Stories of Places, People and Photography in the Philippines and Beyond
When heading out of Metro Manila towards the beach resorts on the eastern side of Batangas, many visitors overlook the cultural gems of San Juan Batangas Poblacion. Instead of taking the usual route along the San Juan-Laiya Road, why not turn left from General Luna St onto Hall St and uncover the young yet culturally rich heritage of San Juan town?
As our coaster maneuvered through the winding mountain road in Labo, Camarines Norte, I couldn’t help but marvel at the breathtaking views that unfolded before my eyes. Unlike my previous nocturnal journeys to Bicol during my childhood, this daytime adventure through Labo municipality was a delightful revelation. Little did I know that this unassuming destination held a myriad of hidden gems waiting to be explored.
Camarines Norte’s current main draw is the Calaguas islands in the municipality of Vinzons. I was first mesmerized by the beach and islands of Calaguas almost a decade ago. The soft and fine white sand beach in Tinaga island with clear lime waters (Calaguas means lime) which is ideal for swimming is a true gem situated at the Pacific Ocean side of the country. I won’t be going into detail on this post as most of the things I’ve written on my Mahabang Buhangin post stay relevant to this day. Instead, I’ll be sharing some noticeable changes since the pandemic.
The island of Marinduque has long been known for its Moriones Festival. It is one of the oldest lenten rites in the Philippines where participants wear Moryon (helmet) masks and roam the streets of Marinduque as an act of penitence. During my recent visit to Marinduque, we visited the workshop of one of the known Morion mask makers on the island, Salvador “Buddy” Liwanagan. It was fascinating to witness firsthand how these iconic masks with grimacing Roman faces are made.
With Holy Week just around the corner, it’s time once again to consult a map and contemplate on doing the rounds of churches for the annual Visita Iglesia. While you’re at it, it might be worthwhile exploring Rizal Province which is renowned for beautiful, mostly centuries-old churches with some dating back to the Spanish colonial period. This year, why not hop on your bike instead of walking so you can cover more ground? After all, you’d still be using your legs as some sort of sacrifice for the Lenten season while pedaling your way to municipality after municipality of quaint, …
The knife-edged-shape Ticao island is another fascinating destination for me. I’ve read articles and seen photos of this island, so I kinda know what to expect – stunning seascapes, rock formations, age-old settlements, and towering waterfalls pouring directly into the sea. And I finally got to see this for myself. After a day of interacting with whale sharks in Donsol, we rode a large outrigger boat to Ticao island, one of the three major islands of Masbate. It’s a 2-3 hours rocky boat ride but no rough waters can keep my excitement.
“Where there’s a river, there’s life!” As they say and it can never be truer as this body of water penetrating the land can be a source of food, livelihood and instrumental in irrigation. When late environmentalist, Gina Lopez spearheaded a clean-up drive for Buhatan river in Sorsogon back in 2014 and they saw the ecotourism potential of this river. Following the path of successful river rehabilitation and ecotourism development like Bohol’s Abatan river, Cebu’s Bojo river and Puerto Pricesa’s Iwahig river to name a few.
