Patchwork of Joy

In 1859, Fedor Jagor, a German ethnologist and naturalist, stayed in Albay during his exploration in Asia. In his book “ Travels in the Philippines ”, he mentioned about coffee and cacao trees thriving in the yard of his temporary shelter in Daraga. When he saw the overripe fruits, he had them collected and made into chocolate. He further wrote: “ so great is the laziness of the Indians that they frequently allow the berries to decay… ”  Although time has changed, these fruits are still treated almost the same way as 150  years ago. The cacao fruits are still sometimes left to overripe in our neighborhood in Albay. Unlike pili nut which is usually directly bought and picked-up by buyers from households, these beautiful fruit pods has low priority and marketability in the area. The constant rain is surely one of the reasons our folks don’t bother the labor-intensive process of preparation even for personal use.  Last year, one of our neighbors did made a cacao ca...

Few years ago, we went to Paete/Pagsanjan by commuting from Cainta via mostly R-5/Manila East Rd. On our return home, we commuted via mostly Manila South Rd/AH26. In short, we made a 360 Laguna de Bay trip. At Tatlung Kruz, overlooking Paete Town and Laguna de Bay  After visiting Bulusan lake, I started to categorize my lake travels and wondered what was the largest lake in the Philippines. I found Laguna de Bay– unconsciously included a few times in my past itineraries. I wondered why a lake was called "Laguna de Bay", pronouncing "Bay" as in the inlet of the sea that's smaller than a gulf. Laguna de Bay means "Lagoon of the town of Bay". The town Bay is pronounced Bä'ï or “Bae”, the latter is also the alternative name of the town. As I write this blog, I still say "bay" out of habit. Now, I must misnomer no more if I pass by Laguna de Bay, by the by!

This trip was a birthday climb and organized by a friend. It was our first major hike so we went for minor hikes for few weeks like Ligñon Hill, Kawa-kawa Hill, and some running at Legazpi Boulevard.  Although the trail wasn't really that hard, it was long and tiring. It was drizzling when we reached the summit and we didn't get a clearing on sunrise. There was a huge crowd of hikers and our descent was far more fruitful and scenic but I still find this trip the best that I've had. "Pulag" meant bald I was so excited for the travel that I made an artwork before our trip! Orientation before hike Camping in the fogs Colorful Plants and flowers The Mt. Pulag 2,922 MASL Marker Foggy Much! Edelweiss The Sound of Music, any-who singing that on trail? (♪Small and white, clean and bright🎵) Dwarf Bamboo and cobbled stones road... The Mossy Forest on descent Tired but satisfied...