It’s summer and the weather’s just too hot and humid. What better way than to cool the heat off with halo-halo? Go to any place within the country and one is sure to find streetside halo-halo in various forms with various ingredients. And these are very cheap compared with those found in malls and restaurants. Prices can range between P10 to just as high as P40 ($0.20 – $1) and one can already have a filling and enjoyable fare.

Busuanga Is. in the Calamianes group in northern Palawan is an adventurers’ and divers’ paradise because of its natural wonders, world class dive sites, beaches and (stunted) African wildlife in Calauit. But coming in from Puerto Princesa via a plane is another traveler’s treat: the wild and domesticated environment as viewed from the aircraft’s window.

He was… waiting. Feeling the wind, the water and his heartbeat. Blame it on ennui and the rustle and bustle of polluted Metro Manila that my feet is itching for that ride to nowhere again or just a sojourn to some place else. I was browsing through my files and saw this photo of a skimboarder off Palo in Leyte just near the famous Red Beach where MacArthur and company have been immortalized. He was surveying, looking for that perfect wave to ride. Waiting. Feeling the wind, the water and his heartbeat.

It’s the end of the road for my first Luzon – Visayas – Luzon roadtrip or what I fondly call, theLOOP. Its been really an arduous but enjoyable adventure across many provinces, thousands of kilometers and new discoveries. The total cost might be more than taking a plane Manila-Cebu-Manila but the experiences I gained, PRICELESS!

It’s too crowded. It’s overhyped. It’s too commercialized. It’s just one huge tourist trap.

With the 1000H roro that I was to take from Caticlan to Roxas in Mindoro having engine trouble and the schedule postponed, I found myself paying the EXORBITANT environmental and terminal fees imposed on travelers in order to have a glimpse of the supposed charms of paradise that is Boracay. With just less than a few hours for the 1400H roro, I made a lightning sidetrip to this fabled island.

In the Visayas, Iloilo is one of the provinces with many colonial era churches. What better way to spend a few hours before my trip to Kalibo that afternoon than with visiting two of these?

The first time I saw a photo of the church of Cabatuan and I was immediately drawn to it. Its impressive and imposing. An architectural achievement. Its squat but massive twin belfries flanks a simple facade built along neo-classic lines. Finished in 1866, it is one of the biggest churches in Panay.

This is the best batchoy I have ever tasted! I silently exclaimed mindful of the other customers in the airconditioned branch of Deco’s in La Paz, Iloilo. It must be the hunger and weariness of lugging my things while walking a good distance in downtown Iloilo City. Bernie, who met me at the pier took me here when I said that I want to have a good batchoy in La Paz. Its sahog of entrails, chicharon and scallions are plentiful and its broth very delectable.

Believe it or not, with only few hours in Bacolod, I opted to visit Henry Sy’s new pilgrimage center, SM City Bacolod, instead. Yeah, I passed by San Sebastian Cathedral, that beautiful old colonial era edifice but didn’t bring with me my camera. Not that I’m a big fan of malls, where I just find the offerings generic and nothing special, I was more intrigued by its architecture. From the shoe box style of which these brand of malls started with, it has been liberated and updated with light, airy and spacious designs.

Four hours across the north Negros highway and I was reliving memories of more than a decade ago passing this very artery going back and forth Cebu and Bacolod during vacations at my best friends place. I can vividly remember the ancestral houses of Silay with its imposing 1930s church along the road. Or how I am always captivated with the massive Mt. Mandalagan, a pemament fixture in the Negros landscape, lording it over the land.

After three weeks vacation at my home province in Cebu, I was again on the road for the trip back to Makati. I’ve been looking forward to make this trip not only because I will finally be able to visit the provinces beyond Iloilo as well as pass by Mindoro but also to come back, albeit briefly, San Carlos City in Negros.