Captivating Baler, Aurora

I've heard of Baler a lot of times. I also heard of a period film named after the town, I did not watch it.  All I know is that Baler used to be part of the Quezon Province which is now an independent province called Aurora.

Baler's history traces back from the Spanish times in 1609 when it was founded by seven Franciscan missionaries. When the Americans arrived in the Philippines, they incorporated Baler to the province of Tayabas that was later named Quezon. In 1942, Japanese troops entered Baler and established a garrison.

Baler eventually became a battle ground between the Japanese and the combined Filipino and American troops in 1945.

You can visit the historic church, the various magnificent islets, the Ermita Hill, the various coves, and of course the ancestral house of Manuel L. Quezon and his wife Aurora.

If you are looking for breath taking spots and surfing adventure you can reach this beautiful and historic town six hours by bus via the Genesis Transport.

The pictures I took below are just some of the concrete proofs for an awesome invitation to visit Baler right now!

Surprising Camarines Norte

It has been 3 years since I last visited Daet, my second home town. This time accompanying my two Aunts from Central London along with some cousins.

Daet is always close to my heart. Having studied Grades 3 and 4 at the Abaño Pilot School which has been converted into a State College, no doubt as one of the best schools in the region.

I took the opportune time to roam around the City of Daet this time arming myself with a point and shoot camera (with 14.5 megapixels, it is much better than my Emporio Armani cam fone at 3.2 megapixels only).

As I pass behind the Capitol building I saw the Tourism Office of Camarines Norte. I got curious on how my second home town promote its tourism sites. Me as an accredited tour guide by the Department of Tourism, felt responsible in helping Camarines Norte in my own little way through research and promotion.

I met and conversed with the tourism staff, I introduced myself and even showed my Facebook pictures of the various places I've visited in the Philippines. The tourism chief appreciated my humble photographs and invited me for a tour around of Camarines Norte as a special guest. I brought along with me my female cousin who's an accountant at the Municipal Office.

I invite you to come and visit Camarines Norte not to mention that they also have the famous Islands of Calaguas.

The sites I have visited were the Malatap Falls, Binuang Falls, Porta Petri, Mampurog River, San Lorenzo Ruiz Highlands, Sinagtala Resort, Pineapple Island Resort, The Museum of Labo, Labo Progressive and the Bagasbas Beach. 

I will be featuring each site I visited in the near future.

Cavite In A Nutshell

As early as the 16th century, Cavite already became a battleground. Known to few, it was attacked by the Dutch in 1647, and was succeeded by the British invasion in 1762.

However, 1872 was considered to be the turning point in the development and growth of Filipino nationalism. Primarily, it was the execution site of the three martyr priests that inflamed the desire of Cavitenos to join the revolutionary groups from other provinces in order to get rid of the colonial masters. This led Cavite to be a major forerunner of the struggle, the first to rise in arms in 1896.

From then on, Cavite became the seedbed of revolutionary leaders like Emilio Aguinaldo, Ladislao Diwa, Riego de Dios brothers, Mariano Trias and Andres Bonifacio who played an enigmatic role in the revolution.

Not to slip away from every Filipino's memory was the declaration of Philippine Independence in 1898 in Kawit, Cavite. This even coincided with the landing of U.S. expeditionary force in the province. U.S. fleet seized Sangley Point to be its chief naval base in Asian waters.

These are merely few recounts of the country's historical memento which highlighted the province's past and uniquely intensified its prominent place in the nation's memoir.

Experience the twilight and the dawning of the province beleaguered by blood, tears as well as the flowers of scourge into its culture.

The Mabuhay Guides currently offers church pilgrimages of the historic shrines of Cavite as well as the colonial churches of Laguna, Bulacan and Manila.

Matt Monro... That Warm Singer I've Met

That was the year 1982, I was about to dance on a TV show when it was announced that the famous balladeer is in the country and was right there in the studio to sing for us all. We were at the dressing room preparing for our dance costumes when I bumped with Matt along with his American body guards.

Matt was an average built and bit of a stocky guy. I thought he was that tall. He was so warm and friendly. He smiled with everyone along his way. As far as I can remember he visited the Philippines several times already.

I was at the back side of the studio when I saw him. Me, along with my girl friend saw him preparing to come on stage to greet the studio viewers and the nationwide television. My friend prompted and signaled me to greet Matt. It was understood, we wanted a picture together with him. Matt's American bodyguard was a surprise. He knew how to speak Tagalog and psyched our bodily intentions. He spoke to Matt and ordered him to stop walking and pinpointed on our direction.

Matt approached and gladly posed with us for some souvenir shots. I was star struck. I wasn't able to utter a word or two. I just kept on smiling. My Mom and her generation loved Matt so much. We have a couple of his vinyl record collection at home. After the poses Matt left to serenade the crowd. We handshook and bade goodbye after.

I still need to scan our pictures together for you to see. I will post it here as soon as I can.

Who doesn't know his "My Way" song anyway? I've met him in my own little way as well...