Hike to Underground River

We set off at around 10am from the hotel where we stayed in Sabang. Those two little First-Time Hikers are my daughters. :)


About 15-minute walk from the beach to this Mangrove River.


We sailed through this river four years ago and had our fresh tamilok experience right on the mangroves. We didn’t this time. Notice the face-shaped mountain in the background? I think it’s the same mountain-view from the pool in the hotel. Check out my old badly-scanned film photos of the mangrove river here and here! Deja vu! :D


There was a bridge here before but Mang Estong (the boatman) told us it was long destroyed by a typhoon. So now you either cross the river by boat (for a minimal fee, PhP50 I think), or cross it on foot if you're a little adventurous. Wala naman daw crocs, promise. :D We didn’t want to go through the hassle of taking our shoes off so we took a boat.


No, we’re not even starting yet.




For security purposes, you need to get a permit at the St. Paul Subterranean River National Park's office in Sabang. There are two trails to choose from: the monkey trail - with wooden stairways and cemented paths to make things a little not too complicated, and the jungle trail where you have to strictly follow red marks on trees (or else, you’re doomed). Since we brought the kids along, we chose the monkey trail. Those wooden stairways, by the way, look a lot easier to climb in pictures, believe me.


Tip: put on loads of mosquito repellent. That’s my little girl over there taking one brave step at a time.


When you see this little bridge, that means you’re already in the Central Park Station where you have to show your permit to a park officer, who will then require you to write your names down on sort of a guestbook.


View from the bridge. Sometimes you just want to sit and stare in awe at views such as this one and get lost for a minute or two. Add to that the sound of crickets and ocean waves and the breeze touching your face. Super relaxing.


Anyway, the park officer told us that the monkey trail beyond this point is not accessible until about near the underground river since the man-made trails had been destroyed by typhoon years ago (probably the same typhoon that destroyed the bridge in Mangrove River) and that the jungle trail is muddy and slippery since it had been raining the past few days so we had to take extra care. Great.

Wala ng pathways and stairs...

…just big roots…


…big trees…


…big fallen trees…


…occasional sightings of girls getting piggy-back rides :D


…the sun…


…and a lot of greens. See that red mark on the tree? Pag wala ka ng red marks na nakikita, ibig sabihin naliligaw ka na, haha!!


“I believe in God, only I spell it Nature.” ~ Frank Lloyd Wright


When you pass by this cave, it means you’re halfway done with the trail. :D Parang malaking head/face na nakatingin sa ‘min yung cave, ngiii, mumu! :D


Years ago, we went inside this cave. Madilim and malamig sa loob. It’s a super short trip inside the cave and you’ll be out in less than a minute. You won’t get lost, I promise! :D Kung sakali, baligtarin nyo lang yung shirts nyo. :D


Ayun, puede naman pala magpahinga eh – juice and water break, yay! Plus one more okay news: monkey trail is again passable, weee! :D


...but you know monkey trail meant wooden stairways, right?


As in super long stairways…


As in super haba parang walang katapusan. :D


Anyway, we arrived at the park finally. Here’s one bayawak shot. Blurry because either it's moving too fast towards me or nanginginig na kamay ko sa kaba, haha!


...and a monkey shot.. kaya nga monkey trail di ba? Hanapin nyo na lang yung monkey :D


The Undergound River.




Hindi kami yan. :D We didn’t go inside the cave. Except for the kids, we’ve all been inside the cave several times already. Next time again, maybe.


Time check. 12:30 pm. The original plan was to go back the trail. But since everybody was so tired and hungry, we decided to take the boat (PhP400) back to Sabang.


Tutal di naman masyadong maalon…


Konti lang. :D


By the way, I just read that Palawan is among NatGeo Traveler's "20 Best Trips of 2011" list. Galing.

Gin Blossoms Live in Manila

Here are some shots I took from the recent Gin Blossoms concert last 18 November 2010 at the Araneta Coliseum. My husband and I were seated in the Upper Box A section and yes, I was able to sneak in my DSLR, weee!

We were there at exactly 8pm and local artists like 6Cycle Mind, Delara, and other featured local artists sang songs from the 90s and so it was like HS/college days for me all over again. :D My favorite was Cookie Chua’s cover of Radiohead’s High and Dry (mahanap nga sa videoke ‘to, hehe). I’m not sure who covered Shine by Collective Soul but it was reminiscent of Pearl Jam’s concert way back 1995 because the band’s front act Mudhoney did “Shine” too! Galing no?! :D I was not able to take pictures during this time because they didn’t turn the lights off until Gin Blossoms came out on stage and I didn’t want to risk getting my camera confiscated.

Anyway, foreign front act that night was Fahrenheit 43, an Australian rock/pop band with three (3) half-Filipino members, they say.

Yup, that’s a lady guitarist over there. I wish I’d learned to play more songs on the guitar aside from Frente’s Bizaare Love Triangle and Jewel’s You Were Meant for Me. :D

Araneta Coliseum was 95% jam-packed! And yeah, at Upper Box A, we were this far from the stage :D No, this shot was at 16mm using my 16-85mm lens. I wished I brought my telephoto lens instead, but then I thought I probably wouldn’t be able to sneak it in.

Anyway, eto na sila. Gin Blossoms! Wee! :D The stage lighting was awesome. Parang gusto kong tumalon sa VIP section to take pictures. :D

Next time, I’ll bring my telephoto lens, I swear. :D

Listening to them live is almost just like listening to their CDs, promise. Robin Wilson’s voice still sounds the same despite the dramatic change in his hairline, haha!

The following three photos were shot at 85mm and cropped to the highest level – so you’d be convinced it’s really Gin Blossoms performing on stage :D Promise, sila talaga yan. :D

My fave shot!

All photos were shot at ISO 1600 so please bear with the 'noise.’ :D

And oh, here’s one song I video-ed – “As Long As It Matters.” The first 15 or so sec was ‘magulo’ because I was trying to stand from my seat to get a good view, but the rest of the clip was okay. Enjoy! I tried recording clips of other songs but I won’t post the videos anymore kasi mas malakas pa boses ko kesa kay Robin Wilson (close kami, hehe) sa audio, haha!

Good times!

Tricia (Part II)

…torn between this and the b/w version :D








Here’s a similar shot (colored).






I also love the colored version of this shot.


Make-Up Artist: Alexandra
Accessories by Kaleidoscope.