incessant rambling

we often take for granted what is right before us. in this case, cebu has got one of the most diverse selections of church architecture spread around the island. in my travels around this island paradise, i have collected digital memories of these landmarks that are slowly fading into oblivion and memory.

sumilon deserve another break in this blog. the last write-up sometime march 2007 was more of a travelesque-narrative-thing that require a magnifying glass to appreciate the pictures. this time around, am letting the pictures speak for itself: the docking bay, sumilon island trekking around the island. resting under the shade of a leafless tree. right. really smart. but nice pic huh? (click on read.more to see amazing photos of the island) the sandbar shifts with the season, now you see it, now you don't Sumilon is 180 km South of Cebu and is about 2.5 hours of reckless head-spinning driving. My companion got to enjoy the scenic view of undulating waves that shimmer in a picture perfect bright day - I had to keep my eyes on the road for the silly kids that dart accross the road out of nowhere, or the slow sleepy tricyle drivers that has forgotten the meaning of time. Oh yeah, the occassional chicken or dog makes an interesting obstacle course. Lazing by the Pool on Top of the Hill...

who need words when you have pictures to tell a story? at least i have one less place on my must-visit list in cebu. Badian is roughly about 110k Southwest of Cebu City and you get there via the Carcar-Barili National Highway. From Barili it's a short drive to Badian. interestingly, Badian is the town right after Moalboal, another famous destination for diving enthusiasts. The drive is an hour and a half but can extend to about three hours if you're with uhm... senior citizens . if you start by 7am you'd be on the beach by 9am max. (click on read.more) i think we beat the governor in doing the mid southwest suroy-suroy (travel tour), we bought Luis' Chicharon from Carcar, Ice Cream from Molave Milk Station in Barili, Inasal Bisaya Manok (Native Roasted Chicken) and Puso (steamed rice wrapped in palm leaf) in Alcantara, Lechon (Roast Crackling Pig) with Kinilaw nga Nangka (shredded young Jackfruit pickled in coconut cream, vinegar made spicy with chili and other spi...

the old cliche is that once you've seen a fiesta in the philippines, you've seen them all. but what if you get the chance to witness the beginnings of a new event that is bound to be part of a town's socio-cultural tradition? Pinamungajan usually celebrate the town fiesta in honor of its patron saint, Sta. Monica sometime early May of every year. This year is different as they formally named the fiesta "Pamuhuan" which roughly translates to "day's returns". Pamuhuan is a barter system in kind where people volunteer work and get paid in kind or get a share of the produce. This year's celebration marked a number of firsts: Manny Pacquiao was honored by a shrine to acknowledge his roots from guimbawian, a mountain barangay where his father traces his family lineage. This is also some sort of a "first" for Gwen Garcia (governor) to attend the festivities considering that the local town political clan ran against her line up in the previou...

Panoramic View - Palalong Place, Barili that's the early morning view from my room when i woke up from a restful sleep in Palalong Place (PP). PP is a bed and breakfast along the national highway about two kilometers from barili poblacion. situated on top of a cliff, you get an amazing view of tanon straight and the coastal town settled on a natural cove. under the mid day sun the stunningly clear light blue waters reveal coral formations where fishermen go about their activity. rain clouds over the poblacion as seen from palalong. barili itself is a destination and not just a roadside town on the way to more famous places like moalboal, badian or kawasan. there is something for everyone in this little gem: from antique architecture , to mighty torrential waterfalls (mantayupan), mountain spring resorts (boloc boloc), cliff side picnic groves (palalong place) and arguably, the best vanilla ice cream (molave milk station). if you're a water baby like me, you'll enjoy the peb...

barili is just another sleepy town on the way to moalboal, badian or kawasan that people rarely get to appreciate the potential heritage and cultural richness of the town. roughly 65 kilometers south west of Cebu City or an hour and a half drive, one travels all the way to carcar then cut through the mountain to end up in barili. if there's any frustration on my part it would be the lack of knowledge about filipino design influences specially for old architectures (houses, churches etc). from an uninformed perspective, majority of the houses follow the balay-na-bato (house of stone) design which is a generalization of houses structured like a rectangle with a solid base and a second floor that is usually lined with capiz windows. a typical facade design another typical design with a solid wooden base. first level fortified with hollow blocks the window slats replaced with solid panels a window variation that combine capiz and wooden blinds sadly, the original structures have been ...

It was a bit unexpected, but it was a welcome event when i got invited to join the summer outing of Nits and Fred together with the kids and some other family barkada to Dalaguete (pronounced with the last "e" as silent compared to Dumaguete). At the back of my head, i was wondering what's interesting about Dalaguete as it looks like any small roadside town south of Cebu. 7:30AM we all met up in Ramos St. Cebu City. As usual, Ron's running a bit late and Joy went ahead. From there we went on a "caravan" to head off to Ocean Bay Resort. 8:30AM had to make a MANDATORY stop in Carcar, kids wanted some Jollibee by the rotonda and i grabbed some Chicharon from Tito's. 10:00AM arrived in Ocean Bay Resort, Dalaguete. I think i drove too fast but i've always LOVED the southern coastal road. the views are just fantastic specially when you get to hilly roads along the coastline with amazing views of the bay. the strips of white hint at the white sand the area ...

of course i am purposely "misquoting" the famous line delivered by nora aunor in the LA County Jail after her incarceration for drug possession. err i meant the movie "Himala". Regardless whether you believe in miracles or not, Simala (Barangay Lindogan, Sibonga Cebu) is getting foot traffic from pilgrims that wish to visit the miraculous shrine of Mama Mary. shrine is not probably the best way to describe the place as it has grown from a mere payag (nipa hut) originally built by the Marian Monks to a massive castle-like structure on top of a hill that overlooks the bay and hills. and based on the master plan, the existing edifice is just part of an intricate complex that is currently being developed. town lore tells of a Penitential Rosary Walk (1998) for the intercession of Mama Mary to halt a devastating plague that claimed lives of children and infants in Lindogan. to honor Her powerful intercession, they gave a plot of land to the Marian Monks to establish a sh...