How did you celebrate the Easter Sunday?

How did you celebrated the Resurrection of Christ? Did you spend it with your family or friends? Did you go to the beach or just in your houses? As for me, I celebrated it with my family in the beach.

There is no complete beach outing without eating grilled pork. The grilled-to-perfection pork is glistening with its fats where all you can say is, “yummy!”, is seasoned with spices to have its delicious , juicy meat. One can choose to have a combination of soy sauce-vinegar-lemon dip to add a more indulgence to what you eat.

The best way to eat this grilled pork is using your bare hands. As the locals would say, it is best to use bare hands because you can thoroughly taste the juice of the meat. You can even lick your fingers, involuntarily.

Another mouth-watering beach delicacies in Brgy. Masao is the “Kinilaw” na Bangus. This is soaked with vinegar, coupled with generous amount of salt, and some lemon and spices, added with slices of cucumber to balance the saltiness. This had been a recipe of a family catering buy-to-cook in Brgy. Masao.

Brgy. Masao in Butuan is the place where a commemorative marker of the first mass is placed.  Such a historic place with a delicious treat. Have you tried these foods when you visited Butuan? If you do, please tell me your insights about these foods.

Dagkot Festival 2012

Every city has its own patron saint.  The city that we visited last month was Cabadbaran City. This city is celebrating Dagkot Festival.  "To Light", is the meaning of dagkot.  This festival is for its patron saint, Nuestra Senora de Candilaria.

This is the first time that I have visited and took part of the celebration.  The usual reasons was that because of the fact that its also a fiesta, which means there are a lot of foods for everybody who goes there. I went there with my family, we visited some would-be relatives on my part and of course, before those escapades, we attended the mass.

It never occurred in my mind that I would be amazed by this city's beauty.  Not only are its places that attracts me; but also of the local's faith of their city's patron saint.  The festival was flooded with candles full of hopes and prayers from different people all around the place, and the tourists from neighboring towns.

Even children lit up their candles, they may not know the essence of what they did, but I am certain that it made some difference.

I can even remember how the traffic jammed the streets, of how the people crowded in and out of the church and of how it is to be like in the middle of the festival.  It feels good for it is my first time in that place.  Even so, I enjoyed the whole trip.

I have thought that I would go back to this city and will visit the places that I have not landed my foot upon. Its more fun in the Philippines!

Camiguin Island, the land of my ancestors

Camiguin Island, probably my  most visited province since I was during my childhood.  As I look back, I can remember the excitement that thrills my spine whenever we visit the place during summertime.  Camiguin Island is situated just above the island of Mindanao.  According to the history, the island was born out of the fire because beneath it, there is an active volcano named Mt. Hibok-Hibok.  When I was a kid, my relatives used to tell me that long ago, Mt. Hibok-Hibok erupted, and they thought the island would be banished from the geographical map of the Philippines.  Thanks to God it did not happen. 

Amidst the volcanic history of this island, there are a lot of tourists spots that you can see in this island.  My favorite spot, when I was just a kid was the Sto. Nino Cold Spring in Catarman.  Our place was a river-far from the spring.  It is like, a few hikes for about 15 minutes and then a river to be crossed, and on the other side, cold spring lies under the shade of coconut tress.   The last time I was there, there are a lot of cottages already.  Its getting commercialized.  It has even been featured in one of the segments of GMA 12.

Another tourist spot that I visited is the Catarman Church Ruins or also known as Gui-ob Church.  It reminds all the people in Camiguin of the devastating eruption of Mt. Hibok-hibok during 1871.  The church is said to be a Spanish Church where the Spaniards started to settle.

A few kilometers from the ruins, you can see the well-known Sunken Cemetery in Bonbon, Catarman.  Sunken Cemetery, Just beneath the sea waters lies a cemetery, a decades old.  It also one of the places that was devastated during the eruption.  Nowadays, people flock to take some pictures above the cemetery's Cross Marker, divers indulge themselves to experience a new aura as a diving site.

If Boracay has its white sand, Camiguin has its white island, as well.  Camiguin White Island is situated in Mambajao. When I was a kid, it was one of my dreams to land a foot on this island.  Two years ago, that dream came true.  We went there together with our friends and I was amazed by it, just like how amazed I am when I was a kid, considering that I have only heard it from the other people.

As far as I am concern, there are still a lot of places in that Island that I have not visited yet.  I know, in time, I can complete my list, after all, I know I can.

PS: To make your travel more fun, bring with you a camera! :)  Its more fun in the Philippines!