No Trespassing/Signs

@ mirandablue

We were island-hopping the whole day and by late afternoon, we dropped anchor at Lahuy Island, a tiny island in the Caramoan peninsula.  Then we noticed this sign!  We didn't know some of the islands here are owned by private individuals---mostly by political clans, I learned later.  We expected to be kicked out but the the gentleman who lives here told us we can stay to enjoy the sunset and the beach, for free. 

Linking to Signs, Signs

Top-load/ABC Wednesday

T is for Top load

The jeepney is one of the Philippines' cultural symbols.  It is found in roads all over the country---in the crowded city streets, sleepy towns, provincial roads and rural back roads.  Jeepneys are symbols of our street life, the workhorse of Philippine transportation.  Through the years, jeepneys have earned a moniker "King of the Road" because jeepney drivers are notorious for doing as they please---unload and pick up passengers whenever and wherever, violate all kinds of traffic laws like stopping at No Stop signs, drive on lanes and streets where they are not allowed, bust people's eardrums with their blaring music.

Jeepneys have made an impression on our visitors.  I haven't met a foreign guest who has not been fascinated by our jeepneys.  Riding a jeepney is definitely one of their must-try when they're in the Philippines, and I bet they have interesting stories of their jeepney rides when they go home.  An American client was fascinated how the driver can manage it all---keeps track of each passenger, makes sure each passenger pays before getting off, receives fares and gives change while snaking through traffic.  Yes, a jeepney driver is great at multi-tasking!  

I enjoy riding jeepneys when I travel to the countryside.  The ride is inexpensive and it allows you to take in as much scenery as you could.  I admit it's not the most comfortable ride, sometimes it feels like you're in a can of sardines.  The fun part is, you get to meet interesting people when you share such small space with them.

Jeepney rides can give you an adrenalin rush especially when you take the top load---that means sitting on the roof of the jeepney.  There are places in far-flung provinces where trips are few and far between, and commuters have to make the best out of these trips, hence the top load sitting arrangement.  Tourists and thrill-seekers love the top load, photographers get the best drive-by shots.

Law enforcers discourage top load as it is dangerous but drivers allow it, and passengers ride the top load at their own risk.  Maybe I should try this one of these days.:p

Linking to ABC Wednesday

La Tegola/Signs

I was waiting for two friends for lunch at a coffee shop in Ayala Mall-Cebu in mid-March when I took these photos.  The top photo is the entrance to the mall gardens, there is also a Starbucks and a bookstore.  Zoomed in at the sign of an Italian restaurant below Starbucks.  Love their appetizers and pasta dishes.  

Linking to Signs, Signs

Old Presidencia/Signs

A sign spotted at one of the streets in Culion Island, a former leper colony (est. 1904).

I'm glad this old prison was empty and padlocked.

It reads:  

Old Presidencia

One of the old prisons of 

the colony where errant 

patients were put into jail.

Linking to Signs, Signs

Jagged/ABC Wednedsday

J is for Jagged

These are jagged granite cliffs of Coron Island, one of the 80-plus islands in the Calamianes in northern Palawan.  The craggy cliffs have been slowly shaped by the elements over millions of years, they jut out of sea like some mythical creatures.  The caves in northern Palawan are also home to balinsasayaw (Collocalia whiteheadi), a species of swift endemic to the Philippines that produces a prized saliva---bird's nest, a delicacy for Chinese diners.  Price of bird's nest is no joke---a jaw-dropping P80,000 (roughly US$2,000) a kilo.  But the jolting fact is, the bird is endangered...so please stop eating bird's nest soup even when you have the money to pay for it.

The mysterious Coron Island is an ancestral domain to the indigenous Tagbanua.  The island and the rest of the Calamianes attract thousands of nature lovers every year. There are  lakes, coral gardens, rocky coves, cave systems and sugar-white sandy beaches.  For the adventurous, there are about 12 dive sites around this area, mainly Japanese shipwrecks sunk in 1944 by US Navy action.   It was a joy visiting this slice of paradise.

Busuanga Island is the jump-off point to anywhere in the Calamianes; Coron Island is just a 20-minute boat ride across the bay.

Linking to ABC Wednesday

Blue beyond/Blue Monday

You cannot swim for new horizons until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.  

~ William Faulkner

Linking to Blue Monday

Reminiscing

I made this collage years ago, before I knew about PhotoShop and other editing softwares.  These were my early attempts at shooting flowers.  The pink and white lilies were taken at the Rockefeller Center, the vibrant yellow flowers  at Central Park, both in NYC.  The red and purple flowers were taken in London---at the Buckingham Palace garden and outside a restaurant called Blue Door Bistro.

I haven't done much traveling this year, and I miss it.  I miss the adventure, the sense of wonder in seeing something new, strange and wonderful.  Looking forward to new experiences in 2013.

 

Thank you to the fine ladies who host these two wonderful memes.  And to blogging friends who visited and continue to visit this page, my heartfelt 'thank you'.  May the New Year bring us joy, good health, prosperity and new adventures!

Mellow Yellow Monday

Blue Monday

U/ABC Wednesday

 Undulating  hills of the Calamian Islands

Undulating, undulated [adj.] to have a wavy form or surface; with with successive curves in alternate directions.

The beautiful undulating hills of the Calamian Islands were a pleasant surprise.  The day before, there were bluffs, jagged cliffs and intimidating terrain.  But as we journeyed towards Culion Island, where we visited a former leprosarium, lush scenery broke through the gloomy morning.  I'd say these are the greenest grass I have seen in the Philippines. 

Linking to ABC Wednesday

To the Watershed/Signs

The watershed is located in a protected forest at the foot of Mount Malipato in Negros Occidental province.  It was a rough ride!

Linking to Lesley's Signs, Signs

The Difficult Journey/Signs

Photos from my archive:  The fish ladder at the Ballard Locks in Seattle.  Built to allow salmon pass between fresh and salt water, and to navigate the locks.  Glass panels below the water line make it possible to watch the salmon as they swim through the ladder.  After reading The Difficult Journey and watching salmon struggle against the current, I thought of not eating salmon again.

Linking to Signs, Signs

Yellow boat/Mellow Yellow Monday

A yellow outrigger at the Coron Youth Club (CYC) Island.

Linking to Mellow Yellow Monday

Sailing/Mellow Yellow Monday

On a day

when the wind is perfect,

the sail just needs to open and the world is full of beauty.

Today is such a

day.

~ Rumi

More yellows to cheer you up @ Mellow Yellow Monday

Vacant business/Signs

A sign of bad economy?
I haven't seen "Disco Pub" signs since the 80's.
@ Culion Island, Calamianes

Linking to Lesley's Signs, Signs

Multicolored bancas/MYM and BM

Multicolored bancas and a hut in Coron Island.

Linking to Blue Monday and Mellow Yellow Monday

C/ABC Wednesday

C is for Chimney

A chimney of a coal-fired thermal power plant in Pagbilao, Quezon province.  Took this photo while in an outrigger.

Linking to ABC Wednesday

School Bus/Mellow Yellow Monday

From the archives:  A school bus parked by the Experience Music Project Museum in Seattle, WA.

Linking to Mellow Yellow Monday

U/ABC Wednesday

Kulapnit Cave in Caramoan

U is for Underground

Exploring the underground is one of the activities I do with my friends when we're on vacation.  Caving or spelunking is often undertaken for recreation, which to my mom, is insane! Caves  are one of the last unexplored places on earth,  and some of the environments are very fragile.  I don't normally like enclosed spaces but spelunking is one activity where I conquer my fear.  Sure, I think about earthquakes and cave-in all the time when I'm underground but it's a small price I have to pay for an innate need to explore.  Living a relatively safe life, I guess I enjoy the element of danger exploring the underground---climbing or crawling is often necessary, squeezing through chasms and low tunnels, rappelling, swimming, negotiating steep or slippery passages make spelunking an exciting sport and physical activity.

Kwebang Lampas in Pagbilao

Spelunking is not necessarily a high-risk sport---as in all physical sports, knowing one's limitations is key.  Safe caving tips here.

our "lightman" in Kulapnit Cave

Linking to ABC Wednesday

L/ABC Wednesday

Matukad Lagoon, Caramoan Peninsula, Camarines Sur

L is for Lagoon, Lake

A lagoon is a shallow body of water, especially one separated from a sea by sandbars or coral reefs.  Wiki  This lagoon in Matukad Island has brackish water and surrounded by a wall of rocks.  There were stories from the locals that this lagoon is enchanted and guarded by a giant fish.  My friends and I climbed the jagged rocks to see a glimpse of this lagoon, unfortunately, the fish was not in the mood to see visitors the day we visited.:p

Kayangan Lake, the cleanest inland body of water in the Philippines, located in the enchanting island of Coron.

Kayangan Lake, Coron Island, Calamian Group of Islands

Linking to ABC Wednesday

I/ABC Wednesday

I is for Islands

My first glimpse of the Calamian group of islands in northern Palawan from the plane as we approached Busuanga Island, the largest island in the Calamian.  There are about 80 islands and islets in Calamian, most of them are uninhabited.  The islands are known for its pristine beaches, great snorkeling opportunities, wreck diving and scuba diving---rated  by Forbes Traveler's Magazine as one of the top-ten best scuba diving sites in the world.  There are 14 wrecks located around Busuanga, Coron and Culion Islands alone---mostly Japanese vessels in World War II.  Limestone cliffs, granite rock formations, fresh-water lakes, mysterious lagoons and caves can be found in the islands. The second largest island, Coron, was awarded to the indigenous Tagbanua people in 1998 as an ancestral domain.  It gives the Tagbanua the right to manage and preserve the rich marine and land resources of  the island that have sustained the community for centuries.  In 1906, a leprosarium was established in Culion Island, the third largest island, under the American Commonwealth of the Philippines.   

Linking to ABC Wednesday