Since the beginning of the year 2013, I've been trying to figure out places that I want to go, nothing really comes in to my mind when it comes to any destinations I am bound to travel. As my usual routines, I have already visited some places in the past and this occurs especially during seasons. Let me take the case of Marinduque since the root of my family came here, from my father's side. So I go here during Lenten season for the last two years.
The following are the places I wanted to go this year:
Ifugao Province
Batanes Island
Davao
Lake Sebu
Sta. Ana, Cagayan
Zambales
Nueva Vizcaya
Some parts of Quezon Province
Ilocos Norte
At this point, this is the only place that I can think of, and some will come as a surprise.
Let me greet the people who drop by in my blog a Happy New Year!
So this is my first blog entry for the year 2013 and what do we have to hope for in this year. As far as the year 2013 is concerned, I don't want to expect anything but at least I wanna live up with good hopes in my heart. I wanna smile and laugh more, be happy with my life and bring back everything that I have lost. I wanna hope for more travels here and abroad but what I really want to hope for is to go back in New York City, the greatest dream in my life is to live there. Be financially abundant and of course flourish my spiritual growth.
I wanna see a bright light shining in a hole and manifest everything that I desire.
This is going to be my last blog entry for the year 2012 and tomorrow will be another year to flourish and I just really wanted to start 2013 with a bang. I know it was really difficult for me this year as I have encountered so much problems affecting both my emotional and physical aspect and this was due to the awakening process I have undergone. As we enter another year, I wanna leave that emotional baggage in stored in 2012. That outgoing event in my life will serve as something to remember and it was really a challenging year for me. I wanna leave all those old that that no longer serve me. In my end, I wanna start anew, something that would make me different from the previous years and in that way I know that God has something in store for me. I won't expect anything but I could only hope for the best.
Shattered dreams and bad moments in my life are part of my aspect effecting me so much and today, I AM leaving everything in 2012 that is no longer serving me. May God bless us all.
Yesterday, getting to Talim Island was a surprised plan, although two days ago I was supposed to go there but due to bad weather I decided to cancel the plan. I was clueless though what is in store in that island although I made some few researches on the internet. But about a year ago, I was in Libis, Binangonan where the port is located going to Talim and that gave me an insight about the razor-shaped island. I did not take the map seriously from the internet that I did research to, but both gave me some insights about the island.
So it was a pleasant surprise that I made yesterday going to the island and upon the arrival at the port in Libis there were couple of motorboats berthing in the port waiting for passengers. I did asked the people out there about Talim and where the popular Tagapo peak was located in Baranggay Janosa, a quite popular climbing place to some mountaineers. From the blog that I read on the internet, you can see the overview of Ortigas Center and Makati skyline once you have reached the peak. I was quite confused about Tagapo where I asked some locals where it is situated since a lot of motorboats are available off to different .
Going to Talim is over an hour motorboat ride, so I arrived later in the afternoon and already quite impossible to get into the top of the mountain. Motorboats have a trip schedules so I don't think that I would be able to make it in Tagapo. I bumped with a tour guide in Talim so he told me everything about hiking in Tagapo.
Although my stay in Talim was just a couple of hours, I did enjoy the place and took some photos of the place. The next time around would be more interesting since I would be doing a mountain climbing in Tagapo peak.
Perhaps there are times in our lives that we felt so down and helpless needing someone to stand for you and reach out the best way they can. Perhaps you were looking for some people who will understand you and be at your side. We need people who can be a messiah, someone who can give us a hand and let their hearts open to much more understanding from how we painfully melt emotionally. In the burden that we are partaking, we grasp for solution, and we need someone to talk to us and feel the unconditional love that we are yearning for in times like this,
I have found this song and perhaps this resonates to all of us. Popularized by Gary Valenciano, the song called "Could You Be Messiah".
Just yesterday, I was in Manila Bay in Roxas Blvd where I took some shots of the setting sun. The photo shoot I have done was quite success since I was able to catch the sun before it disappears from the bay. But unfortunately during the night time, taking a shot for the river lights was not quite good, for it was my first time to do it.
As this day is Christmas, I came back to the bay for another photo shoot but the sun was hiding. So I waited for the night time and successfully I was able to manually set my camera for a city light and river flow shots. It turned out to be good though. Below is my shot for the the city light done while I was up on the bridge and I think this was good enough though.
Part of my reflection is to travel places and take some photos, and usually I have done out of town travels. It's quite expensive though and I think the plan had to be taken back seat in the meantime. Communing to the nature is one way to release my tension and it is indeed a panacea whatever the cases that I've been partaking in the past. And that is why, it is important to spend some time rusticating to different places and usually what I do is the backpacking style.
Yesterday I decided to go to Manila Bay in Roxas Blvd just to catch for the setting sun. From Luneta Park I started walking till I reached the bay side. The last time I was in this area was in June but that was quite a bit short just passing the place after I visited my sister in law who stayed in one of the hotels in Malate.
Staying in Manila Bay was simply beautiful as I was able to capture the setting sun though some photos turned out to be blurry. I got the clouds, the ships berthing in the middle of the sea and of course the sunset. Seeing the setting sun was such a nice feeling and I feel I had gained some energies out from the scenery. Staying in the boulevard and seeing some glimpse of the people around ends a perfect day for me.
I think I need another time to spend my day in that boulevard again and it will be no surprise if I get back there again one of these days.
It's been over a year now since the last time I visited Batanes Island where I spent 8 days in that blissful place. Paradase - is what I describe the place, but internally, I have this indescribable feeling overriding me the moment I think about the place. The beauty of the setting sun and the picture-perfect is what makes me remind of the few moments I spent in that island found in the north as you can hear the sound of the roaring sea is like a music to my ear.
During the course of my traveling experience in the Philippines, I have never seen such paradise as Batanes even Boracay will never surpass its beauty.Not a typical commercialized beach resort and that's the good thing about its local they were able to preserve the island's natural beauty, and it was never altered to become a commercial tourist destination. The aura of the island magnetizes a traveler like me to come back and spend more time, know more about the place itself, and of course the warmth people of Batanes-the Ivatan.
My curiosity in Batanes started when I saw the place on T.V. with Armida Segiuon - Reyna show's called "Aawitan Kita", several years back. Then I craved when my I traveled to places and the good about the internet and reading about the blogger's experience and seeing some of the photos is what made me become more interested. I made some few researches, planned the whole thing for over 6 months and then, that was it!
I feel the good vibes in Batanes. The serenity of the place, and the simple life of the indigenous Ivatan are some of the deciding factors that attract me to spend some time in Batanes. Of course the fresh vegetables which I intend to become a pure vegetarian soon.
I know I am in the spiritual awakening and reflection is being needed to someone like me so I could commune to the beauty of nature and rusticating is such a wonderful experience that I could ever have. In that way, I would become more attached to the nature as this gives more energy for my own being.
As we enter the year 2013, is a time to make up my mind to some few things that I really want to do and focus on before I can truly make myself conditioned to pick up these broken pieces and the things I have missed out. I want to live in Batanes for quite some time. I would need a lot of preparations to implement the plan and that would take some time. This time, living in Batanes would focus about myself, meditating and praying. In that way, I have a solid foundation of myself as soon as I am ready to come back and shine again, be whole and ready to face my own destiny.
It's December 21, 2012 or 12/21/12. I don't think about this date as the end of the world, end of the 26,000 cycle, the Mayan Calendar or anything related to this date whether it is phenomena, mystical, metaphysical or spiritual. What I think about is CHRISTMAS, haha, that's 4 days left in the room whereas we celebrate this yuletide season with our family or loved ones. So what's in store for me this coming December 25? I guess it's the same thing that I did during the last Christmases.
If there's something that I think about is my spiritual journey and I know that being in this realm is full of spiritual tsunami. I get a lot of emotional ups and downs this year, my dreams are becoming more vivid as some times it tells about what is going to happen. I think about crossing the borderline and walking the path till I reach the end of the line. Wave of emotions, this is what I am experiencing every day in my life since the beginning of the year and it was really really hard to cope up and stop all these chaos.
Life for me is a roller-coaster, and I am still learning a lot to become more resilient, preserve my values, to learn what I should ought to learn and to know about myself truly, learning how to trust my instinct and learn more about God. I guess both religion and spirituality doesn't have to do with my own personal belief, because I have my own that I don't follow everything when it comes to religion and spirituality.
I don't follow traditional spirituality and I don't really believe in everything that I read whether it's in the book or information that I gather from the internet. I follow my own self, my heart and my instinct and free from anything that I read. And I am not too much when it comes to what you call esoteric realm that can somehow be profound and some I found it too weird already. God made everything simple in this world. Just believe in God, Jesus as the only Saviour, do good to humans. Just KISS (keep it simple, stupid!) And you don't need to know this so called "Forbidden Knowledge". Just find God in your heart and that's it! As far as religion is concerned, I don't have to follow traditions, I don't have to go church every Sunday and everything that is said and imposed by any religious belief. But I detach myself from stereotyping and perceiving some people in the same realm as one box. And that I respect what they believe in.
And lastly, I work for my own growth and was hoping that everything happened to me is going to be over soon. It's not easy to take that spiritual journey as Dark Night of the Soul comes along, and it does consume me emotionally and physically.
Misses Philippines and USA. Photo courtesy of
Janine Mari Raymundo Tugonon
Facebook Page
Early today, I watched the Miss Universe Pageant via Starworld, and live from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA where Philippines' bet Janine Tugonon placed second to USA's Olivia Culpo. I thought or I would say that most people thought Miss Philippines would take home the crown and among the top 5, she was the clear winner as she nailed the question and answer portion. From my Facebook alone, judging her photos during the preliminary competition, I was pretty much sure that she would make the cut in the top 16 finalists. And yes she did! Janine has a Miriam Quiambao vibe, who was also the first runner up in the 1999 Miss Universe Pageant. This is the third year that Philippines was among the top 5 since 2010 when Venus Raj was fourth runner up, and Shamcey Supsup was third runner up in 2011. Will the Philippines continue the streak in 2013? All of them almost got the crown! Otherwise if they did, we'll have 5 Miss Universe already. Gloria Diaz and Margie Moran were Miss Universe 1969 and 1973 respectively.
Just before watching the pageant and seeing their photos from my Facebook feed, I had a feeling though, that Miss U.S.A. was going to take home the crown.
So Here's the result:
Miss Universe - U.S.A.
Second Place - Philippines
Third Place - Venezuela
Fourth Place - Australia
Fifth Place - Brazil
Finalists:
Hungary
Mexico
South Africa
Russia
France
Quarter Finalists
Poland
Peru
Kosovo
Croatia
India
Turkey
Hope to see next year to have another feat for the Philippines.
I can't remember the last time I attended the Simbang Gabi, prior to attending the mass this early morning. I can't even remember who I was with that time, whether I was with my family or friends, memories are vague and not a single facet I could recall in time. As far as I know, it was ages ago since the last time I did the Simbang Gabi. I was not even a devotee and to tell you honestly, I always find myself being bored during the mass. So I go to church whenever I feel going not following the Sunday service. Just the way I feel comfortable going to church is only the time I go on my own way. My family, especially from my father's side was a pure devotee, especially my lolas who were strict in terms of novena. To mention that my lola, my father's mom, was one of the hermanas and founder of Our Lady of Biglang Awa in Boac, Marinduque. My late aunt was a nun and other aunties were also a pure devotee.
Anyway just this morning I went to Misa de Gallo or Simbang Gabi, and it was the first day of the said commemoration and I went as early as 4 in the morning. Was there not for curiosity but of course I wanted to feel like how it was to attend the said mass again during the yuletide season. I was so excited and I brought with me my camera for the mass and took some shots of the church and the people. The mass was full and a lot of people were outside since it was already out of space inside the church. The church was a Parish in Cainta, Rizal where I almost grew up and spent my whole life in the town.
In that course, I never skipped buying the famous "puto bumbong" and this delicacy has been popular especially in the yuletide season. For more than an hour I spent there but I didn't finish the mass, so I did a little bit prayer. It was also my first time to go to Cainta Parish Church when Christmas. But as what I was telling, I could no longer remember the last time I went to misa de gallo.
My name is John. I'm a travel and landscape photography enthusiast. My ultimate goal is to discover some unexplored places. I'm into spirituality and as a jet-setter, I love to commune with the nature. Traveling to see beautiful places is how I express myself and appreciate God's gift to mankind.
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