Early one morning, just before sunrise, I woke up early to take a short walk and take photos along the shore where a fishing boat was beached into the shallow water for a few days already. After a few minutes of seeing, composing, setting and clicking, I started to notice a group of fishermen starting to pull at a rope. They were trawling the shallows and this got me curious since I haven’t seen this before.

Be careful of what you wish for, it might come true. For many years, Cuyo is a fascination. A sprinkling of islets between Panay and Northern Palawan, I have wondered many times about its isolation, its people and the rich religious cultural heritage found on its soil. It all started way back more than a decade ago when I used to collect butterflies.

It is not only old churches that I am fascinated with but I find Spanish colonial era cemeteries, and to some extent, those during pre-war period with their wonderful architecture very interesting. When I get to places, after asking about the churches, I follow it up with: “Is the cemetery here old?”

In the Visayas, and possibly in the entire country, Iloilo has the best samples of colonial era, as well as pre-war cemeteries.

No doubt about it, I’m a sucker for old churches. That’s why when I travel, the first place that I go to see is the church, especially if it is colonial era. Not to pray, but to admire these architectural wonders as well as to take photos or do some documentation. I always find time to make my own visita iglesia.

For religious heritage lovers, Iloilo and Negros are must go to places in the Visayas.

Last 24 and 26 May, I visited fellow travel blogger Ferdz’s first monochrome exhibit entitled Living By Water at the Filipinas Heritage Library. It is his tribute to, in his words:

“…water and its significance to how and why people live by the water. ”

What piqued my curiosity most were the locations where the images were taken: stilt villages in Basilan and Zamboanga, Itbayat, Lake Sebu, Siquijor and Iloilo.

While wandering around Valladolid in Negros Occidental, a stone’s throw away from the colonial era church, I chanced upon two men in their backyard holding their fighting cocks readying these for a short game to test their birds’ ferociousness. Well, it was just a fun sport and I think with my camera on-hand, they were more than happy to “show off”.

Cockfighting is an age old pastime in the country that was very popular even during the Spanish colonial period.

The reason I made a detour in Negros was to check out the Masskara. Of course, I was able to get an access pass so that I can enter the dance grounds as well as see it for myself. It was really fun, very colorful but after a few hours, the constant loop of one music used by the performers was just driving me crazy! I was able to take around 4 gigabytes of photos in RAW but unfortunately, a few days later, a technical glitch I made with my Epson P-2000 erased it totally!

For many years, I have set my eyes on the remote island of Cuyo, borne out of curiosity and fascination to this sprinkling of terra firma, located at the northern edge of the Sulu Sea basin between north Palawan in the east and Panay in the west. When the book project Philippine Church Facades by Pedro Galende, OSA, materialized, the fortress churches of Cuyo and Culion were included in the list to be photographed and so, I requested and got the assignment to travel to these places.

“Everyone in the household, relatives and friends come out to do and assist in the preparations for the big day.” I do admire the community spirit of the Lucbanins and this is best displayed in the run up to the Pahiyas festival. Everyone in the household as well as relatives and friends come out and do the preparations as well as assist others. During this time, what remains is just the mounting of the decor and doing finishing touches.

“The Pahiyas decorations are really stunning and the variety seems to be infinite!” What a riot of colors, an assemblage of all sorts of produce and exuberant display of creativity! The Pahiyas decorations are really stunning and the variety seems to be infinite that as one passes through the different houses and stalls, one is just struck with awe, amused and entertained.

“The kiping, thin, delicate and edible rice crackers is the festival’s identifying decor.”15th of May and the best place to be is nowhere else but in Lucban, a town in northwest Quezon bordering Laguna where the annual harvest festival, Pahiyas, is in full swing. Multicolored kiping, thin, delicate and edible rice crackers, in the shape of a leaf decorates windows, doors and just anything else on the house’s exterior is its most identifying decor.

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.