Mountains To Seas (and the Rivers In Between) - A Collection of Poems as Inspired By Antique

Cloaked with mist and mystery
It lies asleep
Waiting to be awakened.

Gurgling waters fill my ears
Quenching my thirst
Satiating my hunger.

And the wind that blows from south
Whispered to me
Secrets of the little grass.

Waves of the sea sing to me:
"Dive deep and look
The treasures I keep from you."

The ocean that beckons me
"Come here" it said
Only to leave me again.

Kruhay: the Antique Experience

 Isolated and reserved, Antique remains to be an undiscovered gem in Western Visayas.

The road less travelled.

     I've been doing some traveling both for educational and leisure purposes. This particular trip brings fond memories in me because I am Antiqueño from my father's side, and I've been to Antique just once. Its really a pity that I haven't experienced the province that my father is proud of. And probably, I haven't felt what it feels to be Antiqueño. Antique is a part of my roots, and I'm glad to be back again.

      Antique is a rich province, offering a unique heritage experience as well as breathtaking views of its rugged topography. And what I love the most about it is its people. Inheriting the Kinaray-a proficiency from both of my parents, I feel so at home in Antique (probably because the Antiqueño blood runs in veins and arteries too?).

Of Great Stops...

Where Anini and Nogas sealed their star-crossed lovers' fate.

      Before proceeding to Antique, we happened to stop at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Miag-ao Church and the Philippine National Treasure San Joaquin Church (plus the San Joaquin Cemetery). We could clearly see the mixture of Spanish elements and Filipino technique, most especially in the pediments of the church. These three are testaments to Spain's greatest legacy - Christianity - and that's unequaled by any other.
     Upon entering the frays, we are immediately greeted by the Siraan Hot Springs and the Nogas Island in Antique's gateway to south, the town of Anini-y. And what a wonderful welcome it was. Despite the rain, the downpour did not hinder us from appreciating the sulfur ponds, limestone formations and the sandbars of Nogas Island as viewed from afar. And a plus to that is the mythical story of the creation of these natural wonders. 

Amidst the rapid development of Antique, the Anini-y church stands, guarding the secrets from times bygone.

    In the same town lies Antique's only existing Spanish colonial church. What makes it beautiful is the simplicity of its architectural facade, enabling it to blend in naturally with the foliage around and the sky above. It is a great place for worship and for meditation, and as far as I'm concerned, it actuates its heavenly purpose, and that's beautiful.
    Another Spanish heritage is the ruins in Patnongon. Covered in a carpet of vibrant green moss, both the church and convent is still being used and serves as an institution of learning in the town. Just a few meters along the curve of the road, however, lies the ruins of the old casa (municipal hall), and is completely abandoned.

Great Food...

    Of course, a tour would be lacking without a food trip, right? It is already an established tradition for tourists to have a taste of local dishes. And in this trip, we definitely ate a smorgasbord of delicacies that would surely delight the palate of whoever is on the table.
     First on the list is the bayi-bayi and the kalamay-hati from Miag-ao. These two sticky-rice-derived food items are staples in the traditional Ilonggo banquet. Hailing from Tigbauan, I've had a first-hand experience in making bayi-bayi and kalamay-hati, and all I could say the the cooking process is really hard for first-timers. But the prize is sweet, as they say, and sweet are these delicacies (Though I often had a hard time eating home-made kalamay-hati). I suddenly miss my grandparents' place.

Its peking and its not from China.

     Here comes the food items from Antique. Peking is an interesting, probably peculiar, food we've got at Hamtic. It was sweet and crispy and tasty at the same time. The melted muscovado sugar did not overpower the taste of the crispy grounded-sweet potato base. Its a pity the producer was not available during our trip back.

Bandi and trust is what you need for a perfect relationship.

      There's also the showcase of foods derived from local resources. We had fresh bagoong at breakfast and native grass, mushrooms and shellfishes during lunch. (I forgot the local names). And of course, who could forget the desserts? Antique could be a sweet tooth's paradise. Bandi, butong-butong, suman, and other desserts with the all-organic muscovado sugar as the main ingredient. Once again, living in Tigbauan and having an Antqueño father, I am quite familiar with these food products. We make bandi  and suman at home. However, the production of butong-butong is quite interesting. The sugar (with the coconut milk) must be heated until it turns into a dark taffy, of which is poured  to banana stalks for cooling, and when cooled, the sweet taffy is removed and is shaped to the final products. People that make butong-butong are so skilled in shaping it, deviating away from the normal corkscrewed cylinder and coils to flowers and birds. And bonus, it's fun to watch and its even more fun doing it.
     Speaking of sugar, Antique is also a sugar-producing province, with sizable sugarcane plantations scattered all over Antique. Notable is Laua-an, of which we went to in the hopes of witnessing the manual production of muscvado sugar. I've watched the process on television, but the actual work is still astonishing, provided that you must continue to masa (for the lack of a direct translation) the molten sugar, of which was produced from heating molasses/sugarcane juice, until the taffy turns to the powder muscovado sugar that we are familiar of. VOILA!

and Great Experiences

      Of course, one would never ever let the tour end without experiencing something worthwhile, enjoyable and new. And this tour, I've experienced so many firsts, just like a baby. And because its too hard to express my feelings, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. 

Banig is miles away from a buri handicraft.

I feel something fishy.

Pottery is like sex: you create something beautiful out of doing something worthwhile.

Harry POT-ter. Enough said.

The clay dictates what it wants to be, and we're merely vessels for its actualization

Lambaklad fishing - possibly the most fun way to fish.

 The art of weaving through the traditional native loom.

...

It was not just a tour. It was an immersion - a chance to see and to experience what Antique has to offer.

Crazy

     I know you're bored. Like, literally bored. So I introduce you to my friend, elemenopie. She's a dear friend (and she does awesome art. Check out her Google+ for her DA acct). And, she posts awesomesauce stuff.
     I know you're bored. Go on and check it out.
     I will be posting serious things in the near future. Awesome. Now go while I finish writing these "serious" blog entries. *repeatedly stabs the person nearest to me*

     Enjoy!

Here's an activity for you when you're bored. Sketch the exact same thing, sicko!

Of Art and Other Things Best Left Undone

     Ah, art. Art is probably the best expression of beauty (perhaps because art is an expression itself? I dunno). Well, I'm basically a frustrated artist. And I mean FRUSTRATED. Since childhood, I've tried so hard to draw and to paint and to sing (of which is infinitely better  compared to my singing abilities today) and to dance ( of which was more of a marijuana-induced hyperactive body torture).

     Drawing (or sketching, for that matter) has been the only artistic skill that I'm quite proficient in. And I've been on a hiatus for almost 5 years (after 5th grade up to 4th year), and I've just rediscovered it. And since then, I've been trying to sketch. Check them out on DeviantArt. [Disclaimer: I also do digital art.]

Probably the best work I've done. *sobs*

     Maybe, you'll ask me about my style and other stuff related to sketching. And to answer your query, I have no definite technique, no definite medium, no definite subject line, no definite material, but I do have a bit of style. When doing sketches, I sort of choose randomly, either from my mind or from my immediate surrounding. And I heavily procrastinate during the course of actuating what I want to do. To be honest, there are still four sketches waiting to be finished.

Alright, I admit. I'm not good, goddamn it.

I WAS a huge Pokemon fan, okay?

      Anyway, I want to do something different. Could you guys suggest one? *wink*

Pennies and Thoughts

      WHAT TO WRITE?

     Probably, almost every first time blogger, and budding writers for that matter, experience this seemingly bizarre phenomena wherein ideas come in short and sporadic bursts. Is it because we are too excited that our brain becomes to hyped up to even think of something? Or is it because we just want our first piece to be perfect so that we could catch the attention of readers and become famous for that matter?

     Perfection is rather a subjective status (or whatever you category you put that into). Everyone wanted to be perfect, or at the very least, be the best. Yes, provided that there is this "no one is perfect", being the best can be equated as being perfect. Fame, too, is another one. That is why almost every kid nowadays wants to be an actor/actress or to be a sportsman (most especially in the fields of basketball and boxing, all thanks to the NBA and Pacquiao fame). The quest for both perfection and fame could rather be both impossibly ambitious and fearfully morbid. Nazis have committed genocide for the sake of preserving their "perfect" race (though I commend Hitler for being an excellent tactician), and many girls and boys resort to use their bodies, rather, sell their bodies, just for the sake of having a break in the entertainment scene (bomba and porno films, anyone?) Quite sad.

     Speaking of sad, it feels like I have a psychological disorder or problem of some sort. For a 17 year old, I am too forgetful and fantasize things way too much. I forget the names of my classmates in elementary and in my freshman high school. I fantasize (not in a lewd way) myself in different fantastical roles that a teenage boy won't dream of, like being a ninja, superhero, action star, a person with Alzheimer's, and whatever my brain likes to ponder about. And I act it out. In broad daylight. Am I crazy or what? I think I need to see a psychologist.

This is me in one of those daydreams. 

     I think I'll end here for now. I said too much already. But I still don't understand why pennies are associated with a brain activity.