A travel & adventure blog by Kara Santos
As dusk fell, the towering trees lit up, tiny lights flickering like fireflies in between metal branches. Inspiring orchestra music started to play as the alien-like trees shifted colors. The blend of moving music and lights transformed the grove of metal trees into a magical rainforest. Everyone watched silently, their eyes transfixed at the spectacle above above. From below, I could see figures standing still along the curved skyway connecting the trees.
A rainforest under a glass dome, a waterfall you can reach through elevated walkways and a man-made mountain covered in dense vegetation.
I’m used to seeing natural waterfalls and mountains in just their raw, rugged environment, often far from the city and involving long travel times to get to. So it was amazing to be walking amidst skyscrapers one moment, then enter a dome that replicates the conditions typically found in tropical mountain regions. Continue reading “Cloud Forest in Gardens by the Bay”
Spiky branches of vivid orange, yellow and teal swayed lazily in the water. What looked like purple clam lips on pink brain-like corals seemingly smiled as I snorkeled by. A school of rainbow colored fish swept past me, darting in and out of the corals.
Photo by RadManila Communications, Inc. courtesy of Kawil Tours
Snorkeling in the Crowning Glory Reef, a marine protected area in Culion, has got to be one of the major highlights of my trip to the Calamian islands late last year. This site is the BEST place I’ve ever tried snorkeling and my standards are now very, very high after this. All other underwater destinations I’ve visited now seem to be muted seascapes that pale in comparison to the rich marine life I saw in the Crowning Glory Reef. Continue reading “Isla Culion: Crowning Glory Reef & Lusong Shipwreck”
It’s strange sometimes how something so seemingly ordinary can change your mindset about traveling. A tree for instance.
Pink sand beaches are quite rare. There are a only a few of them around the world, the most famous of which can be found in Bahamas & Bermuda. Thankfully, we don’t have to travel abroad to set foot on one. The Greater Santa Cruz Island in Zamboanga City, in the southern region of the Philippines, is famed for having pink coralline sand.
This small inhabited island located in the Basilan Strait is just 4 km south of the downtown area of Zamboanga City. It can be reached within 20 minutes by motorized boats. In recent years, the beach has gained popularity as a tourist attraction in the city. I’m really glad to have visited this bucket-list worthy beach prior to my trip to Tawi-Tawi. Continue reading “Zamboanga’s Pink Sand Beach”
Our 4 x 4 vehicle thudded along the scorched gravel road, forcefully freewheeling its way over the uneven terrain. The landscape was a sea of sunburned land and hills of towering ash set against a backdrop of a perfect blue sky. Continue reading “An Off-Road Spa Adventure: Puning Hot Springs”
Have you ever watched a video game cutscene and think, damn, I would love to visit that place? As a fan of role-playing games, sometimes I just want to get sucked into a game to explore the fantastic “out of these world” landscapes that heroes get to visit on their travels. Thankfully, there are a few places here in the Philippines that could just be the live action equivalent of the CGI scenes. Here are my top five picks of travel experiences that reminded me of certain video games:
1) El Nido, Palawan = Besaid Island, Final Fantasy X
With it’s crystal clear waters, limestone cliffs and numerous islands, the seascape of El Nido could easily be the setting where Tidus washes ashore at the start of Final Fantasy X. The Isle of Besaid, a small island at the southernmost point of the world Spira, features a large beach and seaport, a small village surrounded by forests and waterfalls, and a temple.
On the other hand, El Nido is a first class municipality and managed resource protected area in the province of Palawan, roughly 238 kilometres northeast of the capital Puerto Princesa. Having one of the most diverse ecosystems in the country, El Nido is protected for its unique flora and fauna, and pristine geologic formations. El Nido is notable for its spectacular limestone cliffs, expansive white sand beaches, tiny paradise-like islets, various types of forests, and major marine habitats. If you get to climb the cliffs, the view from the top is simply amazing just like in the game (well, minus the machina of course). Continue reading “5 Video Game-Like Travel Experiences”
A photo essay I did for the Asian Center for Journalism (ACFJ)’s photojournalism course is currently featured in ANINAG.org.
The online photo magazine ANINAG (which means to see, to be visible) was formed by Filipino photographers Estan Cabigas, Buck Pago and Gigie Cruz under the guidance of veteran photojournalist Jimmy Domingo. According to the founders, while documentary photography has long been a tradition in the Philippines, opportunities for publication and exhibition of such works remain limited.
The idea of forming a platform for Philippine Documentary Photographers came independently to yours truly and Buck. Both recognize the importance of internet communications technologies that can be utilized to showcase the works of Filipino photographers as well as to encourage documentary photography in the country. – Estan Cabigas, Aninag.org
Check out the gallery of previous work, which shows rich documentary stories like Estan’s dwindling flagellants of Infanta, Brad Feliciano’s portraits of gay senior citizens living in a “Home for Golden Gays” and Cheryl Baldicantos’ closer look at the dancing prisoners of Cebu.
Surreal. Otherwordly. Almost alien.
These are just a few words that come to mind when seeing Kapurpurawan, a natural white sandstone formation carved by sea and wind, in the town of Burgos, Ilocos Norte. Words can’t fully describe how I was amazed by the place and how it felt like I had just set foot on another world. Here instead are a few images of the masterpiece of Mother Nature in our midst.
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