It’s about how you’re like a lighthouse, always searching far into the distance. But the thing you’re looking for is usually close to you and always has been. That’s why you have to look within yourself to find answers instead of searching beyond. –Susane Colasanti
One day, I just felt like I’ve had enough of buildings, of churches, of parks and of random street sceneries around here in the southern UK. So I searched for a nearby beach further down south, and my random searching brought me to Exmouth Beach…
It was during June of 2012 that I came to realize that Indonesia’s the largest archipelago in the world! And by archipelago, that means, like the Philippines, it’s made up of thousands of islands, which made me dream of invading each of the major ones. :) And first on the list was Pulau Pari.
*Because it’s kind of gloomy around here today, I’m posting this somewhat dreary snapshot…*
*This is a guest post from a friend, Chad “Tsadiktus” Mercado*
When I was asked by my friends, whom I invited for this trip, on what we are going to do on the island, I definitely didn’t know what to answer, so I just said – “you know, the usual, appreciating mother nature’s beauty while reflecting on what’s currently happening with your life.” But seriously, there’s nothing much to do in the island, aside from the usual diving or snorkelling activity. So why did we still choose this place despite the expected long travel and hassle? Well, simply because the island itself, for me, is like a paradise, and i believe, beneath this island lies another paradise – the underwater kingdom, and above all these is our great paradise.
Started the second day with an early walk along the shores of Sabang Beach with Jill and Fern, while the rest were still sleeping because of the socials the night before hehe! :) We were trying to catch the sunrise so we passed the time off by walking from our cottage to the surfing site, while we took photos…
The weekend before this trip, I met up with my highschool friends in Manila for a supposed-to-be-farewell-dinner-for-me-but-Fern-ended-up-paying-for-it get-together. Since Fern didn’t make it to our Talamitam–Batulao twin hike before, we thought of having another backpack trip somewhere in Luzon, and just then Jillian mentioned about her officemates’ plan to go to Baler. We wanted to explore Baler too, so immediately that night, I came up with a rough itinerary. After sending the itinerary the following day, Jill informed us that we could tag along with her officemates, since that group could still accommodate around 3-4 persons. And so we’re in it! :)
Hiyesss, my time’s up! I’ve foreseen it, but didn’t expect it to be that short hahaha! So, I didn’t have much time to conquer all the remarkable places in Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago, but I was able to maximize my slack moments by visiting some of the famous places around the area of Java.
Our itinerary for Day 2 in Camiguin included island-hopping and visiting a waterfall, and I thought it would be the most hassling experience in my swimming life (may swimming life tlaga ako oh?! Hahaha!) ever! Imagine waking up so early to prepare for the island-hopping, and getting a first reaction of “Sh*t meron na’ko!”… Tsk tsk! (First time ko kase mag-swimming na may period, at first day pa! hahaha! wala lang sa timing kaya naha-hassle-lan ako!). Pero kineri pa din! :D
Here’s a list of why I planned for this solo bus trip:
• I want to prove to the universe that Mindanao’s a safe place to visit… lalalala! Well at least at this part Western/Northern Mindanao. I want to be able to give a clear answer to those people who always ask me if it’s safe to travel in Mindanao. :)
• I want to have a feel of a solo backpacker hahaha! I want to personally find out for myself whether solo traveling is fun or not! :D
• I want to know how much it would cost to go to CDO from Zamboanga and vice versa, and how long the travel actually takes.
• I had a sidetrip plan at the back of my mind (Iligan or Dipolog, wherever my heart and my itchy feet feel like going) >>>READ FULL ARTICLE>>>
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