Bicol Must See Places

Hi Folks! Happy Easter! BEFORE I TELL YOU ABOUT OUR TRIP TO PALAWAN, LET’S LOOK BACK AT OUT TRIP TO SOUTHERN LUZON’S LAST FRONTIER.  WE KNOW IT’S BEEN DEVASTATED SOME TIME LAST YEAR BUT IT’S BACK ON ITS FEET AGAIN.

My constant reminder to everyone who wants to experience summer in its full glory: Don’t forget your hat, shades and SPF70 sunblock and you’re ready to conquer the scorching summer heat.

~~~oOo~~~

 SORSOGON, BICOL REGION 

Being the travel bugs that we are, we really couldn’t help but try to explore our beautiful country as much as we can. And so as soon as another long weekend hit our calendar, we hit the road again, this time, going as far south of Luzon as possible (We even met some friends at the Petron gas station at the South Express Way —Wing and Joedi as they stopped for breakfast before heading to Batangas).

 From left to right: Joedi, Peter, Wing

Anyway, as I was saying, we headed as far south as possible, passing by Laguna, Quezon, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay, and Sorsogon —- a long 12+ hours on the winding roads of Bicol region, exploring the following sites:

 Mt. Mayon in Albay

Passing by Albay on our way to Sorsogon, we noticed that the sun was about to set and there’s no telling when we can pass by Mt. Mayon again, hence, these snapshots. 

Cagsawa Ruins, Albay 

 Good thing we took those shots of Mt. Mayon the other day. Otherwise, we won’t be able to record its towering magnificence. Coz when we  visited Cagsawa Ruins, it was cloudy. Only the base of Mt. Mayon can be seen at the backdrop.

 Hoyop-Hoyopan Caves (Ihip-Ihip in Tagalog)  

   Have you noticed the varying shapes of the stalactites and stalagmites? There was one that looked like a hand and onather one that stood like Moses (a character in the Old Testament of the Catholic Bible). Amazing! This was also where we bought huge crystals for only P100-P300. They are believed to be sources of positive energies and good vibes. There’s no harm in believing, right?

Rizal Beach, Gubat

 When I researched about this spot  online, they depicted it to have white sand. However when we got there, the sand wasn’t white at all. It was greyish when wet,  brownish when dry.  There were also seaweeds. Must be because of the season then. Oh well. Can’t do anything about it now.

Mt. Bulusan 

Bulusan Lake

(more…)

Making Me Hungry

When we were in Palawan, my classmate in MDP, Eks, invited us over for dinner. Huge servings of various seafoods were laid on the table for everyone's delight and enjoyment — grilled squid, tuna sashimi, crabs, clams, seaweeds, fried shrimps, etc. True enough, we were all delighted! And after an hour or so of eating, we were all beyond our satiation point! This got me to thinking if there is any other way of preparing seafood dishes in such a way that they will all meld into one palatable recipe. Perhaps, Peter can help me in this department. But since his specialty lies on Italian Pasta recipes, maybe we should do a bit more research. And again, I was directed to this site of restaurants San Diego, particularly in the town of La Jolla. Their seafood is flown directly from the Mediterranean sea and their menu just seemed so scrumptious that it whet my appetite! See it for yourself! Just click the link and it will direct you to the site. 

As for me, I'll have to wake Peter up. All this talk about food is making me hungry. Hehehe. 

Nip / Tuck

I brought our Nextbase DVD player to Puerto Princesa last weekend in the hopes of watching a few episodes of one of my favorite TV Series, Nip/Tuck. I was able to watch a few episodes before I sleep and the scenes never fail to amaze me, particularly those involving cosmetic surgery. Everything just looked so real and yucky!!! I was always feeling pain every time I watched it. But I’m addicted to it now. Even if they somehow changed their format (there are more surreal scenes and sex clips now than before, Nip/Tuck is still one heck of a gross series, done artistically. And who wouldn’t wanna see Dr. Christian Troy’s hunky physique? He’s oh so gorgeous! Hehehe. Anyway, I gotta study for now.Although I can’t wait to finish Season 2, I must discipline myself this time. Sacrifices, sacrifices.

When We Pass Away

Okay, this entry is unusual, even for me. But we all come to terms with it sooner or later, right? What better way to spare your loved ones added misery than to leave them with something they can financially or physically hold on to? Peter and I have numerous insurances. Since we travel a lot and we both know the risks involved in our ventures like getting into an accident, or catching a deadly virus or bacteria, we opted to invest in some forms of life insurance policies. I forget te details of these policies for now but the bottomline is, if something bad does happen to us, our families are left with a huge amount of money so they can bury us properly, pay off their debt and start anew. But the point of this entry is not entirely on this. You see, our family owns a huge parcel of land in Surigao. 26 hectares to be exact. This is only on my grandfather's side. An equally huge parcel of land is also owned by my dead grandmother (God bless her soul) and my mom and her half-siblings are currently fighting over it in court. I'm wishing this wouldn't happen on the other 26 hectares. My grandfather is still alive but I am worried (so is the rest of our family, aunts and uncle included) that when the time comes, and he hasn't prepared any trust or will, that the same thing will happen again. The entire clan will fight over the land in court and those with the most wealth to pay off court prceedings will win. It can be a bit messy and stressful. I don't want that to happen. So I was searching over the net and found something about San Diego living trusts. A trust is something one creates while still alive which is actually different from a living will.  The website will explain this to you in more detail. Now, my only problem for the moment is how to convince my grandfather to make one. I don't wanna seem too greedy and eager. I'm just concerned.

Too Late for Prom?

Anybody who has been through High School can attest to the fact that Prom Night has been one of the highlights of this period, especially for the girls! It was true for me, even if I came from an all-girls exclusive high school (Lourdes Colege, Cagayan de Oro City). I compensated when I got invited to an all-boys' prom night by my future boyfriend then (*blush*).

Anyway, today, I bet the main concern of those  who would be attending (or shall I say attended?) their respective proms is where to look for cheap prom dresses, right? Although one would consider borrowing an attire from  one's elder sister, cousin or friend, one would definitely want to have one's own cute little party dress to show off one's own style and personality. Sigh. Those were the days of infatuation and flirtation… Teehee.

Oh, congratulations to the graduates by the way!