Finding Me Wherever I May Be

Alto Peak is the tallest peak in the Visayas standing at 1332 MASL and though that might not sound very tall getting to the summit is extremely challenging. To summit this difficult peak you must find a tour guide in the quiet town of Barangay Cabintan, Ormoc City on the island of Leyte in the Philippines which you can take a 6 hour overnight ferry from Cebu City to get to. I made the journey from Cebu with my friend Ryan where we met up with his brother-in-law Chris, nephew-in-law Cy, and their friend Budoy. We packed our things that morning, ate a big breakfast and set off to meet with our tour guide(1 of their friends). When we got to the guides house in the small town of Barangay Cabintan we had to wait several hours while he finished some stuff up at his farm. Once we were all ready we set off on our journey, first stop Lake Jangadan. Right outside the city we made a stop at some coconut trees where our guide climbed to the top to get a couple of coconuts for us that w...

   The Build Up If you know me up until my trip to the Philippines one of the things I talked most about was how I was going to see Whang-Od, the legend, and to get tattooed by her or at least meet her! My friend Robe who had educated me on her and has been tattooed by her gave me all the instructions on how to get to her small mountain village in Northern Luzon. I spent 3 nights in Binmaley I was ready to make the journey there. The night before packed my sack, said goodbyes to my new little family I had made there and at 04:00 Mai and her husband drove me to the van station where I took off North to Baugio anxious and excited that I was finally on my way! That I was really doing it. The Defeat At about 07:00 I had arrived in Baguio and set foot straight to the bus terminal to head even further North. This is when the trouble began... Upon arrival the 8am bus was SOLD OUT! Say it isn't so! The next one wasn't until 13:30, I bought my ticket anyway even though I knew I ...

Here in Binmaley, Pangasinan, Philippines I have been staying with my friend. Her and her family have been so kind to take me into their home and make me feel like family.  (My first attempt) On May 22nd, 2018 I went with her to check out her and her husbands fish ponds and to see that the caretakers had begun the process of harvesting 1 of the 3 ponds. In her ponds she has shrimp, prawns, tilapia, and bangus. As their caretakers were beginning to empty the pond to make catching the fish easier we sat back and relaxed enjoying the peaceful setting we were in until the hard work began. As the sun began to set I hopped in with the workers when the pond was lower to try and help catch the fish. This was quiet challenging and I climbed out of the pond after some time with no luck in catching anything. I did find out that you aren't supposed to stick your hands deep into the mud like I was, just graze the top to get the fish to jump. After her husband arrived and checked in we to...