A rendezvous in Bucas Grande Islands in Socorro , Surigao del Norte and falling in love the second time around in Philippine's surfing capital, Siargao.
Yes. It is my second time in Siargao island, yet I am still in love with the place. It is a recommended place for the people who wants to unwind, relax and sail away from the noisy life in the city. I have visited the place last April 2012 ( in which I've made an blog entry of it. ) and the revisit was on September 6, 2013 together with my workmates. It was a belated birthday treat to us since the 3 of us, our birthday is near September 6, especially me!We flew from Cebu to Siargao via airplane (if the airline will give us free tickets next time, it will get free advertisement! >_<)
I could only see such greenery sight in Mindanao island.
Sayak Airport, Siargao, Philippines
The road going to General Luna for our accommodation. Enjoy inhaling fresh air in the province. The roadside is planted with trees ( mango trees are abundant) .
Day 1 : Island hopping (Part 1). The good thing during this day is that, it felt like we own the islands that we've visit. In Daku island, there were only two groups of people, ours and them (some lovers over there) .
Daku Island. The word "Daku", means big. Yeah, the island is really big compared to other islands in Siargao.
The next island that we've explored was the Guyam island. It's my 2nd time in this island. We've spent some time here chit-catting with one another. We were so busy talking not noticing that our boat was sailing away on it's own. The boatman had to swim to the boat's location so that he could bring it back to us, if not, we will be spending our evening in the island with nothing to eat.
Day 2:Bucas Grande Islands in Socorro. Our destination includes, The jelly fish sanctuary, Sohoton cove trip, had to pass through the cave in order to see the enchanting beauty of the place. Passageway to the cave is dependent on the tide, if you're unconscious with the rise and fall of the water level, you'll end up being trapped, unless you're brave enough to climb up those small mountains surrounding the place. We also explore Hagukan cave, a cave with small opening, but when you get inside, you will see a large dome shaped cave. Water is luminous green and warmer inside the cave, too bad, I just realized I am claustrophobic and I felt some eeriness at that time so I had to swim out of the cave.
Another cave that we've visited was Magkukuob cave.It is known for it's stalactite and stalagmite formations.If you are into extreme experiences, you can climb up to the cave, where you will climb down a bit to reach the jumping deck. The jumping deck looks short when viewed up from the boat. But when you are standing on the jumping deck, the height to jump off increased, it is because, when you are at the top, the total height your seeing is the actual height of the viewing deck from the water plus your height. And because the water is so clear, the height will increase tremendously because you'll be seeing the thing underneath. I suggest you do the jumping for extreme experience, it is a one of a lifetime experience that is worth remembering. The height you'll be jumping off is about 18 feet.
Before we go back to General Luna, since we have booked the speedboat for the rest of the day, we had some few stop over at Markaa beach and Naked island.
The enchanting Bucas Grande.
Side trip to Markaa beach.
Side trip to Naked island. Be sure to apply sunscreen before stepping a foot to this island, you could get roasted alive if you go here when the sun has already shine to it's might.
Day 3: Surfing lessons at Cloud 9 and Magpupungko Part 2 (for me).
Siargao experience will never be complete without trying to surf. We've spent the whole morning of the 3rd day for a surfing lesson. Only one of our friend was able to stand and surf using the the board. The rest of us failed, but we still enjoyed riding with the surfing board with the waves pushing us to the shore.
I just got lucky I was able to get another chance to explore one of the beautiful places that my country had so I am sharing this experience here.
I have to travel by AIR (experienced turbulence up there), by LAND (which includes long trip by bus, jeep and motorcycles with all those rough and bumpy roads) and by WATER (with all the waves lulling usto dizziness) just to reach the place. With all those obstacles that I have encountered not to mention how I got problems with the initial transportation because of nearly fully booked reservations, I am still grateful I was able to experience this one of a kind adventure in my life.
The first stop was in Magpupungko beach, it is located at Pilar, Siargao Island, Surigao. It's several kilometers away from the port in Dapa. This beach is very clean, white sand and waves are quite bigger and stronger over the other beaches which I have visited. It has a very nice lagoon that seems like a swimming pool inside the sea.
The next stop over was in Cloud 9 Beach resort. It is among of the top 10 best surfing destination all around the globe. Unfortunately, when we went there (April 2012) the waves were not as gigantic as during in September to October seasons. So if you want to catch those waves, visit there around those months.
Siargao is composed of few islands. For our last trip, we went to Guyam Island as our choice.
City Hunter is a 20-episode South Korean drama based on the manga (with the same name) by Tsukasa Hojo. It was published by Shueisha in the Weekly Shonen Jump from 1985 to 1991. The live rendition of Siti Hyunteo (Korean romanization of the title) was aired in SBS starting on May 25, 2011. (https://www.facebook.com/thecityhunterph?sk=info)
The story of City Hunter revolves around the plan on taking revenge on the five people which are apparently affiliated in high positions in the government. These five persons made an underground agreement to send 21 special force member to North Korea to kill their agents who were responsible for the explosion in Myanmar when the South Korean president had an official visit in the said place.
They have promised to the special force that after their mission is executed, a submarine is awaiting to them to bring them back to South Korea, but that was not the case, later on, these five people changed their mind while the secret mission is ongoing. They were afraid that if the mission will be exposed, the United States will withdraw its nuclear protection to South Korea, so they have sacrificed those 21 special force (they were killed by their co-South Korean sniper). Unknown to the four members, there is one sole survivor among the special force in the name of Lee Jin-Pyo who promised to avenge his best friend (Park Moo-Yul's) and other fallen comrades.
After the survival of Lee Jin-Pyo, he stole the baby boy (Lee Yun-Seong) of Park Moo-Yuls and sailed away to Thailand where he raised the baby as his own and trained him to become a strong person and use as a tool for his revenge.
After successfully finishing his college years and attaining a doctorate in the United States at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lee Yun-Seong returns to South Korea to fulfill his step-father's plan for revenge. He enters the Blue House as an IT expert under the National Communication Network Team. He is warned by Jin-pyo not to trust anyone and never to fall in love, as doing so will put the people around him in danger.
Jin Pyo wanted bloodshed vengeance towards the five people who turned them down but Lee Yun-Seong has his own plans and asked Jin Pyo to trust him the job and he agreed. They have tracked down and known who are those five people responsible for the killings in Nampo waters in North Korea. One by one, Lee Yun-Seong exposed the hidden secrets and government anomalies that were done by the first four members.
A twist occurred as the full truth is revealed. Choi Eung Chan (who is now the current president) is the last of the five council members who decided on killing the special force team that was sent to Nampo waters in North Korea. The reason why Jin Pyo stole Lee Yun-Seong when he was a baby was due to the fact that he was the son of Choi Eung Cha, and wanted the most painful retaliation that one could ever imagine : to be killed by your own blood, by your own son.
A/N: This series is worth watching. The first series that I've ever watched with combination of action, thriller, drama, romance and a light comedy. It is pact with twists that made it more exciting. The amazing and high-end tricks and gadgets used by the city hunter makes you feel as if your watching an Asian version of James Bond. The series also revealed some on-going problems in the government system and society that will make the audience to think critically and serves as warning to those politicians with dirty mindset that even though they enjoy some luxuries while they were in position, TRUTH will always prevail and they will get punishments someday.
Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny has been my ultimate favorite anime of all time. Gundam Seed was broadcasted first in Japan in the year 2002 and 2 years after the sequel Gundam Seed Destiny followed. Kira, Cagalli, Athrun and Lacus have been the consistent protagonist on this series.
The confrontation between the Earth Alliance (Naturals) and ZAFT (Coordinators), which originated in economic friction, reached a stalemate. Ultimately, the two sides opted for the last resort of diplomacy - in other words, war. Our story begins roughly a year later. Heliopolis, a resource satellite belonging to a neutral nation, is suddenly attacked by a Zaft mobile suit force. Their goal is to seize the Atlantic Alliance's newest Gundam mobile suits, which the Alliance has produced here amid total secrecy. The raid is successful, and ZAFT captures four of the Gundams. Kira Yamato, a Coordinator and student at an industrial college, is drawn into the conflict when he is reunited with an old friend, Athrun Zala during the attack. Tragically, Kira finds that his old friend and the other Coordinators are now his enemies. For patriotism's sake, Athrun sets out to defeat Kira. One against four... the battle of the Gundams begins!
The following slide show are aerial photos aftermath the typhoon Sendong (a.k.a. Washi). Photo credits to : Richel V. Umel
Just few days before typhoon Washi strike northern part of Mindanao (which includes Iligan city, my hometown and Cagayan de Oro city), I was so excited on my homecoming this December 25, 2011. Along with my friends, we have planned several activities to enjoy the holiday season but then, our exciting plans were shattered along with the villages that were flushed by the typhoon Sendong.
Now that our beautiful hometown was covered by storm debris and mud, going home is not exciting anymore. We have cancelled whatever plans for fun and replaced it with something that could touch some lives. Together with my kind friends, we initiated to do some kindness works to our fellow in Iligan city. We know it’s a small scale one, but it’s better than doing nothing at all.
Watching those poor situations of the families in the evacuation on the TV squeezes my heart in pain. I wish I could do more for them but we also have limitations. But if we would just have collective effort, I guess the impact would be great. Kindly include them in your prayers. If you are able to help, please do help while we are still able to. Their lives must go on with your aid. Please see the links below on how to help the victims.
Here's how (from the Philippine Red Cross website):
SMS
Text RED<space>AMOUNT to 2899 (Globe) or 4143 (Smart)
G-Cash
Text DONATE<space>AMOUNT<space>4-digit M-PIN<space>REDCROSS to 2882
Who would have thought that this kind of disaster will ever hit the majestic city of waterfalls, ILIGAN city? In my 24 years of living, I have never heard of ILIGAN city being mentioned in STORM SIGNAL #2. Although during hard rainy days, floods do occur occasionally.
On the same night, few hours before the typhoon strikes my hometown, I have already known that there was a typhoon upcoming, but I didn't bother much because my place was not known to be typhoon-prone area. The next morning, I was awaken by the bad news, that many homes were flushed out by the strong current of flood. Buildings, roads and bridges were wrecked and some paralyzed the normal transportation. The city was covered by mud and other debris. At least 250 people died and hundreds are missing and death toll continues to increase.
Many told me that it was the worst calamity that ever struck the city.
But, there is an important lesson to be learned here. Isn't it that this calamity is just Mother nature's wrath on us people? What have caused the poor drainage system in the area? Who is at fault why our rivers are clogged? Why does the soil from the mountain got eroded? Well, I guess, you know what I mean here so lets start to make an act and do our responsibilities as a citizen in this world.
Let us all pray for the souls of the casualties and their family to recover soon and to all people affected. God will help us. Lets do our part!
