After Pinatubo and the brief stopover at Capas National Shrine, the group headed to San Antonio town in Zambales and checked in at Megan's resort (it's low budget resort with good enough facilities for backpackers like us) in barangay Pundaquit.

We hired outrigger boats (banca), for a few hundred pesos, to take us to Capones Island for us to satiate the beachbums in all of us. Stretches of white sand beaches can be found on Capones and the larger Camara island.

Do you remember Juris of MYMP singing "Get Me" on this very same beach? On the background are Camara (named after Antonio de la Camara, a Spaniard who surveyed the islands in 1884) and Capones islands (Isla de Gran Capones) :)

A short boatride took us to the island of Capones where beaches, fascinating rock formations inviting for rockclimbers, corals and turquoise water beckons.





On the island beach, we found a nice, cozy cave where the Tutubi hibernated and dozed off for a few minutes.



picture of a limbless, but not lifeless, crab i found on the lee shore of the island (not actually limbless since the pincers are also limbs)

History of Capones Island Lighthouse

What we're really after, as you already know, is the old lighthouse (Faro de Punta Capones on the Isla de Gran Capon) finished in 1890 and built purposely to guide ships entering and leaving Manila Bay and Subic and warns passing ship of the dangers of rocky shores surrounding the island.

In search of the lighthouse on the island, I hacked my way out of tall grass, rocky shores and unmarked trail before finding the right path to take to the top of the rocky hill where the "romantic" lighthouse proudly stands.

The old structure still stands, made of red bricks, but the facility inside already has a creepy feel to it with broken windows and rubbish littered on the floors.







The stairs leading to the top of the tower is closed and we're not pasaway enough to enter the restricted area.
The lighthouse is now powered by solar energy, mush like its brother in the island fortress of Corregidor

After exploring the surrounding beaches, rocks and interesting coral formations, without actually swimming, we boarded the boat for the return trip to the beach resort.

Another romantic lighthouse "conquered" by the Tutubi!

On our way back to Manila, we stopped by for a hearty dinner in Subic bay; tired and sunburnt, most of os slept thoughout the return trip to reality we call Manila.

How to go to Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales and Capones Island:

From Manila, take a the NLEX exit at San Fernando Pampanga, from San Fernando, head southwestward to Olongapo city. In Olongapo city, at the the head boundary of Olongapo, make a right turn going to Subic Castillejos then San Marcelino, at San Marcelino, take westward to San Antonio. In San Antonio, head southwestward to Pundaquit. The road to Pundaquit is circuitous so better ask around when you're there.

For an idea about the room rates, try to contact Megan's resort through ther website here or try camping on the slopes of Mt Pundaquit

List of other Historic Lighthouses in the Philippines visited by Tutubi:

Faro de Rio de Pasig (Pasig River Lighthouse
Faro de Isla Corregidor (Corregidor Lighthouse)
Cape Bolinao Lighthouse

Labels: Beaches, Central Luzon, Islands, Lighthouses, Zambales

After leaving Sta Juliana, Capas, Tarlac, (after trekking down the slopes of Mt. Pinatubo) we again passed by the Capas National Shrine, unknown to my companions, which used to be part of Camp O'Donnell: the final destination of the survivors of the infamous Death March of the Second World War.

I was thinking of not posting this picture since it's not that clear but again, for photojournalistic purposes, I posted it here. I wasn't able to get a better picture owing to the gray clouds providing not so good lighting and mostly my trekking mates opted not to get out of the van to even take pictures either they're tired or just plain indifferent/oblivious to history. The shot that you see here taken with my hand out of the window slightly skewed and blurred.


The infamous Bataan Death March (バターン死の行進) began shortly after the fall of Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942 where Filipino and American POWs were forced to march from Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga (where they're herded into suffocating trains) then marched again upon arrival in Capas, Tarlac

Note that survivors of the Fall of Corregidor on May 6, 1942 did not participate in the Death March like what my officemates were saying. The Death March lasted a few days before the Rock fell to the Japanese.

Capas National Shrine is actually the former internment camp of Camp O'Donnell and has a 70 meter obelisk, a wall where names of the Filipinos and Americans who died there is listed and a small monument by the Battling Bastards of Bataan.

This place requires a re-visit by the tutubi in the future for him to get up close to the historic place most Filipinos don't even hear of or taken for granted.

How to get to Capas, Tarlac:

Capas National Shrine is along the national highway in Capas, Tarlac. There's a small entrance fee of PhP5.00.

Labels: Central Luzon, History, Monuments, Tarlac, World War II

Loboc River, a surprisingly clean and green river in the beautiful island of Bohol that can be enjoyed by a cruise on a catamaran-looking hut eating sumptuous Filipino food and serenaded by everpresent singers.



Video is from inquirer.net. Tutubi was able to do this enjoyable ride in April 2003

How to get to Loboc, Bohol for the river cruise:

Loboc, Bohol can be reached via the airport from almost any major airport in the Philippines or via a short ferry ride from Cebu City. Vans waiting at the pier can be hired to tour you around the island.

Labels: Bohol, Central Visayas, Rivers

Tutubi used to have a map of the Philippines with the places he was able to visit marked with pushpins; it's some sort of bragging right to friends where he's been to so many places already.

His plan to get a similar map to post here was preempted by this cool work by Eugene Villar; that's the idea he has in mind

The Places in the Philippines Explored/Visited by Tutubi:

My Lakbayan grade is B!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

Some of the places marked here still have yet to see the light in this blog. Trying to catch up by accelerating posting velocity somehow but always constrained by time.

Note that this is still not objective since not all travelers are the same. Most are "usual" tourists, some travel plainly for business, some claim they lived somewhere but didn't really get to explore the place, while a handful are true explorers with the audacity to boldly go where few men had gone before!

For those looking for travel buddies, tips, and trips, try subscribing to Explore Philippines YahooGroups by clicking the Join button displayed here or by sending a blank email message to THIS address. (This email group is co-moderated by tutubi and Ferdz, the blogger extraordinaire behind Ironwulf, Sabine and Manny)

Didn't you notice that Tutubi has never been to the top tourist destination and most visited place in these Philippine islands: Boracay? :)

List of places (Still incomplete, please click the Categories on the right navigation pane)

Ilocos Norte (Pagudpud, Laoag)
Ilocos Sur (Vigan)
Benguet (Baguio City, Trinidad)
Ifugao (Banaue)
Mountain Province (Sagada, Bontoc)
Pangasinan (Dagupan City, Calasiao, Alaminos City, Hundred Islands)
Tarlac (Tarlac, Camiling)
Zambales (Candelaria, Subic, Olongapo, San Antonio, Potipot Island, Capones Island, Palauig)
Nueva Ecija (San Isidro, Cabiao, Cabanatuan City)
Laguna (Sta. Maria, Mabitac, Famy, Siniloan, Pangil, Pakil, Paete, Kalayaan, Lumban, Pagsanjan, Sta. Cruz, Victoria, Pila, Cavinti, Luisiana, Nagcarlan, Rizal, Majayjay, Liliw, Magdalena, Alaminos, San Pablo City, Los Banos, Calamba City, San Pedro, Binan, Sta. Rosa, Cabuyao)
Batangas (Lipa City, Tanauan, Batangas City, Nasugbu, Ibaan, Sto. Tomas, San Juan)
Cavite (Bacoor, Gen. Trias, Silang, Tagaytay City, Imus, Dasmarinas)
Bulacan (San Miguel, Sta. Maria, Bustos, Marilao, Baliwag)
Pampanga (San Fernando, Mexico, Clark, Angeles City)
Quezon (Sariaya, Lucban, Tayabas, Sampaloc, Lucena City)
Camarines Norte (Daet)
Camarines Sur (Naga City)
Albay (Legazpi City, Daraga)
Sorsogon (Donsol)
Cebu (Mactan, Mandaue City, Cebu City, Carcar, Badian, Moalboal)
Bohol (Tagbilaran, Panglao, Tubigon, Bilar, Chocolate Hills, Loboc, Balicasag Island)
Aklan (Kalibo, Roxas City, New Washington)
Iloilo City
Dumaguete City
Negros (Bacolod City)
Guimaras
Cagayan de Oro (CDO)
Butuan City
Misamis Oriental (Balingoan)
Camiguin
Bukidnon (Malaybalay, Quezon, Impalutao)
Agusan del Norte (Butuan City)
Gen. Santos City
Davao City,
Saranggani (Maitum)
Zamboanga City
Digos City
Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS)

UPDATED: March 6, 2008

Labels: Blogging

All of us Filipinos breezed through high school and college studied Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo that fueled this nation's people to rise in arms against the oppressive colonizers and obscurantist friars, plus the "elective" Life and Works of Jose Rizal in college (that not all Filipinos have the chance to experience should they ever graduate from high school)

Noli Me Tangere, published in 1887 in Belgium, when Rizal was 26, written in Spanish, fueled a nation's revolution.

If you want to see original copies of the book, there's one at the Rizal Shrine in Intramuros, another at the National Museum and still another at the Lopez Museum in Pasig City. (I don't remember seeing one at the rebuilt Rizal Shrine in Calamba, Laguna when I visited it eons ago)

Noli Me Tangere is now available at Penguin and acknowledged as one of the literary classics of all time written by the pride of the Malay race!

I decided to blog about this since it would've been Jose Rizal's 146th birthday.

Someone posted a query about the meaning of the art work on the cover of Noli Me Tangere to which I replied "woman at the top symbolizing constancy,religious faith symbolized by the tombstone, laurel (courage) and the flower of the pomelo, worn by bride and groom at a wedding symbolizing purity (don't see this anymore here maybe due to practical reasons)"




but perhaps the best and most complete answer was given by Mr. Ari Ngaseo in Message 1440 of RP-Rizal yahoogroups:

==============

All About the Noli Me Tangere's Cover

First, since it's difficult to figure out, from the blurry photographs available online, what exactly is being depicted in the Noli's rather busy cover design, here's a brief description:

"It was the fashion in those days for authors to be pictured on the front covers of their books (modern book jackets have, in such cases, relegated the author's photograph to the back cover) and there was nothing immodest about it, but Rizal had second thoughts, hesitated and designed another cover.

"It was perhaps over elaborate: the title cuts diagonally across the front, covering a handwritten dedication, apparently to his parents, from which the following phrase can be made out: 'In writing...thinking...always...it was you who implanted in me...the first ideas...this manuscript...proof of love.' In the upper corner
of the cover is the silhouette of a girl's head (the unfortunate Maria Clara?); at the bottom, two hairy calves protrude from a habit, the feet encased in sandals (Father Damaso, if one is to judge from the opening scene of the Noli). Scattered about are other symbols: a constabulary helmet, a whip, a length of chain, thorny bamboo branches, flowers, and a graveyard cross. It is all very romantic and, in its own way, appropriate." (Guerrero, 133)

Elaborate and romantic indeed but also faintly sadomasochistic. Intentionally or not, the cover also plays a trick on the eye of its beholder -- stare at the cover long enough and you'll see a fantastic creature, a chimera really, with the head of a Spanish- India mestiza and the legs of a Spanish friar. The text itself is the torso that the title -- "Touch Me Not" -- bars us, literally and figuratively, from seeing in full. Could this be a grotesque portrait of Rizal's patria adorada? One could argue that the cover is evocative of Philippine colonial society in general -- the
feminine "elevated" but also placed in shadow; the religious orders "running" everything "behind" the scenes; and death, cruelty, and bondage amid the lush tropical vegetation. But one could also argue (unoriginally) that the Noli's cover offers a pictorial summary of the main text. Each element of the cover then refers to
specific passages in the novel.

Which passages? Here are some suggestions. All the passages below are from the mass market paperback edition of the Noli translated by Lacson-Locsin and published by Bookmark in 1996.


the silhouette of a girl's head:

"'Padre Cura! Padre Cura!' [Padre Salvi] the Spaniards cried to him; but he did not mind them. He ran in the direction of the Capitan Tiago's house. There he breathed a sigh of relief. He saw through the transparent gallery an adorable silhouette full of grace and the lovely contours of Maria Clara and that of her aunt bearing glasses
and cups." (366)


two hairy calves protruding from a habit, the feet encased in sandals:

"However, Padre Damaso is not mysterious like those monks; he is jolly and if the sound of his voice is brusque like that of a man who has never bitten his tongue and who believes everything he utters is sacrosanct and cannot be improved upon, his gay and frank laughter erases this disagreeble impression, even to the extent that
one feels bound to forgive him his sockless feet and a pair of hairy legs which would fetch the fortune of a Mendiata in the Quiapo fair." (7)


a constabulary helmet:

"The Alferez [Dona Consolacion's husband] picked up his helmet, straightened himslef a bit and marched off with loud giant strides. After a few minutes he returned, not making the least sound. He had removed his boots. The servants, accustomed to these spectacles [violent arguments between the Alferez and Dona Consolacion], were
usually bored, but the removal of the boots called their attention. They winked at each other." (355)


a whip [1]:

"[Dona Consolacion] took a few turns in the room twisting the whip in her calloused hands and, stopping all of a sudden in front of Sisa, told her in Spanish, 'Dance!'
"...[Dona Consolacion] raised the whip -- that terrible whip familiar to thieves and soldiers, made in Ulango and perfected by the Alferez with twisted wires... And she started to whip lightly the naked feet of the mad woman, whose face contracted with pain,obliging her to defend herself with her hands." (352)


a whip [2]:

Elias -- "[S]ince he was poor and could not pay for able lawyers, he was condemned to be scourged in public and taken through the streets of Manila. Not long long ago this was in use, this infamous punishment the people call "caballo y vaca," a thousand times worse than death itself. My grandfather, abandoned by all except his young
wife, was tied to a horse, followed by a cruel multitude, and flogged on every street corner, before other men, his brothers, and in the neighborhood if the numerous temples of a God of peace." (441-2)


a length of chain:

"Then you see the streets being tamped down by a chain gang of prisoners with shaved heads, clad in short-sleeved shirts and drawers reaching to the knees, with numbers and letters in blue; chains around their legs, half-wrapped in dirty rags to reduce the abrasion, or perhaps the coldness of the iron; joined in pairs, sunburnt, prostrate from heat and fatigue, given lashes, and beaten with a club by another prisoner who perhaps found comfort in ill-treating others." (65)


thorny bamboo branches:

"Bamboo clumps of luxuriant foliage grew alongside the highway. In other times she would stop in their shade. Here she [Sisa] and her lover would rest; with a tender exchange of words he would relieve her of her basket of fruits and vegetables -- ay! that was like dream. The lover became husband; the husband was made into a barangay head and then misfortune started knocking at her door. "As the sun's heat was becoming intense, the soldiers asked her if she wanted rest.

"'No, thank you!' she replied with a shudder.

"When they approached the town she was seized with terror; she looked in anguish around her; vast ricefields, a small irrigation canal, thin trees -- there was not a precipice or a boulder in sight against which she could smash herself." (166-7)


flowers and a graveyard cross:

"Ibarra descended, followed by an old man-servant. He dismissed the carriage with the gesture and headed towards the cemetery, silent and grave.

"'My sickness and my preoccupations have not allowed me to return,'the old man was saying timidly. 'Capitan Tiago said he would have atomb built, but I planted flowers and had a cross made.

"...[Ibarra] proceeded towards the gravedigger who was regarding them with curiosity, and greeted them, removing his salakot.

"'Can you tell is which is the grave that had the cross?' asked the servant.
"'A big cross?' [asked the gravedigger.]
"'Yes, a big one,' happily confirmed the servant, looking meaningfully at Ibarra, whose features had brightened.
"'A cross with designs on it, tied with rattan?' the gravedigger asked again.

"'That's it, that's it! Like this, like this,' the servant traced on the earth the shape of a Byzantine cross.

"'And over the grave were flowers planted?'

"'Adelfas, sampagas, and pensamientos, that's it!' added the servant filled with joy. He offered him a cigar.

"'Tell us which is the grave and where the cross is.'

"The gravedigger rubbed his ears and replied yawning: 'Well, the cross -- I have already burned it.'

"'Burned it? Why did you burn it?'

"'Because the chief parish priest so ordered.'" (92-4)

~~~~

Labels: Jose Rizal, Literature

In June 1991, one of the largest volcanic eruptions of the century happened in the Philippines, about 100 kilometers north of Manila. A few hundred people were killed and hundreds of thousand people rendered homeless, mostly Aeta people (the aborigines who call the mountain "Apo Malyari (The Great Provider)" and believe the mountain is home to spirits). The death toll could've been much more if then Philippine Institute of Seismology and Volcanology (Philvocs) weren't able to persuade people living around the volcano including the Americans to vacate the area. The Americans, then still occupying Clark Airbase, were driven out. The big explosion occurred on June 15 where large volumes of sulfur, volcanic ash and other gases that cooled world temperatures for a few years. The situation was worsened by a tropical deppression present in the area turning ashes on the slopes into rampaging and deadly lahar.

I was in Manila at that time, and I can still remember how the sky transformed from sunny to dark and gloomy with portent of things to come. The following day, volcanic ash from Pinatubo covered the big Manila making it look like a giant "espasol" (can't help the comparison, I love that rice flour-covered sweet Filipino delicacy).

This time around, the tutubi is set to scale the mountain responsible for driving the American war machinery out of the largest overseas US military base.(The Americans didn't return to Clark. They turned over the destroyed facility to the Philippines later that year)

Mt Pinatubo: The Road to Middle Earth

Having learned of a friend's intention on scaling the mountain to reach the crater, I instantly made arrangements for the trip, not actually a mountaineer, that I bought a 50 liter backpack in Landmark, Bombproof gear trekking pants in Robinsons Galleria, sleeping bag and earth mat at a certain Buendia mountaineering shop in Makati, to equip the tutubi for the overnight trip to the once angry crater.

Meeting with the group at Chowking, EDSA Central, we boarded a van chartered by our guides and headed to North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) exiting Dau toll plaza, passed by O'Donnell and ended in Sta. Juliana, Capas town in Tarlac province.

In Capas town, our guides negotiated for us to board 4x4 vehicles that took us to the jump-off point of the trail, traversing miles and miles of volcanic sand offering glimpses on the destruction wrought by the gargantuan explosion that ravaged thousands of hectares of rice fields and forests turning them into sand deserts. The bumpy ride with numerous stream crossings took about an hour.

The real trek began.

Loading our heavy backpacks, loaded with clothes, sleeping bags, earth mat, tent, food, water, and other things needed to survive this "sad fate," we ourselves asked for, was quite easy. Bringing them all the way to our destination was another thing.

The trail is just sand, sand and sand through valleys created by the rampage of Pinatubo aided by typhoons that helped carved the geologic beauty.
Stream crossings avoiding slippery rocks. I wore my usual open sandals that's why I can get my feet wet. It's also a good thing it's partly cloudy.

The trek is called to a stop for short water breaks, comfort breaks, lunch, or when someone's too far back. A leader, "middleman," and a sweeper composed our guides and made sure we're all accounted for.

We even encountered a group of politicians, television crewmen and perhaps tourism people who took video footage of the place before us. (too bad they didn't catch a glimpse of the kawai tutubi :)

The last photo-op of the group on the last push towards the crater for a trek that lasted three hours
Pinatubo crater, at first sight: We're not alone!

The guides immediately brought out their rappelling equipment for us to rappel down the crater lake on a cliff. This took a long time and I gave way for the ladies to rappel down first so I just did what i like best: descend on the lake taking pictures along the way.

Down the lake, our guides inflated their kayak. It was I who first dipped into the water even tried to taste how the water tasted like to satisfy the curiosity of the tutubi: it's just like ordinary fresh water, even odorless without any tinge of sulfur. But it's also like swimming in salt water where I floated effortlessly. There's also the added bonus of bathing in sulfur-soaked water without paying an arm and a leg at the nearby Pinatubo Spa where they smother their guests with volcanic sand to achieve their claimed therapeutic properties.

At sundown, we pitched our tents on the roofed portion of the place (Capas local government also provided toilets to the place sans running water. We had to fetch water from the nearby waterfall) and prepared dinner mostly packed or canned goods strictly observed no trash to be left behind.

Early in the morning, I decided to get up to catch the early morning light to light up my photographic subject: Pinatubo crater at its serene best!



There's life in Pinatubo: one of the best in my portfolio (as if I have one) that I sometimes print to a large size and give to my friends.



The return trip to the point where we boarded the 4x4 anew took only ninety minutes against 3 hours on the ascent. Big smiles can be seen from our faces, even if exhausted and sunburned, knowing we earned the bragging rights to proudly say: we survived Pinatubo!

~~~

How to get to Mt. Pinatubo

Pinatubo crater can also be reached via a more difficult trail in Porac, Pampanga suited for the people looking for more difficult challenge. Mt. Pinatubo i located at the boundary of the three provinces of Tarlac, Pampanga and Zambales in Central Luzon.

How to get to Mt. Pinatubo via Capas, Tarlac backpacking way:

From Manila, take the North Luzon Expressway; exit Dau Toll Plaza; take north-bound MacArthur Highway. Upon reaching town market in Capas, Tarlac, turn left to Bgy. Sto. Rosario; proceed to Bgy. Sta. Juliana. Register with local officials and 4x4 jeep.

Mt. Pinatubo Tour cost/rates:

Costs: 4x4 jeep PhP3,500.00 (3-4 persons), guide PhP500 (per 5 persons).
Warning: Avoid the Korean-owned Pinatubo Spa. Touristy prices aside from Korean-centric in the land of Filipinos. Try bathing at the crater instead for your dose of therapeutic, sulfur-rich sand. (If you don't have the money or time, try Dr, Kauffman's medicinal sulfur soap :)

Labels: Central Luzon, Tarlac, Trekking, Volcanoes

It's an eagerly awaited day for a photoshoot with renowned photographer Edwin Tuyay whose works included covers for publications Asiaweek, Newsweek, Readers Digest and Time magazine. For this we headed to The Greenery hidden somewhere in Baliuag, Bulacan.

Going there was not easy as the Greenery's map displayed on their website was full of inaccuracies even for second-timers Edwin and his wife Ellen, the husband and wife team behind ePhoto Gallery.

Arriving at our destination ahead of Edwin and Ellen, we wandered around the vast complex developed purposely for special events such as weddings, debut, prenup (pre-nuptial pictorials), parties et al. The venue has a dollhouse that can accommodate couples and celebrants, a grand ballroom, an operable small train and tracks going around the place and where a newly-wed couple may arrive on for such an uncommon, dramatic entrance, a driving range for golf enthusiasts, a pavilion built in the middle of a river, add to that the various trees, flowers and plants providing accent to the serene, romantic place. But the best feature of the place that got me attracted to it is the lighthouse along the river for the uber-romatic ambiance of any event.

We waited a while around 4 o'clock for the lighting to be perfect and the heat to be bearable before we did the shoot.

Let these pictures show you the beauty of the place, hidden gem of Baliuag:

the dollhouse offers room accommodations and function hall encircled with greens (isn't it obvious the place is green?)

Imagine your dream event held near this romatic lighthouse with its warm glow giving a unique ambiance you and your guests will cherish

Haven't you figured that yet that I'm such a sucker for lighthouses? :)

Edwin Tuyay on the Pavilion with one of the models.

The best thing I learned from this experience was how to effectively use reflectors to illuminate certain parts of your photographic subject, posing, and various portraiture tips I learned from the affable master photographer, with Canon 5D and backup Nikon D40, who doesn't mind going into difficult positions just to capture the best shot possible.

~~~

You may visit The Greenery (formerly TGI Pavilion) website here and actually located in Rio Vista Subd, Sabang, Baliuag, Bulacan. To go there, take Sta Rita exit on NLEX, pass by Plaridel and Pulilan towns and follow the map posted on their official site. Note that it's really hard to find. The place is a few minutes away from Mt. Carmel Church.

Edwin Tuyay is one of the best wedding photographer in Manila and highly sought after by corporate clients for product shoots and photography contest judging. ePhoto Gallery's site is here.

Note that I'm not affiliated with the The Greenery nor Edwin Tuyay in any way.

Historic Lighthouses in the Philippines:

Faro de Rio de Pasig (Pasig River Lighthouse
Faro de Punta Capones (Capones Lighthouse)
Faro de Isla Corrigedor (Corregidor Lighthouse)

Labels: Bulacan, Central Luzon, Lighthouses

The trip to Liliw, Laguna was an eye opener for me since I was taking pictures of those kawai green floating plants that remind me of my childhood in ricefields and on the shores of Laguna de Bay. My ate who saw me remarked, "Pati ba naman yang kiapo kinukunan mo ng picture? (You take pictures even of that water cabbage?)," when it dawned on me that those floating plants were actually what I was searching for for some time now.

All the while I thought they're called azolla that I see almost everyday floating on a pond in Ayala Triangle! :(

Some of you may ask why but these plants used to thrive in the area of Manila now called Quiapo, the seedy yet exciting district of Manila that I love to visit!

Kiapo, water cabbage in english and scientific name Pistia Stratiotes, have fan-like leaves and brown, porous ends servings as roots and grow floating on stagnant water. Large concentrations of these floating plants make good hiding places for surface fishes like gouramies (freshwater fish species introduced in the Philippines possibly from Thailand).

Kiapo plants near 25 centavo coins to give you an idea of their size (taken somewhere in Biak-na-bato National Park in Bulacan)

Now, all I need to look for and take actual pictures of is the elusive Nilad tree, a certain species of mangrove (bakawan) that used to grow profusely in Manila and where Manila got its name.

I blogged/joked some time ago that Manila should change its name to Walang Nila since there are no longer Nila trees growing in the city; I don't think I can also joke about that when the same proposition applies also to Quiapo's long lost kiapo dwellers.

Quiapo attractions:

1. Quiapo Church - Church of the Black Nazarene where the fiesta is held every 9th of February. Within the vicinity of this church you can buy various herbal medicines including abortifacients. Also fortune tellers using tarot cards ply their trade here. Quite ironic for a place of worship
2. Plaza Miranda
3. Hidalgo Street- where you can buy cheap cameras, lenses, tripods, and other photographic supplies and equipment
4. Raon (Gonzalo Puyat) - electronics, parts, musical instruments, trophies, hardware tools et al
5. San Sebastian Church- an all-steel church in Asia, built in Belgium, and designed by the company of Gustave Eiffel
6. Bahay Nakpil-Bautista on Calle Barbosa (now A. Bautista Street)
7. Manila Golden Mosque on Globo de Oro St.
8. Villalobos and Bautista: sidestreets full of pirated DVDs, CDs and bootlegged materials
9. Evangelista St where to buy industrial pumps and generators
10. Ronquillo St where to buy cheap eyeglasses and optical supplies

Please refer also to my earlier blog post about this here where a picture of the Nila (not Nilad) is posted.

How to Get to Quiapo

Labels: Flora and Fauna, Manila, Metro Manila, Nueva Ecija, Quiapo