our company had an overnight outing here.  My dim memory recalled bamboo cottages overlooking the sea.  Well, in place of cottages, there are now cabanas on the southern side, a restaurant on stilts overlooking the sea in the middle, and a multi-storey hotel to the north of the property.  Our staycation invite got us billeted to a terrace room on the first floor directly overlooking the resort's reef pool and dock for outrigger dive boats.  The sky was already overcast when we arrived, the forecast was for a low pressure area passing from the east through Guian, Eastern Samar moving upwards.  Still, the winds picked up speed and the waves roiled listlessly.  Makes me wonder what to do in a place where most guests go to for diving.  

Maligcong, Bontoc: Of Green Holidays, Dog Tales, and Fresh Hopes

Lagalog with Kunig (or should it be dog with Lagalog?) admiring the foggy Favarey landscape

"You should come this December.  The lettuce would be ready for harvesting."

That's the text message of Suzette, owner of the Maligcong Homestay when I told her I just may be able to spend the December holidays in the highlands, away from the city's added dose of pollution come new year's eve.  So what's the big deal about fresh lettuce, right?

Well, sometime this year, I sent Suzette some packets of veggie seeds for her garden  (aside from being a self-professed dog charmer, I'm also into gardening).  During the leaner times I visited, we would trade gardening insights. I just thought it would be swell to eventually see an organic garden there where the veggies can be harvested for serving to guests.  You see, she has quite a bit of space available for growing some of her food.

A bit of explanation about the soil condition is in order.  Not because this is a mountainous area, it follows that the soil here is ideal for growing just about anything.  On the contrary, the soil here is mostly vertisol, muddy when wet during the monsoon season, brick-hard when baked by the sun during the summer months.  Needless to say, the soil needs amending to increase productivity.

Kamanbaneng Sagada: Finding Marlboro Hill, the Sun, Grazing Cows and Wild Horses in the Mist

Cows in the mist on Komanbaneng Peak

Another day, another town, another early start. 4am on a Monday found us sloshing through wet grass and muddy trails headed up Kamanbaneng, one of the highest peaks in Alab. Hamlin, the strappy dog of Rock Farm Inn where we were staying kept us company for a while but decided to return to the inn through a gate in the woods. We've seen the spectacular sunrise in Kofafey in Maligcong days earlier. Would we be twice lucky to witness the same on a different peak given the moody weather lately? 

Funny but the original plan was to head to the Kiltepan view deck anew for a no-frills, just chilling-out sunrise experience though we knew the "privatization" and fencing of the road leading to Tekeng peak could become a complication.  A trip to the SaGGaS (Sagada Genuine Guides Association) headquarters on our first afternoon back in Sagada and talking to loquacious guide, Yakie, convinced us to try an off-the-beaten track, 18 kilometer circuit not yet popular with visitors.   The circuit commences with a hike up Kamanbaneng Peak, moving southwards to Kaman-utek (Blue Soil hill), then southwest to Balangagan Cave in Suyo, before heading back to the town on the road passing through Sumaging. 

Fang-od: Portrait of a Kalinga tattoo artist

Fang-od in mono

With the habagat season and busy sked chasing after business leads, I'm staying put until about October or November (barring change of fortune for the good and/or a good break).  In the meantime, here's a favorite shot of mine of Fang-od after our tattooing session.  We didn't have to ask her to pose this way; she has had so many sessions with visitors that she knows the best way to show her impressive tattoos is by putting her arms across her chest.  (Color capture, converted to mono in CS5)

Overnight in Buscalan and Hiking Back to Tinglayan over the Boondocks

Buscalan tattooed elder by a fence

After a tattooing session with Fang-od, we went around the community to meet some of the villagers and to observe.  The only thing with an overnighter in a small village like Buscalan is that you end up being observed yourself and queried especially when there's not a lot of outside visitors around.  But that's life.  And a different story altogether.  Maybe next time, we can stay longer and be a bit more assimilated into the community so I can observe unhampered.

At first, Fang-od seems to me an anomaly, strong and nimble for her age of 93.  We chanced upon an elderly man assembling a broom by the light of a small window.  The light was beautiful though the overcast condition rendered the room a bit too dim for doing such a task.  Our guide, Francis, chimed in, "He's 93 years old, too."  And he's not alone in the 80- something demographic in the barangay.

Quezon Roadtrip Part 2: 3 Days, 3 Towns, 3 Islands - Mauban and Cagbalete

Birds we found trilling high above the coconut trees in Cagbalete

This is the second part of my two-part post series on the Quezon Province roadtrip/test drive of Kia Carnival assignment for InFlight Magazine.  In this post, we visit the town of Mauban and cross over to Cagbalete.  To read the first part of the series, just click this link.

Setting out for Mauban and Cagbalete Island.  The closest we got to following our itinerary was on our third day when we traveled further northwest to Mauban, just three towns away from Padre Burgos and close to Lucena City, the capital of Quezon Province. Arriving early ahead of schedule, we had to time to look for a place to have Pancit Habhab (fried noodles laced with pork ideally eaten with pinakurat, a strongly-flavored vinegar made from fermented coconut water), the quintessential Quezon dish. 

Maconacon, Isabela: Reading Thoreau, Hiking the Forest, Crossing Dicatayan and Hearing the Ghosts of a Storm Past

Chance long exposure shot at the pantalan, sans tripod

"Men nowhere, east or west, live yet a natural life, round which the vine clings, and which the elm willingly shadows.  Man would desecrate it by his touch, and so the beauty of the world remains veiled to him.  He needs not only to be spiritualized but naturalized, on the soil of the earth."

                                   "Friday,"  A Week on the Concord & Merimack Rivers,

                                 Henry David Thoreau

It is perhaps no accident that the book I lugged on our exploratory trip to Isabela was "Thoreau on Land, Nature's Canvas" (© 2001 by the Thoreau Society, Houghton Mifflin Company).  Perhaps I need the inspiration to explore beyond the surface, to appreciate what the natural environment of the place has to offer.  And I thank Henry for that.

Imugan Rhapsody: Escaping to a Farm Town for the Weekend

Into the foggy Salacsac forest

There's something about Imugan that made us come back.  It's not a resort kind of place.  There's nothing there that remotely resembles a grocery.  We share air and room space with insects.  In lieu of air conditioning, our rooms do have big windows.  To take a bath and answer nature's call, we have to go to the outhouse.  There's no TV and the local radio station concludes its broadcast at 10pm.  There's not even decent Globe coverage (the Kalahan's eminent leader, Pastor Dilbert Rice, tells us the Globe tower was built in the middle of the wildlife corridor, hence an ongoing dispute).

So what made us come back? 

Imugan Introspection: God is in the Details

Beautiful moth on the wall

The last time we were here in Imugan, Nueva Vizcaya was almost three years ago.  This time like the previous trip was an opportunity to get away from the city even just for the weekend.  222 kilometers away and 950 meters above sea level, the farming town of Imugan is a perfect place to escape to.  We overslept on the bus and had to hike a kilometer or so to Santa Fe at 4:30 in the morning, our breath forming visible wisps of mist in the 28 degree air.  A sleepy start but the walk surely woke us all up.

My mobile phone was useless the whole weekend-long owing to the weak Globe signal which was practically non-existent until we got back to the lowlands but I didn't mind it.  It really was a good time as any to put things -- concerns, plans, and everyday life -- on hold.  And we decided to spend the weekend not in a sterile resort setting but in a farming town where the clean, crisp and cool mountain air serves as air conditioning and tranquility is a priceless amenity.

Snapshots from Quezon

Tyrone on coco husks, taken in a koprahan in Cagbalete

One persistent reaction I get from friends and acquaintances is "I envy your job."  Job means being occasionally sent somewhere either to shoot and/or write about places, the food, and the culture.  It's true I'm lucky to go places on the expense account of someone else and I consider it a privilege.  However, that's only part of the story.

It's still work where quality output is expected no matter if the weather or circumstances didn't cooperate or went contrary to plans.  It's waking up before the crack of dawn everyday to catch an elusive sunrise, ride a banca before the sea becomes rough, go island hop in the darkness before it gets too light.  One other downside is that no matter how excited I get about shooting or writing about the place or experience is that I will have to wait until the magazine comes out before I can blog, tweet or fb about it.  But sometimes you get lucky.  Like finding a window of an hour to kayak the shallows of Cagbalete during my previous assignment.

Backpack Photography in Itbayat: Return to the Coral Island and Choco Popcorn Bliss

Corals, blue sky and Vuyavoy palms

As it turned out, the wind shifted from 8 to 32 miles per hour on our first night on Batan.  That speaks volumes on how temperamental the weather can be, shifting from calm one day to blustery the next.  That also put a big question mark on our plans to cross over to Itbayat, over 21 nautical miles away, the next day.  With hesitation (or was it trepidation?), we came up with an alternative itinerary to explore more of Batan but went to sleep still praying and dreaming of proceeding to the coral island and completing our 3-island hop on our second day in Batanes. 

On Assignment for GoHotels: Palawan-bound

A bright new landmark in Puerto Princesa

Was it nearly three years ago when I last saw Puerto Princesa?  Hard to imagine that last time I was here, we got ourselves soaked in the humid air while waiting for our checked-in baggage in the open air luggage carousel.  In its place is a cool, expansive airport building ready to shelter the swelling number of tourists.  Post-announcement of the Underground River in Sabang as one of the "newer" wonders of the world, the city is bracing for a boom.

Riding a cab to an appointment over a month ago, I overheard Mayor Edward Hagedorn being interviewed on an afternoon radio show, saying something about the need for more infrastructure, including a lot more accommodations, to address the doubling, nay tripling of visitor numbers.

Makati Caracol 2012 - An Urban Celebration for Mother Nature

Makati Caracol 2012 - Petal Face participant

It's been years since I last covered the Makati Caracol celebration, billed as the city's Mardi Gras which aims to spread the love for Mother Nature amidst the pomp and revelry.  As a longtime Makati resident, I always thought the celebration is held every third week of January, coinciding with the Feast of the Sto. Niño events elsewhere so I was taken by surprise when my travel buddy, Ironwulf, told me yesterday that this Sunday is Caracol Day.  A bit of trivia to share:  Caracol is the namesake of a Mayan archeological site but is actually the vernacular for the kuhol or snail.  I'm just guessing here but perhaps, the inspiration for the celebration comes from the importance of an animal as small as a snail to the overall diversity of Mother Nature.

Meeting a curious ostrich, a smiling lamb and a horse named Justin Bieber

An emotive ostrich shot up close with a 60mm macro lens

Our invite was for a lunchtime taste test but what we had was much more filling -- a taste of the farm life.  While the chef (Chef Teresa Lobb) busied herself with the intricacies of preparing her dishes, we took the opportunity to go through some portions of the 22-hectare Hacienda San Benito in Lipa, Batangas.

Two years ago, I got to spend three days in this place on a photo assignment for InFlight Magazine.  Then as now, the hacienda remains a curiosity to me.  On the surface, it seems to be a rich man's farm-playground, suited to people with the money to buy a farm but not the inclination to put in the requisite sweat (and dirt) equity.  I've learned from Mang Nev, the resident farm manager, that they're open to farmers from the area to render farm work, thus, generating additional livelihood for local farmers while taking care of the overhead costs.  The farm is more than the usual agricultural farm though, Mang Nev Villamar pointed out but rather a hexa organic sanctuary.  The concept is interesting to a nature lover like me whose secret ambition is to someday have a farm, grow my own food and find the connection to the earth that I somehow lost for having lived all my life in the city.

Wild on good value? Try Wild Orchid in Angeles

Fit for the whole family

A rainshower, 42-inch LCD TV, free Wifi, and delicious local breakfast give most people to look this one up.

Location.  At the fringe of the row of hotels, inns and lodges along A. Santos in Balibago, Angeles City.  About 10-15 minutes away from the Clark Freeport Zone.

Rooms.  The resort has 55 airconditioned luxury rooms.  A typical family room (P5,200 or about US$121) has a balcony that overlooks the pool and can easily accommodate six to eight people.  The room's toilet and bath is nicely fitted with a rainshower.  There's a 42" LCD cable TV and DVD player.

Racing on the well-beaten path: An interview with an off-roader

Getting down and dirty on the Clark Speedway dirt tracks

 "Whatever the road smells of, that's how you'll smell.  If a carabao used that mudhole you crossed to bathe himself, you'll smell exactly like that carabao." 

Off-roader Jojo Javier offers this pragmatic advice to wannabe off-road racers who think the sport is all about fun and glam. Wearing my writer's hat for InFlight Magazine, part of my assignment was interviewing a curious mix of people from Clark, Pampanga who have adventure as their calling card. From drifting with lateral driving champion, Audel Sison, I met up with Jojo Javier on the tracks of Clark Speedway, deemed among the toughest in the country. 

Curiously, Jojo's background isn't in motorsports but scuba diving, skydiving and practical shooting. He wanted a diversion that would take him outdoors so he bought his first 4x4 many years ago. But it would take a couple of years before the competitive bug bit. He recalls his first race, "muntik na akong umurong nang nakita ko yung race track kasi yung table top is around 15 feet" (I almost pulled out of the race when I saw the race track because the table top obstacle is 15 feet high). In a sport where guts seem to be the high-octane fuel that propel drivers to brave the races, does anything ever faze him? "Recently dun sa national dumptruck challenge, meron talagang tumataob nang paharap" (In the recent national dumptruck challenge, there were vehicles that overturn on their front end which is scary). 

2011 Ligligan Parul Giant Lantern Festival: The night the stars fell down on Pampanga

Giant Lantern intricate detail

The last time we attended the Ligligan Parul, Pampanga's giant lantern festival, was two years ago, during the festival's 100th year anniversary.  It was bedlam but typical of Pinoy celebrations, a merry one where locals and guests come together to continue a Filipino Christmas celebration.  We came back to a more orderly one, again hosted by the Robinsons Starmills Mall with even more people in attendance.  Getting a media pass on the spot was a breeze compared to 2009 when passes have to be procured as early as October.  The position of the media platform was, however, quite a disappointment as we were relegated to the left-most part of the car park grounds -- not so ideal in shooting the other half of the 10 giant lanterns on display.  On a bright note, we were spared from the long pleasantries by the kind mayor as the clouds threatened intermittent rains so the contest started early enough.

Panutsa, comfort food from Taal Town

Stirring the mixture makes the air redolent with the scent of nuts and syrup

Peanuts.  That's what the mention of Taal town reminds me apart from the comfort and solace that its beautiful churches, Basilica de San Martin de Tours and Our Lady of Caysasay, offer.  It's nostalgic how each place reminds you of a particular flavor or fancy and Taal town reminds me of panutsa.  The gooey, sticky piece of peanut brittle maybe a reminder that if the balisong (fan knife) is symbolic of the infamous Batangueño temperament, the locals have a sweet and endearing quality to their persona.

On a recent DIY trip, it got our curiosity piqued so much that we decided to make a short detour from our visit of heritage houses and asked around where we can observe the making of the tasty treat.  This led our motley group to Serian, a short walk from the church of Our Lady of Caysasay where the women workers of Paula's were busy making batches of fresh panutsa.