Philippines

It finally came true. The trip that I have worked so hard for and saved up for, for the whole of 2012, finally came to pass. For months I haven't posted anything on my blog because I wasn't really doing anything, just working. And on the 30th of November, I said goodbye to the year-long project at work, packed my tennis racket, my Sony A77 and lenses, a decent set of cool clothes, my passport, and went back home.

Of course I was rather apprehensive at first. For the 13 or so years I have been living in Norway I only went home about 3 or 4 times. Norway was my "home" and I was secretly wishing I had not booked 5 whole weeks in the Philippines. I was worried of the extremely warm temperatures, the pollution, the crime. But once my feet stepped on Philippine soil once again and saw my brother, his wife, my mother and my sister and gave them long hugs, I knew that I was once again back to my home, my country.

 We didn't take that many trips. I had already spent over 24 fours switching between planes that I prioritized seeing places which were not too far from my hometown, Angeles City. This shot was taken from the Candaba Wetlands, a bird sanctuary, in the hopes that birding would be more fun in the Philippines. Well it wasn't since it was really hard. My telezoom lens wasn't enough to take really close pictures of the birds. I was however able to take a scenic shot of Mount Arayat.

But what made this trip wonderful was that I got to spend time with my family again. We didn't have to go far to have a good time, all we really needed was to be together. On the second week of my stay we went to the mountain city of Baguio, which was was 4-hour drive from Angeles City, to get some fresh air and buy some strawberries, straight from the farm. The ironic thing was, it was more expensive if you harvest the berries yourself!

 This trip was made extra special by the fact that this would be the first time I get to spend my birthday, Christmas, the New Year, and my brother's birthday in 9 years! And to avoid the stress of having to make Christmas dinner, I took my mom and the entire family (minus my nephew who I punished for being lewd), to Puerto Galera, a resort in the southern part of Luzon.

It was my first time to be in this part of the country and I have to say I wasn't in the least bit disappointed. White Beach is still very pristine and unspoilt by mass tourism. But what made me fall in love with this place more, was the people. I have to say, the people of Mindoro Island are the warmest and friendliest people I have ever met in the Philippines. Their hospitability made our short stay on the island so much more special.

On the last week of my vacation I went with my mother, brother and sister-in-law to Monasterio De Tarlac to pray for my safe journey back to Norway, as well as to pray for my sister who was suddenly diagnosed with a serious illness. I will write more about this on my next post.

My trip to the Philippines was not just an ordinary vacation for me. It was a mixture of smiles, frowns, laughter and tears. It was a wake- up call of sorts. I once again came to appreciate my roots, and came to see the beauty of my birth country which I thought had long been extinguished. The bottom line? I want to come back, for good! But in due time. Although I have a feeling "due time" will come a lot sooner than expected!