Dusk settled. And right on cue, the crickets’ chirp broke the stillness of the night. I peered blearily through the tricycle’s door and only saw swaying wild grass within a meter radius. I glanced at Tim who was behind the driver, looking oddly cozy despite slightly sliding off his narrow seat. We were clearly on…
luzon
BenCab Museum
A sack of rice, boxes of groceries, and baskets of farm produce queued along the jeepney aisle. Passengers reshaped shifted every time a new one squeezed in, like tetrominoes in a Tetris game. My legs were devoid of sensation and my arms tried to position themselves comfortably but to no avail. I was, after all,…
San Juan, La Union: Newborn Meets Beach
My stomach lurched as the driver-gone-kamikaze did a suicidal overtake while speeding through a sharp curve. As if the zigzagging Naguilian Road was not enough to make me woozy. Such terrible decision boarding that aircon bus from Baguio to La Union. Closed windows always make me feel suffocated. Luna’s first time to wriggle her toes…
Mt. Cabuyao, Benguet: Into the Clouds
Not quite Mt. Pulag. But like other mountains in the Cordillera Region of the Philippines, Mt. Cabuyao at 2,025 meters above sea level, is almost constantly engulfed in a sea of clouds even on a clear summer day. Its renowned two discs called ‘radar’ by locals perched atop the peak, though gargantuan, could easily hide….
Batanes’ Culinary Celebrity: The Coconut Crab (or Don’t Tell A Conservationist I Ate A Coconut Crab)
Snapshot Saturday: Cure-Dillera
Mt. Pinatubo: A Geologist’s Dream Trek
She was four years old and on a different continent when the cataclysm of the Philippines’ Mt. Pinatubo occurred in 1991. She was already fascinated with rocks, and unbeknownst to her, she was about to become a huge Spice Girls fan. Fast forward to 2011, her fascination with rocks and earth grew to an obsession…
Backpacking With A Baby
And I thought backpacking with a baby bump is cumbersome. Traveling with a newborn or infant is on a higher level of difficulty – well, more like on a different insane dimension… much challenging than the countless treks I did (no matter how long they lasted), or getting lost in translation, or hopping on dodgy…
Hot Springs In The Cold
It took a hair-pulling half hour to pack the jeep with passengers. Our then two-month old daughter was getting fidgety. My legs were deadened for getting stuck in an awkward position, and couldn’t stretch them because the floor was occupied by sacks of rice and baskets filled with farm produce. Baguio City’s full on frigid…
