Pagsanjan Falls

Saturday, March 1, 2014

We had a nice leisurely walk with Kona to Pup Culture where he was going to stay the day at daycare.  Wagging his tail he walked up to his favorite worker and was greeted warmly.  Kona bid us goodbye, and we headed to the F1 Hotel to meet Andrea, a coworker of Edi’s.  We three would be touring Pagsanjan Falls together.  The Gray Line Van pulled up with J.R. driving and Neil in the passenger seat.  They were our guides for the Tagaytay Tour, so we were happy to see them.

Our first stop was in Victoria.  This little town is known for its balut a fifteen day old duck embryo boiled in the shell.  We saw a hatchery with lots of cute little ducklings, and a few grown ducks.  We went into a little open air café, and Neil ordered one balut.  As we sat at one of the tables, he cracked the shell and showed us each part of the egg and how to eat it.  Edi had actually eaten balut at work the previous week, but it was a sight for me.  Neil ate the duckling; I would only taste the yolk.  It tasted like a boiled egg, but I’m not crazy about boiled eggs, so I won’t be ordering this delicacy soon.  Edi, on the other hand was told that if he ate three, it would increase his manhood J 

Our next stop was at a little store that makes distilled coconut wine.  It is very high in alcohol content and more like liquor than wine.  We each got a free taste – whew!  We all had regular, but they had all kinds of flavors.  Of course we had to buy a bottle at only forty pesos.

Arriving at Pagsanjan Falls Summer Lodge, we got changed and stored our belongings in a locker and headed down to our banca (a native dug-out canoe).  We were fitted with life jackets and hardhats and climbed in.  There were two banca men – one in the front and one in the back.  A motorized banca pulled us upriver a ways and then we were on our own.  The banca men navigated upstream through the rapids and paddled through the lagoons.  Let me just say that these guys worked hard – their feet take a real beating on those rocks!

After a beautiful ride up through the canyon we arrived at the falls.  We disembarked and got on a bamboo raft where another guy actually pulled the raft to and through the falls by a rope that was attached to where we were to behind the falls.  After going directly under the falls, I understood why we had the hard hats.

 

Back in our banca, we drifted downstream being navigated once again by our banca men.  We made it back to the original lagoon where the motorized banca was waiting and were towed in – I’m sure to the relief of the guys that had been working so hard all day.

At the lodge, we changed and had a delicious lunch waiting for us including chicken (white meat!), rice, lumpia, kimchi, a green leafy vegetable, little crunchy sardines, and sliced apple.  We were starving, and the food was yummy!

Back to the van we went for the ride back only stopping once for a bathroom / coffee break.  We were dropped off at the F1 Hotel, bade farewell to Andrea, and headed to Pup Culture where we were greeted excitedly by a clean, bathed Kona.  A walk back to our apartment brought us to another end of a great adventure.

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Scuba Diving in Anilao
at Aqua Venture Resort

My first dive experience here in the Philippines is certainly different from any dive experience I have ever had.  We went with some of Edi’s coworker friends.  We all met at his office building at 5:45 A.M. – too early! – piled into two vans and were off.  We made a pitstop at McDonald’s at a travelstop and believe it or not, they did not have coffee!  Lucky for us, there was a Starbuck’s right next door, so we all breathed a sigh of relief.

After about two and a half hours of riding, we arrived.  The resort itself is quite nice.  It is rustic but in a nice way.  It is multi-level and open air.  There is a pool and a fantastic view.  Guys from the resort met our vans and took our dive equipment and we headed down to the dive area to get changed and ready.  After we were briefed, it was time to get on the boat.  There is no dock, just a rocky shore meeting the crystal, clear water.  The boats which were like giant canoes with bamboo stabilizers were pulled to shore and a plank was leaned up against the boat to make a ramp for us to get in.

The ride out to the site was about thirty minutes.  The water was calm, the sun was shining, and if felt great to be out on the water.  We got to the site, got suited up, and did a back roll off of the boat for our first dive.  What was waiting for us was beautiful coral in colors I have never seen underwater.  Mauves, fluorescent blue, yellow, black, purple, orange – truly beautiful.  There were huge starfish and lots of little colorful fish swimming all around us. 

Back at the boat the wind had picked up, and the water had become quite swollen.  We headed back to the main island where the waters were calmer to a site called Twin Rocks.  The trip back was rough fighting the swells that at times were about six feet.  It was crazy but so much fun!  The boat going up and down, spray continually hitting us right in the face – what an adventure!

We made it to the site and this dive presented huge deep purple clams.  The dive master actually put his hand in one and it closed.  Of course it didn’t hurt him because of the flesh in the clam.  We were also greeted by a huge school of jacks – hundreds of them! We all got cold on that dive, so the warm showers felt really good when we got back to the resort.  Warmed up, we had a nice buffet lunch while enjoying the beautiful view.

We took the scenic route back to Manila but should not have as the traffic was atrocious.  We did stop at Starbuck’s in Tagaytay to stretch our stiff legs.  From the shores of the West Philippine Sea to the mountains of Tagaytay –what a day!  We had to stop for gas and barely made it back in time to pick up Kona at Pup Culture – they were already locked up and waiting.

A great venture was had by all. We will definitely do more diving while we are here J

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Tagaytay Tour

We finally made it to Tagatay!  We took a Grey Line Tour, so a driver picked us up right across the street.  We made one stop in Abalong to pick up one more person, Nora from New Zealand.  We could not have asked for a more pleasant person to have in our tour group.  Our tour guide was Neil and our driver was J.R. 

Our first stop was at the last Jeepney factory in the Philippines.  We were told that Jeepneys can now be made cheaper in a person’s backyard than in the factory.  The Jeepney is not only a form of public transportation, but they are works of art.  One can ride a Jeepney for eight pesos which is 18 cents.  We actually got to ride a Jeepney when we went to Palace in the Sky!...

Our next stop was at a church in Las Pinas that houses the Bamboo Pipe Organ.  It is 197 years old and is still used in the mass services today.  We had a really nice guide who gave us the history of the church and the organ.  He even had someone play the organ for us…

We arrived in Tagatay City and had lunch at Max’s.  Neil ordered us all a typical Filipino lunch with a chicken plate and several side dishes.  The food was good, but the view was incredible…

You have to have coffee after a meal, so our next stop was a coffee plantation which was more like a convenient store.  They are the exclusive sellers of Wild Cat Coffee.  This coffee is quite unique.   The Civet Cat dwells in the Philippine jungles and feeds on wild coffee berries, but the cat’s digestive tract cannot break down the hard shelled beans.  Thus, it excretes those beans completely whole.  The Civet’s digestion alters the coffee in a magical way for its result in a unique aroma and taste (yeah, I know what you are thinking).  A cup will rejuvenate, keep weariness and sleepiness at bay, and banish bodily aches and pains.  It contains three times the antioxidants than other varieties.  “They” claim it is Tagatay’s best coffee and that there is nothing like it.  Well, we got to have a cup of this magical java.  It was good, and yes, we bought some…

After our afternoon coffee, we headed to the Palace in the Sky.  This was the mansion of Marcos, President of the Philippines at one time.  When the people revolted, they went to the mansion and took everything.  The remains have been turned in to the People’s Park.  We were only able to go so far, and then had to take a Jeepney to the very top.  The views are absolutely gorgeous!...

Back in the van, we headed back to Manila. We dropped off Nora after exchanging emails – a new friend J - and then got in heavy traffic getting back to Serendra.  We will definitely tour with Grey Line again.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Peter White Concert with Greg Karukus, Michael Paulo, and Spencer Day

We love our jazz and were so excited when we found out that Peter White was going to be here in concert.  Not just here, but at the Samsung Hall right across the street from our apartment!  We began the evening at Greeka Kouchina for dinner.  It didn’t take as long as we thought, so we had some time to spare.  Meandering along we found that a Barcino’s Resto Bar had just opened, so we opted to step in and have a glass of wine.  Turns out, they really had just opened, and we were their very first customers.  We had a really nice time sitting at the bar enjoying our wine conversing with the bartender...

Time was up so we headed up the escalator to the venue as the concert was at 8:00.  We should have known, however, that we are on Filipino time…the concert did not begin until 9:00 (we could have had another glass of wine J).  The music started with Michael Paulo a Filipino American from Hawaii who plays the saxophone – he could really jive with that thing!  Greg Karukus joined him on the keyboard.  I love watching him play as his face is so animated – he is feeling his music!  A Filipino singer sang two songs, and Spencer Day from the U.S. sang two songs, and then it was time for Peter White.  As always Peter White delivered – he is incredible on that guitar!  Great crowd, great performers, great time!

We walked back to our apartment near midnight not having to pay a parking fee or fight traffic.  It was a beautiful thing!

Corregidor Island

Corregidor Island
Sunday, January 26, 2014

We arrived at Manila Bay and waited in line for our boarding passes.  We boarded, got seated and waited for the boat to take off - it was actually a high speed ferry boat.  It was great to be on the water!  Even though our seats were on the lower deck inside, we were able to meander around during the ride and enjoyed some time outside…

When we got to the island we saw beautiful, clear water and breathed fresh air.  We disembarked and went to our assigned tram that would be carting us around the island all day.  It turns out the gentleman sitting next to us on the ferry was our tour guide.  He was very informative and very entertaining.  The entire island is now a war memorial and we were able to see so much history!  Of course General Douglas MacArthur played a big part here on the island of Corregidor during WWII and all Filipinos know his famous words “I Shall Return.”…

We learned that there was a woman in our tour group who was actually born on the island – a true Corregidorian.  Her father was a Filipino soldier - they were called scouts.  We passed where she lived when she was a young girl, but sadly nothing remains there today…

We saw cannons and huge bullets.  We went into the Malinta Tunnel where there was a historical light show.  What a hide out during World War II.  I can’t imagine the fear and stress these people felt – such bravery and courage!

We had a very nice lunch at the Corregidor Inn where monkeys were playing around in the trees…

We passed the remains of the barracks of the American and Filipino soldiers.  The men had been separated because of language, food, and culture, but the barracks were the same…

We saw several batteries and learned how the weapons were stored and how the cannons were used…

What a great trip. Such history!  All of that with the breath taking views – definitely worth going again.

Saturday, January 12, 2014

No Corregidor Tour Today... Let's Make It Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.

Saturday before last my alarm went off at 5:00 A.M.  We got ready and took a taxi to Sun Cruises Ferry Terminal on Manila Bay.  When we got there we found out that they were having this big marathon on Corregidor Island, and the boat was not leaving until 11:00 (it was supposed to leave at 8:00 and return to Manila at 3:45) and would return at 6:45.  That posed a problem as it was only 7:00 A.M. and getting back so late might not give us enough time to get Kona (we had boarded him at Pup Culture – it would have been a long day for him in the apartment). Hmmm…. We should have called.  We are learning that is the rule of thumb here in Manila.  We had not had breakfast, so we walked to Starbuck’s in Harbor Square and had coffee and oatmeal on the bay, which would have been nice except for the smell.  Manila Bay just plain stinks – it smells of sewage, and I have such a strong sense of smell.  It really is a shame that the bay is so polluted.  They are working to clean it up and have made progress… still.  In spite of the smell we had a nice time just gazing out over the water and people watching.

We took a taxi back to our apartment – I had to hold my breath a couple of times with the scooters and buses getting so close!  We decided to go to the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.  It is a nice walk to get there and is absolutely beautiful!  It is so peaceful there.  It was sunny with a great breeze all day, so it was the perfect day to walk along the gravestones looking at the names of the fallen soldiers.  There is a really nice memorial with mosaic maps of the invasions – very educational.  Now when I’ve had enough of the hustle and bustle of the city, I know of a nice, relaxing place to just go and sit, meditate, or read. 

As for the Corregidor Tour, we are going to give it a go again this weekend.  Saturday is already booked, but Sunday is wide open – yep, we have already called J