Accomplished: Bicol Getaway and Trumpets Challenge Froi Dencio 06:30

      What will happen if your friends are as crazy as you are?

      We all experienced few boring months on board and we decided to go channel our inner Enrique Gil and Maja Salvador during our eight-day Bicol Getaway. From  Sta. Magdalena, Sorsogon to Pili, Camarines Sur; whether it's on top of a hill or deep inside a cave, walang makakapigil sa aming sumayaw.

     Check our travel video below, and please be reminded that you need to take an extra caution when taking a bath on a hot spring. :)

A Prelude To Another Vacation: Port Moresby Froi Dencio 03:14

We have the tendency to become afraid of things we do not know. The fear of the unknown somehow lingers on our minds despite the current advancement of  technology. Be it because of what we heard or read, that fear is being magnified by stories from other people that turned out to be full of either exaggerations or personal opinion with no basis on actual facts. However, that fear stops when we are able to prove that such stories are nothing less than urban legends and rumors far from the truth.

I was actually afraid of making a transit in Papua New Guinea. I have read about road crimes, security guards being knock-out by thieves at night, malaria, and other things that apparently makes PNG  a dangerous place in South Pacific. I have heard some of my crew mates telling stories about people throwing rocks on taxis, people roaming around the city with their bolos and cannibals in the mountains. I have had so much of those stories that it somehow instilled fear on me, and I almost choose to stay in the hotel until our flight back to Manila despite our two-day stay and my plans of doing few sight-seeing in Port Moresby.

Things turned out to be different when we disembarked last Saturday (June 4). There are some roads under construction on our way to the city and few people sitting by the roadside waving at us. I didn't feel threatened at all, instead, I was surprised to find out that Port Moresby is similar to some areas back in the Philippines. When we arrived at the hotel, we were welcomed by the hospitable ambiance and hotel personnel who immediately attended to our luggage.

Water Lilies, A New-Found Friend and My Lake Sebu Experience Froi Dencio 01:45

The sun tried to shed its light on the lake despite the clouds.

          "To, ano nga ulit pangalan mo?"

          "Kenken po."

          "Ilang taon ka na? Nag-aaral ka pa?"

          "Thirteen po. Opo. Grade seven."

          "Nag-aalaga kayo ng tilapia diba?"

          "Opo."

          "Sa palengke nyo dinadala?"

          "Hindi po, dyan lang sa Punta Isla."

          Our conversation went this way as the wooden boat traversed the placid waters of Lake Sebu. I asked a lot of questions and he answered all of them shyly, blurting few words each time. I was thankful that he agreed to let me ride his boat to go to the part of the lake where water lilies are full abloom. 

Kenken's an early riser. He was already on the lake before I got there.

          It was actually yesterday when I saw Kenken on his boat with his little sister tending on fish pens that made me ask him if he could let me ride with him too in the morning to watch the rising sun on the lake. Without any hesitation, he agreed. He just told me to be on the lake shore on the other side of Punta Isla by morning.

          I woke up at around five-thirty. I rushed outside to check if the sun already rose. It was cloudy. A thin blanket of mist is visible around the lake. I went back inside our room to get my jacket and proceeded to the place where I'll be meeting Kenken. He was tending their fish pen again. Few minutes later he prepared his boat and rowed toward where I was standing.

The boat's a 'lil bit shaky. Or it's just me?

          "Hindi naman tayo lulubog dito no?" I asked Kenken when I boarded his wooden boat. I tried to maintain my balance. As far as I could remember, the boat I boarded last time, capsized. 

          He answered me with a chuckle and said that he know how to swim anyway. He then started to row and we went past fish pens and few huts near the lake. I found out that T'boli natives, like Kenken are living around the lake. Some of them are raising tilapia for a living.

Fishes love lilies. Men love fishes.

          We waited for the sunrise. Unfortunately, the clouds seemed to grow darker minute by minute. I was not able to catch the sun rise by the lake. The sun appeared only later as a faint ball of yellow sphere overhead.

          I was lucky enough though, to witness the blooming water lilies. It is said that they open their flowers on certain time of the day. Perhaps it was the reason why I only saw buds yesterday; since when I first arrived here, I was hoping to see water lilies in their most beautiful state.

These egrets sure know that food is abundant in the lake.

          After few minutes of picture taking, I told Kenken that we need to return back to the resort. The sky was showing that rain is imminent. He rowed steadily, steering the boat toward the direction of Punta Isla. I found it amazing that at that age, he is already skilled as boatman. His parents seemed to rely on him too to tend their fish pen. His actions showed that he knows by heart the way of life in the lake.

          As we get near the lake shore, I gave him a hundred-peso bill. 

          "Salamat Kenken ha?"

          "Salamat din po dito kuya."

          "Walang anuman. Sana makabalik ulit ako dito sa Lake Sebu. At salamat ulit ng marami. Mag- aral ka ng mabuti ha?"

          "Opo. Mag-aaral po ako ng mabuti."

          I get off the wooden boat and Kenken smiled while rowing away from the resort. I just waved my hand as he went past the water lilies. He is such a nice boy, I thought. I could only wish the best for him and his family. 

          I stood for few minutes to watch the lake, the mountain ranges, the fish pens and the water lilies before I go back to our room. I couldn't help but reflect on the simplicity. The beauty. The peaceful aura. As I turn my back from the lake, I smiled. I will definitely return here sometime in the future.

Water lilies at their most beautiful state. 

Mt. Pulag: An Unexpected Journey Part 2 Froi Dencio 05:24

 

       We made a few hour stop at the Ranger Station before proceeding to Camp 2. The welcoming faces of the people made us quite relieved of the hour long habal-habal ride. After doing the pre-mountain hiking formalities with the Ranger Station personnel (who suggested that we can have a paluto or request for home cooking on a nearby sari-sari store), we took our lunch of steamy chicken tinola with the freshest cabbage I could imagine. Looking around the place, I found out that most of the children have similar physical features with those of the Andes people in South America, as  I had seen on a documentary about people living on high altitude areas.

     When all on the table was nothing but leftovers and we were already full to our hearts content, we started preparing for our hiking adventure to Camp 2, accompanied by Ate Nida, our tour guide. She told us that she had been a porter before and it was her first time as a tour guide, but she know the trail well. Moments after we left the Ranger Station, she offered to carry the baggage of one of my companion upon seeing that we are already catching our breaths  just a hundred yards from there. I was surprised to see her nimble and strong, despite her age and the fact that she is a woman. Nevertheless, we continue to hike to Camp 2, passing on plantations carved on mountain slopes, pine forests and the most amusing part of the trail to me – the mossy forest.

A cup of coffee after traversing the rugged road to the Ranger Station surely have a calming effect to the mind and body.

Mt Pulag: An Unexpected Journey Part 1 Froi Dencio 11:16

      We arrived in Baguio City as early as 3 o’clock  in the morning. The sudden bus get-off made us all shiver in cold. I was already catching my breath on the road, not expecting that the prevailing temperature of this high-altitude city will affect my system. Without any hesitation, we rode a taxi nearby and told the driver that we are bound to Dangwa Bus Station (which, all of us have no idea where). I was unable to stay still on my seat trying to keep myself warm and everyone seemed to be doing the same, except for the driver. My companions were mumbling about how cold it was in Baguio but my mind was completely focused on having a bowl of hot soup. Soon we will reach someplace to have our breakfast and we will wait for sunrise before we proceed to our  next destination.

Sta. Magdalena Escapade: Mt. Maraot na Banwa Froi Dencio 15:07

 

               Right after I disembarked my last vessel assignment, I was already thinking of the picturesque landscape of our town. I couldn’t help but imagine myself visiting hidden paradises, swimming on the tranquil waters on some of our beaches and even scaling the highest peak in our place, Mt. Maraot na Banwa. Luckily, when I arrived home, one of my old friends invited me to go hiking on that very mountain. It took us almost an hour to reach our destination, since we stopped and took a series of rests on our way to the top. I stumbled for several times because I didn’t expect our way  to be that steep. Nevertheless, despite the exhausting journey, we enjoyed the view on top, overlooking San Bernandino Strait, some portion of Samar island, the Pacific Ocean and other coastal baranggays of the town adjacent to us, Matnog, Sorsogon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enter A Post Title Froi Dencio 17:38

 

Matagal ko nang gustong makasakay sa kalabaw ulit,

sakto me nakita ako on my way home

         2014. Another exciting year na naman para sa akin. Hindi ko alam kung bakit pero marami akong inaasahang mangyari at maaring mangyari sa taong ito. Anyways, gusto kong humingi ng pasensya sa aking blogger friend na si Pareng Cyron dahil di ako nakagawa ng tinag niya sa aking All I want For Christmas entry, pero sana natupad ang wish list nya. Gagawa sana ako pero lumipas na ang 25th at wala ni isa man sa mga wishes ko ang natupad. Isa pa, nasa kabundukan ako nung mga panahong iyon. Walang wifi, mahina ang reception ng broadband at medyo busy rin sa kalalakwatsa with the barkadas. Don’t worry, isi-share ko ang ilang moments ng vacation ko sa susunod na mga blog entry.

A glimpse of Belgian sunset Froi Dencio 08:24

         Being a seafarer is enduring weeks and even months on board a vessel without setting foot on land. No wonder people of this profession (especially me) tend to get exuberant and excited once arriving on a certain port. The main reason: shore leave (though this doesn’t happen every time the ship is on port). These two words perfectly denote a total escape from day to day hard work on the ship, a moment of relaxation, setting eyes on new and various places and of course, the answer to month-long yearning to walk on dry land.

        One of the most memorable shore leave that I have experienced so far was that on Bruges, Belgium. Our ship was moored on Zeebrugge port so we are privileged to go downtown.   It was my first time to walk on a European land and I was anxious to see lots of scenic places on this municipality. Unfortunately, we only have a limited time to roam around and we have to return to the ship for our port duties. Nonetheless, we took some photos along the road for souvenir  and bought some Belgian chocolates for pasalubong.