Badian-ful Adventure: Lambug

I'm on my third adventure for the month of April and I must say, I am pretty much loving this month since I get to be one with my favorite element again with the best people – my cousins.

This time, I'm finally off to sit still and relax on a fine white sand with fewer visitors stealing our very spot.

High Tide to Low Tide: Oslob

Another week of April calls for another adventure. It's certainly a wonderful time to be basking under the sun and fully appreciate the fine sand and calm waves. Well, the truth is that I don't want to get tanned, but I do enjoy swimming and floating in the water while staring at the clear blue sky.

After months of wanting to get back to my favorite element, I finally got the chance to do so with my boyfriend's relatives. Oslob is well-known for whale shark watching and entry point to Sumilon Island.

A For April, B For Bacolod

Started the month enjoying the rice fields on our way to the City of Smiles at a faster speed because my boyfriend thought we were on a race track.

Before enjoying the scenery, I initially thought I'd only end up picturing out how Bacolod looks like in my bed since it was reported that Mt. Kanlaon started to make some volcanic movement again. Good thing it wasn't as bad as it sounded like on the news, though.

March-ing Our Way To Summer: Aloguinsan

It's been months since my last quick vacation and being a proud wanderlust, I can't help myself from thinking which place will I be traveling to next.

Just like any other ordinary days, I was scrolling through my Facebook news feed, checking my friends' whereabouts and actually feeling envious on some of my friends' travel photos. Then came my friend's post of her quick trip to Aloguinsan that instantly caught my attention. The place is just grandeur for me to miss out.

For someone who is pretty much ecstatic when it comes to adventures, I immediately texted my friends about my planned road trip to Aloguinsan together with the boyfriend and vowed to join us on our whole day trip.

It's going to be a long entry since we visited three (3) places in one day.

Away From Home on a Weekend: Manila

Months before December, while waiting for our flight to Kuala Lumpur, my boyfriend's family, together with their friends, were planning a 3-day trip to Manila. The boyfriend immediately asked me if I wanted to come with them. Since I was too focused with my studies for the past three years and I wanted to finally enjoy life after school, I gave my big yes.

Then came the day where I had to pack my stuff in preparation for our early morning flight. Though I've been to Manila (and have actually stayed there for nearly two months), I still felt extremely excited; I don't know, but maybe because I get to visit new places with people I'm finally comfortable with. I may be excited, but sad to say, we missed our flight to Manila and it's truly annoying to hear how much the rebooking costs (overpricing, indeed).

Inside the plane, I got to witness the sun rising and the clouds gradually getting more visible. Such a delightful morning, indeed.

After spending almost an hour inside the plane, we've finally reached the land of Manila.

October Weekend Get-Away: Moalboal

It's truly an advantage to be living in a place surrounded by bodies of water and mountains since get-aways are much easier to plan. If you seek for an extraordinary adventure, canyoneering is always open for you to avail; if you want to unwind at the beach, variety of resorts are much willing to welcome you; if you don't want any adventure related to water, mountain climbing in Osmeña Peak is ready for you to explore.

Whichever your preference is, you can always go and plan with your friends given that you have the time and budget in doing so... and don't forget the good weather, of course.

See You Again, Summer!

Summer, as we all know, is the perfect time for get-aways with your family and friends. Instead of staring at the wall or facing your phones for hours, why not plan for an extremely fun adventures just to make your summer worthwhile?

I'm going to give you a glimpse of my adventures last April and May. It may be a bit too late to share this, but I still hope I can give you an idea as to where you can enjoy your summer slash semestral break (for this year).

A Temple Made out of Pure Love: Temple of Leah

To be on top on Cebu means I get to witness God's perfect masterpiece and breathe in fresh air. Well... with a mixture of dust brought by pollution.

As of our generation, Cebu has become so prosperous that trees are being chopped down and some parts of the mountain are being shaved for subdivisions and/or factories. I suggest you watch The Lorax and imagine the kind of future we'll be having if we continue overlooking our natural resources.

If we just keep on planting trees, then maybe we can still preserve nature and prevent ourselves from being vulnerable to calamities. I hope. #TeamNature

Temple of Leah

Moving on, most people residing in Cebu know about this Greek-inspired architectural design positioned in Busay, Cebu. The owner of this beautiful masterpiece, Teodorico Adarna, had this constructed to show how much he loves his late wife, Leah Adarna.

We did not anticipate the huge crowd upon reaching the main entrance, so we weren't able to fully tour the area since people were so busy taking pictures of the place and/or of themselves, hahaha.

Even with the number of people entering and exiting the place, I still get to witness the beautiful blue sky and capture it with my phone.

Things didn't go well as expected, but at least we were able to ventilate our stressful minds and enjoy each other's company.

We're Back, Leyte!

True, I haven't blogged for a very long time due to the fact that I'm constantly searching for life outside the four corners of my secret hideout, a.k.a my room. Now that I'm back to the kind of life I normally do, I sort of miss those carefree times I've spent with my cousins and the adopted piranha, my boyfriend in Leyte.

Apparently, I don't own a spell that casts time reversion nor do I have a time machine to bring me back to those days, but I do have the power to recall those precious moments I've spent with them. 

What keeps me (or us) craving for this place is the calmness it instills. Seeing this view after two years made me appreciate simple things even more. I'm just glad the people residing in the barrio where our mom or dad grew up kept the place the way it was before, except for the cemented road to the beach. 

DAY 1:

And as usual, we arrived in our lola's house with less than two hours of sleep (sleepless for some), had early breakfast, and immediately went out to witness the beautiful sunrise at the beach and look for some sea urchins and starfishes.

After spending an hour at the beach, we went home to catch some sleep. That's for our first morning in Leyte.

Tatay Ade's Beach Resort, Buscayan

Our first afternoon in Leyte was spent at the beach, again. Same saltiness, same sky, but different barrio. The boys actually enjoyed swimming with their goggles and snorkels on, though the sea level was only below their knees. #opps

We ended the day with card games, some drinks, and chit-chats. Nothing special, really, but still memorable for us.

DAY 2:

Let's just say, day two is much enticing to blog about than day one since we visited two new places. 

Another day, another breathtaking view to witness and I thank God for giving us such opportunity to see such picturesque sight right before our very eyes. 

The shrine is, indeed, a spectacular sight you wouldn't want to miss if you wish to pay a visit to Maasin. The aftermath of our long walk didn't turn out pretty good, but the pain was actually all worth it.

Our Lady of the Assumption Shrine, Maasin

After we successfully climbed up the stairs with steps not less than 200, we went to the chapel to give our personal intentions.

Next stop of our trip was the relaxing, cold water of Banahaw spring in Maasin.

Banahaw Spring, Maasin

It wasn't the first time my younger cousins, who've managed to spend post-Christmas in Leyte last 2012, visited this place. It was such a waste of money and time, as what they've quoted, since the place was too crowded for them to swim around. Thankfully that time, it wasn't as crowded as how some of my cousins described it.

We've never toured around Southern Leyte back then for reasons like our parents not allowing us to travel on our own because they think we're too young for it and the inevitable rainy weather. That explains why this trip is very much memorable for all of us, most especially to my boyfriend, who've never set foot in Leyte ever since.

And then again, we spent the night playing cards, some alcoholic drinks, and chit-chats.

DAY 3:

Definitely the last and the most anticipating part of our 3-day trip. I've read good reviews about Canigao Island and since it was very much possible for us to visit the place ourselves, my cousins and I decided to include this in our plan.

Matalom, Leyte

Though this plan went a bit rocky at first, we still did the best we could just to pursue this outing. Gladly, everything went well in the end. Thank you to our aunt, who is residing in Leyte, for allowing us to spend our last day of mini vacation in Canigao Island and to God, of course, for the good weather.

Canigao Island

This beautiful paradise did meet my expectations. I felt really excited the moment I saw the island at a closer range. The crystal clear water, fine white sand – these are exactly what I've longed for years. 

While touring the place, we arrived at the untouched portion of the island and witnessed tons of corals and fishes. It's off-limits to tourists so as not to accidentally break the corals and honestly, I'm glad they've imposed this rule.

We left the place at around 4 in the afternoon. The only downside I can think of this place is their poor water supply. But overall, we did enjoy our Canigao Island adventure and we're pretty happy, as well, since we've got another story to tell when we get back to our hometown.

The moment we arrived home, we packed our things and still played cards, drank adobado (tuba) this time, and had chit-chats about our trip.

The next day, on our way to the pier, a surprising event came along. We got soaked in the rain, including our bags! It was too funny that my cousin documented such unexpected event in her iPhone. I'm glad she did, so we'll have something to look back in the future.

That ends our 3-day vacation. I'm sure 2014 will always be a memorable year for my cousins and I since it's the first time we've travelled to Leyte without our parents with us.

See you again soon, Leyte!