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It was an uneventful flight into South Africa. Via Emirates, we took our connecting flight to Capetown out of Dubai. The flight was fully booked from Manila to Dubai, and there was hardly an airport seat without a sleeping passenger waiting for a flight. Airport shopping presents an alternative but in my sleepless condition, it offers no pleasure. Dubai Airport makes one feel like you’ve never left Manila as many sales people hail from dear Philippines.

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It would be another grueling 9 hour flight into Africa. Literally pushed myself out of my aisle seat and shouldered my bag walking out of the plane. Overcast skies did not dampen my excitement as we exited the airport in Capetown. Table Mountain greeted us upon arrival. I felt like Alice stepping into the looking glass. Though overwhelmed by its beauty, everything felt incredibly safe and familiar. Must be in my dreams. After all, this has been in my bucket list since I watched “Out of Africa” back in 1986.

As our bus weaved along the coast, the glassy surface of the Atlantic Ocean presented an amazing seascape in all its hues of blue. For the next 2 nights, we would enjoy this seascape from where we were booked for the next 2 nights. Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa is one very charming hotel. Twelve Apostles Mountain Range behind you, and the Atlantic beckons from the hotel entrance. The sun has set and it’s twilight time here in Capetown as we checked in. Lovely from every angle.

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This landmark hotel combines nature with luxury.  All the trappings of modern amenities and comfort without losing its colonial charm.  It would have been perfect to check out the state-of-the-art therapy or treatment rooms. The ultimate luxury! But I was so zonked out after that day-long flight it would be wasteful to sleep through a good massage.  

The mood here in Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa is definitely very exclusive and relaxed.  The jaw-dropping panorama of oceans, blue skies and mountains makes it a nearly sacred place. And such polished elegance!  If you ask me, I felt like I was in some film set. Expect Brad Pitt or Richard Gere to step in through the glass-paneled door to the balcony!  No, make that pre-botox Robert Redford of “Out of Africa” fame. 

I could have said they could starve me here so long as I get this daily dose of earth, sky and ocean.  Bloated from all that airline food while our legs cramped from lack of mobility, I failed to do justice to the buffet spread of kudu pies and biltongs, vegetable bredie, grilled lamb, boerewors (that very South African sausage), koeksisters which resemble our local “pilipit”, salads and coal-roasted sweet potatoes. There were more, but I was just not into it tonight. A pity, but this sleep-deprived zombie was no foodie tonight. Rather, I hurried back to my hotel room dreaming of a bath and drying my hair just enough before diving into the folds and softness of the duvet. Aaaahhhh….. Dreamland. Ssssshhhhh. Night Night

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Back from nearly 3 months in Spain and done with all my back blogs, I only managed one weekend out-of-town trip, a day trip to Pampanga, a trip to the Museum and an afternoon in Chinatown. In between, I was blogging, researching and reading travel books and blogs.

 

 

 

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It’s been almost 3 months since I got back. Armchair traveller? Or a couch potato? I have long had all of 45 movies in my iPad to fill in the time waiting at airports, bus terminals and train stations. None watched. Till lately. I even managed to watch “Oro, Plata, Mata” on YouTube! That, plus all the research on my much-coveted Camino de Santiago and African safari. Nearly a daily routine…… Just the latest in my string of “bad habits”. 😄

 

 

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Sourced from the Net: An African Safari

 

 

I looked at the photo above with giddy enthusiasm. The sensation approximates my earlier terrible obsessive desire to go to Macchu Picchu. Missed out on the latter while my dear friends went without me. 😢 The Camino de Santiago is something I’d also want to do. More so now when I learned a friend has done the 100 kilometer walk recently. All apprehensions banished. I’d do this for sure. Perhaps next year.

 

 

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Sourced from the Net: An African Queen Sunset Cruise (Victoria Falls, Zambia Side)

 

 

Must be post-travel blues to explain all this laziness. I’ve been knocking books off the shelf to fill in the time. I have gained 3 pounds since I got back. I don’t even do my daily exercises now. For sure, something feels off-kilter. When I start cleaning out my closet and begin feeling sluggish putting the stuff back, something’s terribly wrong. So, how do you shake off the blues?

 

 

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Sourced from the Net: Garden Route, South Africa

 

 

I did what most others advise. I’m off again. Soon. Those post-travel blues wiped away as I start feeling peppy again over the prospect of crossing out another item in my bucket list. Watch this page, amigos y amigas. Pretty soon, I’d be donning my loafers and bush jackets as I psyche myself to do that bush walk. Maybe meet and greet a pride of lions. Or ride an ostrich, if an elephant won’t do.

 

 

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Sourced from the Net: One of My All-Time Favorite Movie


My Canon G12 packs well in my handbag! Have you read my earlier blog on my non-DSLR cam-toting travels around the country? Well, the same P&S traveled with me and i adore it!

 

 

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The lovely temple in Punakha, Bhutan housing over 600 monks and where 2 rivers merge and then flow as one.

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Parque Maria Luisa in Sevilla, Spain

 

 

Even if I wanted to, I can’t hold a heavy cam well. No worries. My Canon G12 suits me well. And hey, this is not a paid advert. Just happy with my P & S. I don’t even need to lug it inside a backpack. My small handbag will do. When in a crowded place, I hang it around my neck and zip up my jacket to hide it….. Only to bring it out for a few seconds to snap a shot. I call it “no frills” photography. 🙂

 

 

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Ton Le Sap Lake filled with water……..emptying out as Siem Reap’s dry season approaches.

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Imagine Lara Croft lurking somewhere here in Ta Phrom, Siem Reap, Cambodia

 

 

Neither is it a demanding camera. It thinks on its own. I have experimented with the settings but really, it is simply a memory catcher for me. Memories captured to be revisited at some future time. Available for easy review. I need not be too technical about it. 😉

 

 

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Yummy Vietnamese snacks!

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So colorful in Wat Po, Bangkok, Thailand!

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Freson Con Nata is the specialty snack here in Aranjuez, Spain. That’s strawberry with real fresh cream for you and moi!

 

 

So there. And my G12 has a lovely travel buddy. My iPhone takes pretty good photos too. Yes, it’s good for those days you want to just step out with a fancy belt bag, or no bag. Tucked inside my pocket, I’m able to step out with a few bills and my iPhone. Loving it!

 

 

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Oh, ok. The iPhone is likewise handy for a few stolen museum shots. (Mi apologia. No flash, of course)

 

 

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My handbag easily fits a Canon G12, my iPhone, a bottle of water, a chocolate bar, wallet, brush, powder, lipstick, some snacks and a book!


Tagaytay has always been a favorite day trip and weekend destination. Just an hour and a half drive south of Manila. What new things can we do here? It wasn’t like we needed a new adventure. Perhaps we just needed to be someplace cooler where we can be together and be a family.

 

 

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We booked ourselves at Tagaytay Crosswinds Resort Suites. There are other new hotels in the area but we liked the idea of having our own condo-like suite where we can actually cook in. That meant doing our groceries in a nearby supermarket to buy steaks and chops, corn and rice. The not-so-little ones loved our steak dinner much and the idea that we can actually cook in!

 

 

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The suites are complete with kitchen essentials from rice cooker to frying pans. The elves watched TV while we prepared dinner. There isn’t much to do after, so we got busy with our iPads and iTouch after 😊. I skipped breakfast the morning after, choosing to have an extra hour of sleep. Breakfast was served in a hall in the next building. Hopefully, Crosswinds will have a new dining destination within its complex the next time we visit. That, plus wifi INSIDE the suites.

 

 

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You don’t get a view of Taal Volcano from your room nor anywhere within Crosswinds area, but you may enjoy an early morning walk around. Pine trees everywhere and the cool breeze make you feel you’re somewhere near Baguio. Since the hotel is right within Crosswinds (the subdivision), it’s more quiet and peaceful here. Of course you can always drive out to dine in any of the many bistros and cafes along the Ridge.

 

 

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All my life, I have only owned 4 cameras. Imagine me traveling with only a disposable cam before. No wonder I had very few shots — all blurry — back then when everything was an adventure. Many first times then, largely undocumented. A pity.

Twilight in Donsol, Sorsogon, Philippines

I owned my first digicam only in 2004. Away with trips to the photo shop to have my films developed. Away with photo albums. These days, we simply just snap away and store what we like and delete the rest. I look at others and at times, feel envy watching them change their lens, set up their tripods and the like —- all for a better shot. I don’t have that option. My bad neck and shoulder won’t let me carry all that weight around my neck nor balance that cam even with 2 hands. Thanks to many photo editing apps, I am now able to “improve” even bad shots taken on a whim.

BenCab Museum Garden in Baguio City

Traveling around the Philippines, I began to appreciate my new Canon G12. It’s light and easy to operate. I set the cam on automatic and it makes all the decisions for me. Other times, I pretend to know my stuff and tinker with the camera. I sometimes end up with better shots but most of the time, you couldn’t tell whether I set it on automatic or not. 🙂

The Face Masks @Balaw Balaw Restaurant in Angono, Rizal

There is no reason to complain. I do not have to tote around a heavy DLSR and adjust my lens or set up a tripod. God knows I’d easily lose patience and interest if I have to go through all these steps just for a good shot. It is enough that I find something worth photographing as a memory aide so I can revisit my fond memories anytime I choose. When I am in the mood, I would choose an angle or several angles to take a photo. Often, I love taking distant and close-up shots of a place. Human interest shots are swell, but they come and go. One has to have quick hands to get the cam ready or you lose the moment. I have been lucky with a few. But they are few.

The Street Vendors of Quiapo, Manila

Wish there were more.

Sheltered, Educated, Loved. These are the boys of St Martin de Tours in Bustos, Bulacan.


I have never been to San Guillermo Church in Bacolor, Pampanga before. But I have certainly heard about it, and grieved with many when the mudflow (lahar) from Mount Pinatubo left the church and many parts of Bacolor, Pampanga half-buried in nature’s wrath.

 

 

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San Agustin Church was built in 1571. San Guillermo Church dates back to 1576.

 

 

Mount Pinatubo put us back in the world map with its disastrous eruption after a hundred years of dormancy. A sleeping monster. The ash fall covered a large area just as I was spending a holiday in a beach in Zambales that sad day in 1991. We cut short our holiday then, but it didn’t end with that. The large deposits of lava emitted by the volcano was a serious threat to the areas surrounding the volcano each time the country experienced some heavy rainfall. Four years after the eruption, the town of Bacolor, Pampanga met its sad fate from nature’s fury. San Guillermo Church was not spared.

 

 

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Sad to think that a church nearly as old as the San Agustin Church in Intramuros stood helpless when lahar flowed from the slopes of Mount Pinatubo on that fateful day of September 3, 1995. Four years after it erupted on June 15, 1991, Mount Pinatubo continued to wreak havoc on this Philippine countryside. Half of the 12 meters of this baroque and neo-classical architecture lay buried in mudflow. Yet faith and perseverance united the Bacolor folks who wasted no time excavating the religious statues, altar and retablo which they carefully and lovingly relocated under the more spacious church dome where it would fit.

 

 

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They moved the altar and retablo in this space under the dome, where it would fit.

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Those bats gave me the creeps…………

 

 

We were the only ones visiting the church at the time. The silence and presence of bats guarding the retablo added to the mood. Such sorrow at seeing this church “halved” by this catastrophe. We entered and exited through what used to be the church windows. We lamented seeing the arches touch the ground. So with the windows touching the now-tiled floor. We stooped through low archways to get inside the Adoration Chapel. Thank God many of the religious icons were salvaged and painstakingly restored and preserved.

 

 

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Yes, it reached all the way up there.

 

 

The centuries-old religious statues on display is a testament to the town’s faith and pride. A popular TV series (“May Bukas Pa”) had their location shooting in this church. We didn’t miss checking out “Bro” — a statue of the reincarnated Christ. There were more where we found Bro. All equally finely crafted.

 

 

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Si Bro…..

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Don’t You Just Love This Image of this thumb-sucking Infant Jesus?

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For sure, “Bro” is pleased that nature’s wrath did not at all diminish the faith in this town. In a way, Bacolor “saved” the other towns in Pampanga as it served as catch basin for all that mud flowing down from Mount Pinatubo. Many lost their homes, businesses and loved ones. One can’t help but feel sorrow for their misfortune. God bless this town.

 

 

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Here is a summary of the day trips I took while based in Madrid last year (2012). Thought it would be easier to check out which blog interests you by giving you this list. Just click away!

Avila

Saint Therese of Avila

Segovia: Home of Cochinillo

El Escorial: Not Just Another Gravesite

Valle De Los Caidos: El Hombre Generalissimo Franco

La Segunda Vez En Sevilla

Semana Santa In Cordoba

Eating Around Spain : In Madrid and Elsewhere

An Easy Day Trip to Toledo

Early Start To Valencia, Spain

Do-It-Yourself Trip to Aranjuez

Barcelona

Montserrat in Barcelona

Las Ramblas In Barcelona: What’s All The Hype?

Alcala de Henares: A Pleasant Surprise


When I stayed nearly 3 months based in Madrid, I blogged away like crazy. Like a little girl back to writing on her diary. After all, my human interaction was then limited to a couple of hours max per day. I walked a lot around Madrid. Nearly mastered the “free windows” aka free admission hours of Museums,  strolled through the parks and moved around using the metro buses and subways. 

My friends would ask which of my blogs touched on this and that……………so I’m doing these summaries of my Madrid Blogs  so you can just click on the links.  I promised to do the sequel on day trips from Madrid after this.  Click away, amigos y amigas!

Just Landed: Day One in Madrid

Photowalk Around Sol, Plaza Mayor and Retiro Park

Rizal Monument in Madrid

First Pass At The Prado Museum

Madrid’s Plaza de Toros: Bullfights, anyone?

Jose Rizal’s Favorite Madrid Haunts

The Best Chocolate Con Churros

Juan Luna in Madrid’s Senado!

Parque de Retiro or Retiro Park

Palacio Real (Royal Palace)

Almudena Cathedral and Crypt

Food Trip #1: Mercado de San Miguel 

Plaza Mayor in Madrid

Rizal’s Favorite Haunts: Part II

Food Trip #2: Eating Around Spain

Sunday Shopping In El Rastro

Goya: Off The Beaten Path

Not Just Another Museum: Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales

Museo de Reina Sofia

One FREE Day Around Madrid

Palacio Cristal and the Royal Botanical Gardens

My Favorite Museum: Museo Sorolla

Casa Botin: Last Cochinillo Before I Head Home

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Read so much about it, but never tried. Till now.

 

 

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I’ve eaten frogs before in a Chinese restaurant in London. They called it “water chicken” there and I savored the dish without suspecting “water chicken” = frog. Not bad. In fact, I liked it. But I have not repeated that experience since. Till now.

 

 

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In a recent trip to Pampanga, lunch was in a place called Apag Marangle in Bacolor. Literally translated as “hain sa bukid”, or dining in the farm, this 4 year old restaurant is located along the old Olongapo-Gapan Road (now JASA) in Bacolor, Pampanga. Fast gaining popularity for its authentic Kapampangan dishes, the native cottages lining a man-made fishpond with grazing ducks add just the right touch.

 

 

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Pampanga is regarded as the culinary capital of the Philippines. One story goes that the Muslim royalty driven out of Manila settled here with their royal household. Another version is that many Spanish friars who oversaw the construction of several 17th century churches here had their own coterie of artisans and kitchen masters. I’m more inclined to believe the former story, quite unable to imagine the likes of Padre Damaso feasting on frogs and crickets.

 

 

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Unlike the frogs served in London, the Kapampangan frog dish had no pretensions. The frog — called “tugak” — was served skewered, 3 to a stick. There is also the stuffed version (“Betute”) but I went for tugak 😪. No one wanted to share the dish with me. But I had company when the mole crickets were served. Boiled in vinegar and garlic, then sautéed in chopped tomatoes and onions. Crunchy at first bite, moist inside. Again, no pretensions in serving this bug dish called kamaru or kamaro. Never disguised. They all looked like they were crawling just moments before they were served. Awwwww 😣😢😝

 

 

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You don’t need a stomach made of steel to try these exotic dishes from this foodie province. Just a lot of spunk and “fear factor-ish” sense of adventure. Don’t worry, there is no scratchy texture to the cricket dish. Why, you ask? The cook makes sure they have rendered the mole crickets lame by removing the legs and wings. Aww! 😣😢😓

 

 

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To be sure, order some other non-exotic Kapampangan dishes in Apag Marangle. The grilled seafood and steamed vegetables served with buro (fermented rice) perfectly complement Tugak and Kuliglig. And the carnivores can still satisfy their Lechon Kawali fix served with liver sauce while deciding whether to order the more exotic Betute. I opted out. Stuffed with minced pork before deep-frying, the dish looks like an oversized, obese frog to me. 😢😣😜. Much unlike its skewered cousins who can do with some muscle toning. 😱

 

 

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On our way out of Apag Marangle, we spotted some reddish thingy clinging to the bamboo poles and rocks. We were told they were snail eggs. We dared not ask if they were edible! 😝😝😝

 

 

 

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It is actually named Saint James the Apostle Church. But you’d get by asking for directions to Betis Church. After all, every person in Pampanga has every reason to be proud of this historical and architectural treasure.

 

 

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Huge, but it doesn’t look much from outside. And for a moment, I wasn’t sure if the 1- 1/2 hour drive from Manila is worth it. I’ve seen many photos of this 17th century church and its famed frescoes and murals but thought it could all be hype. That happens. So I braced myself not to expect much.

 

 

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As we entered, we were pleasantly surprised to walk on wooden floors. Dubbed the “Sistine Chapel” of the Philippines, local artist Macario Ligon certainly didn’t disappoint. Biblical scenes and cherub paintings on the ceiling are guaranteed to give you a stiff neck while appreciating the majesty of this ceiling art. It confuses the senses whether to walk appreciating the native wood used for flooring, craning one’s neck so as not to miss the majestic “Sistine Chapel-ish” ceiling frescoes, or walking forward to get closer to the lovely and ornately-designed “retablo” of this church in Guagua, Pampanga.

 

 

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Don’t miss standing in the nave and spending a few minutes there just to take it all in. Check out the baptistery on the right side, “guarded” by a statue of the Nazareno, before taking baby steps towards the altar.

 

 

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The opulence strikes one with this pleasant sensation that a church as lovely as this has been spared from the disastrous lahar or mudflow from Mount Pinatubo. The neighboring town of Bacolor was not as lucky. By God’s grace, this church still stands in all its splendor so many more generations of Filipinos may appreciate this historical, cultural and architectural treasure.

 

 

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