Pasyal at Pahinga

  Camp Spotted Wood is a first rate campsite located inside Villa Escudero Plantation and Resort which is accessed through its entrance in Tiaong, Quezon.  One registers at Villa Escudero's front desk to perform the usual health protocols and settle fees before entering the gate and following the road that leads to the campsite farther into the property, beyond the resort's more popular attractions.  Named after the Spotted Wood Kingfisher, a brightly-colored, medium-sized species endemic to the Philippines, the camp is the habitat of many bird species and diverse plants.  Villa Escudero, as I remembered it from my youth, was all about man-made attractions: a waterfall (of the mini hydro power variety), cultural shows, museum, buffet, coconut plantation - these are all still here - but a turn to nature has taken place. There’s now a forest with more native trees where mostly coconut trees used to be, there’s new camping grounds in addition to the air conditioned acc...

How does drive to a beach and get to a camp there? I didn't know how until we experienced it for the first time in Liw-liwa beach in Zambales over the People Power long weekend.  It was fortunate that my husband met Sir Robert, himself a Jeep owner who runs Zamba Kuta , a resort in Liw-liwa beach. All the resorts in the area were already fully booked so our only option was to camp on the beach and Sir Robert was kind enough to make all the necessary arrangements for us. The drive to Liw-liwa beach felt like finding a secret location.  It involved an hour's drive past Subic, through the towns of Castillejos, San Marcelino, and San Narciso, and right before the San Felipe arch, just after crossing a bridge that spans the Sto. Tomas river, we had to take a hairpin turn to access a narrow road that looks more like a dike.  There are no lamp posts, or fences, or shoulders, or any of the usual features of a regular road, just a straight path with nothing and noone, just the vas...

When my husband joined Jeepers (fellow Jeep owners) for a ride to Zambales last weekend, he found out about the possibility of overlanding in Liw-liwa beach -  a gorgeous stretch of sand that is wide and long - a great location for beach camping.    There are many resorts in Liw-liwa, and many of them offer camping accommodations (tents), but a bit away from the crowd, we had the opportunity to set-up our Jeep for a chance to sleep between sand and stars and wake up to a gorgeous view of the West Philippine Sea. We arranged for the relevant fees (entrance fee, environmental fee, pitching fee/pax) and rented an ATV from a local resort (see a related post where I provide info and pics on Zamba Kuta Resort ).  We were able to access the resort's bathroom and they arranged a Korean BBQ for one of our dinner's, but for the rest of our meals we cooked our own food.  The resorts in the area were all fully booked this long weekend, so we didn't have a choice but to slee...

Last month, we visited Binangonan to enjoy a meal at ArtSector Gallery Cafe (see my blog post  here ) and from our mountain vantage point, we could see the many fish pens in Laguna Lake below. I wondered then, what the view would be like at ground level - and I didn't have to wait long for a chance to find out. When I received a call for campaign volunteers to go to Talim island, I immediately said yes!  As a volunteer/surrogate speaker for my aunt, Sen. Leila De Lima, who is seeking re-election as senator this coming May elections, I get the opportunity to join campaign trips to deliver speeches on her behalf, in places I otherwise would not have had the opportunity to visit. Talim island is one such place.  There was a coordinator's meeting for the Leni campaign and a caucus participated in by 13 (out of the 17) barangays on the Binangonan side of the island, and I got to join the boat ride of Leni volunteers and organizers. I knew I would give up almost my entire Sunda...

Sip and Gogh came to mind when I was desperate for something to do with my daughter Narra - an activity that would allow us to just be together - to talk if we wanted - or to stay quiet without things being awkward. With all the stresses of looming deadlines hanging over our heads, I invited my daughter to just forget about all pending work and spend 3 hours with me, to do some painting.  We've never been to any sort of painting place, so it's a little afternoon adventure for us both. "Have you tried painting before?" the attendant asked me.  I remember taking art classes as a kid, but we only did kiddie watercolor on paper, never acrylic paint on canvas! It's always good to try something new. I had a destination in mind for whatever output I'd produce - I plan to hang it in my office! Ever since the imposition of the community quarantine 2 years ago  I have been working from home. I've missed my room at the department oh so much! But after a week, I'm...

  We were checked it at Marriott Hotel in Clark and I asked my kids if they wanted to stay in the hotel (where they can enjoy the amenities and free wifi) or if they wanted to go to Zoocobia. Of course I hoped for some outdoor fun with the kids, but you never know these days - my older kids have complained about reduced wifi time a lot.  Any place without a good connection is a source of pouty faces. But Zoocobia was fun enough to make them forget their gadgets, at least even for a little bit. The Zooc ride was definitely a crowd-pleaser.  Adults and kids alike got to enjoy the gravity-fuelled luge ride.  We had to climb a hill to get to the loading area where the attendant gave us a briefing (and took these pics!). Spacious enough for an adult and a child, the gravity car allowed me to take Lauan with me (he was not happy about that! He wanted to drive the car on his own but young kids are not allowed to ride without adult supervision).  My older kids though, l...

I realize that over the decades, my family frequently visited Pampanga for brief vacations. We don't have family or friends to visit in Pampanga - and there's really no reason for us to visit the place other than tourism. Looking back, I see how our activities in Pampanga have evolved through the years.  Last week, my sister booked us at the Marriott Hotel in Clark. We were amazed at all the new developments we saw in the area, even with the pandemic! We started to reminisce about old visits and we took stock of the evolution of our family's Pampanga visits.                           My earliest memories of Pampanga are tied to trips to Baguio. It was always just a pit stop on our yearly trip to the pine city, and never the destination.  In the 1990's, after Mt. Pinatubo erupted and the US bases pulled-out, Clark became our destination for duty-free shopping, air shows and hot-air balloon festivals; and excu...