Gazpacho! by avlxyz

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got several cook books with gazpacho recipes.  It’s just that this one is both easier and yummier – the taste of Spain!

Occasionally, I reflect back on my travels and think of things I should have done differently.  I should have stayed longer in such and such a place. I should have eaten more pastries, got more massages, packed lighter, been more generous, bought less crap, gone to see Petra.  But if I had my travels to do over again, the biggest change I would make is that I would take more cooking classes.

Think about it.  Long after you’ve come home, put you’re backpack away, forgotten about your photos, settled into whatever’s next, you will still be eating.  Unless something goes drastically wrong, you’re going to be eating your whole life.  So what better souvenir from your travels than knowledge of how to make some of those delicious, exotic dishes?

Cooking Classes

There are two ways to go about learning to make local cuisine.  The first is through formalized cooking classes. I enjoyed my first overseas cooking class when I was attending language school in Mexico.  At first, I didn’t want to take the class because it required an “intermediate” level of Spanish and I didn’t think I was up to it.  However, suspecting that cooking would be more fun than grammar, I decided to take the plunge.  Yum!  It’s amazing what you can throw into mole!

A few tips for getting the most out of your overseas cooking class:

• Cooking classes often begin with a trip to the market. Take the opportunity to ask questions about all those strange looking fruits and vegetables you’ve seen.  Your curiosity may be rewarded with samples!

• You can usually choose which dishes you want to learn to prepare.  Wait until you’ve been in the country a little while before taking a cooking class so you know what your favorite dishes are.

• Select dishes that are made from ingredients you’ll be able to find when you get home, or make notes about possible substitutions.

• Ask ahead of time if they will be giving you a copy of the recipes.  If not, take notes.

• Travel and sightseeing can be exhausting.  The act of cooking makes you feel “at home” in the best possible sense.  Time your cooking classes for when you need a break from sightseeing.

This is a recipe from a cooking class I took in China. (The bad English was too good to change…) From my Chinese cooking class Braised Eggplant with Garlic A)   250g eggplant cut in 2 inches long strips, put in the salty water around 10 minutes then take out. B)   One red pepper and one green pepper, shred as long as the eggplant strings. C)    Four cloves garlic chop to small pieces, 2 pieces green spring onion cut in 1 inch long. D)   1 teaspoons Chili bean paste. Cooking Method A)   Heat the wok with 4 tablespoons oil, medium heat to stir fry the eggplants, til the color getting a little brown and soft. Then move out to the plate. B)   Low heat fry the garlic and chili bean sauce. C)    Return the eggplant, then add the water, half cover the dish. D)   Season the dish with 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp oyster sauce and 1 tsp soy sauce. E)    When the eggplant soft and the dish’s water almost dry, then put some cornstarch water, mixed again, put the spring onion, white pepper, sesame oil, serve on plate.

Family Stays

Another great way to learn about preparing local food is living with a family.  This gives you an opportunity to observe cooking as a daily activity and to make a point of being present for the preparation of your favorite foods. You may want to hold onto a label or piece of packaging so you can search out ingredients when you get home.  This is what I’ve learned from the kitchen goddesses I’ve been lucky enough to stay with:

• Simple can be good.  Some of the best dishes I’ve had were made with only a handful of ingredients.  Likewise they can be whipped together in very modest kitchens.  My hostess in China had one gas burner, a sink with no hot water, a couple of knives, spoons and chopsticks.  And with this, she did wonders.

• When you recreate it at home, it will be good, though not quite as good as what you had overseas.  I can’t roll out perfect dumpling wrappers like Zou Jun and my couscous is not nearly as light and fluffy as that of the Moroccan woman I learned it from. But…

• It is still delicious and your friends will be impressed.

So there you have it. Buen provecho! Bon appetit! Now you’re cooking! Let’s eat!

Mambangon Spring Resort - Cabacungan Negros Occidental

Wait, I’m not talking about buying several gallons of mineral water, pouring it into a kiddie pool and swimming in it. That would be an uber-luxurious and uber-impractical way of spending your money, on top of being tedious and without advantage.

This is not about wasting water, it’s actually the opposite. According to Water.org, approximately one out of every eight people lack access to safe water. And we all know that unsafe water is the cause of all kinds of different sickness and disease where some can even lead to death, like typhoid fever.

An article on “Facts about water” that I saw recently reminded me of my favorite budget swimming destination. The resort’s name is Mambangon Spring Resort in Cabacungan, Negros Occidental Philippines.

The white tree behind us is where the neighbors get their drinking water.

During our stay there, I saw a kid carrying an empty gallon to get some water coming out from the tree’s roots. My wife told me that the owner of the resort allowed their neighbors to get their drinking water flowing from that tree.

According to my cousin-in-law who had a chat with guy managing the place, a Japanese mineral water company offered a big amount to buy that place but was turned down by the owners because the price wasn’t big enough for them. Perhaps the problem here is that, it’s an inherited property owned by ten families and dividing the amount to all of them may not be worth it in the long run.

He even told us that the famous boxer congressman Manny Pacquiao and Philippine tycoon Danding Cojuanco gave bigger offers but was still turned down by the owners. Of course, since we didn’t get this story straight from the involved parties, we can dismiss it as a rumor.

There are people out there who don’t have access to clean drinking water and here, it’s so abundant that we’re swimming in it. I wish that springs like this existed everywhere. This reminds me of my grandfather who gets his drinking water straight from a water pump yet its clean and safe. I’ve been drinking it in my two-week stay with them and they’ve been drinking it all their lives.

I really love this place because a swimming pool resort in our area charges P100 ($2.3) per person, only to get a 5ft deep swimming pool and water with a strong chlorine smell (unlike other pools) which they change every other day.

But in Mambangon Spring Resort, the water source is used as drinking water, is around 2ft-9ft deep, no chlorine and is changed every second. You’ll also get to enjoy a great landscape view and a fresh air that only a countryside can offer, all these for only P20 (half a dollar). Talk about getting the best value for your money.

You can rent a cottage for around P300-P500 ($7-$12) which is large enough to accommodate the whole family. There’s even a section where you can cook your own food with no additional charge. In our case, we brought an already grilled chicken but cooked our rice and grilled some fish there.

We ate our food in classic style, using our bare hands on a banana leaf. It seems like food tasted better if you eat it that way compared to a fine dining setup where you’re conscious of table manners and use several utensils. Maybe it just depends on the mood but it clearly depends on the food. I can’t imagine myself eating spaghetti with bare hands.

Getting there

From Bacolod City, the most cost-effective and convenient way to get to La Castellana is through public vans in the HLS terminal for only P70 ($1.8). From La Castellana, take a motorized tricycle to Cabacungan for around P12 ($0.45) only which heads straight to Mambangon Spring Resort.

Here are some tips that I can recommend. I am confident to say that they are effective because I have tried travelling with kids of different ages, and when I was a kid, I have also had my share of travelling experiences.

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Know the Age Group

As a parent, you should know what type of activities your children will enjoy. This is where your planning begins. You must choose the right place that is safe, accessible, and fun. If you have different age groups (toddlers, grade-schoolers, and teenagers) in your family, choose one that will be most relatable to everyone like beaches, amusement parks, or reserve parks. Toddlers will just play and run around, grade-schoolers are very curious and will always want to explore, while teenagers easily get bored and are always looking for thrill. It is good news that there are now several destinations that are child friendly. The top places to go to when travelling with children are Australia and Africa.

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Know the Budget

It is very important to know your destination and itinerary ahead of time to correctly plan a budget. Always remember that children have student privileges, do not forget possible discounts they can get anywhere. Plane tickets, land transportations, and entrance fees may have student discounts.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com

Be a Girl Scout

If you have older children, you can assign some of these tasks to them. You can let them carry it and instill a sense of responsibility in them. You should bring a first aid kit composed of a first aid manual, thermometer, band aids, bandages, antiseptics, bandage tape, safety scissors, and cotton balls. A medicine box is also important and should contain paracetamol or acetaminophen for fever, sulfadiazine for burns, anesthetic spray or lotion for skin irritation, diphenhydramine for allergies, aspirin or ibuprofen for mild pain, loperamide (for older children) for diarrhea, and some sunscreen.

It is also very important to carry snacks around while travelling. Children should have enough energy throughout the day. This will also save you from buying unreasonably expensive snacks along the way. Yet, it is still important that you let them experience food from different places, and make them experience the culture.

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That’s just about it. Children are not very hard to please when it comes to travelling, just like adults; they want to experience things that are new to them. Since they are children, there are limitations to their travel destinations. It is the parents’ job to know precautions to avoid accidents. Activities such as hiking in the forest where there are slippery rocks, mountain trekking in the heat of the sun, swimming during high tide, should very obviously be avoided. As a parent, know every angle of the travel destination and always look ahead for possible accidents that may come. Know and study the place because you do not want to get lost with a bunch of children with you. A planned trip will always be fun and successful, and I know that you are capable enough to make this happen.

Lonely Planet Head Office
Locked Bag 1,
Footscray,
Victoria 3011Australia

August 30, 2007

Dear Editors at Lonely Planet,

I wonder if you could be so kind as to help me out with a problem.  In two weeks, I am set to take off to China.  The plan is that I will teach English for six months and then spend a few months traveling.  But just last week, a bloke I’ve had a crush on for ages asked me out to dinner.  (Why he had to wait until now, when I’m moving to the other side of the world, I don’t know.)  I still need to pack, finish organizing my visa, etc.  But instead I’m distracted by worrying about the upcoming date.

I believe that one of the reasons for my misplaced angst is that I have your useful book to guide me in China.  Yet I have no such guidance for dinner on Tuesday night.  Therefore, it would really help me out if you’d publish the following:

The guidebook I need. (based on a photo by José María Mateos)

I’m sure your staff all over the world could offer useful insights and expertise.   The information I need would fit easily in your standard format.

• History- what do I need to know about this guy?
• Orientation – I always feel disoriented when I’m around him. Help.
• Eating - I’m supposed to pick the restaurant.  What do I do?  Elegant and romantic (and thus probably pricey), or cheap and filling.  I need your listings with options in all price ranges.
• Sleeping – Well, the question is obvious, isn’t it? As above, how cheap should I be?
• Getting Around – see Sleeping

Of course the information in your appendices and directories would be helpful as well:

• Conversation Essentials
• Money
• Legal Matters (in case things don’t go well…)

I suppose that it is unlikely that you can put this book together before my date on Tuesday.  However, since it is quite likely that five years will go by before I get another date, I can hope that the book will be ready for me by then.

Thank you for your consideration and understanding.  After all, it is a lonely planet.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Choban

Epilogue: To the best of my knowledge this book still does not exist.  Tuesday night went well and I even got to enjoy a second date.  This was followed by me making a fool of myself by trying to spark a relationship from the other side of the planet and him inviting an ex-girlfriend to move in with him.  Ah, life!

Suiting up

Situated roughly 2 to 3 hours away from Metro Manila, although my best record was 1 hour, is my favorite SCUBA diving destination – Anilao! Ever since I learned and got certified Anilao has become my weekend getaway – a sanctuary where I could get respite and recharge my enthusiasm for the day job. Oddly enough though the enthusiasm for work has never been a favorable consequence with each trip as I never look forward to going back to the daily grind.

Anilao has more than 40 dive sites beaming with rich marine life and my top 5 favorites are:

1. Twin Rocks. My “go-to” site because of its fantastic mix of corals and variety of marine animals in all sizes.  Maximum depth of roughly 30 meters or 90 feet but most of the action happen at somewhere between 15 to 50 feet. There is a resident school of jacks that seem to just forever swim around in circles, a variety of nudibranchs, the occasional school of barracudas, snappers, and lots of fish. I never fail to visit Twin Rocks every time I go for a dive in Anilao and I never get tired of being immersed in its beauty. Its also a fantastic site for night dives with sitings of octopus, cuttle fish, barracudas, morays and colorful nudis.
2. Kirby’s Rock. This is where I saw 6 frog fish and fell in love with these ugly looking creatures. Kirby’s Rock is a wall dive that can go to depths of over 100 feet and is known to be the residence of black and white frog fish. In one of our dives we saw 6 and there were brown, white, white with black spots, neon green, and orange. We had a great time admiring these creatures as they blend with the rocks and corals. The current could be treacherous though, especially if you do not have a dive master who is familiar with the site.
3. Mainit Bubbles. Perfect dive site for those who are looking for a relaxed time underwater. This site could go as deep as 100 feet but most of the experience is in the shallow part as you watch the hot bubbles come out of the sandy bottom. Interesting corals here as they are immersed in more sulfuric conditions owing to the volcanic steam that escapes through the bed of sand.
4. Darilaut. About 90 feet in depth, Darilaut is great for practicing wreck dives. The top deck of a big floating casino that used to dock in this area and sunk is now a dive site to practice buoyancy and getting in and out of wrecks. the structure is now laden with corals and home to lion fish, bat fish, gobys and mandarin fish. I once chased after a hunting Great Barracuda here, thinking it was only a big grouper, until it flicked its tail and went off like a lightning. Lucky it didn’t turn around and decide to have a piece of me for lunch.
5. Cathedral. This is the home of crazy bunch of fish that harass divers for food. They got used to being fed by other divers which explains their unusual behavior. They literally crowd around you! This site is the usual spot for check out of open water student divers. It has artificial landmarks like a castle and a concrete cross that was installed by former Philippine president Fidel V. Ramos. Cathedral is also home to the pygmy sea horse.

When in Anilao I stay at  Balai Resort located in Barangay San Teodoro. Balai has rooms made of bamboo and nipa layered along the rocky slope. It has a main dining area where guests can have drinks and sumptuous food and becomes the main area to socialize with other divers. It also has a deck to view the fabulous sunset. The staff are very friendly and it has a fully equipped dive shop for all your diving needs.

With Anilao being a couple of hours away from Manila weekends are always a no-brainer and my gear is always ready to go!

It was a month before graduation that my girl friends and I decided to go to Mambukal Mountain Resort for two reasons. First, we all felt the need to relax and bond before the final exam week. Second, we’re there to celebrate Anna’s (one of my closest friend) birthday. It’s simply hitting two birds with one stone.

It was actually my first time to go out of town without any chaperon to tag along. At last it was freedom for the 16-year-old ecstatic me! I can do whatever I want without someone to tell you, “Don’t do this. Don’t do that.” It’s more fun to travel freely, or so I thought.

Everything started out smoothly. We arrived there mid-morning, which was just perfect. After all the bags had been laid, me and 7 other girl friends wandered around the big mountain resort.

Mambukal Falls

Anywhere you look it’s always green. The place serves as a gateway to Mt. Kanlaon, which is one of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines. Mambukal is enclosed with big old trees of different varieties. The vegetation is really hale and hearty, and when the plants are healthy the animals existing there were even healthier. Big bats and birds fly around like everyday visitors; they’re a common attraction in the resort as well.

After we got our pictures taken at almost every square inch of the resort, we decided to test ourselves and climb the famous Seven Falls of Mambukal. There is a huge mountain stream which eventually cascades down into a chain of seven waterfalls. The trek to each of the waterfalls was long and steep and as we get higher the trail becomes even steepe. We rewarded ourselves with small breaks for picture taking every time we reach a waterfall.

It was nearing noon when we finally arrived at the Sixth Falls. We decided to stay there and skip the Seventh Falls since lunch time is just a few minutes away.

All my friends crossed the small stream and started playing with the water. I was left on the other side because I was too busy contemplating on whether to bring my new Nike slippers or not. I was hesitant because the current was so strong and if my foot slipped a little bit it will surely be the end of my beloved slippers *cringe*. After some deep pondering, I finally decided to leave my new slippers on land far, far away from the strong water current.

Barefooted, I walked the small stream wanting to catch up with my friends. My left foot suddenly felt a little pain; at the back of my mind I was thinking it was just a blunted rock that I stepped on. When I reached the big flat rock where all my friends were, I did a little check on my left foot.

Me, my Friends and my Injured Foot

Lo! And behold! It was lacerated in a way that almost all of my precious blood was scattered on the rock and in the nearby stream. The water even turned blood red as if, a shark had just caught it’s pray underneath it. And my mind went blank.

I didn’t know how in the world I would survive walking the very long steep trail with an injured foot? I wanted to cry and call my mom for help. I immediately thought that if I was with my mom, she could have warned me not to cross the stream or not to leave my slippers behind.

Happy Mother's Day!

I was scared of calling and telling her about my accident. I was afraid she might scold me and never let me go out again alone.

I waited for her in the emergency room of the hospital, almost ready to faint from blood loss and more so from fear of my mom’s arrival. When she arrived, she didn’t scold me; although her face was dead serious at the back of the stoic expression was a concerned mom.

She accompanied me in the Minor Operating Room for the stitching of my left foot. I cried due to the excruciating pain but my mother was there to support and comfort me. It was painful but it would be much more painful if I didn’t have my mom with me.

My mom made my travel injury a little less painful and my life a little more wonderful.

I salute all the mothers out there, just like mom, you are all angels who make the world a better and happier place to live. Happy Mother’s Day!

No More Starbucks

This is a big one! Normally people spend about $5 a day (sometimes more) at Starbucks or some type of coffee place just to keep energized throughout the day. Now I know you can’t just altogether stop having coffee but making your own coffee in the morning, replacing caffeine with some good vitamins or even just simply going to bed earlier and you will save over $100 a month! Now if you think about that with a road trip mentality that $100 can fill up your car quite a few times, depending on the type of car you have.

Cut Down the Phone Bill

As technology becomes more and more advanced, so do the prices. I don’t know about you but I was spending $80 a month (plus tax and insurance) for a cell phone plan and that is just way too much for the amount of non-talking that I do. So my advice is to take a look at how many minutes you are really using each month, how many people are you talking to, what times are you talking to them and finally do you really need internet on your phone? Now this all depends on your carrier and what is available to you but I went to my local cell phone store and asked about the different options for a plan. I cut my minutes in half since I only texted mostly anyways.  I then got the plan where everyone with my carrier is free and selected people were free as well during the day, bumped up my nighttime calling to 7pm.  I did keep the internet because I like to stay on top of my emails. So with just a little negotiating my cell phone bill dropped down to $50 a month! Now if you are going overseas or a long-term journey it may even be best to resort to a prepaid phone. This way of saving really depends on you but if you can find a way to cut down that cell phone bill, do it!

Coupons are Your Friend

The coupon business, although sometimes overwhelming, can really save you some big bucks! Just browse through your local newspaper ads and you are almost bound to find coupons on products you use all the time. In fact, even if you don’t have time to grab a newspaper there are plenty of websites where you can simply type in what you’d like to save on and BAM there’s a coupon for it! There’s no need to become an ‘extreme coupon-er’ but collecting some coupons will definitely save you some big bucks. Websites to check out: www.CouponMom.com and www.Coupons.com are both really great and even when you go online shopping try Googling discount codes.

Evaluate What is Most Important

Going out with friends is great, but when it becomes an everyday or even weekly costly adventure you need to evaluate what is most important to you. There’s no need to stop being a social butterfly but just pick and choose which spots are really worth it in the end. If you want to really be shocked just look at your bank statement and see all the random here and there eat out costs and how much going to the bar adds up to be. In the end it will totally be worth it and you will have much better memories on your big road trip or vacation than having a burger at your favorite restaurant.

Be Prepared

I am still working on this trait but the times I have been prepared are the times I have saved the most. After all there’s that saying, “The early bird gets the worm”. This really goes for everything; start saving early, start getting your documents prepared, hotel accommodations should be booked in advanced, all these things and whatever you specifically need for your trip should really be prepared beforehand. This way you know how much money you have for your trip and if you need to save more. There have been times I completely forgot a simple bill that was coming up and I had to reevaluate how much money could be spent on the trip. So stay organized and prepared and you won’t need to be frantic about money during your vacation.

These are just a few key money saving tips I do when planning a big road trip. I hope this helped better your saving mentality for whatever big trip you plan on taking. And if you’re a master at saving money or have some additional tips for saving money I would love to hear them! Comment below and let me know  

There’s a lot to be said for being early to bed and early to rise. But if you’re too early to bed, then your body might want to rise at four in the morning, when there’s not a lot to do, nor light to do it in.  A single person, who doesn’t want to drink themselves into oblivion, is often at a loss for nighttime travel activities.  Here are a few strategies for filling the evening hours:

1)    First the obvious nighttime travel activities- reading, writing and ready-ing.  Reading is of course the obvious answer to the question of how to fill the evenings.  Where as in normal life, the problem is so many books so little time, traveling one often finds themselves with an abundance of time and shortage of books.  This isn’t always a bad thing.  In desperation I sometimes read books I wouldn’t typically choose, and discover that I like them.  My criteria goes from “nonfiction or historical fiction” to “written in English.” Lately, I’ve even learned to let that criteria go, realizing that if I bring a book written in Spanish (a language I will spend the rest of my life trying to master) it will last me twice as long.

Evenings provide an excellent opportunity to prepare, repair and share.  Drag out that mini-sewing kit and fix the hole in your shirt.  Get your day-pack ready for the following day. Write some postcards. Catch up on your journal.  Start sorting through those thousands of digital photos.

2)    There are a lot of challenges to maintaining a healthy level of exercise while traveling.  Sometimes you’re on a ten-day trek and you feel like a marathon runner.  But then there are those 30-hour bus rides from which it can be hard to come un-scrunched.  I carry a yoga matt strapped to the side of my pack (can also come in handy for emergency sleep situations).  If my lodging is roomy enough, private enough and the floor not too disgusting, I spread out my mat and go for it.  There is scientific research which indicates that the best time to change your habits is when you’re away from home.  So load that kick-boxing routine onto your i-pod and have at it.

3)    I like to shower in the evening.  It makes more sense. You go to bed clean, and unless you’re doing something exciting in bed (in which case you clearly do not need to be reading this article!), you wake up clean.  It feels good to remove the gunk- sunscreen, bug repellent, dust- that has piled up on my skin throughout the day.  If you’re staying in a hostel you’ll have less competition for the shower and may even increase you’re chances of having hot water.  If you’re in the hot, muggy tropics, a shower can help you cool off so you can sleep.

4)    Need some socializing, but don’t want to drink and dance all night? A simple deck of cards is a great prop.  They are cheap, easy to carry, and there are a million ways to use them.  If you sit at a café and play solitaire on an electronic device, you’ll probably remain on your own.  But if your playing with real cards other bored travelers are bound to join you for a game.

5)    Early in my traveling career a friend advised me that it was a good idea to go to movies.  Luckily for me, many movies are in English. When you get sucked into a movie, it’s like a two-hour vacation from your life.  This can be a good thing sometimes, even if you’re living the fabulous life of international travel. In Latin America, I am often able to find “Cine Clubs”, small, sometimes improvised theaters showing art films.  Once I was watching a movie in one of these theaters when a rooster wandered in!

6)     Take up a portable hobby.  I met a man in a hotel in Honduras who carried a small set of oil paints with him.  Everywhere he would go, he would scrounge a piece of wood and paint a picture on it.  Then he would take a photo of it and leave the painting as a gift to the hotel.  A friend of mine does embroidery on her travels.  When she looks at her work later it brings back the memories of all the places she was when she worked on it.

Shilin Night Market. Photo by LWY.

7)    I’ve been delighted to find that there actually are some nighttime travel activities that interest me as a tourist.  Wandering through night markets in Southeast Asia, is an absolute pleasure.  Visiting archeological sites in Central America, I learned that some will allow you to buy a ticket for the following day after 6:00 PM and enjoy the last few hours the site is open.  This allowed me to enjoy the sound and light show at Chichen Itza and the animals that came to life at twilight at Tikal.  Occasionally, if I can do so in a respectful manner and know that my presences is not displacing someone else- I will attend a local religious ceremony.  This can be quite interesting, and at very least I’ve found going to mass in Latin America to be an excellent opportunity to practice my Spanish comprehension.

Chichen Itza - Sound and Light Show. Photo by ruffin_ready.

All that being said, I still think finding nighttime travel activities can be a challenge and would love to hear other people’s suggestions…

She went to an isolated part of the shore outside the resort to enjoy some fresh air and clear her mind. A deviant and adventurous girl, she ignored a warning sign thinking that all of the people in the island were very friendly and everything is safe. She sat on a rock then closed her eyes to meditate with the hope of getting a vision of why she was lead to go to this island.

Coco Grove Beach Resort - Siquijor Island

Two men suddenly grabbed her and tried to kidnap her using a boat hidden in the rocks. After getting thrown in the boat, a stranger who is skillful in mixed martial arts knocked down both men then helped her escape back to the resort.

The woman was very thankful to the stranger, she said that she can’t imagine what would have happened if he wasn’t around that time. The stranger was gentle and charming. She was very pleased with the way he conversed to her. He introduced himself as one of the tourists in the resort.

Salamandas Restaurant - Coco Grove Beach Resort

The stranger invited her for a dinner and the woman never had any second thoughts. They talked about their adventures and almost anything. They had a fun time together and their conversations seemed endless.

They decided to meet daily to have fun together around the island. What the woman didn’t know is that the guy is the treasure hunter who was cursed almost three years ago after attempting to steal the island’s treasure in one of their caves.

His body was turned into stone and his spirit was transferred to the fishes. Only a woman of his destiny can free his spirit and restore his body. But that woman should give him a kiss of true love before the sun goes down on the third day upon restoring it or else the curse will come back again.

Cambugahay Falls - Siquijor

The treasure hunter didn’t’ tell this to the woman because he didn’t want to force her to love him for the sake of helping him get out of the curse. He just continued to have fun with her being sure to make the best of every moment in hopes for favorable events and a outcome the would lift the curse.

In the twilight of the third day, he openly expressed his love for her. Deep inside his heart he is grieving because it might be his last day to be with her. The woman smiled and was very happy because she feels the same way about him.

Coco Grove Beach Resort

In that quiet moment when they were about kiss each other, a big crab pinched the treasure hunter’s toe and it distracted them.  This crab was sent to distract them in a moment like this by the sorcerer who had cursed the treasure hunter to become a stone.

.The sun went down before the kiss that could have lifted his curse. The treasure hunter faded slowly in the woman’s sight. Shocked, confused and scared she ran inside her room crying until she fell asleep. She woke up the next day with a headache.

She pondered the past three days over breakfast, wondering if all had been real or just a dream. She reminisced of all the fun times she had with the treasure hunter and knew it was all real but couldn’t explain what happened last night.

Sunset Restaurant - Coco Grove Beach Resort

She realized that her dreams of glowing fishes had stopped when this man had come into her life.  She went to that pond again only to see some ordinary fishes.

She noticed for the first time that the statue of a man sitting in the pond sits exactly the same way as the guy who helped her with the kidnappers. This is the favorite sitting position of that gentleman whom she fell in love with.

She sat next to the statue while reminiscing of her happy times with him. She was planning to tell him that she never had any visions in the island until the time that he came into her life. She tried meditating in many parts of the island during her search for the glowing fishes but received no visions.

Coco Grove Beach Resort

But when they are together, visions of their children and a happy family kept on flashing randomly on her that she never experienced before in her whole life. She even had a vision of them growing old together playing with their grandchildren.

Tears started to fall in her eyes because she felt that a big part of her was gone. She kissed the statue goodbye as if he was the man she loves then left the pond. She went to her room then started packing up to go home.

When she opened the door to checkout of the room, she saw something shocking that made her throw her umbrella and handbag. A guy quickly caught her stuff and gave it to her then smiled.

Coco Grove Beach Resort

The woman cried then embraced him, she couldn’t believe that he was back.  With her face full of wonder she invited him in to have a talk on the terrace and was very excited to find out what happened. The treasure hunter explained to her that the sorcerer never expected that he would get the kiss of true love in his statue form.

They both laughed and continued having a fun conversation. No crab interrupted this time thinking that its mission is already accomplished. But they’re fully aware that people with crab mentality might just be lurking around to sell them to the sorcerers and witches so they planned their escape in Siquijor Island.

Salagdoong Beach - Siquijor

They went to a log near the beach to get all of the gold that the treasure hunter hid inside it before he got caught. A friendly local recommended by the fortuneteller to contact helped them get to the seaport quickly to escape the island.

His name is Tata our tour guide and photographer around the island.

After an exhausting escape to a nearby island, the woman relaxed in a hammock that early evening while the treasure hunter was taking a bath. She got asleep without realizing it then woke up with four beetles in her tummy with blood in its thread.

She screamed very loud then woke up in a dream realizing that there’s a cockroach in her tummy. She screamed again and her husband ran very quickly with his hair still wet after taking a bath then asked her what happened.

Coco Grove Beach Resort

Her husband swatted the cockroach after flying on the wall. She threw her pillow to her husband screaming “I told you to clean this room while I was out of town for a seminar and hurry up hunting treasures!” The husband wondered then replied “You mean go the office right?”

Coco Grove Beach Resort

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We originated from this tribe called “Ifugao”. This tribe is characterized by their colorful clothing, tan skin, straight black hair, almond eyes, and many skills. Along with the other tribes in the north, the Ifugao made the rice terraces.

I was curious to see our land of origin and the people there. I was also wondering how the tribes have westernized. When my dad went home for the summer break, I asked him to take us there for a tour. He was delighted to see the interest we had for our family’s history, and he agreed that we should have a trip to the north. Though we do not have any relatives left in the province because of migration, my dad was still very knowledgeable about the place.

While we were on our way to the province, I asked my dad to share something about our ancestors. He told me that our great grandparents from our grandmother’s side were Ifugao. When the Americans came to the region, the tribes started to become westernized. My grandmother was one of them, and soon she married a Latin-American who were among the invaders.

my grandmother

When we got to the place, I was thrilled by the cold weather and the glorious mountains. The fog was thick at dawn, and the water was ice cold. In the late morning, the sun started to shine through, and made the ambiance more wonderful. Yet it was the rice terraces that I wanted to see. According to my dad, the original 2000-year old terraces were far from downtown and we had to go mountain hiking for 2 hours to get to see the place. I was not prepared for such a hike, but it was my only chance to see the terraces. While hiking, my sweat was rewarded with such beautiful views of the mountains and the thrill and adventure of walking by the cliff and crossing spring waters.

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When we reached the terraces, it was truly wonderful! We got to walk on the sides of the terraces while we were assisted by an old Ifugao man, who was wearing a “bahag”, the famous tribal g-string. He even sold us a native meal of grilled chicken for lunch. It was a super close tribal experience. We saw an original Ifugao house, and even experienced their food.

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The trip was tiring, but worth it. I was imagining our ancestors while we were travelling. I pretended that I was a traditional Ifugao while I walked the terraces. I even bought some souvenirs that the tribe made. I was so happy that dad took us there. Yet I’m so sad that our pictures got ruined because of my stupid cousin who destroyed the film (digital cameras were not yet sold at that time).

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If you want to visit Banaue, I advice you to be prepared for mountain hiking and cold weather, do not dwell downtown and talk to the natives to get to experience the original tribal living, and bring a decent camera.