A travel & adventure blog by Kara Santos
Everything looks better when the sun is out. The same roads and structures which I found scary the previous night look perfectly ordinary in the daylight. It’s like watching a horror movie with a particularly tense nail-biting scene set at night. Then the scene shifts to a sunny day and you breathe a sigh of relief because you feel the worst is over.
After my Basic Off-Road 101 Training Session in MX Messiah Fairgrounds in Rizal, Coach Mel of Mel Aquino’s Yamaha Off-Road Training Camp (MAYOTC) offered to show the students that day the KRB Off-Road Track in Antipolo City. The 36-hectare natural park offers a more technical course and controlled environment for training. It’s usually reserved for advanced classes where students have to ride through rolling terrain, do jumps, clear logs and rocks.
Host and star Ride N’ Seek Jaime Dempsey was in the Philippines during the History Convention 2017 to promote “Journey to the North,” the fifth season of her hit motorcycle travel show. Jaime’s no stranger to the Philippines, as this is the third time she’s filmed the show in the Philippines. In 2016, Jaime got to explore Mayon’s lava trails in Albay and got inked by legendary tattoo artist Fang Od in the mountains of Buscalan, Kalinga.
Continue reading “What Jaime Dempsey loves about the Philippines”
The biggest entertainment convention is back, bigger, better, and bolder. Gathering all your favorite stars from History Asia Channel under one roof, History Con 2017 answers the question, “Huh?!?”
If you’ve ever played an RPG, you know that sometimes you just have to go back to a place you’ve already visited because you missed something very important. Maybe your skill level wasn’t enough yet to handle the obstacles or maybe the time just wasn’t right to visit a certain destination. Or maybe you just like the place so much that you want to visit it again. That’s the case for me with Daraitan, the scenic village nestled in the Sierra Madre mountain ranges between Tanay, Rizal and General Nakar, Quezon.
I encounter a lot of rough roads when I travel around in different provinces. Over the years, I’ve had a few spills while driving a motorcycle. In Sagada, I fell off an embankment when my tires skidded on loose gravel on a slippery wooden bridge. When we rode from Coron to Calauit Safari Park, we encountered dirt roads that got progressively worse as we drove on. While driving from Koronadal to Lake Holon in South Cotabato, I got stuck in a rut and the bike fell on me while I was trying to drive uphill a trail normally reserved for hikers.
During these instances, medyo napasubo ako kasi wala akong choice. I was driving somewhere and just wanted to get to a certain destination instead of turning back. But somehow, these rides that take you off-the-beaten-path always turn out to be the most memorable and awesome adventures.
Continue reading “Off-Road 101 Training in Taytay, Rizal”When it comes to weekend destinations, Laguna is one of the most accessible provinces near Metro Manila. Most people driving cars usually approach the province from SLEX on the way to urbanized cities like Santa Rosa, Los Banos and Calamba. But from the Manila East Road, you can avoid traffic and traverse easily through the more laid-back towns on the Eastern side of the province.
Laiya in San Juan, Batangas is one of the most popular weekend beach destinations near the metro. It may not have the best beach and coastline compared to some other island destinations in the country, but because of its proximity to Manila and the availability of resorts, it’s one of the most visited beaches in the country for those based in the NCR region.
Hello, 2017! It’s been another year of travel and since I haven’t had time to write all of my backposts, a summary year-ender post should do the trick. I had a lot of trips to both new and familiar destinations, participated as a finalist in Wrangler’s True Wanderer competition, and finally got a motorcycle upgrade! Here are some achievements unlocked and noteworthy adventures in 2016:
Biliran is an island province in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. Formerly a sub-province of Leyte, it’s one of the country’s newest provinces, having only become independent in 1992. After an amazing action-packed canyoneering adventure at Sampao River ending at Ulan-Ulan Falls and island-hopping to Sambawan Island the previous days with tour operator Trexplore and some friends based in Cebu, I was on my own. So, I decided to rent a motorcycle to check out what the rest of Biliran had to offer.
You must be logged in to post a comment.