I love traveling, especially to places where nature abounds,
because I enjoy being surrounded by God’s creation. Traveling also provides me with
experiences that satisfy my five senses, allow me to meet new people, and take
part in other people’s culture. Plus, traveling also sparks in me an interest
in things I’ve discovered along the way.
So, with a grateful heart, I looked back to my travels in
2018 and picked my most memorable experiences. Here they are:
1. Breakfast by the beach at Lilom Resort and Gallery Cafe. I did not only enjoy my breakfast of fruits, cornsilog (corned beef, fried rice and egg), pancakes, and French-pressed kapeng barako that the resort prepared, but I was also refreshed as the sea wind touched my cheeks and swept my hair.
2. Watching
sunset with my husband from the patio of a cottage. Lilom is indeed a
rustic resort that is perfect for laidback guests like us!
3. Selfie with a giant sunflower at Sunshine
Farm in Tiaong, Quezon.
4. Family staycation at a small cottage which we found through Airbnb. It was perfect for rest and relaxation.
5. Hanging on a hammock suspended inside a cabana.
6. Hearing bird calls, chirps, songs, and vocal sounds made by geckos. We stayed in a hut in a forest by the hill where birds dwell and geckos are plenty.
7. Swimming and sweating in a sauna with old friends in a faraway spring resort. All our body fats may not have been burned that day, but the time we spent overnight rekindled our friendship.
8. Visiting markets and buying local produce. I like buying local products and delicacies so I made sure I brought home a bottle of coco balsamico from Quezon; greens and blueberries from Baguio; turmeric and ginger tea from Romblon; muscovado and mountain tea leaves from Sagada.
9. Crossing the Bonbon sandbar in Romblon Island.
10. Witnessing a glory in the sky. While on an airplane, I saw on top of the cumulus clouds a ring of colors resembling the colors of the rainbow. I later learned it’s called “glory”.
11. Climbing 200 steps to reach Fuerza San Andres, an old Spanish fortress in Romblon, Romblon constructed in 1645. My companion and I met the elderly caretaker Mr. Deony Macatol who gave us a brief history of the fortress. The fortress made of coral stones was declared by the National Museum as a national cultural treasure.
12. Feeling like a Mexican wearing sombrero and eating nachos, kesodilla, and ensalada at El Panchito’s in Pagsanjan, Laguna.
13. Cooling down with the signature halo-halo of Aling Taleng’s Halo-Halo which has been in Pagsanjan since 1933. Aling Taleng's halo-halo is different because it uses sweetened tubo, or the round, fleshy part inside a mature coconut. The other ingredients are mongo, beans, kundol, ube, and macapuno.
14. Reliving childhood memories in a retreat house that’s more than 50 years old. While I was on a writing retreat at the OMF Calapan Training and Retreat Center in Mindoro, its old furniture reminded me of drum lamp shades, small rattan chairs, and floors made of wooden planks in our ancestral home.
15. Waking up at 5:30 a.m. to a breathtaking view of the rice terraces along the highway of Banaue. We were en route to Sagada and we had a stopover at Banaue.
16. Being greeted by a sea of clouds as we approached Sagada. I did not rise anymore at dawn for the trip to Mt. Keltipan to witness the iconic sunrise. I left that adventure to my millennials.
17. Taking the Central Sagada Eco-tour with my husband, son, daughter, and a French tourist.
18. The dizzying bus ride from Sagada to Baguio is definitely not for the faint-hearted. But the exhausting trip was compensated by a fantastic view of the mountains which were covered in clouds most of the time (and partly hidden from view by on-going construction).
To be able to travel and discover and experience new things, to feel alive, to witness beauty—that is a treat. But even though there are stresses connected to moving from place to place, a sense of wonder and a positive attitude still make traveling a wonderful experience.
Comments
Post a Comment