Mindanao: Divine Dakak ( part 2 )

Hello Readers!

Have you ever wonder, what it's like to have your own island ( with all the amenities and luxury of civilization )? For half a day, I had my own island ( not only in the metaphorical sense, but an actual physical island )!

We arrived in Dakak Beach Resort ( 1 hour away from Dipolog City, Mindanao ) around 11 am.  I saw the green-blue waters, and I just wanted to jump in despite of the stark sun reaching its apex.  After checking in our room, we ate picnic food for lunch ( Baon aka BYOF [bring your own food]: cornbeef, hot dogs, rice, dried Guyabano fruit [Sour Sop in English], and potato chips ).  Then I applied sunblock.

I sauntered along the shore with my cousin and collected sea shells.  Later I walked the foot trail ( easier than the Majayjay River Trek ), where I encountered bugs, tree lizards, butterflies, and native birds.  In the end, I found a stone chapel. 

Running along the coast, I felt the warmth of the sun ( not in a burning way ), and the rolling waves would try to trip me.  It felt good running, cartwheeling, and leaping over lapping waves.  Dancing in the sun; dancing because no one is watching ( at least no visible audience anyway ).

I rested on a yellow-netted hammock,  one or two ants would tickle my skin; I looked at the horizon, wondering how people, like Magellan and Christopher Columbus would ever think the earth's flat, how the sea will fall off the earth's edge.  If it weren't for the next island, the illusion would be complete.  Off season traveling rocks!

Mindanao: Guts for Chicken Gut ( part 1 )

Que Pasa Readers,

Right now, I'm in Mindanao, the southernmost group of islands in the PI archipelago, and also infamously known for its terrorists ( Muslim extremists ).  But readers, we always have to be careful about broad generalization.  I'm blogging this, so presently, I'm still free from danger and in such a gutsy place, nothing is more captivating and so Beyonce's Sasha Fierce THAN chicken gut/intestines ( Bituka nang Manok ).

If time slowed down in Manila ( maybe because of traffic and heat intensified by smog ), pacing in the coastal town of Dipolog City is even more chill.  I've yet to try Dipolog City's famous sardines, but I've seen their famous orchids ( at wow ang ganda, c'est hermosa ).

We rode mopeds to the Boulevard ( like Manila's Baywalk ) to get dinner passing by couples sitting in benches listening to the crash of waves and watching the moon's golden smile glimmer and trail on the coast.

Our hungry stomachs convinced us to sample several dishes/ulam, and of course rice.  While Europeans have their wines, it seems that Pinoys have their Coca Cola.  Among the 7 ulams, we had seaweed salad ( fresh off the coast ), and chicken neck ( spicy with broken bones included - I tried it of course but I still spit out the bones; I've been told that others eat it all ).  A band played in the background, singing songs from Journey, Beyonce, Jason Mraz, and more.

For a post dinner appetizer; we ordered chicken gut/intestines ( Bituka nang Manok ).  My dad used to buy chicken gut/intestines during rainy short trips para hindi magutom sa daan ( in order not to get hungry on the way because of traffic ).  And guess what, chicken gut tastes like chicken with a bit of  fillings inside.  I was so full I didn't have the stomach, the gut to try Chicharon Bulaklak ( which I mistranslated as fried flowers, BUT in reality, it's pork intestines that look like blooming flowers ).  The others played puzzle games with sticks ( a favorite game to play while drinking )...

Chicken Gut grilled as a band played songs from Beyonce and Journey.

Laguna: a yoga scenario ( part 5 )

Hey Readers,

After trekking the mountain side, we reached what our leader considered the end.  Beyond this point, the source of the waterfalls is diminished into a trickle.  Before our lunch and our hot chocolate mixed with instant coffee, I had fun doing yoga poses for the camera.

Scene:

She stood there waiting for me.  "Hold on, I have to find my balance." I was on top of the rock, almost flat, but still had its slippery spot.  My knees shook as I looked for my balance doing one pose at a time.

When the pictures were taken, I went down to preview the pics.  I explained how difficult it was to find balance.  Mistranslation could be funny.  One responded with a giggle: "Ang hirap naman ng buhay mo kung kaylangan mo pa hanapin ang balance ( your life is so difficult that you have to find balance/ your life is so difficult that you can't stand on your feet because you constantly have to find balance )!"

We laughed.  Finding balance became the on-going joke on the way back...

I like doing the middle pose a lot.  The side plank to the far right is the easiest.

Laguna: an impression of enchanted ( part 4 )

Wat's up Readers,

Last night's drinking didn't give us any hangover.  Our breakfast consisted of instant noodles, and 3-in-1 coffee.  While the rest prepared materials for the next hike, I had time to lounge in the hammock behind our tent and take in the enchantment of it all.

Roar of Taytay Falls in the background. Soft breeze, laughing brook, splashing from nearby water-fights or little children canonballing... Dragonflies would zip through the stream, and water bugs gliding through glass waters... leaves and butterflies would fall intermittently from the sky or leaves turning into butterflies. 

Ferns everywhere, its spores drifting... once in a while the sun's ray would break through the overcast revealing silky spiderwebs.  Smoke from campfires, and roasted chicken or fish filled the air.

Red flowers dotted the mossy boulders of all shapes and sizes, red-leafed plant rooted along the path.  Daddy Longleg spiders and flourescent orange centipedes tip toed behind rocks.

At night lightning flashes illuminated the sky.  Every now and then, thunder grumbled.  A cloud would pass by, bringing a light rain, a trickle here, a drip there at one's shoulder.  One bright star shone against the misty veil.  Crickets and forest birds chirped and holler.  Fireflies sparsely sprinkled their light like the faint glow of a hiker's flashlight.

After the 2nd hike, we bathe and packed our belongings in pitch darkness with only our flashlight as aides.  The view from the tricycle ride included a silhouette of the Banahaw Mt. Ranges with clouds circling the top, rice fields in the forefront, and stars spilling to the right.  The motor humming and buzzing, and the seat gently vibrating....

Taytay Falls in Majayjay, Laguna in the Banahaw Mt. Ranges