The Beach - My Favorite Outdoor Spot

Just stumbled upon A Southern Daydreamer website and read about her Outdoor Wednesday.  Suddenly I missed the great outdoor after a tiring day inside an office working from morning til night. It's been a relief just seeing photos of the outdoor from different places.  The beach is one of the best places I love to hangout as I feel relaxed and recharged swimming in the water, feeling the wind and hearing the waves.
 
Here are the snapshots from our travel in Iba, Zambales. This place is more than 200 kilometers from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).  We had almost six hours of land travel passing through the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX).  We arrived at our destination a little past 11:00 in the morning. 

You can rent a motorized banca to take you to nearby islands or just cruise around.  The rent costs about P100 per person. There are also other offers at  a much lower cost.  

We almost had the beach all by ourselves as it was not too crowded at dawn .  Our family especially the kids really enjoyed the sea, the sand and the sun. It was a real thrill outdoor experience

 I was hoping to capture sunset in different hues and angles.  Some crash course on photography with my cousin somehow paid off...I guess. :-)

El Galeon Andalucia

Photography: Glimpse at the Rare Three Suns

For the last three weeks, I spent most of the times at home looking after my sick children. Worrisome days indeed... but then it was also one of those days that made me appreciate special things that I oftentimes overlook such as this...

It was one lazy Monday afternoon, the sun bidding farewell to another tiring and sad day then suddenly the atmosphere changed its appearance to an overcast weather, which made me feel all the more sad ...

then I noticed that the other side of the horizon was sunny while at the other side was rainy, had few experiences of them before but never had the chance to capture them on pictures thus I really never let this one passed by.

minutes later... there was heavy downpour... as if heaven felt the sadness that I was feeling that day.



And some minutes more, the rain stopped and revealed another rare moment... as if there were three suns brightly painted above the eastern sky, sure it was only a reflection of the setting sun from the west. Nature really has its own way of showing its unique beauty. Took off my sadness and worries that day. Three suns, three shining glory, an infinite possibility of hope.

(pictures were taken on 9/27/2010 using a point and shoot camera, how I wished I captured them more clearly)

Green Philippines for Earth Day: Today and Beyond

Yippeee!!!! It’s another weekend, and that means precious time to spend with family and all those activities that I only get to do when I am away from my forty hours a week of paid toiling. At least I was able to sneak some time to attend an event for Earth Day last Thursday with friends and distinguished individual who has the same concern for Mother Nature. Before that I checked out the website for Ten Million Movement and made a personal commitment to plant indigenous plants and trees.  There are simpler tasks that one can pledge and I think it should be innate in each of us and need not be included as a commitment.

So what was Earth Day event like? It was no tree-planting or street-cleaning event (should I be disappointed or what?) but a show that seek to entertain and to create awareness. It was a presentation of the previous string of earth-day related activities by certain organizations, the various laws enacted by the government and what it has accomplished over the years when it comes to protecting the environment. It showcased a motorcade with Ms. Earth beauties, speeches from distinguished personalities with the likes of SM Supermalls President Ms. Annie Garcia detailing SM Supermalls contribution in the conservation and preservation effort, an Earth Day message from the Chairperson of Earth Day Network Philippines Ms. Elisea Gozun, the Report on the Green Philippines Program presented by DENR Secretary Horacio Ramos, a song number from singers Corita and Heber Bartolome, a performance by the world-renowned Banda Kawayan, awarding ceremonies for government and private organizations for their exemplary commitment and for those prized works-of-art of talented children.

What was I thinking during the show? Oh, the experience was not something new but I wonder how much percentage of people who attended that event will ever get to put into action what the speakers talked about. Would our actions be far greater than the carbon emission that we put through to pollute this earth? I saw there were much more people interested in shopping inside air-conditioned mall than care to attend this event outside an open-air function hall. Probably one would say, “Holy heat! I’d rather relax in a cozy room than listen to their speeches and be tortured in heat and sweat.” And with that I must be glad for those industrious farmers and street sweepers who continue to endure agonizing working conditions under intense heat. It sure is Earth Day for them every single day.

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Seeing Beyond the Camera Lens

Here is the second note in the plans I wish to get done:

"Get back at those activities I want to indulge in (if my time allows it)"

Gosh! It has been more than twelve years since I last touched my unfinished cross-stitch project, my favorite pastime during my younger years. I evaluate myself if I would be able to devote much time doing it. With kids and all, I really find it difficult to complete it so after much thought, I decided to finally give it away to someone who has the luxury of time and the craving for this activity instead of leaving those materials in my drawer taking space and collecting grime.  Some things really changed and so are my yearnings for things I want to do. Now I get to enjoy reading more on days when I love doing it and I discovered the passion for writing especially when I need to relieve myself from stress, (just take the time to read my posts in this blog). I also get to indulge in activities that my kids and I will get to enjoy together like traveling, gardening, some cooking here and some decorating there and the list just keeps on growing. Oh… and did I mention photography? I really like to do that now and so are my kids. As a matter of fact, my little girl was too keen on doing it that she always seizes the camera to have her own photo op. It helps to support and nurture what your children are interested in but certainly there are drawbacks for that as my kid already broken two point and shoot cameras (thank goodness it was not DSLR (digital single-lens reflex camera) and thank goodness those are old models). Now I am into scouting for repair centers for Kodak EasyShare and Sony CyberShot digital camera :( and I guess that will make me busy in the coming days. Need to have them repaired as I need to return the Sony to my cousin and I will surely need my Kodak when my kids’ indulgence kicks in again.

By the way here are some pictures taken during my family's recent travel and short vacation in the countryside, just some earth images using Sony DSC-W70 before it was broken. I chose that theme for my kids and other kids to learn how climate change affected this one part of the planet. This is not just an indulgence but an advocacy that my family is willing to do for our precious earth. May we see beyond the camera lens and start to commit one part of ourselves into doing something valuable for our precious habitat before everything goes into ashes.

    intense heat and temperature ranging from 30 to 40 degrees celcius

 

   soil too dry and eroded,

    dying plants and trees

   green grass no more, nothing for the goats and cows

   Part of Sierra Madre Mountain used to teem with green flora but is now mostly rock, soil and houses

   too parched to survive....

   I hope we will not reach a day when our earth will become like this....