sagada - a charming countryside

it remains secluded in the middle of the Cordilera region at a height of 1480meters above sea level. a town where the hills meets the clouds.Sagada is a mountain town that is roughly ten to twelve hours away from the urban Manila. it is known for its tranquility and great adventure walks.this town has evolved from an untouched tribal village to a charming countryside town. it has kept intact some of the hanging coffins and burial caves.
we arrived around 12:30noon time with the sun out and perfect for a daywalk around Sagada's central town area. the bus trip was a great experience, it was not torturous as it was years back.
in the coming posts, we will bring you to some of its famous sites. my camera was damaged during the trip but lucky enough to have with me Kit and Nadz whose photos will be featured on eskapo's Sagada series.

halsema highway - cordillera mountain range

six hours of stunningly beautiful mountain range. the most beautiful and the largest range in the country. the Cordillera of the Philippines.if you've been to Baguio, you have just seen a bit of the Cordillera mountain range. travel buddy Kit and i took noon time bus to Baguio and met Nadz after our meet with Lingkod Baguio. had coffee with Binx, Meann and ended up going home around 2:00am. up by 5:12am the next day to take one of the earliest trip to Sagada.we arrived at the Dangwa terminal of Baguio just in time for the second trip. the bus left 6:34am it passing by Upper Tomay in La Trinidad. we entered the Halsema Highway which begins at the outskirts of La Trinidad.this mountain highway connects two of Cordillera's province, which are the province of Benguet and the great Mountain Province. the 180kilometer-highway connects the two capital towns of these two provinces.our first stop was at the bus terminal of Atok. this was the longest stopover from the whole trip to Sagada. we were given 15minutes to take our breakfast and for some to go to the comfort rooms. the time was good enough.Halsema highway is also considered as the highest highway in the country with its highest point somewhere in Atok. the highest point is about 2,255meters above see level. that makes it higher than Mount Banahaw's peak.this highway was opened in 1930 as led by Engineer Euseibus Julius Halsema of whom this highway was named after. he was also Baguio city's mayor during that time.
the whole trip, i was awed by the beauty of the mountains. but through the fogs, the trail can be blurry and grayish. making this highway a dangerous trail during the rainy season.but from a person, who stayed for most of his life in a flat and plain town, the fogs over mountains definitely are a great view. this makes me love the Cordillera region so much.rice terraces and green paddies is a usual sight along this highway. sometimes you will pass over the side of it and sometimes it comes over the hills along the highway. farming is the most common way of life here and majority of the vegetables distributed in Manila today comes from the Cordilleras. this highway has greatly contributed to the ease of transporting these goods. but there were times when this region was hit by frost causing great damages on its crops.today, parts of the highway are still unpaved but are continuously being rehabilitated. rough roads are now very minimal in this highway. what used to be a torturous road is now a highway that can soon be compared to that of the Marcos highway.you will pass by boulders of huge mountain rocks carved to give way to the road's widened path. those rocks rises high giving great scenic views similar to the roads going to Kapangan.when the bus reached the intersection that separates the way to Bontoc and Sagada, the trip was now going uphill with a rough and steeper road. it signifies that we were now approaching the town of Sagada.despite the lack of sleep, i was awake the whole trip looking in awe how beautiful the Cordillera region is.i would like to dedicate this post to my travel friend Kit who is celebrating his birthday today. he and Nadz will be my guest photographer and writer for the Sagada series.

trip rate:
road trip: 5.0
road quality: 4.0
mountain view: 5.0

third where is this winner

whoa! i thought no one would guess it. but we have a sole winner. the right answer is St. William Cathedral in San Fernando La Union. this was taken during my trip during the early part of the year when we went to Baguio. instead of taking the usual road back to Manila, we took the Naguilian highway down to La Union and made a stopover at San Fernando. San Fernando city is the capital of the province of La Union. it is known to be a surfing haven.the winner gets the book Extra Rice. congratulations to photo cache! please email me for the details. thank you to all those who participated.

where is this? - just guess

before i proceed with the next series, i'm giving out another contest. this is the third time i'm doing this. you can check out the first here and the second one here. it's simple, just guess where this church is. again just guess.clue is it's just within the island of Luzon somewhere along its coast. just give me the name of the city or the town. if in case no one gets it correctly, i'll consider the province. and if in case a number of people gets it right, i'll raffle the names who guessed it correctly. only one answer per user and if in case you gave more than one answer, the first from your list will be the valid entry.

just like the previous contests, it will be just for one day. contest begins 12:01am that's right now and ends by 11:59pm tonight. the price is a book entitled Extra Rice. enjoy!

nine reasons why i love marinduque

ending the Marinduque and the Moriones series is not easy for me as we had an awesome experience there. to end, here are my nine reasons why i love the island of Marinduque with some links that leads to the previous posts.

[9] bibingka. several types of bibingkas, a type of rice cake, can be found around the Philippines. but the ones in Marinduque are bigger in size and it has a taste different from the variety that i've tasted. it can't easily be found there, you really have to search for those sidewalks because to the locals it is ordinary.[8] walk around boac. the simplicity of this rustic town is so obvious. with some old houses just around the town central. a walk in the morning sometimes makes me feel that it's therapeutic. even at noon time, the city remains unbusy, despite being the province's capital town. rustic town of boac

[7] roadtrip. in just a day, one can actually go around the island. but with interesting sights on each of the six municipalities, it isn't best to do that. with good chance, one can actually experience topload ride and the best place to do this is the trip from Balanacan port to the town of Boac. beautiful exhilirating views of the hills and coastline is awesome.roadtrip to sta cruz

[6] the churches. most of the churches here are now 400years old. unique from one another some were built as fortress. we visited three of these churches mostly located uphill.church of boac
church of gasan
church of sta cruz

[5] the traditions. if one wants to spend a time with the feel of a solemn Holy week, i recommend Marinduque. with different traditions like the senakulo or the reenactment of Christ' death until his resurrection. flagellantes are very much alive in this island. each town celebrates simultaneously these traditions that signifies the importance of the ultimate sacrifice.procession of hope

[4] creativity. until now, everytime i see the Morion masks on my photo storage, i'm still amazed with the details that they put in it. at first i thought it was made of something else but soon learned that it's actually made of carved wood, painted and polished. it has evolved thru the years. the Moriones costumes today is from the masks down to the sandals. Marinduquenos creativity is excellent.moriones festival 2009 - ethnic and recycled

[3] island boat trip. the islands of Tres Reyes are islands so accessible from the coastal villages of Marinduque. a nice, though now occupied by a small village, island of Gaspar has a pebble bar beach. with small hidden white sand beaches and crystal clear waters. explored caves and beautiful rock formations. but these are not the only islands that you can visit, there are other beautiful islands around Marinduque. go explore.gaspar island - pebble beach
gaspar island - hidden beach

[2] the festival. definitely one of the best, most colorful and authentic festival in the Philippines. rooted from almost two hundred years of tradition and devotion being passed from generation to generation. behind the story of the converted Roman soldier, are the people's devotion to God. the festival covers the whole week from Christ journey to his death until resurrection.moriones festival 2009
moriones festival - a brief history
moriones festival - battle of the morions

[1] the friendly people. sit down, order a coffee on an ordinary shop and you'll end up in a conversation that can get to as far as being offered for a visit to their home. if it's your first time there, no worries. almost everyone seems to be a friendly guide. genuine hospitality is what i love the most in this island.to prove how much i love this island, i'll be there next year again and by that time with you.

to all the frequent readers, thank you for joining me with the Marinduque series. to travel friend Nadz thank you. special thanks to the Jordan family and the people of Marinduque for the genuine hospitality. to the provincial government of Marinduque for posting my photo in their blog site.

related post:
ten reasons why i love boracay

the philippine churches - coconuter

check out dong ho's contribution to the coconuter community.

sta cruz church - marinduque

the jeepney coming from our long trip to Sta. Cruz dropped us on a small walkway leading to one side of the church.like the church of Gasan in the Western side of Marinduque, this church is reaching its 400th year of its foundation. built by the Spanish conquistadors.it has an unusual stone wall design as others are usually made of bricks or blocks of corals. churches in the Philippines usually differ in its materials basing on what is abundant in that area. the bell tower rises to four to five floors high with a cross on its roof. we didn't had the chance to see the bell.what is unusual with this church are the pillars in its facade. two pointed vertical foundation and a cone tip stands on both sides of the church entrance. in contrast to its outer wall, its interior is composed of bricks slightly shiny in nature. the altar ceiling is composed of paintings of the stations of the cross while angels occupies the higher portion.the 400years of its foundation also represents the faith of the many people who prayed and has been part of the Christian community in this island.this was our last stop in the island of Marinduque. we were supposed to to go to the town of Torrijos but with an energy not enough for another hot roadtrip. we decided to stay in Sta Cruz instead.trip rate:
church facade: 3.5
church interior: 3.5
church plaza: 3.0
church location: 4.0
historical background: 4.0

sta cruz marinduque - roadtrip

the drivers were shock every time we ask if we can ride on top of the jeepney even when there's no one inside it yet.our last day in the island of Marinduque was a stopover at the town of Sta Cruz, East of the island. like most of our trips there, i again took the best spot. the topload.it was so hot that day. so just imagine staying on top for more than an hour from Boac to Sta Cruz. but with good view and the great experience of riding on top of the jeepney is really something one should try.we passed by hills and small villages with areas having zigzag yet nothing really extraordinary to see along the way. best to do topload in this island is from Balanacan port to the town of Boac. i highly recommend this.we reached the town just in time, tired but excited. the town of Sta Cruz as they say has a bigger population than the capital town of Boac. Sta Cruz has more modern structures than the rustic town of Boac. but they are equally silent and unbusy. the town area of Sta Cruz is on top of a hilly ground. the people are so friendly here. engaging them in conversation made that tiring day beautiful. genuine Filipino hospitality.a walk around the town is a nice experience but with the heat, we decided to just drop by the church. that to be featured on my next post.

procession of hope - marinduque

it was Good Friday and the town of Boac sets in a reflective mood, my travel buddy Nadz and i made sure that we joined the procession.if the town was festive during Holy Thursday, as the different competitions on Moriones Festival happens, it was the exact opposite on a Good Friday. it was a time when people gathered at the church ready for the long walk around the town.we waited down the road near the church for a certain time, while we bought our candles. the procession was expected to start at 5:00pm but around 5:40pm we decided to go to the church instead.there we realized that a big crowd was on our way occupying the whole two lane road from the church down the town. we then chose to get as close as possible to the carriage enclosing the statue of the body of Christ.despite the possibility of raining, people of different ages were there. the houses that we pass by has candles lit infront of their door. other houses opened their radio while the rosary prayer was being broadcasted.we tried to join the procession right after the carriage but found out that it was too crowded and so we decided to go ahead of the carriage instead. people there might have reached thousands because we cant see the end of the procession, which meant that we could be in the middle.as we walked from one street to another, the sky turns darker with the candles now more visible. we had the chance to reflect on the importance of Christ's death which leads to his resurrection.for us, to value Easter we first reflect on his passion which leads to our own recognition of being sinful.we walked several kilometers, turning on some corners that we haven't been to when we roamed the town on our first day in Marinduque.the procession led us back to the church uphill where the crowd was getting thicker as they all accumulate at the church entrance. people this time were waiting for the entrance of the carriage. the church lights were dimmed and no other sound can be heard except that of the people moving towards the church altar. the men pulling the carriage then took their part of the rope as a way of remembering their penitence.just outside the church was a candle stand, where the candles were offered as a symbol of laying down our shortcomings to the Lord. it was important for us to recognize our sins, but more than that is the realization that God is merciful and that Christ died for each one of us. because his resurrection gives us every hope that we need to live a righteous life today.

best islands for snorkeling

with 7,107 islands to explore in the Philippines, i recently learned that the Philippines again gained another recognition this year when Dimakya island in Palawan was considered as one of the best islands for snorkeling along with seven other world renowned sites. see article Best Islands for Snorkeling 2009 given by the Islands magazine.i too have seen some of the beautiful snorkeling sites in the Philippines and among my favorite are the Virgin island of Bantayan in Cebu, Anilao in Batangas, Sombrero island in Batangas, Olango island in Cebu, and Malamawi island in Basilan.Palawan's most prestiged island resort Amanpulo was also considered as one of the Best Private Island and Best Islands to Live On. Amanpulo resort occupies the whole island of Pamalican which has its own airstrip.the Philippine islands has a lot of secrets. go explore.

gaspar island hidden beach - marinduque

"there's a more private beach on the other side of the island. bring them there". those were the words given by the banca owner to our guide when we left Marinduque's coast.we left the pebble beach of Gaspar to continue with our island trip. this gave us a view of the whole island which is greatly covered with green plants.Gaspar island is a huge rock island over a crystal clear water of Tablas straight. we were slowly moving following the island's coast giving me the opportunity to take photos. water was relatively calm that time.the different rock formations are similar to the ones i've seen in hundred islands in Pangasinan. matched with a very tempting Cyan colored waters, i should say that snorkeling is good there.the island of Gaspar is considered as a marine preserved monitored and governed by a community. so expect fishes and other sea creatures roaming around the island.as we went farther, we sense isolation, as the big island of Marinduque was not visible on that side. mossy boulders and huge rocks came to view.we were now on the Southern part of the island where small beach coast came to sight. we saw a group staying in its beach. their boat was docked on one end. our guide says, that we'll be docking on another area.this island has caves which the locals already explored and found some ancient trading and ceramic plates and jars. which reveals that long before, this island became home to traders.we continued to move until we reach a huge rock which seems to be hiding something. our guide tells us that we'll dock behind that rock. a small beach with white sand revealed to us. a perfect place to unwind after a busy Moriones day. it was indeed a beautiful isolated beach side.one can explore by walking over rocks that lead to the other nearby beach of the island's Southern part. some rocks are sharp making rock climbing riskier.there are shaded areas where one can read a book or just enjoy the horizon. it was definitely the best hidden side of this island. we stayed there for a good amount of time until my travel friend Nadz turned tan. we left the island just in time for lunch back to the town of Gasan.

gaspar island's pebble beach - marinduque

i never saw these many pebbles formed into a stretch of sandbar-like beach. something different from the many beaches that I visited.

several minutes away from the central town of Gasan is the small fishing village of Pinggan. The drop off point to the Tres Reyes islands of Marinduque.

joined by my travel friend Nadz, we rented a small boat near the barangay hall that brought us to the nearby island of Gaspar. The beautiful island among the Tres Reyes group.>

the other two are the islands of Melchor and Baltazar which are situated West of Gaspar. The names of the islands sounds familiar simply because they were named after the three wise men or sometimes considered as the three kings.

we had a great short boat ride with our guide who brought us around Gaspar island. from afar, we already saw the fishing village of the island and the main beach side facing the Marinduque island coast within the Tablas straight.

upon reaching the beach, we realized that it’s all pebbles and broken corals, not white sand. it was quite unusual for me because there’s just too many pebbles that we almost thought the locals collected it and formed the pebble bar.

this was formed naturally by the waves that meets in this island. the water is clear and one can enjoy swimming.

there are cottages at the beach front where one can relax and enjoy the view of Marinduque's Mt. Malindig and Elephant island.

we found this side of the island with a beautiful beach and fine sand. definitely the best part of the beach.

we stayed for my travel friend Nadz was able to take a swim. but we stayed just for a short time because our guide talks us about a nicer beach where we can enjoy it on our own. that’s our next stop.

gasan church - marinduque

a church destroyed by natural calamities used to stand on top of this hill. this year, the town commemorates its 400years through the restoration of its church.less than an hour South of Boac, is the coastal town of Gasan Marinduque. this town was once occupied by the Japanese soldiers during the World War II and it witnessed the victorious battle of the allied forces, what is now known as the Battle of Marinduque.it still has some old houses but most of the houses are already concrete as this has been affected by the many calamities experienced by this town.a walk up to the church will take you a few minutes, slightly higher than the church of Boac. first thing that you'll see are its newly built balconies which gives you a good view of the whole central town of Gasan.the church has a garden lawn overlooking the Tablas straight, of whose horizon's reaches the big island of Mindoro. at the back of the church, they retained a part of the ruins and also displayed the bells of the old church.the church is still under construction when we went there. according to a local resident, the design of the new church was still based on the old church which stood on the same site. i spotted a Morion walking around the church ground as if guarding its construction. this town also celebrates the Moriones Festival simultaneously with the other towns of Marinduque. the church is now on its final stage and its facade will soon be filled with red bricks. just imagine how beautiful it will be months from now.next post is our trip to the island of Gaspar.

awesome philippines

this year MTV Asia and the Philippine Department of Tourism has team up to promote a radical campaign on one of Asia's most beautiful archipelago. emerging now as Asia's beach capital with a coastline twice that of the United States. last April 22, a group of travel bloggers were invited to an event which discussed the new campaign and some of the upcoming projects. the dinner event was joined by the Philippine Department of Tourism Secretary Ace Durano, Undersecretary Eduardo Jarque Jr., MTV VJ Maggie Wilson, Ms. Yvonne Tey and Mr. Chris Pattinson from MTV, Mr. Eduardo Mapa Jr. and Sherry Magno of Media Contacts, and Mr, Andrew Chan of Second Life.among the bloggers i met there were fellow travel bloggers Allan, Ferdz, Oggie, Eric, Melo and Nina. while it was my first time to meet Jasper, Wence, and Sexy Nomad. fellow bloggers Noemi and Juned were also there.this campaign goes beyond the usual way of showing how beautiful the country is. the use of video vignettes was among the highlight of this campaign as promoted through MTV Revelations. upcoming projects will be featured here like the second life which will be launched this month.a country so diverse in its culture with festivals so colorful like the Moriones, which i recently featured. from extreme adventure to the awesome beaches.
not a lot of people has discovered the natural treasures of the Philippines yet. making it a wonder still to be explored.


visit now Awesome Philippines

special thanks to Sir Ting Bongco, Ms. Sherry Magno, Ms. Kankan and to the official event photographer for the photos.

battle of the morions - moriones festival 2009

we were so privileged that we've witnessed the first Battle of the Morions interpretation competition during the Moriones Festival 2009.one thing that i like about the festival was the tourism booth that provided free detailed tourists information in the form of a booklet. it includes in it the one week schedule of the activities of the whole Festival on the different towns of Marinduque.it made it easier for us to check what we need to witness and activities that we can skip. one activity that we made sure we watched was the Battle of the Morions presentations.the competition allows the participants to perform as a group the reenactment of the Longinus story. it focused more on the beheading of this converted Roman soldier. you can review the story here.four groups from the different towns performed at the town arena. area was filled with people eager to see another event that'll happen for the first time.coming along with each group are their own music group that provided rhythm to the presentation. some came in mardigra beats.it was not yet as impressive, but it was a good start. something that we can look forward to see next year as it thrives.

moriones festival - ethnic and recycled

it was a great surprise when we saw some Morions wearing ethnic and recycled materials. a special category which encouraged the locals to use what was abundant in the province.creativity was emphasized so much on these category as each Morion required the use of plastics as the main component for the costume.they wanted to encourage the people to be both resourceful and creative in the goal to gain awareness in the environment's call to reuse what seems to be useless materials.while some where made of recycled materials, another category was also considered. this was the one which requires the use of coconut palms, chicken feathers and other materials abundant in the province.some of the head covers even have small moving wheels on top with flower-like decorations. in this category, the participants were given every chance to show off what they can imagine.it was mixing the local culture with what has been traditionally designed after the Roman soldiers by retaining the fierce facial expressions.it was impressive to see how creative Marinduquenos are. how creative we Filipinos are.happy labor day everyone!