BEEN COOL IN BICOL (2007)

Because we did not see the Mayon Volcano that day, we Adobed it...

Every time the weather seems to be grumpy that clouds turn grey and the wind seemingly blows like whispering that it’s going to rain… memories of my visit to Bicol way back in the late portion of 2007 keep on refreshing my mind about how memorable it was especially that it was spent with friends who also like to seek for an adventure different from the ordinary.

“Bicolandia” is the collective name referred to the Philippines’ fifth region located in Luzon, east of the province of Batangas and commonly a 10-hour travel passing Quezon province through the curvy and risky road in Tagkawayan called “Bitukang Manok” (Chicken Intestine).  We started our travel in the evening.      

Because our main goal in this roadtrip was to check the world-famous Mayon Volcano, the province of Camarines Norte where famous white-sand beaches can be found was bi-passed and Camarines Sur directly became our first stop.  In CamSur’s town of Sipocot, we stopped to grab snacks in the local gasoline station, due to the fact that this province’s source of income for locals really is quite difficult, in its night streets, you would see children, maybe 10 to 12 years old, already stretching bones by selling rugs to different motorists which is obviously quite dangerous for their very young age.

Riding a Toyota Fortuner, our friend driver and also so the owner of the said vehicle, continued his driving that before the break of dawn we had already reached the city of Lagaspi in Albay where the perfectly-coned shape volcano of Mayon was located.  Before roaming more, we checked-in in a local hotel and decided to look around after regenerating our strength from such a tiring trip. 

That afternoon we went out but to our luck, it rained and checking the view of Mayon Volcano would be very impossible to enjoy.  Instead we went to Albay’s public market and there, we witnessed different market goodies which are not common in the local public market of Sto.Tomas, Batangas.  There you would see different dried fish in different sizes, not the typical-sized dried squid, pili(Bicolano Nuts) nuts sweetened and salted and guess what, there were lots of Bicolanos there.  Hehe, just kidding. 

But it would really be a bad joke if on our last day the Mayon would not still be visible for its Batangueno visitors.  So we CARPEd our DIEM and went to bed to experience a Bicolano sleepover.

The next day, it was quite a disappointment for us to see dark clouds (again) and sadness-giving drizzles.  After seeing the Albay Parks and Wildlife, we visited the Cagsawa Ruins where we were welcomed by friendly tour guides who also happened to be professional photographers too… such a nice bargain for a tight budget.  The site of this volcano-wrecked bell tower historically tells an amazing story; the Mayon exploded, amounts of lavas flowed in the area, the Cagsawa Church destroyed and the shyness of this occasionally-furious giant untimely happened during our visit.  Oh my goodness!

It is suggested to visit this local sculptor in the Cagsawa area named "Mang Romy" where igneous rocks hardened from Mayon's lava are used for his creations.  "Mang Romy" is not his real name, I just made that one up.  

Then we went up to this place called Lignon Hill, the observatory for Mayon Volcano open for scientists and tourists, to somehow check our chance of seeing the famous volcano.  But in grief, we were once again deprived of witnessing its beauty.  So we just decided to go back to our hotel to pack things up and head home.  On our way back to the hotel, we saw lobster merchants.   They offered us these gigantic lobsters, freshly caught in the seas of Bicol, which I already forgot how much it worth.  We rushed these lovelies to the ice chest that we had brought with us and while we were busy packing up our things, unexpectedly, we noticed that the clouds covering Mt.Mayon already were starting to vanish and in our joy, we jumped and shouted in that very moment. 

It seemed that Mayon played a game on us… a protocol for first-time visitors perhaps?  That was quite an experience. 

I guess grey clouds weren’t gloomy mood setters after all.

Related video:

Bicol - Galaxy Gala (the Bicol Roadtrip)

Trekking and Thrills in Laurel Batangas

There is a particular place that I like in Batangas where you can enjoy nature to the fullest.  Truly, a must visit place if you are interested in trekking, thrill seeking, nature tripping and whatever activity you like to do with friends like picnicking and having chit-chats in cool villas in a typical provincial setting, a true meaning of the phrase “peace and quiet”.

The place is in San Gabriel, Laurel, Batangas where most of the accommodations are ran by a private company called Amansinaya Resort.  Here, different activities can be experienced starting from the obstacle courses prepared for the guests.  Climb over walls, jump on set of tires, swing over a mud hole, climb a challenging wall and scream riding its zipline.  How about that for a thrill?  But as a summation of that challenging course, sliding on a giant mudslide was the most adrenalin-rushing activity that I had experienced in that Laurel visit.  Splashing to the end portion of the slide would make you think that you already went beyond it.  The ride is a mixture of scream and fun.  Oh, did I mention fun?

Meals also are served as part of the package if you’ll visit Amansinaya, I think we spent P3,000.00 per head for the whole tour but I tell you, the food are quite typical Tagalog delicacies but it’s really good. 

After our first day, the next day was such an excitement because of the trekking activity to the Ambon-ambon Falls.  The way to this natural attraction was such an unexpected delight because of the clear and clean river that stretches all along to the road going to the said falls.  This is something that you would find in barrios when electricity is not yet available, greener pastures, cleaner air and you can see carabaos (water buffalo) roam freely for their veggie diet.  Along the way, we also met residents, especially the kids, who really shared their greetings and smiles that really showcased typical hospitality to Batangueños.  When we reached Ambon-ambon, we saw other tourists who were also from neighboring Batangas towns and even they, had mentioned that such place is always visited due to its clean surroundings and bodies of water like this one.

I can say that this trip to Laurel, Batangas is just the tip of the iceberg.  There are still lots of places here to explore and views to indulge more but sadly, there is no enough time.  Barrio San Gabriel is an elevated place that is why the view of the Taal Lake and Taal Volcano had become an added attraction. 

So if your schedules are not yet filled for the weekends or any holiday, head for the South and search for this place just near history’s smallest active volcano… bursting with warm smiles and exploding with natural attractions.

Galaxy Gala - THE LAUREL (Batangas) EXPERIENCE-AMANSINAYA

Galaxy Gala - THE LAUREL (Batangas) EXPERIENCE- AMBON-AMBON FALLS

Provincia ti Ilocos (Tobacco Fields Forever)

It was in my younger years when I learned of the folk music “Pamulinawen”, the veggie dish Pinakbet (Pakbet) and hearing people call other people they don’t know “Manong” or “Manang” in many different places around. As I grow old I realized that these all originated in a particular region in the northern part of the Philippines… Ilocos. This collectively refers to two provinces namely Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte, where the people are called Ilocanos and their dialect, the Iloko. And more than these, I didn’t know Ilocos has a lot more in store for people who would pay this wondrous place a visit. 

When I was invited by a Local Government Unit to cover their Ilocos trip, I non-hesitantly agreed to come because I really wanted to see the place and get out of a horrible experience of being left out in a roadtrip to Ilocos just because they ran out of seat for another passenger. Hmp! Well anyways, that was a forgotten issue of the past, that when this new Ilocandia opportunity came, I grabbed it and really prepared for the trip, readier than ready. 

Along with a bunch of teenage leaders from the different barrios in Sto.Tomas, Batangas, we traveled a hip-cramping 12 hours to the tobacco-filled Ilocos region with smiles in our faces and excitement in our hearts. We first reached Ilocos Sur, and in the City of Vigan we made our first stop. 

ILOCOS SUR 

Vigan is a city and capital in the province of Ilocos Sur located on the western part of the major Philippine island of Luzon nearly reaching and facing the West Philippine Sea, formerly known as the South China Sea. Vigan City is one of the few remaining places in the Philippines where cobblestone street roads and Hispanic-style houses still exist that is why Vigan was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Humidity is quite an issue here in Vigan but because the place still retains its shady portions because of its trees, both the new ones and those older than the city’s foundation, hiding from the sun’s heat is possible. Roam around Vigan in old-school riding the “kalesa”, this seems to be a time-traveling experience because as you hear the sound of the horses’ hooves while the “kutchero” communicates with you in his native tongue, the scenery would really bring you back to the nostalgia of the Philippines in the Spanish era. 

Then we headed for the Bantay Church. This is one of the many Augustinian churches in Ilocos to the fact that these churches were founded by Augustinian friars in the Spanish colonization era of the Philippines in the 1500’s. Just like the other churches in the whole of the Ilocandia, having the bell tower separated from the main church building is a distinctive feature even the people I asked about it and I don’t know the reason behind why Hispanic architects made it that way. The Bantay Bell Tower is also famous because in its topmost portion, important scenes from the early 80’s Filipino superhero movie “Panday” was shot which the late great Fernando Poe, Jr. played the main character. 

We also visited former Ilocos Sur Governor Chavit Singson’s private farm that was eventually opened for the public, the “Baluarte”. There you will find a zoo where you can greet and mingle with colorful Macau birds, stinky tigers, dead-tired midget horses pulling wagons, annoyed ostriches, off-white/yellowish albino pythons and most especially, giant brontosaurus and the scary allosaurus which are of course, made out of cement for they are statues only. 

Before heading for our hotel, we had gone dirty when we witnessed how Ilocos earthenware is made in the “Pagburnayan”. Many of my co-tourists bought souvenir items and sweet delicacies in that house of clay but me, I just stared and seriously paid attention on how a handful of clay is made to a decorative and artistically crafted house piece. 

We stayed in the Hotel Salcedo de Vigan where hot and garlicy Ilocano foods were served and comfortable bedrooms were prepared for us. This hotel was named after Vigan’s founding father, Juan de Salcedo, a Spanish conquistador who discovered the wondrous Ilocano city in 1571. 

ILOCOS NORTE 

The next day we left for Ilocos Norte, famous for being the home town of the well-known past Philippine president, Ferdinand Marcos. Juan Luna’s residence was first visited. I bet most of you knew Juan Luna, that if not from Philippine history books, he’s an artists who is also well-known for obra maestras like the “Spoliarium” (Spoils of War) and the ever controversial (both because of its hidden radical meanings in the Spanish era and the how it was reacquired by the GSIS that left the public school teachers underfunded), the “Parisian Life”. 

We then visited the Marcos Museum and Mausoleum in Batac where most of the political Marcos’ stuffs are kept and exhibited for the public to view, both the ones who think he’s a hero and those who don’t. But most tourists are more eager to witness the late president’s remains (which Ilocanos insist it is), fixed in a glass coffin and carefully waxed(which most naysayers contend), waiting for the Philippine government to give the former president his last right for the rite of being buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery). 

After experiencing the super hot weather of Batac, we rushed to Bangui Beach for the breeze of the twenty giant electric fans installed in its bayside. I’m just kidding, hehe. Bangui is the location where giant wind turbines were put to supply Ilocos’ electrical needs. As of this period, according to the locals and the tour guides who were with us all along, almost 70% of both the two Ilocos provinces combined are already enjoying the cheap electricity this former Ilocos Norte Governor Bong-bong Marcos’ (son of the older Marcos) $78 million windmill project is generating… a project and tourism feature which for me, is very very cool. 

The Java Hotel in Laoag City served as our shelter for our last night in Ilocos. Complete with amenities a traveler needs, this hotel would really chase a delinquent guest who would keep its towels, keychains and keys to bring home for souvenirs. 

Before we headed for home, we paid a visit to the Malacañang of the North (Malacañang ti Amianan). This was the headquarters of President Marcos where he continues his work when not in the Philippine capital of Manila. This features paintings and other Marcos regime stuffs like classic Filipino home fixtures like the capiz windows and strong wooden floors. This wonderful experience of being in the Marcos’ vacation house was completed by the wondrous view of the Paoay Lake viewed from the Palace’s veranda. I even grabbed a bite (bites… many many) of the Ilocano deep-fried empanada at the local food stand near Malacañang ti Amianan that even if they shared with me the ingredients of the delicacy (shredded unripe papaya, mongo beans, ground pork and raw egg wrapped in a self-prepared dough wrapper), the store owner was not able to answer my query why the empanada is orange?

This is a testament that I enjoyed our trip both in Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte. Although it was really long and tiring, the panoramic views, historical features, and technological innovations which are new to me and to other people’s eyes really made the Ilocos visit worth cherishing. Now, if you are a person who is straight forward and values history, go up north of the Philippines. A 12-hour bus ride is not bad, as long as you know that giant electric fans, Johnny Moon the painter, tobacco fields forever, FM, the kalesas, cobblestone streets and houses of the past await you and would surely give satisfaction to your searchy and curious heart. 

Agyamanac unay!(Thank you very much!)

Galaxy Gala - Ilocs Sur (Nakisabit... Nakipakbit)

Vincent’s Starry Night Sky

One night, as I was on my way home, I looked at the night sky for the stars. It seemed like that I missed these heavenly fireflies because of the continuous and heavy rainfall the past few days. With excitement, my heart cheered and I smiled by myself. One person came into my mind who I had given credit for my artistic fascination of the stars… Vincent Van Gogh. One of his night sky-inspired paintings, the “Starry Night” was really amazing. Even though this painting was made during Van Gogh’s sanitarium days, modern art enthusiasts would say that these days were few of those honing days in the history of art. This Van Gogh masterpiece has risen to the peak of artistic achievements that although he only sold one painting in his lifetime, the fame of his works after his death was very viral that they inspired and continuously inspiring painters of different generations. 

 And for me, he even made the sky his canvas. 

Van Gogh was a broken hearted lad, a hot-tempered drunkard, an untidy artist, a “yellow” person, admirer of wheat fields, a semi-mad person who resembles the “House” TV Series main character Hugh Laurie, a post-impressionist artist, a lover of heavenly bodies. In whatever descriptions the world may give him, he is one of those artists from the past that I believe that had evidently shaped the modern world and even made fans of today educated of the difference between sanity and insanity. That decisions should be thought twice or trice before doing something that would do bad, like Van Gogh cutting a portion of his right ear, or doing the right thing, like also him doing his art masterpieces. 

Don McLean's song "Starry Starry Night", I mean "Vincent", is still being played on radios today. This music still links people, links me to the artistic and crazy past of Vincent Van Gogh in his lifetime in Europe in the mid-1800’s. This links me to the beauty of the stars. And because there are countless ways of not forgetting the images of his outstanding starry-artwork, night skies will always be here, behind cloudy skies or in the other side hiding in the sunshine...and a happy and content Vincent will be singing along with us, celebrating the gifts he had received for himself... also the gifts he had given the world.

PINASULOY...PINALAGO... PINATUBO!

I was in my first year in high school when I learned about this volcano.  Learned about it because of the “white Christmas-like” atmosphere that surprised me after waking up in that historical day of June, 1991.  Mt. Pinatubo was once declared as a dormant volcano, meaning dead, inactive and something that is not to be feared of because it can be considered harmless.  Preluded by numerous Luzon earthquakes in the year 1990, Mt. Pinatubo just exploded like a pretty girlfriend experiencing a mood swing.  The surrounding provinces of Zambales, Tarlac and Pampanga were devastated when mixture of water and phyroclastic materials furiously flowed towards the said provinces’ towns and villages that led to millions worth of damages and lost of lives.  It can also be remembered that aside from our heroes’ effort, this is one reason why the American military base in Subic, Zambales and Clark Field, Pampanga, left. 

Mt. Pinatubo largely became part of the Earth’s meteorological history for it changed its rapidly warming weather.  Because of the tons of volcanic ashes it threw into the Earth’s atmosphere, it blocked the Sun’s heat from entering our planet and eventually cooled it down.  It is such a nice fact to know that after this “suddenly awakened giant” did something horrible to most Filipinos, it would do something great for all the people on this wonderful planet.

In May 2010, I had the opportunity to experience the new image of Pinatubo.  After  almost two hours of bus-travel from Manila to the province of Tarlac, the 45-minute 4x4 vehicle ride and the 20-minute (maybe it was 30 for me…)trek with the combination of sweat and drizzle water, we finally reached to the famous volcano’s mouth and was amazed with its wondrous beauty!  You can compare the majestic scenery to the landscape background used in the “Lord of the Rings” movie which was entirely shot in New Zealand, but because Pinatubo is sort of the “local” brand, instead of snow covering the caps of surrounding mountains, ashes and other volcanic residues completed the place’s “Middle Earth” look that would really make you feel that you’re not in the Philippines.  Even made more mesmerizing, the view was completed by the turquoise-colored crater lake that gave me the shivers upon witnessing its view from the top.


This crater-lake, now called Lake Pinatubo, was used to be a hot spot in the Province of Zambales after the famous volcano’s eruption in the 1991.  But subsequent rainfall cooled and diluted the lake, lowering the temperature and making it safe to be dove in during the early 2000’s.  Even if we were made aware of its unimaginable depth, we jump into the boat in our life vests unhesitant.  With boats designed like the ones in Burnhum Park in Baguio City, those boats in Pinatubo were almost unsinkable.  With the combination of good boats, the best guides and smiling-faced paddlers, truly, the enjoyment of crossing Lake Pinatubo from end to end was on its highest level.

The experience in Pinatubo, feeling the Earth’s heat passing thru tiny air holes in its lakebed was some sort of us communicating with Mother Earth.  I guess it was telling us that good things come in sometimes small, sometimes big packaging... but in Pinatubo’s case, the packaging was quite violent.  But if you’re going to look at it now, you will truly say that even though God sometimes permits inevitable things to happen, He really knows what to do and really could give bigger things in return in His time.  Just like Pinatubo, it waited for a long long time, now it is in its ultimate level of giving mankind the most majestic experience of its splendor.