When in Calayan town proper, there’s really no problem with where to stay. There is an organized homestay program with eleven homeowners but this post will only focus on two that I know and stayed at.

The best time to go there is during April when the monsoons switch. It is possible to go there at other times of the year but the unpredictability of the weather makes it difficult and there is always the possibility that one can get stranded.

At the edge of Caniwara Cove is another spectacular place, Nagudungan Hill with its rolling terrain and gnarled pine trees with some, especially located near the edge to the sea are permanently inclined due to the strong winds.

Caniwara Cove has a sandy beach but a flat rocky shore shallowly and evenly submerged to a few meters to the sea marks this beautiful and enchanting cove.

Once bets are placed, all is in a hush as the battle ensues, all eyes are at the center as the cocks fight it out to the death. Within a minute or two, its over. Another death at the arena.

It was the best beach place I’ve been to. Better than Boracay, not in terms of sand but the pure delight I had in plunging and bathing into its crystal clear waters that we just had to ourselves. Even better than Flower Island.

There are two things that strongly comes to mind when Calayan town is mentioned: the row of Bitaog trees in one of its streets and the pieces of corals, shells and small pebbles sloping at an incline that makes for its beach.

It was just three kilometers from our destination and the coast of Claveria was already in sight but the waves were already huge and traveling for the past few hours was enough to put our nerves to the test.

It is with great honor for me of being considered by top pearl jeweler, Jewelmer, as their Pearl Ambassador together with five other bloggers who are considered not only as influential in their particular niche but environmental advocates as well.

Not too many Filipinos know it but the Philippine National Hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal visited Cebu overnight during his sentimental journey, his last, from Dapitan to Manila in 1896. He was supposed to serve as a surgeon in the Cuban army but five months later, was gunned down at Bagumbayan.

So this is how it feels to be slowly roasted. I said to myself as the heat of the sun was slowly beating down on my exposed skin, biting, scorching, as our rented pumpboat almost arrived, after nine hours at sea.

It’s so out of the way, with travel very much dependent on the status of the Babuyan Channel where for most part of the year, can be very trecherous. Couple this with uncertain travel days and you’ve got a place that is so off the beaten path.

It would have been the perfect complement to Vigan’s empanada but the okoy was a bit of a let down. It was more flour, and lots of it, a few pieces of small shrimps and kutchay.

In some areas in Metro Manila, spiderfights along a quite street are done by grown up men who do it not for the sake of having fun or reliving childhood memories, but more as another way to gamble and lose or win money.

I have heard about the goat’s eye and its uses in the nether regions. But haven’t actually seen it until I was walking along Juan Luna St. in Cebu City. Mere mention would be enough to make some men make a devilish smile or women go giggling.

I really never tire of Mt. Mayon. I’ve seen her with her lava flows, or from the beautiful vantage point at the Embarcadero. Heck, I even consider Legazpi City airport as the airport with the best view in the world because of her! But never have I gone this close!

I just miss this place. Flower Island, a beautiful resort place a few hours from the coastal town of Taytay in northern Palawan was just unforgettable despite the rough seas and huge waves that seemed to test our mettle.

It was the pizza baked in Olive’s wood fired oven that I can not forget. Thin crust, savory and just memorable. The Quattro Stagioni was perfect and so is the Pizza Ilokano.

It was ubiquitous as the blue domed white structure got visible from the distance. Thunderbird Resorts sits, ensconced at the tongue of land that is the peninsula of Poro Point in La Union, the only five star resort in Northern Luzon.