Life on the Happy Lane!

My Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte trip was lagare to say the least, yet so full of new and exciting experiences for a desk-bound lawstude like me that I can't help but make a short checklist out of them... Rode a tricycle that overtook a ten-wheeler truck? check. Rode a tricycle running at full speed to tour a province? check. Stood beneath a gigantic windmill? check. Had my picture taken beneath a windmill? check. Nagpapikchur sa gitna ng mahabang tulay?check. Climbed my first lighthouse? check(this started my quest to climb as many lighthouses as possible). Climbed a huge white rock formation near the sea? check. Ate a suspicious-looking orange-colored, deep-fried empanada that turned out to be so addictively delicious? check. Ate a yummy banana split while drinking an equally yummy pineapple margarita? check. Watched the sunset on the beach? check. Stayed at a nice affordable hotel by the beach, with a vista of the sea? check. All these only in Pagudpud-- and all for just one day and ...

The author, in her not-so-prepared pose... For someone who has lived her entire life in Southern Luzon, the North seems to be a distant place cloaked in a haze of mystery and adventure, so that when my friend Lheila asked me to go with them to Ilocos , it was an offer I can hardly resist--not that I even tried to resist! How It All Started... Ever since I can remember, I have always wanted to step into the cobbled stone streets and feast my eyes on the beautiful vista of Vigan's Spanish colonial houses. In fact, I almost had the chance when my Humanities II class at UPLLB held a field trip to Ilocos. Being a cash-strapped iskolar ng bayan , however, I forgo the trip because I could not bring myself to ask for extra money from my parents. I promised though that I will manage to go there one day. The opportunity knocked once more when Lheila and Sheila (two super cool travelers!) concocted a Vigan-Pagudpud-Laoag itinerary. This time, the timing was perfect. We had no classe...

As the rainy season officially arrived with a splash, I watched the last days of fun and vacation season come to an end. I let summer pass me by, but in my mind,I remember my days of sheer happiness in the beach with nary a care to the sunburn that will ensue; the times I've spent with friends and family traveling and picnicking; the feel of the wind blowing through my hair as I journey to some off-the-beaten path; and the touch of sunshine and sea breeze on my skin--so vivid and real, that I can almost smell the sea, feel the cool water on my feet and hear the waves. Sigh, unfortunately, I had none of those of late. Or at least not yet. These images flash through my mind at random hours of the day--right while I'm in the middle of my work, before I fall asleep or as I sit idly in front of my computer surfing through the summer outing pictures of my Facebook friends. My longing for travel intensifies even more when people tell me what wonderful time they had during their recent...

The Imposing Beauty of a Near-Perfect Cone: Mayon Volcano of Albay Just a few months back, Mount Mayon stole the headlines once again. The impending eruption, which fortunately did not materialize, gave many of the residents living near the volcano a scare...but promised tourists and sightseers a view like no other. Thus, despite the clear danger of being near a temperamental beauty that is Mount Mayon, at a time when it was about to erupt no less, people still could not resist to be awed by its sight. I didn't witness this near-eruption stage save on TV, but decided nonetheless to share my Mount Mayon sight-seeing trip not too long ago. Mount Mayon is the queen of volcanoes in the Philippines. Not only does it have an attitude--not a single decade has passed in my entire lifetime that the volcano did not act up, spew ashes, shake the earth, cough out molten rocks and force people to evacuate--it is also, above all, a sight to behold. Mount Mayon is one of the most act...