barefootcontessa

Merrymaking, street dancing, devotion to the Señor Santo Niño, culture and faith... that is what the word Dinagyang embodies. The Dinagyang Festival, Iloilo's version of Aklan's Ati-Atihan Festival, is one of the grandest and biggest festivals in the country. Held on the fourth week of January, this festival draws tourists, Filipinos and foreigners alike, to Panay Island's busiest city, Iloilo. Highlighting the festival is the Ati Dance competition wherein several Tribu or tribes participate. Initially, when my Ilongga friend Jeany, was explaining the festival and referred to the participants of the Ati Dance as tribes, I thought that they were literally from indigenous "tribes". Tribes do still exist in my country so I was under the impression that what my friend was saying was the real deal. Much to my surprise the tribus are high school ... read more

It's a shame to say that this is my first time to set foot in the island of Boracay, or maybe not. I've never really dreamed of coming here 'coz it is usually flocked with tourists and people from the city. Boracay has become one of the ultimate tourist and party destination especially at the hype of summer and every concievable holiday in my country (and yes, our President likes giving out holidays). However, I was going to Iloilo to join the Dinagyang Festival so my mates and I decided to make a quick stop at this much raved about beach haven. I should say, I was pretty excited to go to Boracay for the mere fact that I'm finally seeing it and disappointed I was not. Although I think I've seen better beaches, the ambience ... read more

Being the adult that I supposedly am and because I am earning my own dough, I thought it would be nice to treat my folks, Inang and sisters for a day at the beach. I wanted a hassle free resort wherein the only thing we needed to do was get to the place. Family outings can sometimes be too tiring. I mean, the preparation before the trip is a lot of work! You have to worry whose going to bring this and that, what kind of food to bring, where to cook it and mostly whose going to be responsible enough to actually do the task. Since I'm the one who’s doing the invites, I didn't want to be bothered by such details. I wanted to relax... I wanted everybody to relax! So I got on ... read more

Day 2 in Bohol! Time to meet the dolphins down at Pamilacan Island! Rob and I arranged (well, I mostly did the actual arranging) for a boat trip to play with the dolphins with the Baclayon Island Hopping, Dolphin and Whale Watching. They’re a travel and tours company that arranges trips with the locals of the island. They hire experienced boatmen and spotters from the island who used to hunt the whales and the dolphins. Since it is now illegal to do so, they are now using their hunting skills in spotting them for tourists. We woke up around 430ish to get ourselves ready since our ride was scheduled to arrive around 530am. Breakfast was part of our hotel package from Palakbayan, so we trotted to the restaurant and ate a so-so meal while waiting for ... read more

Waking up at around 4am in the morning was a major pain in the bum. After all, we were up, whole day and night frolicking the highlands of Tagaytay. Plus, it's so frigging cold! It's so nice to sleep, cuddled up inside a warm blanket and dream in a lucid state. But, we couldn't. We needed to get up so we can hike Taal Volcano before we encounter the morning heat of the sun. Another thing was that our reservation at the Taal Lake Yacht Club (TLYC) for our boat and guide was at 6am. By 5am, we checked out of the inn and started deciphering our map to Talisay, Batangas. Before we reached Picnic Grove, we saw a sign leading to Talisay. Along with it were a couple or more men asking us if we ... read more