I couldn’t access my blog on my laptop so I’m checking if I could do it via my iPhone.
Hope this works!
I couldn’t access my blog on my laptop so I’m checking if I could do it via my iPhone.
Hope this works!
He reminds me of a Velázquez painting. ;o)
Meet Twister, the stray kitten I rescued two days before V-Day. Friends suggested that I name her Valentina o Caramia (I tried to bring her home in a cake box from that shop), but I found out later on that she was actually a he so that was the end of that. I thought of Vincent (I was having dinner at Van Gogh is Bipolar when he appeared) and Spock (I did a Star Trek movie marathon that weekend), but Twister seemed appropriate–he has a broken, crooked tail. I’m not even allowed to have pets here at the apartment… but what the hey! He’s so quiet you barely notice that he’s there. He’s such a calm but playful kitten. I think I needed him more than he needed me, that’s why he appeared at my side that night and slept on my feet. How could I resist? ;o)
I think I was drawing an ulcer. Stomach painful again. Bad, bad, bad.
Still have a LOT of work to do. Wish I had more time. :(
“I have always admired the ability to bite off more than one can chew and then chew it.” -William DeMille
I’ve gotta chew more. ;o)
A nice image for a rainy Sunday afternoon.
Thinking again of the long road ahead.
“To contribute toward the future, the artist must have a keen intellect, a strong body, and compassionate spirit, as well as a developed inner vision and far-reaching outer sight. Keep your eye simultaneously on your next step and on the long horizon.
Cultivate stamina, for the artist’s vocation is strenuous. It is not for everyone.”
— Deborah J. Haynes
Day 1: Monday, 27 December 2010 (on the road)
Location: Florida Bus Station, Sampaloc, Manila
Departure, Manila-Banaue, 22:45; ETA 07:00
Actual time: departure at 23:00, arrival at 07:15
Cost: taxi ride from home (100 pesos plus 20 peso tip—the taxi driver was nice!), bottled water (P25), bus ticket (P450)
Diet: Ritz biscuits, water, trail mix bar, gingerbon candies
Song: The Bridge of Khazad Dum by Howard Shore
Mood: Excited, sleepy
Day 2: Tuesday, 28 December 2010 (Banaue-Batad)
Time: 06:15 – 21:00
Activities: breakfast in Banaue, haggling with the Mafia transport group for a reasonably priced ride to the Batad junction or The Saddle, 350 peso tricycle ride to the junction, stop-overs for pictures and side-stepping landslides, 4.5 hour uphill hike with my 20 lbs knapsack from the junction to the Saddle, another 2 hour hike to the viewpoint area, quick lunch and a beer at Simon’s Viewpoint Inn, a much-needed nap, a much-MUCH-needed shower, dinner, sleep.
Cost: breakfast (P150), 1 liter bottled water (P60), trike ride (P350), Room (P200), lunch (P115), a pail of hot water (P30), dinner (P100)
Diet: ham and eggs with red rice, coffee, lots of chocolate, water, corned beef with vegetable rice, San Miguel pale pilsen, cheese omelet, pancit, more chocolate, vitamins
Song: none. All I could hear was the sound of my ragged breath, trickling water, cracking wood, crickets, and the wind.
Mood: tired, scared, overwhelmed, proud, exhilarated, fatigued, catatonic
Day 3: Wednesday, 29 December 2010 (Batad-Banaue-Bontoc-Sagada)
Time: 05:30 – 23:00
Activities: hike back to the Saddle, breakfast at a sari-sari store, long wait for the jeepney driver, rocky ride back to Banaue in the rain, quick lunch at a carenderia, 2 hour jeepney ride to Bontoc, 1 hour ride to Sagada, stroll around the city, dinner and beers at the Yogurt House, a beer in front of the Traveler’s Inn convenient store, hot shower, tummy trouble, interrupted-kinda-horror-story-sleep.
Cost: breakfast (P35), jeepney ride to Banaue (P150), lunch (P65), 4 Cloud Nine bars (P32), jeepney ride to Bontoc (P150), jeepney ride to Sagada (P40), room w/ own bathroom (P250), dinner and beers (P275)
Diet: trail mix bar, 1 pancake, 3-in-one coffee, 2 bags of Dory chips, pork adobo with rice and a bottle of Royal Tru Orange, Cloud Nine, Strawberry creme filled Sunflower crackers, water, butter mint candies, two spoonfuls of yogurt, 4 San Mig Light beers, roasted eggplant pasta, a bag of Okeji tempura style chips, vitamins
Song: Crazy by Alanis Morissette
Mood: fatigued, excited, contented, relaxed
Day 4-5: Thursday, 30/31 December 2010 (Sagada-Bontoc-Banaue-Manila)
Time: 07:15-03:00 (the following day)
Activities: breakfast at Masferre’s restaurant, tummy trouble still, 20 minute leisurely trek to the Lumiang burial cave, another 30 minute trek to the Sumaging cave, spelunking for 2 hours (with unexpected anxiety attacks!), 10 min jeepney ride to the Sagada town proper, 15 minute shower + packing, race to catch the last jeep to Bontoc, jeepney ride to Bontoc, jeepney ride to Banaue in the rain, tummy trouble again, lunch/merienda/dinner, bus ride back home.
Cost: breakfast (P100), cave guide + jeepney ride from Sumaging (P250), 1.5 liter bottled water (P20), a pack of Sagada arabica coffee grounds (P175), frozen yogurt to go (P100), jeepney ride to Bontoc (P40), jeepney ride to Banaue (P150), lunch/merienda/dinner (P140), bus ride back to Manila (P450), midnight snack (P70), taxi ride home from the Florida Cubao bus station (P50)
Diet: corned beef with pandesal, papaya, fried plantain, frozen yogurt with fresh strawberries, Cloud Nine, pancit canton, Royal tru orange, arroz caldo with egg, watermelon flavored Fit and Right drink, water, vitamins
Song: Beautiful by Trading Yesterday
Mood: fatigued, sick, peeved, sad, accomplished, melancholy
Things I realized along the way
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door…You step onto the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.” – Bilbo Baggins of the Shire