MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Remind me again to never stay up late until 3AM on Christmas eve (or day?) because then I'll just end up sleeping the whole way through Christmas day (not that I have better plans to do haha). 

I'll probably be spending crumbs of this day reading Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham, and drinking wine later. On a more celebratory note, Merry Christmas to you dear reader! I'm sooo glad I still get to spend another Christmas with this blog.

How's Christmas at that part of your world? :)

coron: cyc beach

With only three days to spend in Coron, we coordinated our island tour quickly just as we have settled our bags in the hotel. It started by a tricycle picking us up, delivering us to the dock, and then ushering us into our own boat. This was around lunchtime, so the sun is pretty hyped up, and with twenty minutes to spare while we sail to our first island, we spent it putting sunblock on in slathers.

The sight of the rock formations in the horizon did not leave us until our first stop, CYC Beach.

This photo did not come out as I have expected, because the colors are much better as I have seen it! I have posted a similar shot on my Instagram with no filter for proof :)

While our two accommodating boatmen/tour guides stayed to start cooking our lunch (yes, they can cook on the boat!), we went down and walked through the crystal clear water until we reach the shore. And just as we did, I was immediately welcomed by two sweet dogs! Heehee.

I circled the beach which was surrounded by a lot of mangrove trees and more rocks. The texture in them was so photogenic, the Ektar helped me capturing them as I have intended :)

arriving in coron

It was my second time in Coron, and as it did the first time, I was fixated on the sight of a horizon of rock formations covered with greens. They were hovered by a spread of clouds, making a shadow play on the "humps" from a distance, which was a sight that grew larger and larger as I came close to it. The sun was a bit on the harsh side, but a sparkling sea always sizzled me on the inside.

My photos cannot be trusted on capturing how it looked like because the view was much, much better in real life :)

A TEASING PALAWAN

My film scans that I took from Coron, Palawan have arrived last week, and I thought of sharing a few captures first just to try to influence your travel plans for 2015 (it's Visit the Philippines Year, by the way) haha! The rest of my Coron stories will follow in the coming weeks :)

And then there's this beautiful happenstance, that the Philippine Department of Tourism released a 30-second clip a few days ago to tease you (and I) with the grandness and gorgeousness of this island. Enjoy! :)

ANTIQUES AT YOKI'S FARM

Aside from the hydroponic plants being grown at Yoki's Farm, it also houses a huge variety of antiques and private collections of the owner. Some of the most fragile ones are kept in a glass room, but my favorites are the very old models of telephones and typewriters :)