Since the sun seems to be back to his old jolly self, I will be off to a new adventure. I will also be in hiatus for a short while from the blogging world. For now, I give you my favorite destinations of the past year...
Here we go...
10. Hda. Isabel, La Castellana, Negros Occidental
It may indeed be one of the most popular cliches around but it's true: there is no place like home! This nook will always be an essential destination for me... To avoid the risk of being biased, it is with a heavy heart that this is only ranked 1oth. Haha!
9. Buagsong, Municipality of Cordova, Cebu
This fishing community is popular for its eel delicacies believed to be potent aphrodisiacs. But I like this place because of its fiery sunsets reflected in the shallow waters during low tide and its "sandbar" which turned out to be mounds of shells dug up by the locals living near the area.
8. Bagacay Point, Municipality of Liloan, Cebu
This cranny is popular for its century old lighthouse built during the early years of American occupation. In my last visit, heavens gifted me with a wonderful display of light transitions in the sky and a cow eager to be photographed!
7. Trancentral Highway, Taptap, Cebu City
The snaking highway offers picturesque panoramas on clear days. What made this specific trip special was my arduous walk on a foggy morning and a slight drizzle halfway to my intended destination. Since I always experience leg cramps and I am helpless without my muscle pain killers, this trip without cramps was an achievement! And the stop-over for sweet corns in Taptap is a must...
6. Kan-irag Nature Park, Ayala Heights, Cebu City
This place is for leisurely walks. The comforting serenity of walking its trail and its windy high spots invite reminiscences. I was glad that through this entry, some people actually checked out the place and agreed with my review.
5. Gawahon Eco-Park, Victorias City, Negros Occidental
It is not just always about the destination. The journey is as important. In spite of the seemingly poor maintenance, this place still has much to offer if one is contented with sight-seeing. The sceneries along the way are very relaxing.
4. Malubog Dam, Toledo City, Cebu
This man-made lake in General Climaco is very distinguishable from the airplanes that ply the Bacolod-Cebu route. After two cancellations, our trip to this intriguing place pushed through along with sumptuous food and a bypass inside the mining areas of Toledo City.
3. Mount Manunggal, Municipality of Balamban, Cebu
The king of all mountains in Cebu! All trekkers and mountaineers in order to be accomplished peripatetics must conquer this summit and pay homage to the great life whose blood drenched its forest floor: Ramon Magsaysay. Below is the prominent monkey-face rock formation visible from the Balamban field office on the top of Mount Manunggal.
2. Penang, Malaysia
Visiting another country is always a unique experience. Although I was confined to Penang for the time I was in Malaysia, the stroll, the food and the opportunity of meeting new friends were well worth it. And the best part for a nature lover like me was the chance to visit the Penang Butterfly Farm - a lepidopteran haven. Aside from butterflies they also have other interesting collections from the Arthropods. The leaf insect for me is the most unique creature there.
1. Malapascua Island, Daanbantayan, Cebu
Malapascua is first and foremost for divers. Being in the northern part of the province, this island offered me an unhurried and relaxed getaway from the city - no pollution, loud music, television and blasting car horns. For aspiring bird photographers, the diversity of its fauna is amazing with many different birds challenging the power of one’s lenses and stalking patience. Despite being quite inferior still to the sands of Boracay, all of these with the warm smiles of it’s local inhabitants, Malapascua brings the bar of tourism to a different level against the commercialism of Boracay.
Being a lover of lighthouses, featured below is the Malapascua lighthouse.
I am looking forward to visiting more nooks and crannies this 2009. I also bid you to explore the outdoors! There may be an economic crisis but ironic as it may seem, moving money around responsibly will help to alleviate its ill effects. As Mark Twain has said:
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the tradewinds in your sails. Explore… Dream… Discover...
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A great travel blog inspired me to have this post. Miss Beth Tamayo (does that sound familiar?) was my Chemistry professor when I was still a student in the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod. She made easy the 10 grueling units of the subject, handling both lecture and laboratory. Now she is married, had migrated to the United States and still continues to teach. While balancing chemical equations, rattling off esoteric elemental properties and deriving electronic configurations to her students, she has taken photography as a hobby just recently. Fast learner that she is, her pictures are now phenomenal. Photography complements the affliction that we share: travel itch. She is maintaining three travel blogs and California Today is one of them. Despite her busy schedule, she spares her time to comment on almost all my entries here. Presenting... her top 20 destinations in California Today...
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