Cracking Up the Baluarte | Luna La Union

As I walked along the pebbled-shore of Luna, La Union on a sunny day, I picked a few pieces of washed-up drift wood, I stopped a bit, took a few deep breaths and marveled at the coastal town's resources. Pebbles in different sizes, colors and shapes covered the shore and I think they were being washed away to the shore from the sea. It was like they never ran out of pebbles here. God's gift to their land perhaps. :)

I continued walking and found the town's baluarte or the watchtower situated on the shore. It was one massive round Spanish structure made of bricks and rocks.

Windmills of the gods | Bangui Ilocos Norte

Hair being tossed in different directions, sand hitting my bare legs, I can barely move forward with strong winds blowing. A different warm welcome indeed, to the Bangui Wind farm. A site not to be missed when travelling up north.

The windmills were overwhelming.

Pindangan Festival | San Fernando La Union

After a heavy breakfast, I was ready to wait for the performers to show off their moves and their colorful costumes. Yes, I was in for a day of streetdancing to celebrate San Fernando City's Pindangan Festival.

The festival was a part of the celebration of the town's Cityhood every March 20th.

Take Me Higher | Clark Hotair Balloon Fiesta

It was around 4 in the morning when I got off the bus in Mabalacat Terminal. I went straight to the 24-hour fastfood chain near the entrance of the terminal for a quick hot choco while I waited for someone to fetch me. Like most of the customers and early travelers at the food chain, I was in Pampanga for the Hotair Balloon Fiesta.

I got excited since it was my first time to attend the said event. A few minutes before 6am, we were there at Omni Aviation Complex, the venue of the event.

Date Night | Baguio City

Baguio City has been my second home. For the past 12 years, I have been shuttling up to this city mainly for studies, further studies and of course a little fun on the side. I would never get tired of this city. I will never get tired of a two-hour-zigzagy-bus-ride to reach this city. I love this cold but comforting and lovely city. For the years that I have stayed in this place, honestly I have not explored a great deal of it. I had only been to its tourist spots but I easily got tired of them as an adult and found them too crowded so I no longer frequent them. But now that I got interested in taking photos, I realized I knew little about this city. I need to set up a date, probably a series of dates for that matter to get to know it better and capture its beauty. And so I decided, for starters, a chilly date night.

Sillag: A Festival of Lights | San Fernando La Union

This is a super late post as this festival happened last summer but I think it is still worth the wait. :) 

A first for the province of La Union, "Sillag" an Ilocano term meaning moonbeam, was a festival of lights that was aimed at drawing tourists and locals alike to Poro Point Freeport Zone. Activities such as marine drills, children's show, marching bands started in the morning. I only joined during the evening as I was interested in the lantern fluvial parade, pyromusical show and sky lanterns.

The festival took place in Thunderbird Resort grounds,the Santorini-inspired luxury resort overlooking the azure waters of China Sea. Free rides and shuttle service were provided to the public so the place was jam packed the moment I arrived.

Wonderful | Palawan

"I will set foot on Palawan one of these days", a line I always muttered to myself whenever I see breathtaking photos or tourism campaigns and ads of the place. Now that it's a major tourist destination because of a recognized wonder of nature, all the more that my feet itched and pulled me to that side of the country. Specks of fairy dust found their way to me and my wish was granted. I was awed by Palawan's beauty in no time.

We opted for a packaged airfare/tours to facilitate a worry-free family vacation (or so we thought). 

Suroy-suroy | Cebu City

I've heard so much about the queen city of the south and wanted to visit it. Opportunity came knocking at the door when a cousin sent an invitation to attend her wedding there. Yebah! Lez go!

Going around Cebu City's tourist spots can be done in a day by walking, more walking, jeepneyrides, tricycle rides and the most convenient, taxi rides. With only an extra day to roam around after the wedding, we quickly jotted down the major spots/attractions we wanted to visit. 

Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño, one massive structure located at the heart of the city, its facade that seems to be a combination of neo-classical, Romanesque architecture exudes beauty and delicate craftsmanship. Being the oldest Roman Catholic church in Cebu, it still retained its classic look despite restorations through the years.   

Snapshot | Pangasinan Capitol

Early morning after breakfast was our only time to roam around Pangasinan's Capitol located in the town of Mangaldan. We were in town to attend a seminar on Gender and Development. I did not realize that the Provincial Capitol was one massive, roman-looking structure until I saw it from a distance. I was just disappointed that my camera was not with me. I only had a 2mp cameraphone to capture it. So pardon the resolution. :) Promise, I will go back to take a better picture. 

Balay Anito Falls | Santol La Union

I had always been fascinated by waterfalls. As a kid, I used to draw them in a Sibika class assignment or project asking us to draw a favorite body of water. There was something about this body of water that soothes and makes me happy. Since I had some time off from work, I hopped on a motorcycle, clung to the driver and off we went, to visit the Balay Anito Falls in Santol, La Union.

It took us about 10 minutes of curves uphill from the Poblacion to reach Brgy. Lettac Sur, the entrance to the falls. We parked the motorcycle and started to walk along the path, passing by rice fields and farm animals. There's no entrance fee to the falls.