Friday, April 8, 2016

NATURE PHOTO CHALLENGE 1: GUISI POINT, GUIMARAS ISLAND

This is originally posted on my other blog. 

My dream is to have a house on the beach, even just a little shack somewhere so I can wake up, have coffee, look at dolphins, be quiet and breathe the air.
-Christina Applegate
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Nature's color pallete. Guisi Point beach at midday.
Living in an archipelago, it is not quite a wonder one of my favorite subjects of photography is the beach. The clear blue waters and the fine white sand  appeal much to me. Definitely, when you live on this part of the world, life is a beach!
Guimaras Island is considered "the poor man's Boracay". Many parts of its long coastline offers the fine white sand people love about Boracay, at a much cheaper price. An added perk include not being overcrowded. So, if I need to escape the noisy city life for a day, this would only need 15 minutes by boat and about 40 minutes to reach this place. Yep, you guessed it right, it is one of the places C and I went to when he first came here to visit. He loves this place as much as I do.
This specific place in Guimaras is called Guisi Point.
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Life is like a boat. One can't escape the waves. 
Some of the best things to do in Guisi Point are island hopping and snorkeling. This area is surrounded by islets and gifted with beautiful corals. Nothing great comes for free though, so be ready for an off road ride in the midst of the rice fields on one side and the mangroves on the other.
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Of differences and co-existence. Different elements of nature in one spot. 
While island hopping or strolling along the shore, one couldn't help but notice trees competing for its space in the middle of the sea. For me, it is often a reminder that one should not only be persistent to survive, but also strong enough to co-exist in such a diverse world.
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Beautiful collision. There is really something refreshing about listening to the sound of the waves meeting the rocks.
Personally, I love to sit round these rocks and feel the waves on my feet. This makes me reminisce childhood days when friends and I would go to the nearby beach on the opposite side of Guimaras. We were carefree and optimistic about what the world can offer, believing that life is great as long as you do what makes you happy. That means forgetting about the chores at home and letting time pass under the scourging sun.
The area is also home to Guisi Lighthouse, an 18th century Spanish colonial lighthouse that had been helping sailors for centuries. What is so special about going uphill is the fact that there are two lighthouses here; one that is new and functional, standing just some meters away from the old, historic one.
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Aerial view from where the old meets the new. Guisi beach as seen from the lighthouse by the hill. 
Some years ago, I went to this place for the first time to see the abalone farm. There was no resort here at that time so we had to sleep by the small hut and a tent. It was the most serene beach area I had been to. After 5 years, when I came back, I felt sad about how the place had changed a lot. I have written about that here. Good thing is, though it is not as a private as it used to be, it looked better than the last time.
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This is the first of seven posts that are originally written on my other blog. 

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Our First Meeting: Seeing Everything Clearly for the First Time in a Long Time

This is originally posted on my other blog. 
It was like having a specific word on the tip of my tongue and finally remembering it the very moment I saw him at the arrival area. Something like my unspoken "Eureka!" Sounds strange for me too, but it is right. Ah. Perhaps, for quite a long time, I loved the melody of Savage Garden's I Knew I Loved You. 
After months of talking for hours every day, there we were, smiling like we've missed each other a lot. A little flashback. I felt a little nervous thinking how it would be if he is actually not my type. I was already thinking of the ways to make him feel  okay just in case we don't click. Then my phone rang. It was him, asking me where I am. He just got out of the arrival area and was a bit worried why he didn't see me in the crowd. He was thinking of the worst too: that I am not going to show up and he is a plain stupid person who flew for 11 000 kilometers to see nobody.
I caught him looking at me...hmmm..on my shoes at first. haha. I am 5'5" on my kitten heels and office uniform. At 5'10", he was so neat in his white long-sleeved shirt. (He told me later in the day he likes the fact that he is taller than I am though I wear heels. haha) One of my bestfriends whom I tagged along to keep me calm nudged that I go meet him quick. He was smiling as he called my name. I gave him a quick hug and a cheek to cheek. He kissed me on the forehead. I never felt that great.
Since I was a teen, I always believe that a kiss on the forehead is the most romantic of all. It shows how much the guy respects you as a woman. That's why I said it just felt right. In fact, it feels righter than the rightest right.
"Schmetterlinge im bauch" as we always jokingly say to each other. And we had indeed.
As we held hands all throughout the trip to his hotel, I knew his hands feel like it was made perfectly to fit mine.
How about you? How did your first meeting go? <3 p="">