Balabac, Palawan

If Palawan is the Philippines' final frontier, then Balabac is the final frontier of the final frontier. It is located at the southern tip of the province - so remote that it is already near Sabah, Malaysia. Balabac is composed of a group of islands, each of which will definitely be a great feast for the eyes. Anyway, here are three of my favorite shots on our sojourn in this part of paradise.

#1. Polvoron-esque white sand

This part of Palawan is so devoid of tourists that there are no hotels or resorts here. Be prepared to get back to the basics. In fact, on our almost one week stay here, we spent the night at our hammock. There are already plenty of write-ups written about this piece of paradise that this area in Punta Sebaring was even compared to Boracay in the 70's. I do hope that this area stays the same, and if progress reach this area, development should be sustainable. 

Thank god for tripods and timed shutter release

Batanes

Who would not be curiously enticed by the thought of visiting the last northern frontier of the Philippines? Batanes' charm is undeniably captivating that it had been part of the bucket list of most Filipinos. Since Batanes is composed of three major islands - Batan, Sabtang and Itbayat, I have chosen three photos from our trip up, up north.

Let's count to three.

#1. Batan

Batan is the capital of Batanes where you will find the province's airport. The tour around the island can be divided into north and south, which you can opt to do in a day or just chill out and do it in two. There's the imposing Mt. Iraya that seemingly serves as the island's guardian - that amidst the numerous typhoons that ravaged the province, they remain resilient and strong. 

Veering away from the usual post card-esque shots that you normally see from Batan, the light houses towering over the lush green grass with wandering cows, I will show you one of the most mystifying sunset that I've seen:

Sunset at Vayang Rolling Hills

On a clear day, this scene will soothe all your aching muscles from all the walking you did around the island all day long - including the short trek to this area. Watching this at our country's northern frontier is nothing short of amazing. 

The Journey to 100 Mountains (Part 1 of 6)

To start off this sequel to the 40 Mountains Project, let me begin with one of my favorite quotation from Lao Tzu: 

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" 

So I say, a journey to a hundred mountains start with a single excruciating step. In my case, that was a single step at the Babadak Ranger station in the Ambangeg trail of Mt. Pulag in 2009. A number of years and 40 mountains after, let's continue our journey to the awesome sights that the mountains can offer. 

To pick up where we left, let's start counting at number 41, the most beautiful mountain in the Philippines - Daragang Magayon!

#41. Mt. Mayon (2,463 MASL) via Lidong-Buyoan Trail | Albay

We had the chance to have a first-row seat to see Mt. Mayon up-close during Daragang Magayon festival. The group we piggy-backed in was granted a permit by the local government to climb the restive Mt. Mayon (permits are rarely given, if you do the climb legally). Don't associate Mayon's beauty with an easy, breezy hike since climbing this beauty is far from it (there are no easy mountains to begin with). Take note that this mountain is an active volcano and active volcanoes can erupt without much notice. While many are drawn by its astounding beauty, Mayon has already claimed numerous lives - local and international mountaineers alike.

Mt. Mayon as seen from the water source just above camp 2.

Burdeos, Quezon

Our trip to Burdeos (part of Pililio Island) in Quezon was my first beach backpacking trip with my newly upgraded Fujifil X-T10 (from Nikon D3200). Managing my expectations, I did not really thought much about this trip. It's just the normal "go to the beach, relax, tinker with the camera and shoot" kind of weekend. Never did I thought that it has surprises hidden behind its sleeves.

Let's just skip to the daylight beach and island life. Let me show you what this island has in store for us as the sun went down.

Let's count to three.

#1. Thor's day at the beach

There are numerous islands at this part of Burdeos, but we chose to camp at Pandanan Island. I chose to hang my hammock on a small open hut facing the seashore. As I prepared to go for a shut eye, I set up my tripod, focused my camera at the stilted house by the sea and set its interval shooting at one shot per 30 seconds with 30 seconds exposure each for a total of 15 shots (with 30 seconds gap per shot). 

f/5, 30 sec., ISO 1600, 52mm (5/14/2016 8:29 PM)

It was starting to drizzle that night and I just slid inside my hammock and took a nap. The roaring thunder and occasional lightning woke me up then I realized I left my camera on interval. I scanned through the shots and as it turned out, I got this one - my first time to capture lightning! 

Sea of Clouds

Many are enthused to try mountaineering in order to witness the elusive sea of clouds. I know this because I too was curious. Mt. Pulag was my first-ever mountain since it has been well known for catching the sea of clouds. I'll share to you my three favorite shots of the sea of clouds, shot over the years in different mountains. 

So, ladies and gentlemen, Let's count to three.

(In order of date taken)

#1. The Calm Before the Storm

Our Mt. Pulag climb in December of 2014 was my 4th time in this mountain and this time, we tried the Akiki-Ambangeg traverse. Towards the tail-end of the ascent towards the saddle camp, you will be treated with a beautiful view of the rolling grasslands and since it was already late in the afternoon, the clouds started to set at the lowlands, treating us with this view:

Mt. Pulag (at the grasslands just above the mossy forest ascent in Akiki Trail), December 2014

Taking the Torch: 40 Mountains Project (part 4 of 4)

FINALLY! The last of the 4-part blog entry for the 40 Mountains Project. I Started writing about this 2 years ago and did not really thought about any time frame to finish all 40 mountains. At that time, I already had 17 mountains, mostly minor climbs on destinations near Metro Manila - Bulacan, Batangas and Cavite. I really had no goals in particular about trekking in the mountains. I just wanted to take photographs, and where else can you see great subjects? The mountains.

...and the beautiful beaches and islands of the Philippines, of course.

So this journey to complete the 40 mountains brought me to the peaks of the Cordilleras, the northern island of Itbayat, the imposing peaks of the Negros Island - Kanlaon and Talinis, the great mountains of Mindanao - Apo, Dulang-Dulang and Kitanglad, up to the mountains of our neighboring countries.

It enabled me to see awesome things - in exchange of buckets of sweat and excruciating body pains (hey, this is an awesome way to lose weight!), money spent on mountaineering (and photography) equipment as well as travel and climbing costs (taught me how to save and budget my meager salary as well as to juggle work-climb balance). So in essence, this is an expensive and very tiring undertaking. HAHA! As what they say, experience is the best investment. And that numerous unforgettable experiences are definitely worth every penny.

Anyway, feast your eyes on these mountains for this last installment.

Life begins at the mountains. Here are the mountains 31 to 40.

In Photos - 2015

2015 has been quite a ride for me, my camera and the people behind the insanely beautiful places that we've been for the year - both figurative and literal. From the scorching heat of the lahar track in Central Luzon to the insane tides of the northern-most islands of the Philippines, up to the shores of our Southeast Asian neighbor in the west. 

For 2015's installment, I picked people as the subject for this In Photos entry - quite a deviation from my usual landscape shots (which I prefer actually). These three photos provide a narrative on their own which, in one way or another has made my journey through 2015 remarkable. 

So here it is.

#1. Unexpected Conclusion

The Aetas of Pampanga, on a lazy Sunday afternoon. April 2015