Sorsogon: Butanding and firefly encounters in Donsol, Sorsogon

It was a long drive to Sorsogon, the southernmost province of Luzon island. We left Manila at 10 p.m. and arrived at 9 a.m. the next day, just in time for the whale shark or butanding encounter. I was with Anton Diaz of Our Awesome Planet, Ivan ManDy of Old Manila Walks and his friend Jenny Tan. The best time to interact with the whale sharks is in the morning, as much as possible, before 11 a.m.

When you arrive in Donsol, there are directional signs which point you to the Butanding Visitors' Center of the Donsol Tourism Office in Barangay Dancalan. There you will need to register and pay the appropriate fees which include PHP100 per head for registration for locals, and PHP3500 per boat which can accommodate a maximum of seven people. You will also need to rent snorkeling equipment for P300, mask, snorkel and fins included. Make sure you have fins or else you'll regret it.

There were just four of us and good thing we met a group (Isa, Meg and Raf) and decided to share the boat. Isa actually recognized Ivan ManDy since she had been on one of his tours. And it turns out, she was trying to look for Donsol info here in my blog but didn't find any. And the funny thing is we did Donsol together.

Anyway, each boat has a well-trained Butanding Interaction Officer (BIO) who will serve as your guide in the water, plus a spotter who will look for these gentle creatures for your group. Although there is no guarantee you'll see i>butandings, the crew members are expert spotters. Since we were at the tail-end of the season which is from November to May (peak is February to April), we kept our hopes up.

Just a few minutes from the shore, our spotter located a butanding and at the signal of our BIO, we jumped into the water. The butanding however disappeared quickly so I wasn't able to see it. So we went back on the boat and looked again. The second try was more successful since I was able to take photos of it. It was a really exciting feeling swimming on top or beside the whale shark. We got to see six of them that day! But the interaction was a bit short that day, just a few seconds. Our BIO said that his longest was an hour and 45 minutes! He was also GMA's BIO when she visited Donsol and after 30 minutes, the president was the one who begged off. That's why it's really best to visit during the peak months.

We called it a day after the sixth sighting. By the time we got back, we were so hungry since we hadn't eaten breakfast (if we stopped for breakfast, we would have missed the opportunity to check out the butandings). So we decided to have lunch at the Woodland Farm Resort Canteen where we ordered adobado (adobo with gata), kilawin, bicol express among others. We also decided to stay there for the night and got an air-conditioned room with two queen-sized beds for PHP1500. After lunch, we got some sorbetes from a vendor outside the canteen. It turns out, the Bicol version has coconut milk in it.

Jenny had to rush back to Manila that day to so we brought her to the bus station at Pilar Port (which is where the Masbate boats dock) in the neighboring town of Pilar. I was awed by the view of native houses amidst the colorful boats at Pilar Port. I hope towns in the Philippines preserve this kind of scenery but all of it is being replaced by concrete and hollow blocks. In Sorsogon however, you saw nipa houses lining the road to Donsol and it really made you feel you were in the Philippines.

We got back to Donsol at 5 p.m. just in time for another boat trip, this time along the Ogod River to check out the fireflies, Donsol's no. 2 attraction. Each boat is PHP1250. Again, we joined forces to bring down our costs. That's what backpacking is all about, trying to share expenses with new friends.

The river was a sight to behold with mangroves and nipa on each side. In front of us was a silhouette of the Mayon Volcano. We waited for darkness to arrive on an island in the middle of the river. At 7 p.m., we boarded the boat and started our trip back.

Then they appeared. Like fairy dust hovering around the trees, the fireflies gave an enchanting feeling as they flickered in the dark. One could say they looked like Christmas lights dancing around the trees. Sadly, we could not record them on our cameras. Indeed, the Philippines is blessed. I just hope local stakeholders could balance tourist arrivals with sustainable development and conservation.

The group had a sumptuous dinner at the Amor Farm Resort. It was all raves for the delicious food! We had laing, kinunot (malunggay with fish meat), inihaw na pusit, buttered shrimps, curry shrimps and Bicol express. If you do get to visit Donsol, make sure you have a meal at Amor. The night wasn't over since we had one last stop at the only bar in Donsol... BARacuda!

I liked the ambiance of the place. They serve meals too, but they have no menu, only the catch of the day. I was told that one meal was about PHP500, quite pricey for Donsol, but a hit among foreigners who visit the place. The bar owner, Juliet, is very friendly and interacts often with her customers. She explains that the prices also control the quality of the crowd and thus you don't get any of the town drunkards in her place.

We ordered margaritas and caipirinhas (a Brazilian drink similar to the mojito of Cuba) for PHP150 each. But since we were Pinoy, she gave us a discount which was quite nice of her. If only we didn't have to wake up early the next day, it would have been so much fun to stay and chill out there the whole night. She also has one room which I'm sure people willing to splurge would enjoy. Tired and sleepy, we called it a night at 10 p.m. More photos in Multiply.

Bulacan: Dancing at the Obando Fertility Rites

I was at the Obando Fertility Rites last May 17. A three-day fiesta honoring the towns patron saints: May 17 for St. Paschal, May 18 for St. Claire and May 19 for the Our Lady of Salambao, this festival in Obando has attracted couples praying for children among others.

It was a pleasant early morning drive to Obando via the old town center of Polo (Valenzuela City). This northwestern part of Metro Manila was foreign to me until today. I heard there were a lot of heritage structures in Malabon but I will have to reserve exploring the said town for another day.

The participants to the fertility dance during the three morning processions are dayo (visitors) from other towns in the Philippines. Most ask the patron saints for a son or a daughter, a husband or a wife or good fortune. They believe that by dancing, the spirit of life to enters into the wombs of women.

My host for today was Dir. Ting de los Reyes of the DOT who is from Obando. It was a good thing the procession passed by his house, twice in fact since there is only one major road and the procession had to make a u-turn back to the church. I enjoyed watching the musikong bumbong play on their bamboo instruments as the devotees danced the traditional pandanggo.

I told Ting I was a bit disappointed though since many were no longer in traditional Filipino costumes plus you had the bands playing "Boom Tarat Tarat" and "Itaktak Mo" instead of the traditional music. And then we ask why foreigners don't take notice of our festivals as much as our neighbors in Asia? It's because we don't keep the traditions intact, replacing traditional music with pop music, and traditional Filipino costumes with t-shirts, many a times with the mayor's name on it! Imagine if Thai or Japanese festivals did that!

Ting was disappointed himself since the priest insisted on including an ati-atihan group to make the procession livelier. Father, the Ati-atihan is in Kalibo, Aklan! Let's leave the Obando Fertility Rites alone and keep it original. Anyway, I hope our local officials understand the importance of keeping traditions intact. And let's keep all those t-shirts out and bring back our traditional Filipino costumes in our festivals.

More photos in Multiply.

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Pampanga: Fr. Ed Panlilio is Pampanga governor-elect!

Among Ed won the elections! Go Pampanga! I just came from the proclamation of governor-elect Fr. Ed Panlilio. Indeed, every vote counted. He won by 1,147 votes! I'm sure that should have been bigger (if you know what I mean). But the important thing is he won. May Pampanga lead the way for the Philippines!

The atmosphere at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center was electric. The crowd was phenomenal! It was not the type that lined up for something after (not hakot in other words). It was people power! More photos in Multiply.

Panlilio, Eddie T. - 219,706
Pineda, Lilia G. - 218,559
Lapid, Mark T. - 210,875

Related articles
Priest topples Pineda, Lapid in Pampanga polls
Miracle in Pampanga
Catholic priest elected Pampanga governor
Interview with Pampanga Gov.-elect Ed Panlilio
Panlilio keeps guard up vs rivals, jueteng lords

Heritage watch
Congratulations to Mayor Fred Lim for winning the mayoral elections in the City of Manila! The city's heritage now has a protector. Also check out a video of Iloilo heritage produced by the Iloilo City Cultural Heritage Conservation Council, the City Government of Iloilo, Canurb and ABS-CBN, uploaded by Bernard Arellano. Bravo Iloilo City!



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Bulacan: Carabao Festival in Pulilan, Bulacan

I missed the Pulilan Carabao Festival today. The parade started at 2 p.m. but I was still voting here in San Fernando, Pampanga. I guess though, with the elections set today, the celebration in Pulilan would not be as grand as last year. So I was content with looking at photos taken by Sidney Snoeck from last year's festival, held annually every May 14 in honor of San Isidro Labrador whose feast day is tomorrow. (Photos courtesy of Sidney Snoeck)

Don't miss the happenings in Quezon tomorrow which include the Pahiyas Festival in Lucban, Mayohan in Tayabas, and Agawan in Sariaya. I also heard the celebration in Gumaca is another must visit. From May 17 to 19, the streets of Obando, Bulacan will be alive with devotees doing the traditional fertility dance.

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Cavite: Around historic Cavite

Yesterday, I went around the historic province of Cavite. Our first stop was the Emilio Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit.

The ancestral home of Aguinaldo, the first president of the Philippines, it was the site of the proclamation of Philippine independence on June 12, 1898. On that day, the declaration of independence from Spain was read from a balcony of the house and the Philippine flag formally unfurled by Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista (and not Aguinaldo as is erroneously depicted in the old five peso bill). The Philippine National Anthem was also played for the first time by the Banda Malabon (of San Francisco de Malabon, now Gen. Trias, Cavite).

Sadly, the museum was closed. I find this government practice of closing historical sites on Sundays stupid since it robs Philippine citizens the chance to visit these places when they’re off from work. I’ve been in the museum several times before so it wasn’t really a loss. But it would have been nice to see it again. If you want to find out what you could see inside, click here.

From there, it was a forty-minute drive south to Maragondon where we visited the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady which was declared a national cultural treasure, and the Bonifacio Trial House, a national historical landmark, which like the Aguinaldo Shrine, was closed on Sundays.

According to the NCCA, “The church was built in the early 18th century by the Jesuits, with later additions by the seculars and the Augustinian Recollects. Much of the church and belltower, and the lower portion of the convento is made of irregular river stones, indicative of the early level of technology operating at that time. The intricately-carved retablos, pulpit and church doors (with galleons and floral designs) date from Jesuit times, while the hugely carved beams crossing the nave were installed by the seculars-- one of the beams even carries the name of the indio priest who commissioned them. The unusual horseshoe-shaped communion rail, with a flooring of inlaid wood of various colors, recalls that of San Sebastian Church, Manila, another Recollect construction.”

The house of Teodorico Reyes, now known as the Bonifacio Trial House, was where Andres Bonifacio and his brother Procopio were court-martialed. It was a kangaroo court as many historians put it. And their conviction for sedition and conspiracy and subsequent execution in the mountains of Maragondon haunts whatever legacy Aguinaldo was able to leave. In the end, it was Bonifacio whom the nation recognized with a public holiday and grand monuments in Metro Manila.

After this quick detour, we had to rush to Silang since we were in Cavite to help our brods campaign. It was actually fun going house to house giving out flyers of Congressman Boying Remulla whom we met earlier in the morning for coffee at his house. Another group was helping out Congressman Gilbert Remulla in Imus. We also campaigned for Senators Joker Arroyo and Kiko Pangilinan. Silang is the largest municipality in Cavite in terms of land area. And the barangays we visited seemed to be on opposite ends. It was sad I wasn't able to check out their church since we had a lot of work to do.

With our mission completed. We passed by neighboring Tagaytay City to check out Taal Volcano before motoring to Indang to go night swimming at one of the natural spring resorts which are a plenty in the town.

By the time we arrived in Indang, it was getting dark. So we skipped the church and headed to Barangay Tambo Kulit where most of the resorts could be found. We were pointed to the Rio Villa Nuevo Resort which many say is the best one in town. When we saw the small waterfalls in the compound, we said this was it! It was PHP12o per head for night swimming. There are several pools of spring water if you do not fancy walking on rocks and streams. We went straight to the waterfalls and enjoyed the rush of cold water.

After an hour, we rushed back to Tagaytay for a late dinner in Teriyaki Boy. We were supposed to go back to Manila. But the group enjoyed the trip so much that we decided to stay overnight. So we checked-in at the three-room inn under the Mile-Hi Diner which is located in the same restaurant compound. The standard room is PHP2,250. Good thing it was a Sunday and weekend vacationers had already left for Manila; so rooms were available. It was a cold night, a welcome respite from Manila's heat. Check out the photos in Multiply. I'm sure Bikoy Villanueva should have his account of our trip anytime soon.

Jose Abad Santos Day
Today, the anniversary of the martyrdom of Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos of San Fernando, Pampanga (one of the three people in the 1000-peso bill), is a non-working holiday in the Province of Pampanga. Happy Jose Abad Santos Day to all!

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