Philippines Day 8 - Last Day in Boracay

You'd think 12 hours of sleep would be sufficient for someone who barely sleeps. Well, by 8 o'clock tonight, I was ready to go to bed again.

The day started off pretty smoothly with our return trip to Manila. No diversions, no delays, it was pretty smooth sailing. Until getting to Manila. Traffic is horrendous! Here I thought that the trip from Kalibo to Caticlan was bad. Sheesh!

The plane ride was ok, aside from the landing which was pretty nerve-wracking. I've never felt a plane drifting while in the process of landing. Drifting in a car is one thing, but drifting in a plane trying to land with people on board is whole other experience.

There are plenty of folks in the Philippines driving motorcycles. They're not Harley Davidson's or anything, but they're small enough and fast enough to get where you are going. They're more like mopeds, really. You know, small enough to fit between buses, trucks, and cars. Also for weaving around traffic, getting on sidewalks, going underneath 18 wheelers during traffic because you REALLY need to get to the other side. Also, they need to be easy to operate because you need one hand to text while you are doing all of the above. Not to mention paying attention to the 2 kids sitting in front of you, and the wife sitting behind you. OH MY GOD!!!!! No guts, no glory, I guess. One thing is for damn sure, I am NEVER going to complain about Dallas rush hour traffic EVER again.

We were picked up by my cousin Kuya Bong ("Kuya" means older brother) and my mom's beautiful sister (i know, i know… I'm trying to get on her good side =) and she is beautiful just like my mom). Afterwards, we all met up with the rest of the bunch in Marikina City at Gerry's Restaurant. We ate some snails, mangoes, and lots of other goodies. The video will have it all soon as I get it edited and uploaded.

I was incredibly excited to see my cousin Mikki. Probably my favorite cousin ever! (No offense to anyone!! I love you guys all the same!) Mikki and my twin were inseparable when we were little, so she's like our triplet. I was surprised to see how my other Godson, Aaron, has grown. Aaron is Kuya Bong's youngest son. At 11 year old, he's almost as tall as I am. Imagine that, the last time I saw him, he was 6, and was very tiny. Man, I'm old.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that my dad and brother tried to marry me off once more to the receptionist at Kikko's Resort in Boracay. So wrong in many, many ways. First of all they waited until we were leaving to try and hook me up, and second, I actually would have went for it we weren't leaving.. SNOOGANS!

Here's some photos from the day. The sun reflecting off my watch through the plane window.


Ominous cloud formations.



My brother packing for our return to Manila.


My dad watching TV.


My brother flipping me off because I was being a smart ass.


My lovely Tita Gay and my dad ("Tita" means Aunt)


Ate Tess, my Godson, Mark's mom ("Ate" pronounced, Ah-te, means older sister) Isn't she cute?? =)

Videos are slowly but surely being uploaded.

GZ

Philippines Day 7 - Day 3 in Boracay

Just woke up from recovering from a busy 7th day, also our third day here in Boracay. I ended up falling asleep around 5pm, and its now 6am on our 8th day and last day in Boracay. We have to head back to Manila today. I'm sad, but now I know what I'll be missing and I know what I'll be looking forward to when I come back.

So, here's a recap from yesterday. We woke up at 4am so we could meet the guy picking us up at 5am from the lobby to take us to the boat. We finally got there and waited for a little bit for them to get the boat ready. The beach was so peaceful. Listening to the waves break and the tide come in was so relaxing, I can see why people love going to the beach.

We hopped o the boat for 3 hours of fishing. We didn't catch a lot but the experience was worth it. Dad caught a blow fish, and my brother and I caught 7 small fish between the two of us. the boat man caught a red snapper, which was exciting. No rod and reel fishing here, so we used hand lines. Talk about going back to basics.

In the afternoon, we hooked up with another boat man to take us around the island for some snorkeling and lunch on the other side. That was pretty much it. It was great getting to spend some quality time with my dad and my brother. After we got back to the hotel, we all pretty much passed out and didn't wake up until this morning. We're about to have some breakfast and continue packing to head back to Manila. Day 8 will consist of spending time with my mom's side of the family, and visiting my grandmother's final resting place, which is something I've been looking forward to for some time now.

Here's some photos from day 7.

Philippines Day 6 - Day 2 Part 2

It was a full day today. Woke up early and had breakfast, then my dad brother and I headed off to the beach for a walk. We ended back up at the Mexican restaurant my brother and I found our first day here. After we got back to the hotel, my brother and I went for a dip in the pool and the went snorkeling.

Last time I went snorkeling was in Florida. Not much wildlife there, except for the hammerhead shark my cousin and I encountered, and there were weeds every where covering up the sea floor. Snorkeling is much better here at Boracay. The water is clear and the fish are colorful.

We took a nap afterwards and headed off to dinner at D' Mall, or "the Mall." All you can eat buffet for 300 pesos ($7.00 per person). A little cheaper from what it is back home, but you get grilled oysters and clams, so its quite a good deal.

We went walking around D' Mall after dinner to buy some souvenirs. My dad and brother tried to marry me off to the lady at the store so they could get a discount. To be honest, it would have been ok if it weren't for the fact that the lady was married and her name is the same as my mom's. She has been away from her husband for 3 years so she said it was ok if it was only for one night. So, I took her up on it…. lol just kidding.

We're gonna call it an early night because we have a 4am wake up call for our fishing trip, and then a 3 hour island hopping tour. I'm looking forward to meeting Mr. Howell and Mary Anne… maybe the Professor and Gilligan, if they're available.

Anywho, we have spotty internet connect here and I'm I have not been able to post any photos or videos. I'll post them as soon as I am able to.

GZ

PS... here's the photos... finally... =)

Philippines Day 6 - Day 2 in Boracay

This is the first time in a long time that I have been able to sleep well, and according to my dad and brother, I wasn't even snoring. Imagine that. =)

Last night my dad, brother and I headed off into town to a place called D Talipapa for dinner. D Talipapa is the town market where you can get fresh seafood, veggies, among other things. The best part after you buy your items, you can take it to a small store front restaurant and have them cook it for you. We bought a kilo of crabs and shrimp. We had the shrimp cooked in a lemon garlic sauce, and the crabs cooked in a sweet spicy sauce. I was so hungry and sleepy that I forgot to take photos and videos of it. Oh well, we're going back there, I'll get photos and videos of it then.

We're headed to the beach this morning to walk around and take a dip. I"m leaving the Canon in the hotel. Its not weather sealed and I don't want to damage it. I'll bring the Kodak Playsport instead. It takes ok photos and its waterproof, so it will have to do.

Philippines Day 5 - Boracay!!!

Its kind of weird to think that my family had to move to the US just to be able to visit the places I always wanted to go to in the Philippines. Boracay being one of them. Boracay Island is one of the top tourist spots in the Philippines, although its takes a plane ride from either Angeles City, Manila, or Cebu, followed by a ferry ride to the island. Traveling to Boracay can be quite pleasant if all goes to plan. Unfortunately for us, our flight from Angeles City (Clark Air Force Base) to Caticlan was diverted to Kalibo, which is a 2 hour, butt-puckering ride, to the ferries in Caticlan.

The weather was bad in Caticlan and the plane had to be diverted to Kalibo because the runway was longer, which enabled the pilot to land us safer on a wet runway. The shuttles were notified and headed off to pick us up at the Kalibo Airport. The way to Caticlan was quite interesting. Going through windy roads through the mountains, narrowly missing pedestrians and on-coming traffic, somehow, we made it to our destination safe.

After arriving at Caticlan's ferry port, we were escorted to the loading point to the ferry, which is a fast craft boat to take us to Boracay. Unfortunately, the fast craft boats were way behind schedules so we were redirected to large banka boats. Imagine a big canoe with outriggers that chopped through the water, turning a 5 minute fast craft ride to a 15 minute open water adventure. we had to board the boat using a wooden plank about 10 feet long with a loose hand rail on one side and open on the other. As scary as that whole experience was, I think I was more concerned about my equipment falling into the water (cameras, laptop, etc…). I would have taken photos and videos of us boarding the boat, but I chose to concentrate on the task at hand instead.

We made it safe to our destination eventually, but the journey here is definitely an experience my dad, brother and I will talk about for years to come.

Here's some photos of the travel, and some quick snapshots I took when my big bro and I took a stroll on the beach. I got bored at the hotel so I photoshopped them.

Clark Airforce Base at dawn...


Boarding the plane, Mt. Arayat in the background...


A few couple of shots during the drive to Calictan...



Altar of the Virgin Mary on the beach...



GZ

Philippines Day 4 - Ka Vibes 65 45th HS Reunion

Today is my dad's 45th high school reunion. "Ka Vibes" is a term they use to describe their class. The literal meaning is "Same Vibe" describing how all of them are on the same page as far as attitude toward life in general. There are a wide range of backgrounds with my dad's class. From house wives and house husbands to army generals and presidential cabinet members.

Being around this group allowed me to see a major cultural difference between high school reunions in the US and in the Philippines. Most people in the US, by my observation, dread going back for their 10 year, or whatever year, reunion. People here, at least in my dad's class, EVERYONE looks forward to their reunion.

It just seems like they genuinely like everyone they went to school with. The only people who didn't make the reunion are either unable to due to health issues, or they've passed away. I attended my 10 year reunion last year, and most people I spoke to who weren't there, which was over half the class, said that they didn't want to because they didn't like most of the people they went to school with, or they just flat out didn't care.

To be honest, I was kind of dreading shooting my dad's reunion–for a few reasons. My brother and cousins were going to go have fun while I work, and, well, yeah…that's the only reason. I want to have fun! You can't blame me for that!!! But, I am glad I went because it was great seeing my dad in that light.

My dad always talks about how much fun he has during reunions. He always comes back with stories of what they did and the craziness that ensues at these functions. I'm glad to have experienced it first hand.

I can see why too. There were no jealousy, no one talking behind other people's back, there were no trying to out do each other as far as occupation and current living status. They care about each other so much that they've started a foundation to collect money for each others kids' education, or even funds to send their less fortunate classmates to the reunion.

Here's a few of the photos I took during my dad's event...

We had mass to begin the day's festivities. This is a view of the altar of the church located at Holy Angel University, my dad's school.


...and here's a side view from outside.


I'm not hiding any misconceptions about Asians and their picture taking stigma. This took almost an HOUR after mass ended. lol




When I was looking through photos to post, I kept noticing how happy my dad looked. I kept imagining him when he was younger because it seemed as though he was in high school again. That made me happy. =)


KA VIBES!!!



...and the spread, and NO, Raymon, yeah you! That is NOT the future Mrs. Glenn Zamora in the background... she was busy working the event and I didn't get to take a photo! lol jk ... or am I?


This last photo is just a sample of the craziness they get into. Although my dad told me that they had to tame it down this year because they invited the old priest they had while they were in school to the reunion. Also, one of their classmates is a nun. Holy Angel University is a Catholic school, by the way. The photo is of a game called musical chairs–I'm sure you guys are familiar with that, but instead of chairs, the women had to sit on the men's laps... oh the hilarity!!


Video to come soon.

GZ

Philippines Day 3 - Fiesta La Naval

Sorry for not posting last night, but I was extremely tired and passed out soon as we got to the hotel room. Too much fun, eating and drinking got to me.

Yesterday we celebrated the Fiesta of La Naval. (The following paragraphs are taken from MB.com) Fiesta La Naval is a celebration commemorating the victory of the poorly armed and greatly outnumbered Spanish-Filipino forces against the powerful Dutch fleet off of Bataan in 1646. The Dutch were said to be after the riches of the Philippine archipelago, and to replace Catholicism with Dutch Protestant Calvinism. Victory was attributed to the prayer of the Rosary to our Holy Mother before each battle. According to accounts, only 15 defenders of the island died in all 5 of the bloody naval battles, after which the Dutch miraculously retreated, never to return.

After a thorough deliberation and examination by the Ecclesiastical Committee in Cavite made up of doctors of theology and canonical experts, the naval victories were declared on April 9, 1662 as "miraculous, granted by the Sovereign Lord through the intercession of the Most Holy Virgin and devotion to her rosary."

The committee then mandated that "the miracles be celebrated, preached and held in festivities and to be recounted among the miracles wrought by the Lady of the Rosary for the greater devotion of the faithful to Our Most Blessed Virgin Mary and her holy rosary."

The first celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of La Naval was held on October 8, 1646 in Manila.
In 1981, the late Pope John Paul II dedicated the country and the whole of Asia to the Blessed Mother: "I entrust the destiny of the Philippines and of all Asia to Mary, Queen of the Rosary with the title of La Naval."

Since then, Filipinos celebrates the victory through the first and last of October, with parades, food, and prayers at the church. Here are the photos from our celebration in the Zamora household.

Lechon.


The best part are the ears, tail, and skin. Served in a liver gravy. Yum-O


A dish called Pastel. My aunt and uncle once again taught me how to make this. =)


My Brother and our cousin Ate Amy.


A plate of lechon.


My beautiful cousin Ate Amy.


...and her extremely shy kids.



My little nephew RK.


The spread.



My plate.... Jesus Cristo! That was ridonculous!


More to come! GZ

Here's the video.