Zamboangeño ₱20 and Below Quick Eats

Okay, so here's the deal. Let me just walk you through my gastronomic memory lane. I grew up in Zamboanga City and stayed there up until high school, before moving to Los Baños for College. At that time, my daily allowance was ₱20, which was surprisingly enough to get me by (today, that same ₱20 will just be gone just for public transportation fare only. Well, here in Manila at least). So yeah, trips at Jollibee to get Yum Burger or Chicken Joy was just reserved on Sundays, when we do our weekly grocery trip. 

So, during "research" and "project" trips at the pueblo, I had to budget what I had saved for the week in these three items: a.) legit research/project b.) counterstrike/starcraft c.) food. As the title suggests, let me walk you through with the three cheap quick eats I try not to miss out every time I go home.

Taking the Torch: 40 Mountains Project (part 1 of 4)

I do not want to ride the bandwagon, posting stuff about Tado (and 13 others) and the tragedy that befell that Florida Bus in Benguet, I just wanted to say my well-wishes to him quietly as he makes his way to paradise. But one thing just caught my attention as I browsed through my morning dose of news (http://www.rappler.com/nation/49972-comedian-tado-among-dead-in-mt-province-bus-accident). This one:

There's something magical about mountains, really. That's what draws us, mountain enthusiasts (I would not even consider myself a mountaineer) to sacrifice physical comfort to bask in the beauty of the mountain. Actually it's just a very basic concept of risk and rewards. Right from the start, I just wanted to enjoy the mountains and did not want to count how many I've climbed (Ayokong magmukhang mayabang. Climbing many mountains is in no way something to brag about). I did not want to be a peak-bagger. But on hindsight, I think Tado has something in mind in doing this project. I may never know what it is, but trusting his uncanny wit, I decided to just go with it. 

Anyway, I think this project of Tado is interesting and downright noble. So to pick up where he left off, I will make my own contribution to this 40 Mountains Project. My objective is simple, let people have a peek at the beauty of the mountains through my camera's lens. It is my fervent hope that I can share with you my admiration of the beauty of nature and somehow contribute to its conservation and an overall awareness for the environment. I may not be able to justify the beauty of the mountains through my photographs, but I do hope that this small contribution can instill in you, the readers, the need to conserve these wonders. Hey, capturing them in photos is in one way preserving them, right?

I'll be posting 10 mountains per post so be patient as I complete this project. I don't have a concrete time frame on when to complete the 40, I just enjoy the company of the mountains as opportunities arise. The mountains are posted on chronological order, on when I first climbed it. 

Life Begins at the Mountain and my journey starts here.

The Pimp Daddy of Philippine Mountains - Mt. Apo

So... we decided to climb the highest mountain in the Philippines - Mt. Apo (9,692ft) last November 14 to 16, 2013. Actually, I had no plans of doing this in the first place but that plan was ruined early this year. This is why:

I was just restarting my climbing career (as if I have one. haha!) December last year after a 2-year hiatus. We were trekking Mt. Romelo last February when Hannah told me that they were going with Deo (our lead climber in Backpackers United) on a November Mt. Apo climb, then she added, "sama ka na rin!". She could've asked me this question on a better time, because at that moment, I was already sweating huge cold droplets because 1.) my legs are already cramping and 2.) I really need to poop - my mind's circuits are already going haywire and I could not think clearly. haha! So, without thinking through, I just replied: "o.. oo sige."

Weeks later, Deo booked my ticket. I paid my dues. Then come November, I find myself pooping at about 1,000+ meters above sea level, at the emergency camp of Mt. Apo. hahaha! Enough of the poop talk. I was just trying to ruin your appetite with the hope that you'll be disgusted and discontinue reading this blog.

Just kidding.

Anyway, since it is named so, I have selected three pictures that best describes our Mt. Apo climb. Ladies and gentlemen, let me start our count-to-three with this:

Nope. This is not the set of Lord of the Rings. This is THE BOULDERS, where dreams goes to die. HAHA!