Surprise me. 2013

After a million years (haha), I finally got back to writing again. It's 2013 and I have a lot of things on my mind. Looking at this blog I realized I haven't finished writing about my trip to Europe and a lot of my travels but oh well maybe I'll just find another time to tick these off the list. It's 2013 and what should be on my mind? My thesis! I have decided that this year would be my thesis' year! Oh yes! Hopefully I'll get the right mindset and the will to finally close this chapter. I'm looking forward to a lot of things for this year but I'm expecting to be surprised whatever those may be.

2012 also proved to be a boxful of surprises. I got to visit new places and experience different cultures :)

In my itinerary: Vienna, Austria

Part 1 

After a 5-hour flight from Doha, I finally arrived in Vienna! Stepping out of the plane and into the airport I still couldn't believe that I was in Europe. Yes, I travelled alone to the other side of the world. I was feeling giddy and excited for the adventures that awaited.

I met this fellow Filipina during the flight and we talked about why we were traveling to Vienna. Apparently, it was her 6th time in Europe and was going to meet up with her beau. We waited for our luggages together and then went on our separate ways. Since Raphlin was running a bit late, I waited for a couple of minutes in the airport and soaked in the moment that I was in a foreign country halfway around the world. Then Raph arrived and went out of the airport and it was soooo cold outside, well, at least for me, since I came from the tropics. It was supposed to be summer in Europe but because of some changes happening to our climate, that day was a cold one.

After arriving at Raph's place, she showed me the main platz (Stephansplatz) where the tourists were. I drank in the sights, sounds, smell of the place and took a lot of pictures. Good thing I brought a light and efficient point and shoot digicam.   I think, with a limited time on my hands, it's better to see the place with my own senses than worry about taking pictures and then forgetting about the experience. But it's really nice to have some good ones though. But if you can do both, good for you.

Since the weather was a bit cold, the trees were already starting to show their autumn colors. I was really amazed to see them for the first time. There's just something about fall that just makes me sigh. Haaaaay :) . The park, in front of the Parlament, was lovely and the air was a bit nippy but I loved it. Watching the bikes, the trams and the people going about their day felt good.

Let it be known that the first time that I crashed on a wedding reception was in Vienna. Raphlin was supposed to attend the wedding of a family friend but since I was in town she opted to tour me around. But after some convincing by her parents she agreed to go and I went along. It was a Filipino wedding and served Filipino food. And I was like "Yey kanin at ulam!".

Back at Raph's apartment, I met her nice housemates Odysseus, who was leaving the next day, Jay and Noelia. We packed our things for a 10-day European tour. We slept and hopped on the train to Munich the next day.

Ticket to Europe

August 8, 2012

Since the rain hasn't stopped pouring down on Manila, I decided to start writing about my dream trip to Europe which happened in the past two weeks. At first, I was really apprehensive about going there because of a lot of issues.. finance, visa, my studies and work, but I have been dreaming of my European getaway for a long time, and when I say long, I mean years in the making (more of dreaming) loooong. The most difficult part in the process was applying for the Schengen visa since I am a single, technically-unemployed woman from a third world nation it was almost impossible for me to get one. After submitting all the requirements to the embassy, + + the other requirements since I was applying as a student (Affidavit of support from my mom and Affidavit of liability from my host), I got a call after two weeks and voila I got my Schengen Visa :). I guess luck was just on my side.

The next steps were asking for my adviser-boss for a 2-week leave. Well, let's just say that after few palm-sweating moments and  mood-surveillance days I finally got to asking for the leave. Then I purchased the plane and train tickets. The good thing about this trip was that I was 25 years old so I got the Youth (discounted) price for the Eurail Tickets!

Then I was all set for a 2-week sojourn in Europe with 5 travel days on the trains.

Palaui to Tawi-Tawi

What better way to celebrate my birth month than travel to one of the northernmost and southernmost islands in the Philippines? None, so far.

After getting off the ship from an almost month long research cruise, some of the gals decided to not let the opportunity pass and visit the island close to Port Irene (Sta Ana, Cagayan)... PALAUI! I have seen several pictures of this island from friends but the experience of diving into its clear waters with amazing coral reefs is just breathtaking. Gardens, indeed! The view from the top was also spectacular where we got to see nearby islets, the Luzon strait and the big waves crashing on the other side of the island. It would also be nice to visit this island with a geologist who can explain (or try to) the laminated sediments and fractures on the ground that we saw all over the place. Well, there's another reason to go back.

Moving on...

While we were on the cruise, I jokingly volunteered for this fieldwork in Tawi-Tawi. It never really entered my my mind that it would push through. I've barely settled back in Manila when I got the news that the trip already had a go signal. and I was like.. OMG. Tawi-Tawi? TAWI-TAWI! Whatabirthdaygift! I has been my dream for a long time to go to the southernmost province of the country.    Since cheap flights have been offered to that part of the country, I have been asking friends and colleagues to go there but sadly no one wanted to go there not only because it was very far but because of the troubled history of the place (war and kidnappings). Days before leaving MSI, I already received lots of warnings and some even asked me for a "huling habilin" haha cruel but I think everyone thought I had a 50% chance of getting back safely. We also prepared appropriate clothing and field wear. It was a No-No to 2 piece bikini, tank tops and short-shorts fieldwork.

In transit...

The trip to Tawi-Tawi included a transit at Zamboanga City. We stayed overnight at a poorly maintained hotel in the downtown area where it was dark and sketchy. Good thing that we were only staying for 1 night. Other than the hotel the city was great and the food was the greatest! Curacha (coconut crab) and Cangrejo (crab) were delish... And the memory of the Alavar sauce still makes my mouth water.

Another thing worth noting is their airport. The architecture was impressive. But they charge this "baggage fee" of 8 pesos per bag into and out of the airport. Weird or anomalous?

Finally, we arrived at Tawi-Tawi. The 30-minute flight to Sanga-sanga airport gave us a good view of the atolls scattered in the Sulu Sea. It must be legen-waitforit-dary to explore the wonders of these less visited islands.

To wrap it up,  Tawi-Tawi is safe and beautiful. We didn't have military escorts yet we were able to go about our field work without any problem. The people were also friendly and helpful. Due to lack of time we were not able to explore Bongao but the the reefs in the area and Simunul island were healthy and expansive. The reef in Simunul were ah-mazing despite the extremely strong currents during that day. It would be a lot of fun to visit this place again and see what the other islands have to offer. There is always this feeling, the thrill, you get when you get on the road less traveled (in this case, literally).

In search of Kuroshio...

Touchdown! After three weeks of cruising around the waters in the eastern seaboard of Luzon I'm finally back in Manila . It has been a fuuuuun and exciting research cruise, met new friends and found (hopefully) new scientific discoveries. We boarded R/V Roger Revelle, a research vessel from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, at Legazpi port in Albay, Bicol on April 24 and crisscrossed the deep blue sea for 18 days. Good thing there was no storm this year, we were able to occupy all the stations we wanted and more! We even got the chance to get close to some of the islands in the Babuyan Group of Islands on our way to Port Irene in Sta. Ana, Cagayan. 19degN! The farthest latitude I've been to in the Philippines. The photos will have to wait (as usual) but here's a picture taken with some of scientists and research assistants that were in the cruise with Mt Mayon in the background.

And, oh, here's the cruise track... :)

When will be the next cruise? 

Going Home for the Holy Week

I should have booked for an earlier flight. Earlier as in days before my flight this friday. Thinking that I could save up some money, I booked for the cheapest flight to Cebu on Good friday. Now, I'm stuck here in the apartment for another full day when I could've spent it in recollection with the family.

Lesson Learned #1: Time is Gold! Don't try to scrimp up on a few hundred pesos when you can really afford it.

Lesson Learned #2: When you have the leisure of time, don't book a flight which requires you to leave the house at 3am. Especially when you are sure that there's no heavy traffic en route to the airport.

I hope I can find an honest cab early tomorrow...

Incomparable

Happy birthday, PAPA! I love you.