8/9/08

My Morning Habit (Photo borrowed from Ayla Liberato)

I woke up from the surreal imagery of revolving worlds and camera flashes in different colors. I guess alcohol-caused nausea can jolt you into consciousness. With a botched sense of balance, I carefully made my way out of my tent. I nearly stumbled face-front but I managed to get out unscathed.

Outside, a half-filled container of distilled water loomed into view, strategically positioned to cue me into replenishing the liquids I lost due to an evening’s worth of dehydration. It was around six in the morning and though I was still sleep-deprived, I had to wake up to shake off the effects of cheap gin, brandy and tequila. Hangovers can cause unbearable feelings.

It was sort of a gloomy morning but still the turquoise waters in the distance looked every bit refreshing. A steady, cool breeze was blowing, a complete opposite to the warm, humid air that hung around stubbornly inside the tent. Some campers had already woken up and had begun strolling. They were the ones who turned in early the night before. Those who partied till the wee hours were still soundly asleep in their sandy tents. Some had not managed to crawl back to their tents and were left lying in damp groundsheets next to emptied bottles, crumpled plastic cups and all sorts of litter. It was like a scene from an American Pie sequel, where a great night had just passed and a slow-rising sun revealed the aftermath’s casualties.

It was a perfect moment to light a cigarette, but I had already run out. I glanced around for the usual suspects, but they were all in deep slumber. Besides, I knew they had run out as well. And even if I wanted to roam around to search for someone who still had some, my mind and body couldn’t coordinate properly.

I clutched my water container and clumsily dragged myself to a spot under the tree, with an opening that provided an awesome vista of the unchanged sea. There, I sat and stared blankly at the ocean with my hand holding my head for support, rehydrating at every opportunity. Friends have told me that this is my island morning habit. I tell them that water is my one, true friend.

After a good 40 minutes, I had successfully eliminated my hangover and my secondary dilemma of sleep-deprivation presented itself. I didn’t want to go back to my tent. That would’ve been regressive. I rummaged through my backpack to find my malong. I walked away from the campsite and over to the shore where I knew I wouldn’t be disturbed by the sounds caused by other people waking up. On the way, one of my classmates who was already eating her breakfast asked “Anong gagawin mo?” “Matutulog,” I casually replied.

And with that, I wrapped myself inside the malong, lay down on the cool sand and went back to sleep.

Good morning Calaguas Island.

08/08/08

Finally the bus came to a halt and everyone slowly unraveled from their seats. Almost everybody had wrapped themselves like cocoons, using whatever excess clothing they had to fight off the relentless cold air spewing from the air-conditioning.

Outside, everything seemed to be bathing in gray – the kind of sunrise you get when clouds are in the way. Some of my companions had already brought out their cameras, I, smoking a cigarette in disbelief. As if on cue, a taho vendor appeared and offered us a warm soy-based respite. I smoked another cigarette to shake the chills away.

Greyhound

We have arrived in Daet, the capital of Camarines Norte and the port in the nearby town Vinzons is just a couple of minutes away. It’s a cozy municipality, boasting of small town establishments and at roughly six in the morning, it was already buzzing with a hint of economic activity. They even have their own Jollibee, which these days is an indicator that you’re not too faraway from city comforts. Yet, Daet still remains a 1st class municipality, just a referendum away from cityhood.

e returned to our fortunately defrosted bus and headed on to the port where our final ride awaited us. By the time we arrive, the sun had decided to shine a notch higher and this set an undeniable excitement in the group. Two large fishing boats were already parked in the muddy river bank and its crew loaded our backpacks somewhat systematically. While waiting, most brought out their cameras and started snapping away at local, sun-kissed Bicolano children intrigued by the arrival of a busload of Manileños. Although this part of Camarines has been surfacing recently in travel related media, it certainly is not your usual popular Boracay or Puerto Galera. To the uninformed (and there are a lot of them) the word “Calaguas” will just trigger responses of “Saan yun?”

Riverine

But my camera lingered in its bag. It wasn’t that I wasn’t thrilled. It’s just that I had been shooting a lot the past few months for school and I just wanted to vacation. So there.

Finally our sea voyage commenced and we slowly floated along a mangrove-lined river, carefully avoiding the shallow portions lest we get stuck in the muddy bottom. Our aged but handsome boat sliced through the placid river and everybody was warned to relish the pervading serenity.

Estuary

Soon enough, the river widened rather abruptly revealing an awesome blue mass of a sea and from the estuary, the breaking whitewater could already be seen. The photographers hastily put away their cameras and braced themselves for the inevitable force of the open sea. Our boatman relates that tourists rarely visit Calaguas this time of the season because of spotty weather which easily turns an easy 2-hour trip into a brutal 4-hour nightmare. But we are not your average tourists and we certainly aren’t the faint of heart type.

During boat rides, I often find myself seated near the boats bow where the sea spray is most felt and where the breeze is strongest. As long as conditions can allow my iPod to remain dry, my ears are usually stuffed with headphones blaring with my current travel anthem.

This summer I discovered Angels and Airwaves, a modern rock band led by Tom Delonge of the defunct Blink182. Their song “The Adventure” is grand, inspiring and builds up to a “now moment .“ It climaxes with these lyrics repeating over and over:

Hey oh here I am / And here we go / Life’s waiting to begin

It’s a complete sensory barrage which I feel nowhere else: the tireless wind rustling my hair, the salty water hitting my face, the taste of the sea in my mouth, the mild nausea and the music all reminds me why I travel. It reminds me of being alive.

Mahabang Buhangin

By the time Mahabang Buhangin was in full view, the sun was now in it’s fiercest and the clouds had stepped aside. As we approached the shore, the water began to lighten from a deep blue, to an emerald green and finally to a clear, light blue which can only be equated by the most chlorinated of swimming pools. The feeling amongst us was just electric, acknowledging to each other that the beach simply and overwhelmingly rocks. All I could muster was a loud “Beach!” in my most victorious voice.

At last the soft, white sands of Calaguas have touched my feet once more, my every step leaving a huge footprint. Save for a few locals, living on the island, there was only us, rendering an exclusive feeling to a place so precious at times you’d wish others wouldn’t discover it. But that’s just selfish.

Little One

The sun was beaming so gloriously that I had an unstoppable compulsion to unload my camera and began shooting. Beaches’ colors appear best when photographed in high and direct sunlight and after clicking about 20 frames on my digital camera, I was done and happy with what I got. I then brought out my film camera loaded with Ilford Delta 400 and shot my brand of travel photography. After finishing that roll, I stored all my gear and rushed to soak in the beautiful, beautiful waters. So much for photography.

It was a perfect, lazy island afternoon spent playing cards, drinking Tequila shots and attempting to play frisbee which because of the steadfast winds fastly turned into patintero and agawan base. That night was spent like any of our island nights – partying island style which consists of getting soused with cheap alcohol, laughing uncontrollably and rocking to the Eraserheads.

And I wasn’t in the company of strangers. At first, these people were just travel buddies – acquaintances who see each other during trips brought together by the forces of logistics and happenstance. But because of the blessing that is the internet, we soon found ourselves meeting up in Manila for dinners, birthdays, badminton matches and all-out drinking sessions. Despite the differences we have, we all have a common interest that is a great force in our lives: travel. No, I wasn’t in the company of strangers. I was in the company of good friends.

At around 3AM, after all the bottles had been emptied, and everyone had retreated into their tents and I was sure everyone was okay, I crawled into my own sleeping space. I knew that a huge hangover was awaiting me in the morning but I had always been an optimist. And with that thought.

Wasted. Happy. Alive.

7/23/08

It gives a different mood. Suddenly, it’s not summer anymore.

Husky

There’s A Trail

7/21/08

The first time I went to Calaguas Island in Camarines Norte I told myself that I would go back. And indeed in less than 2 months, I found myself seated near the boat’s bow getting splashed by the relentless waves. The sun was beaming gloriously and it promised to give us an awesome weekend.

Calaguas makes me happy. We have found a happy beach.

Mahabang Buhangin

Remnants

Perfect

I will be back!

Calaguas or Bust!

6/5/08

Haven’t been able to post much for the past three weeks ’cause I’ve been busy with school during the weekdays and traveling during the weekends.

Two weeks ago, I found myself on a 7-hour bus ride to Daet, Camarines Norte. After backing out from the first Calaguas trip due to a non-negotiable business meeting (I need money too.), I finally fixed my schedule to accommodate this up-and-coming island.

We reached Daet a bit early so our guide first brought us to their house where Blaise and I did nothing but smoke cigarettes and drink instant coffee. The others went to the market. The remainder tried to catch sleep. One walked away to explore.

I’m Walking Away

And so in between drags I managed to get some shots.

Poised

Morning Light

From Daet, we were soon rolling on to the town of Vinzons, of which the Calaguas group of islands are actually a part of. There we hopped on a good-sized fishing boat and journeyed on to our final destination, Mahabang Buhangin, Calaguas.

Blue Over Green

Mt. Bagacay

I would say that Calaguas would be one of the best beaches I have been to recently. The sand is really, really, really fine and soft. And no, because everybody does this, I will not compare it to Bora. We arrived during a soft drizzle amidst dark, gray clouds but still the water was glowing with a light blue tint, similar to a resort swimming pool. And when we arrived, the beach, the beautiful beach, was all ours.

Fuckin’ amazing!  (Translation: Putsa ang ganda!)

Big Foot

Guarding The Beach

Beach!

Perfect Waters

Calaguas or Bust!

4/13/08

I’ve heard somewhere that if you shoot a roll of 24 or 36 exposures and from that 1 or 2 come out decent, then you should be happy already. Well, here’s the one shot that had me smiling on the way home from Megamall when I had my roll of Kodak Ultramax 400 developed at Fujifilm. In fact, as my token souvenir from my Caramoan trip, I had this shot printed 8″ x 12″ and is now taped to my photo wall.

While waiting for our jeep in Caramoan, there were three girls playing near us and this cute one caught my attention. She had these beautiful eyes and her hair leaked of sunlight.

Paslit
Caramoan, Camarines Sur

I’m off to Zambales later for a day trip! Gotta charge my batteries!

4/11/08

Before heading back to Manila, we got a chance to roam around Naga City primarily to buy pasalubong. Since I wasn’t too keen on buying, I just used the time to shoot some “city” scenes.  I desaturated these images and applied a sepia treatment to it in CS3.

Both Alike In Dignity

In the market, I saw this stand selling small, plastic sachets containing different stuff like sulfur, methylene blue, incense and oxalic acid, to name a few. She was like a pharmacy micro-retailer.

Microeconomy

Then, while looking for dinner, some 2 or 3 men walked by carrying big, shiny, red and white balloons.

Lobo

Welcome to the Brown Parade

Eight hours via bus from Manila, Naga City is the provincial capital of Camarines Sur.

4/10/08

I learned digital photography before film and I wished it was the other way around. Still, it’s not too late to start learning a different craft, is it?

There were 47 of us in this trip and only two of us had film cameras, I had a Canon EOS SLR while Tin brought lomos. Most of the time, the others were puzzled why in this age of sophisticated digital technology, some people still shoot with no-frills film. One even commented, “Mukhang mas ginagamit mo yang film ah.” (Looks like you’re using the film cam more.)

I think film has a more organic feel to it, and the images are just warmer, especially on print. I’m a complete noob on film photography so for this trip I just used the all-around Kodak Ultramax 400.

Green Day

What I like about film is that highlights are not easily blown. But I think this Kodak’s blues aren’t that sweet for landscapes. Or maybe it’s my cheap-ass CPL.

As Clear As Gin

Their goggles are made with indigenous materials. Woot for Pinoy ingenuity!

Swim Meet

To Market, To Market

A Stun Of Clouds

While having these processed at Fuji in Megamall, I scanned the available films and got myself a Velvia 50 and a generic Superia 400. They say Fuji films produce better skin tones and the Velvia has wonderful colors.

I also saw Provia. What’s up with that?

4/9/08

Since Gota Beach beach and its surrounding areas are closed due to “massive development” we had to search for a different spot to camp during our ocular inspection trip about a month ago. Fifteen hours after the traffic at EDSA, we finally dipped our feet in the clear waters of Sitio Manlawi, Lahuy Island. This time, we were blessed with spectacular weather and a fairly interesting sunset.

Sa Wakas, Dagat

Sitio Manlawi is actually a huge cove with clear, shallow waters that’s perfect for swimming. After eating lunch, almost everybody dove into the cool waters.

Vast

There are a few families, mostly fisherfolk, living on the Sitio. Here, a boy gamely poses for the camera.

Cool Off

We thought we’d have an uninteresting sunset but suddenly, all these colors sprung from behind the hills.

Washing

Explosions In The Sky

After this, the whole campsite was enveloped in a cloud of drunken stupor brought about by an overflowing supply of Ginebra San Miguel.

Good times.

Sitio Manlawi or bust!

More photos here.

4/8/08

Our trip to Caramoan involved an initial 8 to 9-hour bus ride to Sabang Port which is about an hour away from Naga City, the capital of the Province of Camarines Sur. From Sabang Port, we then embarked on a 2-hour ferry to Guijalo Port, which is Caramoan’s gateway. Because a weather disturbance had just passed, we encountered huge waves which made our sizable ferry bob up and down in hair-raising heights. At first it was fun and thrilling, the girls were even screaming as if they were in an amusement park thrill ride. Then nausea crept in and quieted them.

Porter

From Guijalo, our group boarded a jeep which transfered us to Bikal Port where we would ride another boat to our final destination.

Toploading

Agriscape

Our timing was off. When we got to Bikal Port, the tide was too low and our group’s boat was in the distance in deeper waters so we had to divide ourselves into groups of 4 or 5 and get into small boats which the fishermen painstakingly pushed against sand and silt.

Bikal Port

And The Sea

Low Tide

Steermaster

In the islands, we are all under the mercy of the sea.