BATANES - THE HIDDEN PARADISE ( Part 1 )

I love to travel the beautiful islands of our country because " nature tripping " has become one of my outlets. I dreamt of going to Batanes for the longest time. Having traveled to many countries in Asia,  I think Batanes outshines many tourist destinations.

So much has been said and written about Batanes. Opportunities for magnificent photographs abound. It is the dream destination of shutterbugs because anywhere you look at there is a perfect photograph just waiting to be captured. Almost half of Batanes is made up of hills and mountains enveloped in breathtaking seascape. Batanes holds such magical mystery.

Today --- let me take you to the beautiful place called Batanes.

Rediscovering the North - Part 4 BANAWE- Then and Now

I have always loved this place although it was very inaccessible in the late 90's. I still braved the bad roads and the long hours on the road ( it took us almost 10 hours just to get here ) to Banawe.... but the trip was really worth it!!!!! This is my third time visiting Banawe and I never got tired of the place. I keep on looking forward in going to Banawe all the time. This time I was with my son, Iggy on a photo shoot assignment.

Rediscovering the North - Part 3- BANAWE - Answering the call of the gods

MAPHOD TA IMMALI AYU AD BANAWE !!

( " Welcome to BANAWE ! " )

( this is the map of Banawe -- it shows you where you can go while you are there..feel free to download it... )

The Banaue Rice Terraces of the Philippines have been said to be like the 8th wonder of the world. They were carved from the hillside by the tribes of Ifugao about 2,000 to 3,000 years ago. These people did this using their bare hands and crude implements, without using any machinery to level the steps where they plant their rice, which is what makes this wonder so attractive, aside from the fact that these rice terraces are still used today.

In 1995 the Banawe Rice Terraces were  declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO.

Rediscovering the North - Part 1- LAGAWE, IFUGAO

This is my first trip out of town after 4 weeks of being sidelined due to a freak accident which resulted in a fractured foot. After getting a go-signal from my doctor... I was raring to go!!!! My son, Iggy, asked me to join him on his trip to Northern Luzon. Our destination?? LAGAWE, IFUGAO. Iggy was commissioned by the Filipino Heritage Festival Inc. and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts ( NCCA ) to make a video/ documentary on LAGAWE, IFUGAO and the Hu'dhud of Aliguyun and Hananga. I will talk more about this on my succeeding blogs.

We were going to be with Floy Quintos - director, Gener Caringal - choreographer of Philippine Ballet Theater, Jesse Lucas - musical director/ composer, Bert Delvo and Leo Diaz- asst. videographers of Cinematiconcepts, Del Cayetano, project manager  and Nasser Lubay - Filipino artist. This is in connection with the upcoming event----- PHILIPPINE HERITAGE MONTH 2010 for the whole month of May. I am going to be with them as we celebrate the Philippine Heritage Month 2010.