Where is Jervilis~

I'VE BEEN TO Cagayan De Oro City and Camiguin Islands last weekend, made possible by a massive price drop of Cebu Pacific Airlines tickets last March. Since I've been traveling to different places, I thought of creating a journal for my travel stories. 

Convincing myself to create a blog for my trips is actually very easy. Thinking for a title isn't that hard too. I remember Aileen, one of the first friends I made when I was hired in my company four years ago. She fused my name and the word bilis (tagalog word for fast) into one because she thought I was too fast for everything, work, walking, running, waking up late but still managed to swipe on time and many other things. Since then, she began calling me Jervilis persistently, until she resigned her post, a long time ago. So I guess it makes a good name for my new journal.

Do check out my new travel blog in Where Is Jervilis~

Rated C Minus

I'VE READ ABOUT it in Yugatech's Feedburner email. Then learned it was programmed by Eugene.

Using his wonderful application, I was rated a C- Philippine traveler.

I spent my early years living in Luzon and traveled only to as far as Benguet, to the north and Metro Manila, to the south. I have several relatives in the Nueva Ecija and Bataan, and during family get togethers I get the chances to embrace those places.

My Lakbayan grade is C-!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

When I started working, I move out of my comfort zones in Angeles City and transferred to Laguna. I owe to my colleagues and friends in the office whom I bonded with and learned the language of trekking and travelling. I went to as far as Sagada in Mountain Province, into the outskirts of Pagsanjan Falls, the beaches of Anilao, climbed into the cliffs of Mt. Daguldol in San Juan and Mt. Maculot in Cuenca, both in Batangas, took pictures of the Chocolate hills and dolphins of Bohol, smelled the cool breeze of Tagaytay and Baguio City, and witnessed the Pahiyas fiesta of Lucban. This weekend, we will be revisiting the beautiful island and wonders of Camiguin and drop by the waving rapids of Cagayan de Oro.

Hopefully, I could jumpstart the travel blog I've been cooking up for almost a month now. Next year, I aim to target and wish to achieve an A+ rating. I'll be focusing higher into the north, the likes of Hundred Islands, Vigan, Pagudpod, and Batanes!

So who's with me?

Lost in the Walls of Intramuros

I TEXTED MY friend Markus for directions. He called back and dictated me the precise routes via jeepney and LRT, since I don’t have a car that I can drive. He is an alma mater of PLM and I thought he was the perfect guy to ask on how to go to Intramuros. And he has proven himself righteous.

Last Sunday, I went there to answer to Jayvee’s blog invitation for a cosplay photo op. Unfortunately, I got lost in the process. He noted in his recent post that if there were a few more photographers who were lost on their way to the venue, I am sure one of them.

Angeles City was my hometown and I currently stay and work in Laguna, so it was almost a perfect opportunity since it'll be my first time to visit the place. I hoisted a jeepney near the Manila City Hall and asked the driver to pull-over at the “roundtable”. Once inside, I busied myself picturing the historic walls and scenery of Intramuros.

Armed with my camera, I started shooting like a crazy gunman in a ground-zero and war-like place.

I strutted and walked further reaching the canyon walls. Heavy sweat was starting to build up. A golf ball from the sky suddenly dropped onto the green grass. I failed to remember that the meeting place was inside the golf course.
An hour later I found myself already too far from where I should be: The Rizal Park.
So I took more shots of where my feet has taken me.

Chatted with Caloy, a park bystander who earns a living through his vintage Konica film SLR.

And captured some kids I'm uncertain I will ever meet again, willing to offer genuine smiles that warm the heart.

The next stop, I was already home.

Cold Break

I JUST CAME off from a 3 nights and 3 days trip to the hills of Baguio City. I went straight to work at 8 pm last night for evening shift duty after a rear-numbing travel from 7am to 5pm.
Yes, I am tired and exhausted, and all I have at this moment are few of the candid pictures I took, while taking a time out from the extreme hot temperatures of the lowlands.
I miss my bed already.

A Rizza Smile

The Host Himself, Glenn with Dimple

"Plebo"

Session Road Traffic

Fires of Grotto

Black Saturday Bus

SINCE MY SHIFT to another section in my company, one of the things that immediately affected my usual schedule is to work on a holiday. I am now part of a team required to stay behind when all the rest of the workers have already fled the factory. So this year, I missed for the first time spending holy week in my hometown in Angeles City.
In the past, I always see to it that I make it at home come Maundy Thursday, and stay there until the rest of the week. I have never engaged in any activity before that would conflict my homecoming.
At this time of the year, I don't find it as an opportunity to go into the beach or someplace else for a summer getaway just like what most people nowadays do.
Nonetheless, I consider it as moment for reflection of the soul.
A halo-halo in a street corner is already enough to quench the thirst and heat of the body.
More time with the family, a rare chance to relax at home and temporarily forget the stress brought by the office.
In Pampanga, it is a normal sight in the streets to witness penitents of varying forms: mamusan-krus(cross-bearers), kukusad qeng gabun(ground crawlers), mamalaspas(flagellants), etc. These face-covered faithfuls find their way into the next kapilla(chapel) wherein a Pabasa is being staged. They will be subjected to further physical pain, normally, by lashing their limbs with bounded banana twigs. These acts constitute an old tradition of the Kapampangan Catholics.
These and among others I already missed, since boarding probably one of the last bus for the evening in Cubao terminal, I did only on Black Saturday. And because the majority of the people living or working in Manila has been siphoned into the provinces and in other parts of the country, there is no traffic to impede my journey.
Thank God, I was home safe several hours before Easter.

Travel and Competitions

PART OF THE duties I commit myself as a human being is to travel the world. This is quite impossible as of today since I'm only one of the average Filipino workers who doesn't earn much. Seeing the world is still a farfetched dream etched in the chambers of my desires. So I opted to tour my beloved country first, even though that already bleeds my pocket.

Soaring through the Hills

Anyway, my friends at the office decided to grab discounted plane tickets for Boracay and Cagayan de Oro. We took advantage of the recent price slash of Cebu Pacific airfares and we'll be off to the white beaches of Bora on September 22-24. My good ol' college buddy Evan will join us in the trip to serve as guide because of his countless times he's been there.

We later on book an earlier flight, sometime in June, to experience the water rafting and caving the City of Golden Smiles boasts. We will also include in the itinerary an overnight visit to the Camiguin Island and certainly a stop-by in Pizza's home in Misamis Oriental.

It is still a long way to go before these scheduled travels but we are already endorsed to the idea of a great getway to the sand dune clinging into everyone's toes.

However, while wailing away through time and day dreaming of the most awaited moment, I spotted a competition in Cebu Pacific Air's inflight magazine Smile. The airline is on its 11th year and they are hosting a photo contest for the best destination photo along with its description.

I'm so much in love with my camera and I immediately thought of joining the contest.

And so, after several days of finding the suitable entry in a haystack of digital pictures embedded in a hard disk drive, I finally was able to select four entries, with one of them shown above. These pictures were taken during our escape to Bohol last December.

I'm greatly convinced that these photos will hit a score with the following categories:

• Composition — 20%
• Artistic merit — 30%
• Originality — 30%
• Execution (exposure, sharpness) — 20%

I was supposed to include the other three here but something inside me wanted to refuse. Aside from the winning photo to be published in the June/July edition of Smile, there are other great prizes at stake here. And I'm sure that cozy plane tickets are part of it. Supposed I win and they found out that I already posted the pictures here, it may be disqualified. Even if it's not declared in the contest that blogged photos are not meritable, I'm still adamant in posting them considering that I emailed the last entry exactly a minute before the deadline expired.

But maybe, I'm just too assuming and already counted the chicks before they even hatched.

Going Bananas Over a Peso

THE WORD IS indeed true: "All for Juan P1 for All"

Today is the last day of the promotional gimmick of Cebu Pacific Airlines. They dropped all their airfares to as low as One Peso to all their local and international destinations. Apparently, this news has shaken the world of those who love traveling and to those who have not rode in an airplane, but think that such offer should not be ignored.

All destinations for just P1, excluding surcharges such as tax (damn! why does the government always have a slice in every pie?) and fuel is such an inviting premise, but lo and behold! Reserving a flight online is equivalent to having your car stuck in EDSA traffic. It seems that every online Filipino has been accessing the site trying to get a ticket for Boracay, Bohol and Palawan. The Oops! page was persistent since day 1 and my fingers have been punishing the mouse by clicking the refresh button almost endlessly.

I immediately informed my trekker friends about the situation, that one ticket goes in every breath they take. But still, we manage to hoist passes for Boracay and Palawan. And finally, I will be able to experience rafting in the waters of Cagayan de Oro, the city of golden friendship.

I'm so glad I'll be seeing the town of JVandep, swim literally in hot waters, eat the best breakfast in a white island on second installment. Camiguin, see you in June!