Third time's the charm

It was my third time to go to Pinto but it has been the best visit so far. First because they opened a new wing and since it was a beautiful sunny day, they had the foams out on their daybeds and benches where visitors can sit down and have chats comfortably.

Before heading to Pinto, we had lunch at the nearby Crescent Moon Cafe. I initially wanted to go there because I have been fascinated by pottery recently and the owner is a popular potter/artist in the country. I read on reviews that their food is pretty good too so I decided that we should have lunch there. We arrived around noon and I was starving. They had a buffet but the dishes were very limited and I found the food bland. Although their Nilaga was pretty decent. In all honesty, it was pretty disappointing.

The pottery is nice and craftsmanship is excellent but I feel like most of them lacked... identity. Like I could easily find those items in the city. Although there were a few unique ones. Nevertheless, we made the most out of our visit and took a tour of the property. They have a man-made pond with some gigantic fishes. :D

We went to Pinto around 1pm. The first thing we did was sit and talk and chat then we went around. The new wing with all its paintings and themed rooms, is just plain amazing!

Kasbah!

Triathlon!

Erotic Room :S 

We left a little before 6pm then went to have isaw! :) It was such a fun low-key Sunday. I don't think I'll ever get tired of visiting this place. 

As the waves hug the shore in this paradise called Anawangin

All my friends know that the first few weeks of 2013 have been quite rough for me, however hard I try to brush all the negativity off. And I just felt that I needed to do something pleasant, something that would give me time to clear my head and enjoy at the same time - and nothing does that better than a trip to the beach! 

I am quite thankful to have guys in our barkada cos all we have to do is say what we want to do and they will plan everything. We decided that we wanted to go to Zambales and our friend Reuel did the rest of the planning, which was everything else besides (deciding on) the destination. haha

We left manila around 6am on Saturday and arrived around 11am, it was about a 5-hour drive including breakfast and buying groceries to be brought to Anawangin. I was expecting Zambales to be nice but the place surpassed my expectations and it was just breathtaking. It has mountains, pine trees, rock formations, salt water rivers and of course, the beautiful blue sea. I observed in amusement as the hot rays of the midday sun stung my skin. I just felt so uninhibited, away from the buildings, computers, my cellphone and all other distractions. 

We rented a boat that would bring us to Anawangin cove and then to Capones Island. The scenery during the boat ride was magnificent, I have gone island hopping a couple of times before but this one was unique and amazing. The boat ride was fun, singing and laughing when we weren't mouthing oohs and aahs upon seeing caves, mountains and waves crashing into rock formations until they disappear into froth. 

This view was the first to welcome us.

On the way to Anawangin!

Mountains!

Anawangin is a cove, visitors are allowed to set up camps but there are also tables for those who only intend to stay for a day. We laid on a mat to rest after eating lunch, the thin foliage kept the sun from hurting our skin and we just stayed there talking and taking photos. 

perfect day!

After which we headed to the river and just played around. It was not exactly elegant but it was beautiful, raw and very... natural. haha

With much excitement, we then headed to the shore! There weren't much fishes in the shallow part of the sea but with great friends whom you can have great conversations with, who needs fishies to amuse them pa? 

excited!!!

Photo bombing reuel's homeless photo (which he needs to take everywhere he goes. why? beats me haha) 

Around 4pm, our boatman picked us up and off we went to Capones Island! When we arrived, we went to do our own thing. Kayla and Kat started looking for corals and rocks, Reuel did his mountaineering thing and went up every rock he fancied (haha) and I just went around to take pictures until we decided to climb up the top of one of the mountainy boulders and stay there and just watch the sea. 

Capones Island

The gang!

 As I looked at the blue skies, the silent ocean, the paradise I was in and as the waves hug the shore again and again and again - calmly, persistently and beautifully- bringing with it surprises of corals with every sweep,  I can't help but think of how simple life was at that moment. And how I complicated mine beyond necessary. At the end of the day, we all just want to be happy and we might get lost in perfidious winding roads on our way there but we need to learn and making painful mistakes are a necessary part of finding the path we should take. Destiny dictates many things we cannot control but if we want it bad enough and we fight for it hard enough, it would be kind enough to reward us with what we need. But more often than not, it already has without us knowing. There's always more in front of us than what we choose see. And sometimes, we just have to recognize that. I've been trying to be positive and it is so damn hard but it has made me a happier person :) and that's always a good thing.

Zambales!

We left Zambales around 5 in the afternoon, had dinner in Subic, talked over coffee, talked some more in the car, sang, played games, then talked some more. I arrived home past 12mn. And I knew that I just had a perfect day.

Art Capital

Angono is considered to be the art capital of the country; and given that it's less than an hour drive (2 hours if I drive. haha) from where I live, I really wanted visit the petroglyphs site and go to an art gallery or two. I decided to make the most out of my weekend and go.

I started with Saturday volunteer work. After which, I went to dinner with my college friends at Cafe 1771 in El Pueblo. I love the ambiance of the restaurant, it feels so fancy and homey at the same time. The food was pretty good although quite pricey and their macarons are delectable, they melt in your mouth!

On Sunday, I decided to go to Angono with friends Reuel and Kela. It was a pleasant drive, and the view from the mountain was great. The museum, however, was quite disappointing. It was small and lacked content. I feel like it could showcase much more artifacts related to petroglyphs or ancient writings/carvings - which would significantly add value to the experience of all their visitors.



The petroglyphs were interesting, carvings that show stick figures of people supposedly giving praise. There was also some animals like a lizard, which is believed to be some sort of offering to the gods. I couldn't make much of it since the carvings were quite few and one could only speculate what exactly they are supposed to mean but I think it still is worth the visit. I feel like it's just one of those things you try to make sense of, makes you think and imagine how life was before.

One of the great things about the location being so far from the city is that the ecosystem is thriving. There were many species of wild birds of different colors. I even saw two owls! 

OWL! 

After we toured the petroglyphs site, we heded to Balaw-balaw, a restaurant by the main road which is popular for serving exotic dishes such as snakes, frogs and crickets. We ordered uok (the only available exotic dish available), which I did not enjoy. I just had a flower salad. 

Uok

Cooked uok

 They had a gallery at the back of the restaurant too. They have plenty of beautiful paintings. I hope I learn how to paint as well as them in the near future!

Capped off my weekend by singing (or shouting, rather) karaoke with my crazy girlfriends. I'm not quite sure I'm ready to go back to work in a few hours though :(