We woke up about 3:30am to prepare for our trip in Gaspar island. It’s great to have fellow photographers like Oggie and Allan on a trip since they understand the importance of capturing the best light in a scenery. Most locals would have wondered why we would want to sail to the island at 4am in the morning not understanding the photographer’s view of things. Maybe one reason why our boatman missed our target departure of 4am. Or he just probably overslept. Still we managed to arrive before the sun rises on Gaspar Island, Marinduque.

Gaspar Island is one of the three islands south west of Marinduque Island named after the three kings, Melchor, Gaspar and Baltazar. Of the three islands, Gaspar is the largest and the only one inhabited. It is also rich in history since off its coast waters between the mainland, a sunken Chinese Junk was discovered. Other old artifacts were also discovered at caves found on the island. Artifacts are now property of the National Museum.

Travel time from the mainland of Barangay Pinggan to the island is about 30 minutes by pump boat. Rates usually goes from Php 1000 if you only visit Gaspar or one of the island, Php 1500 for island hopping on the three islands of the Tres Reyes Islands.

The moon was shining really bright that morning illuminating the island shores beautifully. The fishing village of Gaspar island was still asleep that morning. We ventured around the island shorelines to see what its landscape offers. It’s actually a very varied landscape. There’s a nice long sandbar in the middle where the waves meet. On the western side are calm waters and nice crushed coral beach ideal for swimming. The eastern side is more rugged with impressive rock formations being battered by stronger waves. On the esatern side you could see Mt Malindig and the deluxe Elephant Island which Japanese are developing.

In the middle of the island is a fishing community. There is no water and electricity on the island. Water is being fetched from the mainland and electricity is through gas. There is however some sheds, urinal facilities and a small store to buy provisions for island visitors.

Tres Reyes islands is a protected marine sanctuary. Expect lots of fresh catch early morning. We bought a couple of those haba or balo fishes to be cooked for lunch. Grilled and fried. Very cheap as well. Aside from fishing, tourism is also a main livelihood. Children gather shells early morning and they make beads from them to sell.

We enjoyed our time in Gaspar island very much. The island has very nice landscapes and is also ideal for swimming and snorkeling. The weather was also very cooperative that time as well. I think waking up that early was worth it on this island.

We headed back shortly at the mainland for breakfast. After which we’ll do a few last stops around Marinduque before we leave that afternoon.

Pacsafe Carrysafe100 Anti-theft Camera Strap

It’s been quite some time since I wrote about my travel gears here. With the coming holidays and the summer a few months coming, I’m sure a lot will be packing their bags and be heading of to their desired destinations. But remember that in travel you must take proper precautions as well, especially in regards to your possessions and security. Comfort as well in your foot gear since you spend most of the time walking around. With these let me share my recent travel gear acquisitions.

Pouchsafe 100 neck/shoulder pouch

It was a delight when I happened to drop by at Bratpack’s newly opened Greenbelt 5 branch and saw some Pacsafe items displayed there. I always thought the brand was expensive but seeing their price tag, I found them reasonable for the quality of their product. Pacsafe prides their travel gears to be Anti-theft. Materials containing exomesh technology that’s close to impossible to slash, snatch and tamper.

When I saw there’s a Pacsafe CarrySafe 100 Camera Strap (Php 1000.00) there, I immediately thought of buying it. Stocks were gone fast the next day but I was able to get one from other branch which people at greenbelt called to reserve. The strap has a slash proof mesh on its slim but comfortable design that I really like. Another plus is the dual spring locking metal clips system when detaching your camera. That extra protection is reassuring. It goes well with the weight of my Olympus E3 DSLR. I take the security of my photographic gears seriously. I’ve read of horror stories from forums about cameras being snatched at the streets. Manny Librodo’s Brother wasn’t spared when his brand new Nikon D300 was snatched at the streets of Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. I’ve used this already on a trip and really liked it. My only complaint is that the back neck-padding could have been thicker to be more comfortable. Just me though but overall I recommend it.

Pacsafe Wallet Safe

The other Pacsafe item I got is the Pouchsafe 100 neck/shoulder pouch (Php 690.00). It also has an adjustable slash proof neck/shoulder strap, a flap velcro closure and very soft moisture absorbent lining at the back. I actually like how the strap melds with your body which is ideal since pouches as this are recommended to be worn under your clothes as much as possible. Though one disadvantage with this is that the pouch has metal mesh which triggers airport metal scanners easily. So remove it before going through the metal detector. There’s a zipped compartment there for storing your large bills and cards and to open compartments. i wouldn’t fill it with too much stuff though since i find the outer stitching a bit weak.

The Pacsafe Wallet Safe (Php 980.00) is another item I really liked. It has a metal chain to avoid loosing your wallet when it falls. The materials is very solid and of high quality. The money bills compartment has zippers and the credit/atm cards compartment is just the right fit.

Cool and fashionable Snap Watch II

More of an aesthetic purchase there is the Snap Watch (Php 590.00). i got this one as a gift but I would buy one again with different designs as soon as there are new stocks available. I’m not really a watch person since those watch straps felt like being hand cuffed to time for me. But I like the Snap Watch since it looks more like a bracelet than a watch. It uses a real climbing rope band and the watch is waterproof that you can swim with it. One disadvantage here that the watch can easily snap off with minimal force. Like when I’m putting a back pack it would be easily caught on the strap and snap-off. With that in mind you just have to be careful. You can buy a bunch of this and interchange the rope and watch.

Tough and comfortable Sanűk SUV

I think one of the essential gears for travel is your footwear. It must be tough and comfortable enough during long walks and hikes. While I pride wearing my tough and tested local Sandugo sandals, Sanuk SUV (Php 3490) has been my favorite when I had the chance to wear it. This is actually my second Sanuk. The SUV is pretty tough, I tried a bit of hiking with it and found the traction very good on damp and moist ground. It dries fast as well. Of course nothing will replace a very good hiking/climbing shoes for serious climbs but the Sanuk SUV is great for casual travels couple with light to moderate hikes.

I found these items a great addition to my travel gear arsenals. I bought most of them at Bratpack store in Greenbelt 5. I hate going to that store since I see a lot of items I really like to buy. And more often that not, each time I visit the store I get to buy something so I avoid it as much as possible.

Our jeep raced through the major highway of Marinduque coming from Sta Cruz. It was already late and we were hoping to get back at the resort by sun down. We sped through the Island capital of Boac and soon crossed the borders to Gasan. Our driver may have miscalculated the time or it took use quite some time taking pictures of each area as it was already past 5pm. The sun was going down fast and I knew we won’t make it in time.

We reached the town center of Barangay Dos in Gasan where our jeep stopped by a gas station to refill its tank. I suggested to Oggie and Allan that we just take pictures here since we won’t make it back to the resort in time and make do of what we can have here. We got down and walked the town boardwalk which is Reyes Park. Gasan which is right smack in the middle west of the island shares a bit of history. It was in Gasan when the Japanese forces first landed in the island in 1942. it was also here where the combined forces of the US and Philippines army landed and conquered the Japanese on what would be known as the Battle of Marinduque in 1945.

Right at the end of Reyes Park is an old hanging footbridge where a river flows freely to the sea underneath. This old footbridge which serves also as a landmark connects to the Barangay Dili on the other side of the river. We were in a hurry to find a nice spot to shoot the setting sun that I wanted to cross the bridge fast. It was scary, as the bridge was worn out. The wooden foot panels already have uneven spaces and part of one side of the bridge already has loose rope connections which keeps the bridge in balance. I scuttled carefully to the other side.

Seeing the bridge against the deepening twilight blue sky evokes a strong symbolic impression to me. The foot panels, the web of strings strung together to keep the bridge hanging. Maintaining the connections between two separate worlds. One side projects development and the other side decay. Would a decaying bridge be a symbol of hope or a crumbling foundation? Will this bridge be build with greater stability or will the people be contented to walk in fear and worry that each step, they might fall. The answer lies in waiting.

The sun dips in faster than we expected. The community on the other side of the bridge are mostly a cluster of shanties facing the sea. The karaoke music was blaring in the air. Children were soon crowding to were we are, making the scene more of a mess really than scenic. Each curious as to what we were doing there.

As I leave and got myself ready to cross the bridge again, I hear some kids asks me why don’t we take a picture of them this time. It shows again the penchant of Filipino’s love for cameras. As much as I liked to do portraits, it was near dark already and should be going our way. I threaded the bridge carefully again, not helped by the strong rocking motion of the people coming from the other side. The sun has finally settled and crossed the bridge to find our jeep nearby.

It took us almost an hour to reach the town of Sta Cruz coming from Torrijos. We headed into the market area where we also passed by the main Jac Liner station there. We saw the bus we rode already parked. We had a hearty lunch of sinigang with fresh fish and good ol’ home cooked pork chop and calamares at one of the carinderias there. Followed by a serving of ice cream nearby. With afternoon closing midway, we moved on to explore some of the town’s attractions.

One of the main attractions of Sta Cruz, Marinduque is its impressive old church. The Sta Cruz church is the oldest church in the island of Marinduque built in 1714. It has an impressive Filipino-Hispanic Gothic design. Quite a different design from what I’ve usually seen on other churches. Inside the altar is elegantly designed but at that time, renovations were being done. At the time a series of funeral services were being held, making it hard to take photos of the structure properly due to human and transport traffic. The drizzle also didn’t help in taking some photos.

We were told there were 2 falls found in town. Originally, we were looking for Paadjao falls. An impressive cascade falls which I visited years ago but somehow don’t remember where. We decided to check out the nearby falls first. The first and nearest one we found was disappointing since it was obviously developed. We decided to forego the other one and told our driver to take us to Paadjao Falls which incidentally our driver also has no idea where. They asked around and we were led to another falls, quite a distance from the town proper.

I was trying to remember if this was the trail I went before since it’s quite similar. But when we actually got there, we saw a roofed and developed area with a sign of Kawa-Kawa falls. It wasn’t the falls we were looking for. But since time’s a bit short and we met Kapitan Romulo Rogelio there. He’s the Captain there in Bangcuangan where the falls is located and he was enthusiastically telling us how he developed the area so we decided to check it out. It was a short climb to where the main basin/pool can be found. It was a pretty small falls bu the basin was ideal for swimming. Hence it’s name “Kawa-Kawa” which also means “Kawali” There were already a number of teens and kids swimming there but Kapitan asked all of them to clear the area for a while so we could take pictures. I guess he also wanted the place to be known.

It was nice but not as impressive as Paadjao Falls as I remembered. I was disappointed seeing some plastics and chip wrappers lying around. After sometime of taking photos, we advised Kapitan regarding garbage control. Even if there are people who are scheduled to clean the trash in the area, it’s better to educate the visitors to take the trash along with them when they leave. It’s much better to minimize the garbage in the area. Kawa-kawa falls is a nice little falls that should not be neglected.

We spent quite some time there that the afternoon is soon coming close. We sped off from the town to head back to Gasan and hopefully be there in time before the sunset.

Shot with red-eyes from so little sleep while in transit to Marindque, we were dead sleepy when the bus rolled-off from the Cawit Port that we overslept our drop off point in Boac. Fairly waking at a road sign saying Boac is 7km behind us now we realized our bus is heading down south already. It was actually fortunate that it will pass by our destination in Gasan. A lady who was going home back there after 5 years was noting the town they were passing through with her companion. We chatted with her a bit and told her where we’re heading. She helped us point where we would alight and soon we were on foot the main highway at Baranggay Pinggan in Gasan, Marinduque.

It just proves how kind and accommodating people in the province are. I remember the people doing their early morning house chores focused their attention on us. They asked where we were going on a friendly note. The manong and his neighbors joined in on giving us information on where to go. It turns out the manong was waiting for his son that morning. People were very helpful and were all smiles that morning which was a great welcome already for us from the town folks of Marinduque.

We walked the main highway straight south to find Club Marinduque shortly after passing by a short bridge. It was still around 7am and cool crsip air of the province and the sight of blue sea over the horizon was a refreshing sight. Angie the caretaker led us to check the rooms of the impressive Club Marinduque resort. We checked with the nearby German owned Casa de Asul only to find the German owner still fixing and repainting the rooms and would open by next week. We settled in a 2 double bed room good for 4 at Club Marinduque for 1800 Php for the night. (more details about the resort later)

After a somewhat ordinary (and also a bit expensive) breakfast Kiko, one of the resort staff helped us look for a hired jeep. We agreed upon the 2000 Php price to hire the whole jeep for the day and shortly was on the move down south. Doing a counter-clockwise round of the island. We passed by the town of Buenavista down first and fore go it since the Church was not realy old or historical. Found ourselves driving high up in the mountains on overcast skies. Almost an hour long sleepy-drive finally found us in the town of Torrijos.

Torrijos is already on the eastern side of the island, we got down on at the Poblacion first and shot the nice church facade of St Ignatius of Loyola. After a while we drove down to the beach. Poctoy beach is a nice stretch of fine cream colored sands. I actually liked the feel of the sand touching the soles of my feet here. I remember camping here with a bunch of travel buddies first time I went here. There were some nice changes there like fixing the decaying restrooms from before. The place wasn’t crowded which is great.

Since the sky was overcast almost mid through the day I just focused on some characters on the beach. I saw a kid who was hammering something with a large rock and saw it was those talisay nuts. I didn’t know the nuts where edible. A lot of fishing boats were on the shore and a fisherman tightening the nylon rope knots of his boat rig was there. A livelihood seminar was taking place on the beach and further were a family enjoying the waters. Poctoy beach is one of the more premier beach in the island. It has a very nice view of Mt. Malindig on the right though at that time it was covered by clouds.

We moved on after a while back on the road. It was nice be here again seeing things improve while staying almost the same. Where heading northward this time to the town of Sta Cruz.

The Philippines has a longer coastline even that of the USA and its geography is composed of many separate islands. To visit other islands, sea travel is one of the most common and cheap way to travel. The Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH) or commonly known as the RORO (Roll-on, Roll-off) Highway was opened by the government. It’s a transportation structure spanning 919 kilometers of land and 137 nautical miles connecting the islands through a virtual highway via RORO-capable sea vessels. Even though air travel is getting affordable nowadays, land-and-sea travel is still popular amongst common people and to destinations with very little air traffic. In my recent visit to Marinduque with friends Oggie and Allan, we took the RORO Highway and here’s my first hand experience on going this route.

The first time I went to Marinduque there was no RORO yet so I was looking forward to this trip to try it. JAC Liner has buses that has direct routes from Manila to Boac. The fare was 692 PHP with a 25 PHP terminal fee which you’ll also pay to the conductor. It is more convenient so you don’t have to pay individually. One disadvantage from this route is they don’t accept reservations. We were at the LRT terminal as early as 5:30 pm since we were told that there were only 10 slots for the bus coming from Cubao. We had to make sure we’re early to get these seats. A few days before we already called them up to inquire on the departure schedules but it differs from 7 or 8pm depending on who answered. A bit inconvenient really.

There was a list for reservation on seats that night on which we wrote down our name. With Oggie chatting with a passenger, we learned that the list was useless since people would hurry in to get seats. A bit annoying. Good thing the bus wasn’t that filled coming from Cubao when it came around 8:30pm. We thought we left LRT station by 9 only to return at the terminal to get some passengers. Rolling off roughly 9:30pm. That was a long wait.

Travel time from Buendia LRT station to Dalahican Port was around 3 hours. The Montenegro Ferry was waiting already when we got there by 1:30am. We were hoping to lodge in and get some sleep on the air conditioned section while on the ferry but the aircon was down. We instead rested on some fixed mono bloc-type benches. It’s a good idea we brought our malong since wind was chilly while the boat was on the move. I got a good hour sleep when we heard the ferry signal that we’re approaching Cawit Port which is found on the mid Western Part of Marinduque. it was a little past 5am when our bus rolled-off the ferry.

Going back was another story. Since we can’t reserve for the JAC liner bus going back to Manila, we again have to wait for the passing bus in Gasan coming from its origin point in Sta Cruz, Marinduque. Good thing the reliable staff at Club Mariduque flagged the bus for us while we wait at their resort. That was about 4:45 in the afternoon. The bus stopped a bit in Gasan Market then headed to Boac for a time to pick up passengers. Then by 7pm we were again in Cawit Port waiting for the Ferry. It was actually a long wait. We had no idea when the bus would be moving so we asked the driver and told us that the ferry might arrive around 8pm. We decided to go down the bus have dinner nearby and wait for the ferry to come.

Good thing it arrived roughly at 8pm and moved half an hour later. When it got to Dalahican port, we were wondering why the bus didn’t move. At first the conductor asked some people to go down the bus like the way we went down the bus when it rolled in the ferry. After which some people came back in and we were again waiting. almost an hour passed and I was really getting impatient. We went down and approached the conductor why we were not moving. It turns out the water was too high for the bus to roll-off. They said they will move to another higher port nearby. I was just wondering what they were doing in all that time passing. Wait for the water level go down? They should have moved the ferry to another port earlier, obviously the water wouldn’t go down until near sunrise. A few minutes later they moved finally and we were on the road again.

We arrived in Buendia Makati around 4:30am already. We really were dead tired. I never thought RORO would be so exhausting as this. The travel time from Manila to Dalahican is only 3 hours and the Ferry from Dalahican to Cawit Port was only 3 hours making the total travel time be 6 hours. But our travel extended to almost half a day with 4-5 hours of it is done waiting. Waiting for the bus and the ferry. Since we can’t reserve seats we really had to wait early. Marinduque is such a beautiful place but it can be tiring going by the RORO Route. It’s a good thing I have a book, music and some friends along to keep me company.

Since we’re tackling airports, another relatively new airport in the Philippines that opened just this January 2008 is the new Bacolod Airport in Silay. Their old airport used to be in Bacalod City itself. I thought it was a good move for the province since I personally like Silay more than Bacolod itself. It is another international standard airport here in our country.

The airlines that currently service the Bacolod Airport are Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines, PAL Express and Zest Airways. We came there via Cebu Pacific’s flight . Tubes connect the terminal to the plane and it’s a short distance to the baggage claim area. The airport is smaller than the Iloilo Airport.

At that time the check-in area isn’t that well ventilated. Kinda humid. The pre-departure area seems to have a low ceiling and the airconditioning isn’t even. If you want a stronger/cooler ariconditioning, go to the rightmost wing. Not too many people go there and the air is cooler.

Another tip is to go up to the roof deck where there’s another cafe there aside from the ones in the waiting area and you’ll get a nice view of the airport runways aside from the cool open air.

Transportation to and fro Bacolod Airport

There are public vans there for Php 150 per pax heading straight into the town of Bacolod. They are filled up and can be crampy. The ride to Bacolod is only 30 - 45 minutes so it’s a short time to endure.

Well just a tip, there are also private minivans there which you can hire for 450 Php to the city. Since there are 3 of us that time, we opted for this one so we can have the van comfortably on our own

From Bacolod City, going to Silay is easy as there are regular jeeps going there. Aside from that, there were already direct vans from the main highway running the route to the airport. I need to verify though the price.

by Habagat Central:
Add pala sa mga cash-strapped…
It is highly advised that you should take the shuttle vans from Bacolod City instead of the ones in Silay City Plaza which are said to be colorum. They may charge you at least P400 from a short distance from Silay City to the airport…its not worthed.

Other than that, if you are really not in a hurry and would prefer to endure the inconvenience for the sake of saving money, then just drop off at Silay City Public Market and look for the multicab/tricycle terminal to Gintubdan. The said PUV would pass by the airport for only P12 (late last year).

Iloilo Airport Facade

I’m still rummaging through my archives for this year until my next upcoming trips. I realize I still haven’t posted some of my Iloilo materials from early this year. With the Dinagyang Festival coming early next year, I’m sure the region would be getting a lot of tourist traffic by that time. And most of them would go through one of the relatively new airports in the country - the Iloilo Airport.

The Iloilo Airport is relatively new since it started operations just last year June 13, 2007. The airport is one of the modern airports in the country that can operate internationally. Though right now only airlines like Air Philippines, Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines and Zest Air (starting December) are operating here. They’re expecting international flights to come in by 2009.

It was during our Miagao to Nagarao trip when I first flew in and out of Iloilo Airport. When we got there, I could still smell how new the place is. I can say it’s one of the nicer airports in the country and the architecture looks similar to the NAIA Centennial Airport though not as big. There are tubes for the planes instead of walking on the tarmac. Check in was smooth and the pre-departure lounge is spacious and cozy. A number of concessionaires are there to fill in to your tummy needs while waiting for your flights. Air conditioning is just alright.

The Roadworthyman at Iloilo Airport pre-departure lounge

Public Transport to and fro Iloilo Airport:

If you have arrived and is heading to the city there are airport shuttles there that operate there with drop off points at SM City, Molo Plaza and Jaro Plaza. Travel time is less than an hour and fare is 50 Pesos per pax. Be advised that these Shuttles are filled in. The drop-off points are also the pickup points of those going to the airport.

Taxi Cabs are also available. From and to Iloilo town proper the cost would range from 150-200 pesos depending on what part of the town you are.

[additional info by Habagat Central] Just also add up the multicab service for those who are really cash strapped. They can take a jeepney all the way to Bangga Dama (junction) in Santa Barbara. From there, they can take a white multicab for ten pesos but you’ll have to wait for the cabbie to fill up (and its a very long wait waiting for the cabbie to fill up) or you may ask manong driver to pay for the seats or “pakyaw”…that means P100-P120 for the multicab.

Ironwulf.net: En Route has been around for more than five years, serving travel chronicles and insightful photography. I thought it was time to do another blog project. I don’t usually open another blog as easily as installing a wordpress. I think it out thoroughly make sure I know the direction it’s heading. I thought doing another blog on one of my passion - food! Thus happyfoodies.com

This time around, I’m collaborating with my friend Lagal[og] who has the same passion with food and photography. We’re hoping it would grow as well, and possibly add more foodie into the list. Aside from landscapes and travel, food is another subject that’s really fun to photograph. And with the importance of food in our daily lives, and the connection with each and every Filipino family a blog dedicated to food would be a great project.

I know there’s a growing number of food blogs already but we hope to contribute more in our own way of showcasing our finds the way we have showcased our travel stories as well. I hope you support this new projects and inspire the foodie in you. Please visit www.happyfoodies.com.

Christmas starts early in the Philippines. At the onset of the ‘ber’ months, I won’t be surprised to hear Christmas Carols playing at some establishments, even local radio stations. With Halloween ending, I noticed yesterday that the Halloween displays were quickly being put down to be replaced by the bright and sparkling Christmas decors. Yes the season has started already and the distinct Filipino Icon of Parols will be hanging again.

If Americans have their Christmas tree, the Philippines have the Parol as our official symbol. It is shaped as a star which symbolizes the guiding star in the Nativity of Jesus. It also means the light prevailing over darkness and Filipino’s spirit of hope and goodwill for the season.

Traditionally made of bamboo and paper, it has evolved with use of other native materials such as capiz and inclusion of electronic blinking lights. Each parol is handcrafted making each one unique. With this, electronic Parols costs about 1200 to 5000 pesos depending on the design and size of the Parol. Parol vendors lines up the various streets now in Manila giving quite a kaleidoscope of colors on an otherwise bland night streets in the metro.

Christmas has always had a nostalgic feel for me. Maybe because of happy childhood memories associated with it, but as we grow old, it seems to be more about the list of gifts for people or moreso, thinking about the latest gifts for yourself. But seeing these Parols, blinking playfully at night reminds us of the fondness of the season.

I was digging through my archives on some photos I could find in relation to Halloween. I found some old 2005 photos that I still haven’t posted here. It would seem I’ve been posting Sagada every All Saint’s Day on this site. Perhaps because I find their traditional practice still interesting at this time when I find Filipino Halloween practices being more modern and commercial with lots of western influences coming in.

I’ve read reports that less people visit the graves on this days already. Halloween parties are around. I somehow find it funny that we’re celebrating it now much like how a Christmas party does. It’s fun to see people in costumes, kids “trick-or-treating” and Halloween decorations adding colors to establishments. But it’s also good to see this age old practices still being observed by our brothers in the highlands.

Happy All Saint’s Day everyone! November rolls in….