Libotero – Philippine Travel Photo Blog

Part 1 of the Libotero Baguio-Banaue Roadtrip series

After six long years, we were finally going to visit Baguio City again! A night before our trip, I had a hard time going to sleep as I was too excited. Also, I really made sure that I won’t leave behind anything that would be essential to our trip.

And the day has come, we will be seeing Baguio City once more. We were supposed to wake up at 5 in the morning but I went ahead and got up at 4. We ate a light breakfast of bread and a chocolate drink.

At EXACTLY 5:30 in the morning, we left our home in Laguna and immediately hit the roads.

By 5:33am, we were already at the area of the Susana Heights Interchange of the South Luzon Expressway.
LIBOTERO TIP: When planning a roadtrip, consider leaving early to avoid rush hour traffic.
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Travel is Life. Through travel, we learn more about ourselves. We are never quite the same when we come home from a trip, our horizons expanded, our perspectives changed. Eagle Creek‘s products are made for the traveler with an appetite for fresh travel ideas and undiscovered destinations. Our wanderlust isn’t satisfied by photographs or stories of places we want to visit. There is the need to be there ourselves, to soak our senses in our travel experience – and to share every piece of that experience that we can with take with us.

Clockwise from top-left: Sun.Star Tech Journalist Max Limpag tries out Eagle Creek’s “Twist” luggage. Other photos: Eagle Creek’s Guia Abad explains the features of the luggage and how to organize it with Eagle Creek’s Pack-It Cubes.

Eagle Creek was designed for the Adventure Traveler who wants to do more and be more. Their Travel.Learn.Share campaign puts together a community that lives to discover every far-flung shore and valley, and share their experiences with fellow travelers with the same passion for learning and exploring. This is why the brand recently came out with its Travel.Learn.Share Campaign.

The Travel, Learn, Share campaign encourages one to open their world by traveling. Traveling encourages one to step out of the comfort zone and enrich oneself with a wealth of experience. The learning one gets out of traveling is so profound that no classroom or library could match it. And it by sharing our experiences that makes the cycle complete. Allowing others to share in the wisdom we have gained through our adventures develop

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The countdown to Christmas has already begun a few days ago! We indeed have the longest Christmas celebration in the world.

And speaking of Christmas, Eden Cheese–the country’s well-loved cheese brand spearheads the world’s longest Christmas celebration with Sarap ng Pasko: 100 Days of Christmas

100 towns are competing to have the country’s number one dish in Eden’s Sarap ng Pasko: 100 Days of Christmas and for that, LIBOTERO is campaigning for his very own city, Lapu-Lapu City’s Special Cheesy Kaldereta to emerge as the country’s top dish and win 2 million pesos!

Lapu-Lapu City, a tadpole-shaped island

Some of the reasons why I’m proud to be an Oponganon:

Lapu-Lapu

- Lapu-Lapu City is named after the chieftain, Lapu-Lapu who is known as first native who resisted to the Spanish Colonization, eventually conquering Ferdinand Magellan. He is the country’s first national hero.

- Lapu-Lapu City is home to international resorts such as Hilton, Shangri-La and Imperial Palace and proudly homegrown resorts such as Plantation Bay and Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort, among others.

Hilton and Shangri-La at the upper half of the photo and Bigfoot Studios at the lower right

- Lapu-Lapu City is home to the Bigfoot Studios, which features world-class entertainment facilities capable of accommodating almost any project from pre-production, to post-production and CGI.

The Mactan-Cebu International Airport is currently being expanded to service more aircrafts simultaneously.

- Lapu-Lapu City is home to the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, the second busiest and most important airport in the country.

The National Shrine of the Virgin of the Rule

- Lapu-Lapu City is home to the Virgen de la Regla, to whom hundreds of pilgrims from different parts of the country come to, to offer candles, flowers, letters and even their precious jewelry to thank the Virgin for favors they have received.

Babag is the center of fireworks production in the city

- Lapu-Lapu City is the fireworks capital of Cebu.

- Lapu-Lapu City is home to the only aquarium in the Visayas, the Mactan Island Aquarium.

The Marcelo-Fernan Bridge

- Lapu-Lapu City is home to the Marcelo Fernan Bridge, the world’s longest center-span extra-dosed cable-stayed bridge

Mactan Export Processing Zone I

- Lapu-Lapu City is home to the Mactan Expore Processing Zones which host thousands of jobs for Oponganons, Cebuanos and even laborers from other parts of the country.

Sutukil

- Lapu-Lapu City is home to the Sutukil: a portmanteau of the three ways fish are cooked: Sugba (grilled), Tula (prepared into a soup), and Kilaw (turned into a raw fish salad).

Be Resorts Mactan

- and many more! Visit Lapu-Lapu City now as most resorts are offering discounts of up to 50% off until the holidays inline with the city government’s program, Lapu-Lapu: The Island Experience!

Having said those, I am encouraging you to please VOTE for Lapu-Lapu City’s Special Cheesy Kaldereta in Eden’s Sarap ng Pasko: 100 Days of Christmas. By voting, you get a chance to win ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS! Here’s how you could vote:

1. Buy one Eden 35g, 180g or 500g pack at any supermarkets, public market stalls, groceries, convenience stores or sari sari stores nationwide.

Lapu-Lapu City’s SPECIAL CHEESY KALDERETA

2. Write the following information on a piece of paper attached to one (1) empty pack Eden pack size:
a. Name of Favorite Featured Town: Lapu-Lapu City
b. Name of Eden Dish for that Town: Special Cheesy Kaldereta
c. Your Name
d. Age
e. Complete Address
f. Contact Number(s)
g. Signature

3. Submit entries at Drop Boxes within participating Towns or mail entries to

Prime Cast Event Concepts Plus, Inc.
Lower Ground Level, Grayline Ventures Building,
14 Arayat St. Boni, Mandaluyong City

OR:
ABS CBN Foundation Inc.
ELJ Communications Building
Mother Ignacia St. Quezon City

4. Deadline for Submission of Entries is on December 2, 2010.

5. Send as many entries as you want. The promo period is from September 4-December 2, 2010. The promo shall be announced on TV through participating ABS CBN Shows.

For more information on Eden’s Sarap ng Pasko: 100 Days of Christmas please visit www.sarapngpasko.com

The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) is the Philippines’ only land-locked region. It is consisted of the provinces of Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, Mountain Province and Baguio City (the regional center). The Cordillera region encompasses most of the areas within the Cordillera Central mountain range of Luzon, the largest range in the country. This region is home to numerous indigenous tribes collectively called the Igorot.

What has been planned for years has finally come to fruition. It was my first time to do a roadtrip to the Cordilleras after six years and it is definitely an unforgettable experience. I will not hesitate to revisit the region once the opportunity comes. For the meantime, I would like to share our marvelous and astonishing experience in the Cordilleras. I’m writing our experience also to help others who desire to visit the place but don’t know the essential information such as where to start, what to visit, etc.

TIPS:

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The contest ran for two weeks and we received an overwhelming 80 valid entries! Thank you so much for the support! Here are the actual contestants:

1. Dominic Ylagan
2. Rhadem Morados
3. Debbie Rojonan
4. Kenny Rosal
5. Praline Ramirez
6. Vernon Go
7. Novell Tagailo
8. Raymund Ritchie Salasayo
9. Mary Angeli Bas
10. Mark Gallardo
11. Ethelbert Ouano
12. Fleire Castro
13. Ka Bino Guerrero
14. Jerome Locson
15. Ariel Cabalquinto
16. Kim Alvin Giner
17. Cepriane Lorca
18. Kriztian Etulle
19. Karen Veloso
20. Keir Halasan
21. Mharcia
22. Jeremy Ng
23. Jewell Santos
24. Pat
25. Flaviano Calope
26. Thea Marie Tuzon
27. Jera Canam
28. Romel Delosa
29. Jinky Guevarra
30. Jemalyn Quiñanola
31. Jenny
32. Ma. Hernila Halog
33. Beautz
34. Leticia dela Merced
35. Carmie Sanoria
36. Dennis Casanes
37. Leandro Indon Jr.
38. Bebot Gerasmio
39. Aida Pentecoste
40. Jan Michael Lukban
41. Jetty Paghinayan
42. Lorelie
43. Melvyn Gerald Mancao
44. Kaye
45. Eleniza Pira
46. Grace
47. Ellen Sy
48. Chona Bello
49. Remedios Raon
50. Marivic Listana
51. Aida Garcia
52. Jonalyn Plucena
53. Queen Ann Macalipay
54. Narciso Callang
55. Vicente Babiera
56. Cherrie Belmonte-Lim
57. Lydia Naira
58. Ma. Silvith Miano
59. Gerardo Dumaran
60. Yay Bucog
61. Yolly Conturno
62. Ricavir Medina
63. Rizza Jutar
64. Edna Mejala Bacordio
65. Chester Hazel Duata
66. Blas Villaruel Jr.
67. Analyn Yee Concepcion
68. Marilen Tolentino
69. Ma. Concepcion Valladolid
70. Bienvenido Solidad Jr.
71. Myrisia Franklin
72. Sharon Vicente
73. Janet Sibayan
74. Sheila Fernandez
75. Rowena Narciso
76. Michelle Lim
77. Edcel Ceniza
78. Maricel Abutas
79. Angelica Joy Lee
80. Maria Lourdes Boone

GRAND PRIZE!
And Randomizer picked the number: 79

Congratulations ANGELICA JOY LEE! You just won for yourself an overnight stay good for 2 at the Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort!

SECOND PRIZE!

And Randomizer picked the number: 20

Congratulations KEIR HALASAN! You just won for yourself a Torque E35 Cellphone!

CONSOLATION PRIZES!

And the randomizer picked the following numbers:

Congratulations VERNON JOSEPH GO, EDCEL CENIZA and ETHELBERT OUANO! You just won for yourselves P500 each!

Please wait for an email for instructions on how to claim your prizes. Thanks again for joining the first ever Libotero Giveaway! ‘Til the next

Part 11 of the Libotero Northern Mindanao Adventure series.

DAY 2.

When Marc returned, the bag was not with him. So, we decided to go to the city’s van terminal. We learned that there are two van terminals in Marawi from where services to Iligan depart. The first terminal got us negative answers. The group of drivers there suggested that we try to go to the “Jimmy Terminal”.

So we took a tricycle to the “Jimmy Terminal”, only to find out that it was GMA (as in Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) Terminal. That amused us in the middle of a tense moment.

At the GMA Terminal, Marc narrated his story to the drivers: the whats, the whens and the hows. It was already past 1pm and we haven’t eaten lunch yet. Marc told us that he’ll just be staying at the terminal to wait for any news about his bag (fyi, the bag contained very important documents like his passport, IDs, expensive gadgets such as a DSLR camera, iPod Touch, cash, etc.) and pushed us to continue exploring the Mindanao State University (MSU) even without him.

For that, Eric and I took another tricycle ride (it was the first time I took the “backride” of a tricycle and I enjoyed it!) and in a few minutes, we found ourselves at the Aga Khan Museum inside the MSU campus. Along the way, we passed by the mansion that Marawi City Mayor Fahad Salic built for his wife, celebrity Alma Moreno (but wasn’t able to take photos of it as the tricycle was running at super-high speeds).

Aga Khan Museum of Islamic Arts

As we arrived at the museum, it was already drizzling so we immediately went inside. The museum originally opened in 1962. It was moved to its present site and renamed in 1963 following a donation from His Royal Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV. It contains ethnographical artifacts, particularly those connected with the folk arts, featuring the very distinct Maranao culture.

It is a repository of Maranao and other Moro artifacts, which boasts a huge collection of indigenous art and cultural materials, ethnic music, the native tools and weapons used by the Muslims, and houses, including the Torogan, which is the traditional Maranao house, with different artistic designs. It was named so in honor of King Aga Khan who contributed significantly to the realization of the museum. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed inside the museum. The museum is open from 9:00am – 11:30am and 2:00pm – 4:30pm on Mondays to Fridays.

As we exited the museum, it was already raining! So without wasting any time, we took another tricycle, this time bound for the King Faisal Mosque, still within the MSU campus. We told the tricycle driver to just wait for us as we won’t be staying long.

King Faisal Mosque. The mosque was named after the former King of Saudi Arabia, who supported and financed the project, as well as the Islamic Center inside the campus.

We just quickly snapped some photos of the mosque as the rain was getting heavy and then went back to the GMA Terminal.

A mosque in one of the villages in Marawi.

A typical street in Marawi. Most of the traffic is actually just concentrated in the downtown area. That wiped off my bad first impression.

The MSU campus is huge! Probably the size of a barangay…

As we approached the terminal building, we saw Marc, still without his bag. But there was good news though as they were able to trace the driver of the van and that he was already on his way back to Marawi, from Iligan. Great! A few minutes later, Marc already got his bag back! We all felt very relieved.. Phew! For that, it was time to leave Marawi.

Exiting Marawi…

We were only able to explore Marawi for a few hours but we learned a lot and instantly fell in love with the place. All my doubts about the safety of the area was erased, but ofcourse, one has to always practice caution, anytime, anywhere… I’ll definitely be going back to Marawi as there are still a lot of areas that I have yet to explore. I love Marawi and I’ll be back soon but how soon is soon? Maybe next year?

Anyway, we took a van back to Iligan and we arrived there at around 5pm. It was still raining and we didn’t have time to visit the majestic waterfalls of Iligan anymore..

The three of us have not eaten anything since breakfast! So as soon as we arrived in Iligan, we rushed to Dunkin’ Donuts to munch on a Bunwich and some donuts. Just as we took our last bite, a bus bound for Ozamiz arrived and it was time to say goodbye to Iligan City. See you soon!

From the Iligan Bus Terminal, the bus went straight to Mukas Port in Kolambungan, Lanao del Norte. Travel time was at least an hour. We then took a Roll-On-Roll-Off (RORO) Barge to Ozamiz. The RORO trip took another 30 minutes. It was already past 7pm when we arrived in Ozamiz City.

(…to be continued)