Northern Exposure - Day 3

Having set the previous night to be picked up at 5 am in order to catch the sunrise at the Blue Lagoon (locally known as the Mairaira Cove, I set the alarm to go off at 4:30 AM. Apparently, Day 2 caught up with us that the two girls only started to stir after I have washed and hanged two of my soiled shirts to dry on the airy veranda. So, we missed the photo opportunity
The sun was already up when we finally got on a tricycle with Ave as our driver cum tour guide.
Imagine the DSB or Kanlaon highway? The same connects the Northern part of Pagudpud to its Southern counterpart. It was a rollercoaster ride, which lasted about thirty minutes. We yelled and held on to our seats along the one-hundred-eighties and the three-hundred-sixties and the occasional bumps (on the parts undergoing rehab).

The cloudy morning hid the color that the cove is famous for. With the strong wind coming in, the waves that crashed on the pinkish brown shore were humongous and could easily bring Annie down.
Regarding breakfast, there is a little misunderstanding about the omelet that we asked to be prepared at a "palutuan" just outside Hannah's Beach Resort so we ended up eating scrambled eggs and raw sliced ripe tomatoes. Negatively commenting about breakfast, we were surprised when one of the servers interjected in our dialect. So we each assigned ourselves aliases (ria for moi, alex and claudia for the other two girls) exclaiming that we all need to learn a foreign language.
The rain came while we were eating, It steadily poured, brought in by the rainclouds which the wind blew inwards from south China sea. When the skies cleared, we went on to explore the rock formations. Legend has it that "Bantay Abot  (with a hole) had a relationship with "Timangmang" (shaped like the glans penis) and that the "Dos Hermanos" are their offsprings.
Next stop was the Patapat Viaduct. Again the rain pelted, yet I insisted to get a picture with me in the middle of the road. It was very cold. Luckily, Agua Grande was nearby and the kiosk at the entrance served hot beverages. After finishing our coffee, off to "Paraiso" we went. There wasn't much to see there so we went back to the Patapat Viaduct to get more photos, just in time to witness a landslide from the southernmost peak. It didn't reach the bottom but the cracking sound of stones rolling and trees being uprooted was as clear as the cloud of dirt that it left on its wake. Hope nobody was hurt.

Time flew past and it was time for lunch. We went back to the inn,skipping the Kabigan Falls since it still a kilometer and a half hike away from the hi-way to change into something dry and warm before eating. We ate at the Public Market. It was the first decent meal we had, and the rice was still warm.

By 1:30, we were already set to see the sights down south. First stop was at the Bangui windmills. The imposing structure has effortlessly drawn oohs and aahs from the three of us. It is more than ten times as tall as Kuya Ave. To get better pictures, we went down the shoreline. The surf was overwhelming. It looked alive, about to crawl up and swallow us. Looking at it sent shivers down my spine. Most of the time when the wind speed picked up, it brought along with it sand which hit our exposed skin like tiny biting insects.

We spent a longer time on our next stop, the Kapupurawan rock formation. It was a cliff eaten away by years of surf crashing on it. From the hi-way, we had to pass through a 3-kilometer dirt road and a couple hundred steps from the ledge to the spot. It is easy to reach, judging from the kids and old people who were there before us. I reckoned it wouldn't stay light for long, judging from the hands and feet that touch its surface everyday. I'm just glad I got there before it happens.

Last stop for the day, which thankfully requires only a few steep steps to reach was the Bojeador Lighthouse. Against the setting sun, the view is just stunning. I couldn't think of a better way to end the day but sit on the steps (resting my aching legs) soaking in the sight of the bright golden globe making its way behind the endless horizon.

Before going back to the inn, we passed by the public market to buy dinner which planned to take away. Kuya Ave advertised the empanada that the north is famous for. Off we went across the street. The stall served grilled and fried foodstuff and prepares empanadas from scratch. The dough is made of rice flour (naturally colored in Vigan, bright orange in Pagudpud) water and oil (used in frying). Filling includes a whole egg and dry mixture of mungbean and shredded papaya and carrots. For special orders, a longganisa is added.

Sigh!

Northern Exposure - Day 2

Day 2 (30 Oct) - "Breakfast is served between 6-9 am", the innkeeper informed me upon check-in. We had ours at 8am. This time, I had "tapa" for a choice of Filipino breakfast. It was a short affair, the three of us being excited to be on our way and get to as many tourist spots as we can.

Warning: Do not hire a calesa to explore the tourist spots!!!
Not only will it encumber your enjoying the sites at leisure, it will cause a shock later that you have run up quite a bill. In our ignorance we did. We even paid for the time waiting for the "kutsera" while she negotiated with the car owner, whose car bumper she scratched with the axle of the calesa's left wheel.
But if you must try (the regular rate is Php 150/hr) it is best that you keep to the streets where the old buildings are located. The other sites can be reached by tricycle at (Php 15-20, I haven't seen any fare matrix displayed on their vehicles).
The highlights of our morning tour are limited to appreciation of the testaments to the olden times and getting soiled at the "pagburnayan". If I were to do the tour again, I will leave out the other things altogether ;)
Castano couldn't seem to bear our combined weights, we proceeded with our tour slower than the other groups. Only 15min to checkout, we each quickkly freshened up, left our key and made our way to Partas terminal. With no time for lunch, we just bought a small box of marsha's cassava which we ate on the bus.

The bus dropped us at Batac. By the curb were tricycles offering tours to Paoay (including Paoay lake which can be reached by visiting the Marcos estate - excluded from our iti). Between Paoay Church and the Marcoses' mansion is still part of the La Paz sand dunes. To aid exploration, 4x4's for hire wait for the adventurous souls (Php 1500/hr). Our mistake was not negotiating with the driver first and had him wait while we explored the old church (each buttress width is wider than my outstretched arms). When we reached Laoag, he mentioned that the group the other day gave him P450 after Annie handed him P300. Talk about highway robbery. Oh, well. Not the type to make a scene, we gave what he asked for and headed to our next destination, St. William's and the sinking bell tower located at the heart of the city. There's another matter of the driver from Laoag. He charged us Php 80 for the short trip.
Our day ended with a two-hour trip to Pagudpud. It rained really hard midway and the water even leaked on the side of the bus, soaking the bottom of my backpack. Traveling lite, therefore we brought no brolly with us. A short run from the bus brought us to the public market where we decided to be picked-up.
Saud cove was around 15-20 minutes away from the town center. We were met by our gracious hostess, Auntie Ana Madrid in her large house named Roma Villa (from Romero-her maiden name and Madrid - her married name). Ours was a small bedroom with a table cum cabinet adjacent to the door, two double beds and an en-suite bathroom (without the toiletries) for only Php 1000 a night. 

Northern Exposure - Day 1

 I had qualms about buying a new journal to chronicle yet another backpacking adventure so I made do with writing bits of thoughts and observations at the back of the paper where I plotted our planned itinerary. Only during the quite lengthy trip to Baguio (from Laoag) did it occur to me that BB is equipped with documents to go feature. So I might as well start telling our story. Chances of my being able to write in the comfort of home seems nil, especially that I caught this nasty cold from exposure to heat and rain which no amount of multivitamins has prepared me for.
Day 1 (29 Oct) - We left Annie's place in Alijis at sometime past 4. The whole neighborhood was quiet; the residents deep in slumber (including our hosts 3 doors away whom we chanced upon the previous night preparing "ibos" for the holidays). Only the warning barks of dogs can be heard from the houses we passed by. The sky was illuminated by frequent flash of lightning from the north, foreboding a rainy morning. At the commercial area though, a store was still open, catering to four men each nursing a bottle of beer (drivers apparently). After a short negotiation, the youngest (and sober) person of the lot took us to SM where we caught the 430 van. It left earlier than scheduled to pick up more passengers (described by annie and arlen to be too loud) at an inn (situated a street thast cut across lacson).
Check-in was a breeze for me. Annie's was a different story though. A frequent traveler that she is, she still made a mistake of bringing a tripod on a lite fare plane ticket. So I suggested that she approach our company in the van and negotiate. So much ado about something especially with the teller who apparently is bent on collecting the baggage fee instead of extending a little courtesy to a customer. We were ready to queue for the terminal fee but only after I finished a chapter of "Tuesdays with Morrie". To keep myself from dozing off on the terminal seat while waiting for boarding, I had a cuppa from Kuppa (taking two extra sachets of sugar).
On arrival at NAIA terminal 3, we again shared bus with our van buddies. One of them sat beside me and I engaged him to a small talk. He turned out to be the DA Regional Director for Region 4B. They attended a seminar in Bacolod on Organic Farming.
Volts was already waiting at arrivals even before we got annie's tripod from the carousel. He has not changed physically. Even his Taz shirt has seen better days. My baby bro. What can I say :) He went with us to Cubao on the taxi.  On both sides of Edsa just after SM Hypermart were Northbound bus terminals. The only liner there that was familiar from my blog reading was Dominion. It was hot and we did not eat anything so we stayed and decided to take their A/C service. Fare to Vigan was Php 580. The 930AM trip left shortly after 10 and the 2-stop trip had a tad too many. As was my habit, I did not sleep during the trip and noted the time when we reach a famous town or landmark. Late lunch was at Moncada's kambingan. I had sisig, rice and cola for Php 85.

Twelve hours after leaving Cubao, theb bus inched slowly towards the liner garage in Vigan. The time was10pm, 3 hours later than the usual travel time. There were road sections in La Union under repair that required the use of a single lane.
Vigan has a lot of one way streets.  Owing to our greenness to the place and the dark streets, taking a cab was a safe choice. Or so we thought. For the short ride, the cab driver charged us php 15 each. As if to say "welcome to so-commercial vigan!"
Even before checking in to our reserved room, we were held up by the passing "Twilight Parade" which traversed the whole length of "Calle Crisologo", through Cordillera Inn where we spent the night.

                                                                                        Calle Crisologo at night
Shortly after we had our backpack stashed inside the room, we took a short walk to Cafe Leona to grab a much needed dinner. It was almost midnight. I had their much advertised vigan longganisa (which is really good as claimed, being lean and lightly spiced) and pinakbet (which dismally failed expectation on both taste and appearance - the vegetables looked like it's been cooked all day) which I shared with Annie while Arlen ordered cheeseburger de luxe with egg. I had a light beer to aid digestion. Finally, browsed a few pages on Morrie's before sleeping.    

Forty-five days later, here's what greeted "tatay" while watering the plants in the morning: okras in flowering stage.

 

After a grandslam loss battling against weeds and grass which seem to grow overnight, we needed  some sort of strategy. With tatay's extensive knowledge on agriculture, it was decided that we plant something to serve as ground cover. Simultaneously, pumpkins and okra were planted on two areas of the empty lot. Twenty-one days later, watermelons were planted in between the okra hills while pechay were grown in a seedbed next to the pumpkin patch. In one more month not only will our weed problem reach it's end. We'll have more grown vegetables than the family can consume as well.

69th at Paradiso

Mom turned 69 today so we decided to go to the beach. Very little preparation was made and we left quite a few essentials. Also, we haven't been to the beach in a long while so it was understood that we'll just take our pick once at Miranda or Hinigaran area.

At the fork on the road, the sign to the left said "Paradiso" while that to the right said "Bulubituon". As far as my memory serves me, it has been 9 years since I've been to Paradiso. Back then, it was still on the stage of development. I got curious and decided to take the path on the left and see what has become of it.

the pavillon located next to the parking area

Apparently, it was a good choice. Firstly, the guard did not comment that we brougt a family member of the genus canis. Secondly, only two of their numerous benches and cottages were occupied. Thirdly, nobody was bathing on the beach. Sheer bliss. The peace and quiet was like balm (to my ovulating body)

While the rest of the crew brought our meager stuff to our rented umbrella, I went on to test Tara's reaction to getting wet, bullied by the waves and licking saline water. She did very well, much to my surprise (photo above) Off leash the whole time, she got away ओनके. Where to? Where the food was, of course!

If you want a good swim though, this is not the place for you. The whole stretch is rocky. To the determined like Mary, a scratched foot is  not as significant compared to experiencing the warm clear water. Of course, there's the fresh water pool to consider.

Lesson learned. Do not be overconfident and rely on the fresh catch that you may buy and cook for lunch. We did and almost missed lunch and wished that we bought some pork chops at the market. I have never been happier as when I saw a woman peddling fish at sometime past 11 am. We lost no time, washing it right away but struggled to build fire. 

 the family room

the paved walk to the bamboo cottages and cabanas

How long has it been? Fifteen, sixteen years? I was in junior college when we left the countryside for the city. Then, the unobstructed view of Kanlaon was a common site especially during the milling season. When the canes are still growing, I would skittishly climb on the roof of the garage and sit there at lengths and marvel at the sight. When the the sun sets in the west, white puffs of smoke start to billow from the mountainside. That meant dinner is cooking and it's time to go home and wash up.

Today I had a rare chance of  seeing the same sight. After my weekend gig, I opted not to wait for my usual ride and decided to walk instead the kilometer-long dirt road. Nostalgia hit me, I wished I was a kid again.

Earlier in the day, we visited Glad and ended up getting a really long bath (30 minutes at the least). 

Abraham Lincoln’s letter to his son’s Head Master

Respected Teacher,

My son will have to learn I know that all men are not just, all men are not true. But teach him also that for ever scoundrel there is a hero; that for every selfish politician, there is a dedicated leader. Teach him that for every enemy there is a friend.

It will take time, I know; but teach him, if you can, that a dollar earned is far more valuable than five found.

Teach him to learn to lose and also to enjoy winning.

Steer him away from envy, if you can.

Teach him the secret of quite laughter. Let him learn early that the bullies are the easiest to tick.

Teach him, if you can, the wonder of books.. but also give him quiet time to ponder over the eternal mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun, and flowers on a green hill –side.

In school teach him it is far more honourable to fail than to cheat.

Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if every one tells him they are wrong.

Teach him to be gentle with gentle people and tough with the tough.

Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when every one is getting on the bandwagon.

Teach him to listen to all men but teach him also to filter all he hears on a screen of truth and take only the good that comes through.

Teach him, if you can, how to laugh when he is sad. Teach him there is no shame in tears. Teach him to scoff at cynics and to beware of too much sweetness.

Teach him to sell his brawn and brain to the highest bidders; but never to put a price tag on his heart and soul.

Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob… and to stand and fight if he thinks he’s right.

Treat him gently; but do not cuddle him because only the test of fire makes fine steel.

Let him have the courage to be impatient, let him have the patience to be brave. Teach him always to have sublime faith in himself because then he will always have sublime faith in mankind.

This is a big order; but see what you can do. He is such a fine little fellow, my son.


Abraham Lincoln.

Addiction Fix

In a hurry to get to work today, I left my mug of milky brewed coffee on the cabinet at home. Hot water was absent at the Admin office and buying a cuppa at the local cafe was not an appealing option. Though I managed to finish what I have set out to do today, my head throbbed which on a regular day meant, I badly need to get my fix of coffee.

So, as soon as the clock hit 5pm, I gathered my stuff and did a quick shopping for dinner before heading home.

Too lazy to lift a hand, i laid supine on the sofa squinting at the television watching the local news. When dad left for his scheduled medication, I got hold of the remote and changed channels. On studio 23, Misagh, on the right flank where James is usually positioned, was in possession of the ball. The game against Macau was well underway and the Philippine team has already scored a goal courtesy of Chieffy.

(lifted from the quoted news dot com)

Thumbs up to Phil in this game. Although his attempts were not converted, he was wise and unselfish, giving the ball to a more well positioned team mate instead of going for glory himself. Kudos to Muller for not giving the opposing team the chance to equalize the score at any time.

My point is, coffee is not the only cure to unexplained headaches. Watching football does the trick as well.

a week in the life of a marm

MON - Nothing special happened. What can you expect? It's a Monday!

TUE - Together with eighty something registrars of TESDA partner schools around the province, we convened at the Planta Hotel and spent the whole day discussing. In over eighteen months, and three changes of TESDA PD, this is the first time that TESDA intervened in the aim of unifying our understanding and execution of the tasks expected of us. It was well received by all. Personally, I admire the initiative of the current PD for being so involved. The more she talked, my respect for her being in the position increased as well. She knew what she was talking about.

WED - Curiosity kills a cat! I took the TESDA Assessment; only the procedural part. Java was my programming language of choice. I started reviewing last August but slowed down in the intervening weeks while there was very little chance of getting my authenticated birth certificate on time. A few days before the big day, I received the package and the news that I can take the exam sans fee. And so begun my cramming, sleeping between 2-3 am and studying as well in between classes, trying to memorize the packages. Reality hit me in the gut. My brain was not up to absorbing all those jargon in just a week. In the exam I forgot where to put that teenie weenie parenthesis in my statement.
Up of the day? Well, since the exam was in the city, I get to eat a hash brown burger for breakfast.

THU - Finding it a waste of time and energy undergoing further testing which will not do me any good, I opted to attend school in the morning. In the afternoon, went with sis to the doctor and to the shops we trooped afterwards. I got an ube and mango colored not-too-shabby polo shirts during the trip.

FRI - Waited in vain for the Azkals game to start. It didn't come at all. I got the game result from dad. It was a draw during the first half at 2-2 against last year's champs (Hongkong) and 3-3 at the final whistle.

SAT - Finally watched the game rerun on tv which I could have missed altogether had I been a minute later home for lunch. Chieffy only lacked a goal using his head to claim a perfect hat trick. Nice job, really!

SUN - Skipped all responsibilities (besides bathing the dog and disinfecting the dog house). prayed it would rain and spent most of the time trying out blogger's new templates while waiting for the Philippine Football Team's match against Chinese Taipei. The game ended in a draw (nil-nil which drawn a lot of tsks and shrieks from me) at well past 9pm.

at school

Teacher: Your friend plans on getting a membership in an online dating website. In order to register, she must answer a five-page profile questionnaire. With your knowledge in internet privacy and identity theft, would you advise her to push her plans through? Why or why not?

Student: For me, I will chose why not because...