Back from Davao

Forgive me for neglecting this blog. I had too many things going on and I am still swamped... was in Davao City for work. I feel really tired but also awed and inspired. It's the same feeling I get everytime I travel outside Manila -- be it just within or outside the Philippines. The trip was once again for work so I didn't get to see the usual tourist sights. The Marco Polo Hotel made up for it though :).

Stories and photos in my next post.

Scenes from my trip to Leyte

Visiting Leyte always conjures up images of my childhood -- lazy summer days spent swimming on the river, dressing up first as an angel then Reyna Elena in the annual Santacruzan, fiestas, full moons spent playing hide and seek or patintero... this was already my third visit for work and it still feels good to be back in Leyte. Never mind that I really didn't get to see the tourist sights or that I wasn't able to go home to Maasin in Southern Leyte. It was enough to observe our projects, meet our beneficiaries in Abuyog and Jaro, eat yummy seafood and just breathe in the provincial air. Here are some photos from my trip:
We took the early morning flight to Tacloban and it was nice to witness the sunrise after a looooong time. Worth waking up early and feeling groggy at the airport. I just hid behind my big shades.






Our project site in Abuyog was located beside this rice field. Abuyog can be reached via a 2 hour drive from Tacloban. When we were there, the heat was too much. The office transformed into a sauna! So we opted to hold the meeting outside with the cool breeze. We actually took refuge under the trees and took photos in between work.





I found this carabao grazing on the field beside our project site. It was a weekday but it felt like an endless Sunday afternoon... There is not much to see in Abuyog and this trip was really for work. We went back to Tacloban for our late lunch of yummy seafood at Ocho's Grill.


More photos in the coming days...

Off to another adventure!

I was planning to post my photos of my weekend to show you how it went. Unfortunately, I accidentally deleted all the photos I took since Friday night while tinkering with the camera! Geez... Anyways, I am doing last minute packing (what else is new?) for a trip. Yup, as the title of this post says, I am off to another adventure! This time, to the island of my childhood and my youth...

I'll be back in a few days I hope with stories to share. To quote General Mac Arthur: "I shall return!" Have a great week, friends! :)

Photo courtesy of GoAsia.About.com

Hop-on Hop-off Metro Manila City Tour

Good news for tourists and locals who want to explore Metro Manila sans the hassle of taking public transportation or dealing with overcharging taxi drivers! I stumbled upon an article on Business World's Weekender on the launch of the Hop-on Hop-off air-conditioned jeepneys offering tours around Metro Manila.

Tourism Secretary Ace Durano and Senator Richard Gordon had actually launched 21 jeepneys last month which explained the airconditioned jeepney adorned with Wow Philippines decors I saw along Ayala Avenue in Makati City a few weeks ago. I thought it was just one of those air-con jeepneys in Makati. The plan is to "have a total of 60 passenger jeepneys in its fleet in the first year of operations. The first phase will ply the route of Manila, Makati and Eastwood while the second phase includes the establishment of Hop-On Hop-Off links to nearby tourist destinations like Tagaytay, Clark in Pampanga and Subic in Olo"The Hopngapo." "

From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, the jeepneys will ply the streets of Makati and Manila. The tour starts at the airport with stop-overs in the Orchidarium, Coconut Palace, National Museum, Intramuros, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Ayala Museum, Ayala Center, SM Mall of Asia and the best hotels in Makati and Manila. So the next time I see one of these jeepneys, I might just hop on!

For more information or franchise inquiries on the Hop-On Hop-Off program, dial 635.2148 local 106 or email info@citytour.com.ph.

Travel to Palawan - El Nido's Attractions - Secret Beach

Our second Island Hopping Tour in El Nido brought us to the Secret Beach. It is really not so secret anymore as tourists opting for Tour C can actually get there. We woke up at the ungodly hour of 600 a.m. (well, ungodly at least for us ;)) because our boatmen were supposed to pick us up at 630 a.m. As usual, they were on Filipino time and arrived at 8:00 a.m. Their lateness allowed us to bask in El Nido's sunrise and early morning activities -- fishermen getting ready for the day's work, resorts cleaning up the previous nights excesses and getting ready for another day -- and to have a leisurely breakfast of pan de sal (1 peso each) and Nescafe instant coffee (10 pesos) on our inn's balcony with a view of the Bacuit Archipelago.

Tour C is the most expensive among the tours (700 per person minimum of 4 persons and 2,200 if you rent the entire boat) since the islands are also the farthest from El Nido town. Our boatmen gave us a discount and we paid only 1,800 pesos for our own boat.

It took us 1 hour to reach our first stop - the Secret Beach on Matinloc Island. It is accessible only during low tide that's why it was important for us to reach there early in the morning. We had to swim through a keyhole in between the limestone karsts to enter the Secret Beach (see picture on the left). It looked very initimidating to me (even if I can really swim and even in my life vest!). I was worried if the current would become too strong while I'm half way through the hole, then I'll be pushed against the sharp rocks. After repetitive assurances from our boatmen and after one of them volunteered to swim ahead of us, we dove in to check out if all the fuss was really worth it.

Thankfully, the tide remained steady and we were able to get through. But not before I got stung by a jellyfish! Until now, I still have the jellyfish sting marks on my left thigh. It seems that the Secret Beach is also the favorite hideway of the jelly fishes. I'm glad our boatman guided us on where to swim to avoid the jellyfishses and where to tread to prevent from stepping on sharp stones. Once we went through the keyhole, I forgot about my pain. The Secret Beach was really nothing like I've ever seen. It is a small strip of white sand beach enclosed within the limestone karsts.


It was indeed a pleasant freak of nature -- a beach inside the rocks. I'd like to think that hundreds of years ago, the rocks weren't there yet and it was just an ordinary white beach. The limestone karst probably appeared out of volcanic activity. Of course, my theory sounded incredulous to The Boy! :) Aside from the jellyfishes guarding the entrance, another downside is its shallow waters. You can't really swim along its waters because it is only waist deep. But yeah the fine white sand and the rocks were perfect for just lazing around and appreciating the harmony and symmetry of it all... we lingered for a few minutes, enjoying the silence and the intimacy -- we claimed it as our own secret spot away from the bustle of the outside world even for only a few minutes.

We even fantasized of being island castaways and also of buying the Secret Beach for ourselves (as if we could! :D) but our boatmen's calls jolted us back to reality. It was time to go before the current got too strong. I dreaded going back because of the jellyfishes so our boatman had to swim through the hole again to fetch me! I clung to his life vest for dear life and got out unscathed with the Secret Beach's beautiful memories still in tact -- jelly fish sting and all.


* Electricity in El Nido is only from 1pm to 1 am. There were frequent black outs when we were there (because of the fiesta), so make sure to bring a flashlight and extra battery for your camera. My battery conked out and I wasn't able to take photos of the other attractions like the Hidden Beach, Matinloc Shrine and Cadlao Lagoon. Will post about them as soon as I get copies of the photos.

El Nido's Secret Beach

I am too sleepy to write a long post on El Nido's other attractions. The Secret Beach was part of Tour C and like most of El Nido's islands, it did not disappoint. Here is a photo of the limestone walls surrounding the beach to whet your appetite. Gute nacht! :)