3/30/08

Finally, something related to the Holy Week. We briefly made a pit stop at Manaoag just to be able to do something that was connected to the Lenten traditions. Though I’m not a church person, (In fact I don’t think I’ve practiced my “religion” since the 6th grade.) I prepped my telephoto to snipe some shots.

Talk about mixed signals.

It was a particularly humid day and the many lit candles pushed the candle gallery’s temperatures to uncomfortable levels.

Kuya Kolet tells us that Manaoag is touted as the Devotion Capital of the Philippines. A mother offers yet another candle. I wonder what she’s the lighting candle for.

Manaoag really gets a lot of visitors. Let’s just say some have developed sly entrepreneurial skills.

I saw a lady saying the rosary while kneeling. As she did her prayers she would move forward on her knees. This was one of the most sincere scenes I witnessed in Manaoag.

Apparently, they do run out of, er, blessings. At least they apologized.

This was our last stop with Kuya Kolet. He later on dropped us off at Pozorrubio, Pangasinan where we spontaneously hopped on a Baguio-bound bus.

Thank you for putting up with us! Haha!

This ends the Holy Week Hop series.

I promised myself to finish this Holy Week Hop series by Sunday so I have to post.

Here are some more photos I gathered from Dasol, Pangasinan that beautiful Black Saturday morning.

While waiting for my turn to take a bath, I decided to give my 70-200 2.8L some exercise. Here is, plain and simple, a photo of a rooster.

A social climber.

A defensive dog.

Si Puti. How cliche.

Rex seeking shade.

And finally, a parting shot from Tambobong. (Not from the 70-200 2.L)

Moving on, moving on.

3/28/08

Our bonfire was a an abundant supply of fallen palm leaves and dried up, beached seaweeds.

Kuya Kolet: “Baliwala naman yang mga ahas. Hindi naman nila kayang gumalaw sa buhangin.”

Leia: “Eh bakit sa Discovery Channel o kaya sa National Geographic kaya nila.”

Rex: “Sa desyerto pa nga eh!”

Kuya Kolet: “Ah, ganun ba?”

Ced: “Hayaan niyo na, mas malaki naman tayo sa kanila eh.”

Rex: “Diba takot sila apoy?”

Ced: “Ewan. Diba na-a-attract nga sila sa init?”

Time for socials a.k.a. drinks. Being the cheapskates that we were, we burned our throats with none other than 2 bottles of GSM 4×4! It was a good thing that Kuya Kolet didn’t drink, but I think it he had a hard time sleeping because we were too noisy.

And because we noticed we lacked group pics, we shot some. I mean we shot alot.

Four Drunks and An Abused Inflatable Red Horse.

It was a long and fun night to say the least. We were more presentable / web-worthy the following morning. Here we are basking in the morning glow.

Here are some photos of our campsite and us breaking camp.

And a final shot of Snake Island.

I know I’ll be back.

Snake Island or BUST!

3/28/08

Another white sand beach discovery! In one of our YM conferences before this trip, I suggested that we visit Brgy. Tambobong which is a distant coastal community in the town of Dasol. After seeing some of the pics on the net, we agreed that this would be our campsite for our second night.

From the national highway, we turned into a small street with a marker that said “Tambobong Beach 22 Km.”

Well that wasn’t too far. We’ve been driving around for around 2 days already, how hard would an additional 22 kilometers be? I thought.

A bit hard because almost all of the 22 kilometers were made of rocks and dirt. And we were getting real hungry!

Pulling into Brgy. Tambobong, we immediately noticed the abundance of pumpboats which was very distracting and somewhat disappointing since the shore was really good and the waters were clean, clear and sandy.

Out in the distance, we sighted a small island with a clean stretch of white sand hugging its chores and about 6 or 7 palms standing tall. This was Snake Island, we were told. Back in the day, the wizened Brgy. Captain told us that a thriving community of snakes lived on the island and were notorious in coming out in the night, most probably to feed. The Kapitan even went on recalling how he served as Noli De Castro’s (currently the Vice President of the R.P.) guide when he was still hosting Magandang Gabi Bayan (MGB) a weekly magazine show on ABS-CBN.

We asked if travelers regularly camped on Snake Island. They said NO.

With this, we loaded our stuff into a well-sized pumpboat and sailed on to Snake Island. We resisted camping in a residential area. Para kaming naghahanap ng pasakit sa buhay.

Again, I missed out on the sunset but the memory of this huge ball of light dipping into the South China Sea, of our boat see-sawing to the pouncing waves, of the salty wind in our face, will not be forgotten.

After setting-up camp, the moon emerged from the clouds and threw this blue-purple cast all around.

We practically had the whole island to ourselves. Which was eerie and at the same time exciting.

Again. I am overwhelmed.

F*ck the snakes. We would deal with that thought later on.

Oh. And don’t you just love the word “Tambobong” ? How soft the sound escapes your lips. How bouncy. Say it with me. “Tambobong, Tambobong, Tambobong.”

You’re saying it aren’t you?

3/27/08

There’s a reason why the province is called Pangasinan. Derived from the word asin, Pangasinan literally means land of salt.

Traveling to the extreme west of Pangasinan, to the distant town of Dasol, we soon discovered fields upon fields of salt. Kuya Kolet, our magical driver, was resourceful enough to bring us to a local community who live off the salt of the earth.

Salt water from the South China Sea is pumped into these salt fields which are made to be as shallow as possible to facilitate drying. Salt crystals or chunks are then collected.

Most of the salt fields we saw had a brick bedding. Don’t ask me why. I just saw.

The collected salt chunks are then processed and purified by boiling in water. Here, Rex is sifting out the salt from the boiling water. The wet salt is then transferred back to the basket where it is left to dry. The excess salt water drips back into the hot pool below.

Here are two baskets full of Pangasinan salt ready for trade!

The two baskets in front contain yellowish or discolored salt since these came from the last batches which most likely are burnt

Tutong kumbaga.

If you’re visiting prepare your senses as the place is mighty hot and the salty steam wafting all around is hard on the eyes and nose. Other than that, you’re set to go!

The salt-making community we visited was located just along the National Highway in Dasol, Pangasinan. There are also similar communities in the neighboring towns.

3/27/08

I stumbled upon a post at Shutterbox Philippines about a photosafari to the Babuyan Islands! The trips (1st batch on April, 2nd batch on May) are organized by Klub Natur, an environmental and travel camera club. The trip which is 8 days and 7 nights long costs P8,000 which is inclusive of transfers to and from Manila to the Babuyan Islands, food, accommodation and boat tours.

I wanna go! I wanna go!

I can’t on the first batch though ’cause I already have some stuff planned on those April dates. I’m looking for someone to join me on May 17-24 though.

This is gonna be hardcore!

Babuyan Islands or BUST!

The complete post can be found here.

3/27/08

Leia asked me if her beach preference standards were too high. We probably have the same standards, I replied, having seen many beaches already.

“Mababaw lang naman ang kaligayahan ko. Basta malinis, hindi maingay, kaunti ang tao. Kahit nga hindi white sand, basta malinaw ang tubig, ayos na.”

When you’ve visited almost all the popular beaches around, and you really are a natural beach bum, you’ll probably develop an indeliberate but steady stream of consciousness dedicated towards finding that next ultimate beach. Hoping that you’ll top, if not equal, your last beach experience, risking money, safety and logic along the way. Such is the path needed to attain beach nirvana.

I guess it also comes with age (Haha!). At first we’re drawn to the peopled beaches, Boracay and Puerto Galera come to mind, what with their throbbing beats and boozed-out nights. But pretty soon all the noise just gets old, you become territorial and you are relegated to the fundamentals.

Frustration was already written all over our faces after visiting Governor’s Island, Quezon Island and Children’s Island. The three islands stood for everything we were avoiding! On the way though, we chanced upon this small island with a small piece of shore. It had already one tent pitched on it and another group was beginning to set-up their tent. We decided to join the fun thinking that if ever the tide claims our campsite at least we would have companions.

When we disembarked our boat it was already drizzling and we were losing the sun fast. So immediately, Rex and I began pitching the 2 tents while Leia and Ma-ann began setting up our kitchen. I was looking forward to shooting the sunset but the drizzle prompted my camera to stay dry in the tent. I had lots of shots earlier anyway.

Our journey began 10PM the night before, scrambling for a ride in Cubao. Eating siopao in Chowking Dagupan and working our way throughout Bolinao, Alaminos and the Hundred Islands. My shirt reeked of sun and sweat and white salt maps were already showing. With that, I lunged for the gin-clear waters and impossibly fine sands of Scout Island.

It was like a reset button. Forget sleep deprivation. Forget fatigue. It was one of the most organic feelings I felt in a long time. RESET.

After wolfing down a generous serving of rice and corned beef, we started downing our cheap and reliable GSM 4×4 which was really funny because our next door campers were drinking Absolut Kurant, which they shared along with their singkamas (turnips) and tahong. We humbly shared back our cheap gin and our mangoes. Later into the night our group and theirs even shared 3 Bangus (milkfish) and 1 Yellow Fin (tuna) we bought from a visiting fisherman. Here’s to the kindness of strangers.

That moonlit night we kept on coming back to the clear, clear water to cool down and rinse off the fine, fine sand which kept on attaching to us. An REM song comes to mind.

“Night swimming deserves a quiet night.”

With rested, albeit mildly under the influence, minds, we retreated back to our tents and called it a night.

Here’s a picture (without me) the day after.

Rex, Ma-ann, Denise, Dino, Beth and Leia.

This is Scout Island. Our home for the first night.

Note: The boatmen will tell you that camping is not allowed on the undeveloped islands but it is. Just argue your way.

We spotted other undeveloped islands which looked like good, clean campsites too. Some of these are Romulo Island, Lopez Island, Marta’s Island and Marcos Island. I’m just not sure how the tides behave. I’m sure there are many more since there are 123 islands in total. If you choose Governor’s, Children’s or Quezon, know that you have been warned.

And if you’re camping be aware that they charge up to P200 per pitched tent per night and a certain entrance fee. Also, make it a point to bring with you everything you came in with.

A clean campsite is a happy campsite.

3/27/08

I was probably 7 or 8 years old when I last visited the Hundred Islands. Trying to dig deep into my memory arsenal, I remember in washed out color (like the color of stale photographs from the 90’s) short, white sand shores and clear waters.

I didn’t remember being next to a billion cars and seeing a billion bancas cramped in a murky substandard pier. I just haven’t been in a tourist-overrun place in a long time.

Seeing the Hundred Islands is an easy affair. They have a centralized information booth where you can book bancas to suit your tour group. Since there were only 4 of us, we hooked up a small boat which cost us P1,400 (P350 each) for a drop-off and pick-up arrangement since we planned on camping on one of the islands.

The tourism officers at the information booth would tell you that the island hopping tour only includes visits to 3 islands: Governor’s Island, Children’s Island and Quezon Island. These are the three islands which are “developed.” They would also tell you that camping is only allowed on these islands. Relying on my almost-sepia memories, we happily cruised on.

We first figured into Governor’s Island which even from afar, did not impress us. There were lots of bancas already docked all around the island and people, with all their trash and shit, were everywhere. They had some sort of a cave there which despite the presence of a restroom, functioned as a urinal. On the other side is another tacky development, the Big Brother house they used for the ABS-CBN reality show of the same name. The beach, minus all the people, would be okay I guess. The view deck, which requires a little climb, provides a great view of the neighboring islands. This was Governor’s Island’s saving grace.

We’ve also noticed that corporate sponsorships were spread like sari-sari stores in the Hundred Islands. It is just so TACKY. I’m sure there’s a way for this eco-tourism site to be financially sustainable without making a quick and ugly buck from branding. All the islands have markers with Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs on them. I like TJ hotdogs just as much as the kid next door, but not on island markers. Sheesh.

Children’s Island is a lot like Governor’s Island only, they have a better swimming beach and it smells much filthier. There was no way it was gonna be our campsite. No freakin way.

Of the three developed islands, I may have some sort of a soft spot for Quezon Island because it had a sand bar which opened up to two adjacent beaches. But then again, I may have felt this because this was our last island on the itinerary and I didn’t get to explore its developed parts which interpolating data from the last 2 islands, would be another tragic disappointment.

On the way to the 3 dumb islands, we kept on passing smaller, undeveloped coves and islands which held our eyes the most as they had enormous potential for our campsite for that night. The problem was we were unsure whether the tide would claim the shores which would be potentially dangerous for us and our precious stuff.

Our campsite on my next post. Woot!

3/26/08

I almost felt at home when our van pulled up beside the Bolinao Marine Laboratory. I was a biology major back in college at UPLB and my chosen track was zoology. Seeing the set-ups and the labs sent me waxing nostalgic over the amateur hours we poured in as students. Unfortunately there was no one to guide us since the scientists were all in Manila so we weren’t able to fully understand and appreciate the current projects.

The captive raising and breeding of giant clams is one of the flagship projects of the Bolinao Marine Laboratory under the UP Marine Science Institute (MSI). Each giant clam is valued at over P100,000 which is why their sanctuary in the ocean is guarded.

Leia, Ma-ann and Rex look on.

Here are aquariums dedicated for some coral growth experiments. (I think.)

The institute was also responsible for establishing a program that rejuvenated the sea urchin population in the area. Locally, this specie is called “maratangtang” which is an Ilocano word. The locals heat it by burning the spikes off, crack it, slurp its essence and proceed by eating its eggs.

I don’t know what this is. But they just looked like sea weeds dancing to the bubbles.

The other projects I saw dealt with cultivation and culturing of sea cucumbers (which fetches top dollar) and the use of miniature cement structures for corals to grown on for reef restoration and rehabilitation.

We have to thank scientists who devote their lives into the field of marine biology to ensure that our oceans survive well into the future.

From the Bolinao town proper, take a tricycle to “U.P.”

3/26/08

I found this place while we were walking towards a carinderia (sidewalk eatery) where we had our lunch. It was as hole-in-the-wall as it could get and the idea of wedding gowns being peddled on the sidewalk was amusing. This is everyday rural life.

Aside from being the town’s authority for haute couture, the proprietor seems to know a thing or two about the haircutting business.

Post-processed in Adobe Photoshop CS3.