The Waves Return

Nowhere found in Manila last weekend, I went to where I was just two weekends ago.  Lost in the moment –of which I always find myself in at Crystal Beach Resort.  This is where I have been disappearing to.  In between my anxiety of water, the thrill of winning against it, breathing fresh air, laughing my joy out loud with friends, communing with nature and finding God in the midst of all the organic beauty, this is where I have pitched a tent of temporary haven.

 

I’m a Manila girl, growing up in the concrete jungle with never having access to provincial fiestas and an answer to, “san probinsiya mo ne?”  But I drew close to Zambales.  I remember joining Conquer Zambales in 2009 – an adventure race organized by Living Asia with Sidetrip magazine that had me and CW speeding all over the province finishing one challenge after the other.  The tasks were daunting and super fun, like jumping off a 15-feet dive board at the military camp, scaling big smelly fishes and gutting them (my first time to do in my life), seeing my partner hop on an old rickety boat and climbing the mast to get the next clue, cooking rice in a bamboo, crossing the sand bar between Camara island and another island with a heavy bucket of water, and many other tasks for a full 2 days.  I’ve joined many adventure races but that one is top 3 of the most memorable even if I wasn’t near anywhere placing a spot since it allowed me to see the beauty of Zambales, both in the many places we went to and in its people.

In 2008, I also found a secret spot off the port of Pundaquit, a 30-minute boat ride to the beautiful off-white powdery sands of Anawangin.  The lighthouse in Capones island.  Chasing flags in Potipot island.  Climbing a huge rock in Camara.  Buying bagnet in the Zambales market.

Early this year, Shell Journeys had me planning another adventure trip and I picked Z, got reacquainted and now I couldn’t keep away.

RELATED POST:

The Journey a Weekend Can Give

Anawangin

Dear Jane: Conquer Zambales Mate

In the Beginning

I met new friends.  I found a new challenge.  I am learning from my surfing coach, Vergel.  I rally behind a community that enjoys a simple life, genuine smiles, the sun, sand and of course, riding the waves.

Zambales became my home town.  Crystal Beach, my new home address.

Here I don’t have a problem waking up early in the morning, sneaking out the room while everyone is still in la la land.  I just take in the beauty of the morning and the fresh smell of hope.

Next time, I look forward to dawn watch.  And giving praise and worship to the Father who has loved me so much.

This weekend was one of the best weekends of the year.  I don’t know if it’s coming from a real “low” as this week brought news that saddened the heart that there was nowhere to go but up… it was also a toxic week at work more than usual… but boy, the joy soared on Friday.  I always feel God’s overwhelming love but I felt it so much more last Friday.  I can’t explain it but I was just laughing and laughing, with no guards up, bonding with the people I was with –new and old, reconnecting with my “sole” sister Maddie…

because our stronghold is God. 

#‎love‬ ‪#‎contentment‬ ‪#‎simplejoys‬ ‪#‎friendships‬‪#‎family‬ ‪#‎happiness‬ ‪#‎faith‬ ‪#‎truth‬

…and receiving texts and calls from friends / groups in Manila who I felt missed me and wanted to spend time with me.  If you’ve seen my craziness, you’d know that would be rare and people would normally excuse themselves around me… unless I’m wearing a straightjacket.

We are grateful since the forecast was totally flat but there were baby waves (a.k.a. white water) that also helped me practice minus the fear of the big waves.

Mac teaching new kids on the block

Too bad that the schedule was full and all the instructors and surf boards were booked Friday afternoon.   While we decided to rest and relax, enjoy the sunset by the beach, and play Frisbee in between, my heart still yearned to go out and play with the baby waves.  I looked out at the horizon and watched with longing.

Sunset Water Babies

Glad Abby read into my spirit and asked surfer Jay-R to lend me his personal board.  She led me to sea and Jay-R took over, giving me a few tips and helping me catch a baby wave or two.  I was able to do 4 rides that afternoon, 4/4 short ones but enough to make me happy.

We started out early Friday on a road trip and came home late Saturday night – set it two days so we have the 3rd day to rest.  If the waves were not forecast as such, we would have stayed until Sunday but we were meant to avoid the heavy rains Sunday brought like God has provisioned us to fully enjoy the 2 days and fully rest on Sunday.  How perfect the plans of the Lord are!

I can’t even begin to tell you how fun the weekend was.  I had a blast.

Instead of just blabbing about it like blah blah blah ha-ha-ha blah blah blah.

I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

Road Trip: Zambales (August 9-10, 2013)

Morning from SCTEX! 🙂

Maddie and Janey

Roadkills

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A Shell Safety Reminder to Motorists During Holy Week Travel

 

Taking a vacation with loved ones is one of the secrets of strong and healthy familial bond. This is why weekends and holidays are deeply treasured by many. To ensure a safe and hassle-free travel this Holy Week, you need to ensure your vehicle is in top shape. Keeping safety and welfare of customers in mind, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation (Shell) invites motorists to have their vehicles checked at their nearest Shell service bay before they go on their Holy Week journeys.

 

Shell service bays’ professional and friendly technicians are well equipped to provide you with excellent service and keep your vehicles running right.  Shell has the largest service bay chain in the Philippines, and with almost 200 outlets of Shell Helix Service Centre and Shell Helix Oil Change+, you are sure to find an outlet near you. Several outlets also have customer lounge facilities that allow you to wait in comfort while your vehicle is being serviced.

 

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The Journey a Weekend Can Give… with Shell Journeys. Crystal Beach Resort, Zambales

White clouds roll in the sky.  Mister sun is sneaking in a smile from behind.  My eyes flinch and I pull down my sunnies, everything went a shade friendlier.  I look up again and realize no gray concretes block my view.  I crane my neck and see, the sky looking down at me, and finally I am seen.

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Barely weeks ago, I’m typing furiously, number and words that make what an itinerary should be.  I’m sliding that task in between paperwork that needs to be done, contracts that need to be reviewed, numbers that need to be run, errands that need to be finished, online presence that needs to be felt, interactions that need listening to… all needs.  Where does my need fall in all these?

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I knew I needed a pause.  I’m still peeling off scabs of a wound I had in the past.  Days arrive looking at me staring at my wounds, waiting for them to heal.  No, I have too much silence in the hours waiting for my mind to fall asleep.  What I need is an adventure.  Joyful moments that can break the monotony of life, will crack the distracting noise or the deafening silence surrounding me.

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The past two days, it’s been raining nonstop in Manila.  Friday evening seems to leave a promise and when Saturday dawned, the skies were clear, as if it was never heartbroken.  My excitement brews like coffee roasting in a percolator, its aroma sweating off its beans.  In my case, I go off smelling like Ralph Lauren’s Ralph, light and fruity, masking years of not bathing *insert evil laugh here.*

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Eric arrives, as usual very fashionably late, which I’m getting revenge on later in life.  Then there’s the mix up on whose car we’re bringing.  Had to travel home amidst Friday traffic to get the car only to find out he “supposedly” said we will use his brand new spanking Tucson.  I wonder why I became friends with him in college.  That was over a decade ago, I was probably still very reckless.

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Dumping all our weekend bags and the groceries we bought at the back of this week-old SUV, I plop onto the passenger seat.  Madz takes the backseat.  Eric revs the engine, ready to leave everything behind and not come back for a while.

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Road trip, here we go!  I pick out the playlist intended for this trip and press play.

You know guys who can’t stop yapping about cars and girls who can’t stop yapping about shopping, they go together.  It’s not my crowd.  Life for me is wasted sitting around spitting out the most expensive thing your money can buy or what your talk can impress.  But that day I couldn’t stop picking Eric’s brain on SUVs since he’s been going around test driving many cars before making the decision on the Tucson.  I think one of my financial goals this year or next year is a mini-SUV with a diesel engine.  I’ve started researching and pestering people with my endless questions.  Well, it’s going to be a long mountain to climb but, if you know me, I like having a goal in mind and working hard for it.

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The music blasts a happy tune and my sole sister Madz and I move to the beat and sing.  Eric gives us a weird look and I shove him softly, pressing him to the side of the door asking if he remembers our road trips in college.  “Remember that girl? She’s here. This weekend, that’s going to be me again.  Be ready for some fun and lots of uncontrolled singing.”  And a bit of danger (if you don’t look happy listening to our angelic voices).  He straps the seatbelt on me, which I always forget.  At least, there’s something he’s good for.

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Like any other road trips in the past, we stop over at Shell along NLEX.  Before embarking on any long or short road travel, there’s one hub that preps our cars as much as we ready our bold spirits.  It was time to gas up.

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Surf and Music Festival 2011 by Aloha Boardsports and Travel Factor

 

On October 29-31, 2011, Travel Factor is again making surf history, together with Aloha Boardsports, as they hold one of the biggest surfing events to hit Philippine shores:

 

Surf & Music Festival 2011

Aloha Boardsports & Travel Factor

October 29-31, 2011, Baler, Aurora

Aloha Boardspots and Travel Factor Surf and Music Festival 2011 

This awesome weekend will be filled with exciting surf and beach activities, nature tours and really, really good music. Complete details are available at the Travel Factor website: www.travelfactor.org

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Isdaan Restaurant at Gerona, Tarlac

 

 

December 29, 2010 – In Margee’s Thursday prayer group, we have all wanted to take a trip out of town.  It was brought up quickly after our Victory small group’s Christmas party but didn’t have enough time to discuss in detail.  Only one day before the actual trip when we decided to push through with it even if it is last minute and we didn’t plan the trip at all.  Rasia, Maan, Pearl, Issang couldn’t make it but we decided to push through.   

 

Trio Shakes

Trio Ladies

 

So that Wednesday, Bubba, Madz, Margee and I all took a trip to Gerona, Tarlac.  Since South Luzon expressway traffic is always heavy, our direction was northern.  Bubba and I have dined at Isdaan Restaurant in Gerona Tarlac once during a return trip from La Union with Bubba’s sister Jayme.  We know that that single place is worthwhile for a food trip.  And that’s where we were headed.  

 

 

Isdaan Restaurant is under the same management group of Barrio Fiesta.  Isdaan Restaurant occupies a sprawling area in the town of Gerona in Tarlac where other than good food, group activities can also be found.  It has this famous Tacsiyapo wall where people can throw their angst on the wall in the tune of a mug, cup, plate or other dining ware that cost between PHP 15-40.  If you have a bigger angst to let go of, you can also hurl an old television set for a price tag of PHP 2,000.  There are also gigantic figures of fishes, monkeys and Buddhas around the massive restaurant. 

 

 

Another game feature is Isdaan’s San Kilo Bridge, where you cross a slender concrete plank (“bridge”) balancing two pails (1 kilo of Tilapia) on both hands.  Along the way, the person will encounter obstacles like shells and gushing water.  The trick is to be able to cross to the other side and go back.  Once accomplished, you get the 1 kilo of fish!

 

 

On the Table

 

Tacsiyapo Green Mango PHP 81

Green Mango basted with spicy Tacsiyapo bagoong.  Maddie found the thin bagoong on the spicy side but I personally enjoyed the mix of sour and spice.  The bagoong was clean-tasting and didn’t taste or smell heavy at all.  I like that the texture of the bagoong was similar to a smooth “buro.”

 

 

Marinated Inihaw Pork Liempo PHP 445/half kilo

Their marinated inihaw pork liempo is one of their bestsellers.  There are a lot of bestsellers in Isdaan Restaurant but the marinated inihaw pork liempo is truly what tops it all in my book.  Think of adobo (marinated pork stew) slow-cooked to make the meat tender and flavorful then grilled for that smoky barbecue taste.  The tasty fat attached to the pork meat almost melts in the mouth, flavor of that perfect sweet smoky marinade.

 

 

I could finish one small sinaing of rice (PHP 95, good for 2-3 persons) on my own partnered with Isdaan’s Marinated and Grilled Pork Liempo.  I will never forget to order this again and again each time I’m at Isdaan restaurant.  If only for this dish alone, it makes the trip all worthwhile.  BEST ADOBO OR LIEMPO EVER! 🙂

 

 

Inihaw na Tilapia

Maddie and Margee decided to get grilled Tilapia

 

 

Sinaing PHP 95

 

 

Ginataan Hipon sa Buho

Maddie thoroughly enjoyed this shrimp in coconut milk presented in a bamboo tusk.  The well-cooked shrimp was simmered in a mouthwatering coconut milk brew. 

 

 

It is an appetizing dish that will get your hands dirty out of the desire to seep all that delectable juice from the shrimp.

 

 

Adobong Kangkong PHP 84

Maddie also ordered a vegetable viand and opted to get the Adobong Kangkong.

 

 

Ginisang Upo PHP 134

Margee likes Upo so she and I thought of getting the ginisang upo.  I had patola in mind when I was thinking of upo.  It was a good vegetable dish but it came rather too late since we were almost done with our meals when it arrived on the table. 

 

 

Fruit Shakes PHP 85/each

 

 

 

Overall, it was relatively a short trip but an enjoyable food session nonetheless.  Isdaan Restaurant is approximately 2 hours and a half-hour drive from Manila.  I’d drive that many hours again to get a taste of their Marinated Inihaw Pork Liempo as well as their crab in oyster sauce that Jayme and I had last time.

 

 

Other photos:

 

Maddie, Margee and Janey

Respectable

I don’t curse but now I know what people mean when they say, “sh*t!”

Lee?

Maddie’s Pose

Buddha + My Bubba

A little laugh and a little love go a long way

Good girls, good heart

Cutesy!

The Big Man is loved.

Who has angst?

THROW!

Softball?

Awesome Foursome

When we arrived in Manila, straight to Happy Lemon to meet Pearly!

 

 

Isdaan Restaurant

Gerona, Tarlac

 

 

Isdaan Restaurant Album

 

Typhoon Ondoy: Helping Hand

 

Last Saturday, the backyard experienced half-a-foot of floodwater due to overflow of water and clogging of drainage.  My sister’s room, which was on the first floor had ankle-deep water.  We only found out when we opened her room.  She was stranded overnight in UST with other students, slept on the floor as food for the mosquitoes, exceedingly hungry and exhausted.  My dad got stranded overnight also in his office with water up to the 6th flight of the stairs.  His car got flooded to the roof.  A digicam and 2 phones busted.  We were lucky.

 

Yesterday, Bubba and I left the office early to buy and pack relief goods.  Extremely long lines in the cashier indicate that a lot of people are buying to donate and/or “panic-buying” for stock goods (since PAGASA expects another typhoon to hit Manila tomorrow, Wednesday).

 

It felt good to be there despite the chaos and sort out what donations are needed, primarily food like bread, biscuits and canned goods, and secondary like toothbrush, alcohol, etc.  This is one of the few times, I really wish I were rich -more money to spare means more money to provide for others.

 

 

Overhead the mom and daughter tandem in front of us bought items for donation amounting to quite a huge amount and never bothered to sign the slip –it is most heartwarming when people help in private, anonymously.  Silent in lending a hand.  Politicians can probably do the same. 

 

Not giving aid for the sake of the flashbulbs.

 

 

Note: If you’re shopping in Unimart, LSGH (La Salle Greenhills) has a donation drop-off point in the grocery area handled by students.  You can drop off donations there right after shopping or order directly from the admin (if it’s in big bulks) and just present the item sales slip to the cashier.  Any amount of donation and effort helps.

 

 

A lot of inspiring act of humanity and spirit of bayanihan seen during the calamity, both regular people and celebrities alike.

 

 

Blessed enough to be spared by Typhoon Ondoy, let’s HELP Donate!

 

 

 

List of Donation Centers and Assistance Centers

Google Compiled List of Donation Centers and Rental of Rubber Boat

 

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