Daguitan River

 When I was a child, my parents weren’t usually home. My dad was aboard a ship somewhere in the Mediterranean and my mother, who was still in the middle of her PHD’s, was either in Western Visayas or somewhere in Southeast Asia. My brother and I stayed with our aunt and grandmother.

During weekdays my brother and I, together with our aunt would stay at a house we rented, close to our school in the main town of Dulag, which was a few miles from our home. During weekends we’d travel back home to be with our grandmother.



A "kubo" by the river.



 We always looked forward to the weekend. It was a couple worry-free days of just playing and bathing in the river or frolicking by the beach. Our permanent hangout place was Daguitan river.

Daguitan river was a few minutes walk from our home. The walk going to the river was quick and easy, because of the excitement. And when we got there, we swam and jumped off a cliff to the river again and again. My grandmother was always at a close watch, as she did the laundry.

We would usually leave home late in the morning, since the water would be really cold if we went there early, so getting sun burns were inevitable, since we stayed there until late in the afternoon.

Now the most tiring part was the walk home. It seemed to take ten times longer than it should. And when we finally got home, my brother and I would fall asleep from exhaustion. I remember lying down, still feeling the water current all over my body and that feeling went on until my grandmother woke us up for dinner.

The road to the river.

When I turned ten, my mother earned her PHD’s and stayed home to look after us. And then we began to live differently. We had someone else do the laundry for us, instead of my grandmother, which meant that we wouldn’t have the chance to go to the river anymore. And when I turned twelve, we started going places, and we were rarely home.

But even after fifteen years, I can still remember the river’s current on my body and the sun’s burning rays on my skin as I bathed. I have somehow come to realize that Daguitan’s waters have made it’s way to my bloodstream and have stayed ever since.

Best photo of the trip.

Just yesterday, I decided to go back to the river, where I spent the happiest days of my childhood. The river has changed its course. The cliff we used to jump off from, as a child was no longer in sight. The old edges of the river were still visible but the river has moved about thirty meters away.


As I neared the water, I felt the rush of excitement that I felt as a child. I took off my rubber boots and ran into the water. As the water hugged my feet, I felt like I did years ago. I felt rejuvenated. I felt that the child in me was always waiting for this feeling.

More Than Just A Road Trip

When I was born my dad said he was the happiest father in the world. He always wanted a baby girl since the death of his little sister whom he loved so dearly. 

Rice fields in Abuyog, Leyte.

It always broke his heart when he had to leave home for work overseas, which would take him six months before he comes home again. But when he was around he made sure that he spent quality time with us.

Bil-at, on the border between Dulag and Tolosa, Leyte.

We grew farther apart while growing up. He still worked abroad while I was in high school and his time home became less and less. On my fourteenth birthday, I remembered him saying, "I wish you never grew up. I miss you as a little girl. Because I can't kiss you and carry you around like I used to." It broke my heart when he said that. But like any teenager, I, sort of, suffered a certain level of "emotional constipation". I totally just shrugged it off, despite the urge to reciprocate the emotion. And it went on until I finished high school.  

San Juanico Bridge, the longest bridge in Asia.

Until one day, we received bad news. He was no longer allowed by his agency to work because of health problems. He was devastated. He loved his job so much but he had to come home. Let alone stay home to recover. This may have been bad news but we never realized it would be for the good.

The Leyte Landing Monument in Palo, Leyte.

He stayed home but he was able to do all the things he had always wanted to do, like, do house repairs, look after mom's garden, take care of dogs, travel, cook, eat, play his guitar and sing his heart out!

Horse along the highway in MacArthur, Leyte.

When I turned twenty and lived away from my parent's house, he always sent me messages and called me to check how things were doing. And it's just then that I said "I love you" to him and mom again after about twenty years. But what's so sweet about it is, I mean it now more than I used to.

Santo Nino Shrine in Tacloban City, Leyte.

The last time I was home to celebrate my birthday, dad and I went on a road trip. Which was more than a road trip but a recollection of the times we spent together since I was born.

Dad's dirt bike.

It was a spontaneous decision as we rode his dirt bike and went places he always wanted me to see. And along the way we talked about me as a child and the funny stuff we did that upset mom.

It felt good to be with dad again and feeling like a child again.

Loneliness: An Artistic Fuel

Loneliness is defined in many ways. It is entirely subjective, although most of the time it is viewed negatively. It is something people do not talk about. Most would even create a facade of the opposite so that other people will not think they are lonely. But this is the brainchild of the most creative things. 

Loneliness is the strongest emotion, even stronger than hatred or love. It has the power to paint beautiful pictures, sing the most beautiful songs and write the best poems. 

Have you asked yourself, why the most beautiful and most popular songs ever written are those that have an air of loneliness to it? It's because, loneliness is what everyone can relate to.

Have you asked yourself, what the most beautiful scenery you could imagine? I'm sure you would say, just like the rest of the world, that the sunset is the most beautiful scenery ever imaginable. It is it's utter loneliness that makes it beautiful. 

No one wants to be lonely. Neither do I. But it is in occasional loneliness that I find myself creating the most beautiful things. 

The Walled City

If photography is your passion, travelling should go with it. So one of the first places I visited was Intramuros. I visited this old city for two reasons; one, because it's within the Metro and second, it's very photogenic.

Wall from behind San Agustin Church.

According to Wiki --Intramuros, located along the southern bank of the Pasig River, was built by the Spaniards in the 16th century and is the oldest district of the city of Manila. Its name, in Latin, intramuros, literally "within the walls", meaning within the wall enclosure of the city/fortress, also describes its structure as it is surrounded by thick, high walls and moats. During the Spanish colonial period, Intramuros was considered Manila itself.

Establishments are within old buildings and the guards are still fashioned in the colonial times.

I have been to this place long ago but sad to say, I don't remember my parents taking photos of the place. Now that photography is my new-found passion, I can’t just leave without capturing the beauty and the rich history of the place.

My parents and I went on a Sunday in June and I was ecstatic to find out that we were the only ones touring the walled city. I am happy to see that most of it is preserved but at the same time sad to see that the urban poor of manila has found a way to settle some parts of the walled city.

It being a Sunday, my parents and I decided to attend mass at San Agustin church. San Agustin church is a significant monument to the Spanish colonization of the Philippines, being the first religious structure built in the island of Luzon in 1570, after the Spanish relocated from Cebu in the south. It boasts the best Spanish Church architecture of it's time. No wonder, from the facade to the interiors, the site was just astounding.

San Agustin Church's facade.

We trudged the cobblestone paved roads in the city and made our way to the Manila Cathedral. Manila Cathedral was built in the 1580's just a few years after San Agustin church was completed. The building, has since been destroyed five times, which makes the interiors look a lot more modern than San Agustin Church, due to the renovations that took place.

The Manila Cathedral's facade.

I was happy with my photos and I couldn’t wait to get home to see them, so we made our way out of the walled city. On the way I saw this really old unlabeled building. I wonder what this is, but I was able to take one of my best photos out of it.

This is what I consider the best photo of the entire tour.

As any traveler would say, “If these walls could talk…”. The old stone walls of this city has stood witness to the most noteworthy events in history and I hope that these photos have given it justice.

If these walls could talk…

Dulag, Leyte: The Place Where My Heart Belongs

I have traveled a lot in twenty-seven years and have settled in many different places but nothing will ever be called home other than Dulag, Leyte.

Tricycle loaded with milled rice grains traversing the Maharlika Road in Dulag.

I spent only a few years of my life in Dulag. I was born in Leyte but a few hours away from Dulag, in Leyte's capital, Tacloban City but most, if not my entire childhood was spent in Dulag. 

My cousin Christina, frolicking at the beach in Dulag.

I went to primary school in Special Education Center in Dulag. Although I left Dulag to study High School, my family and I still made it a point to go to Dulag on the weekends. And during summers when school is at a temporary halt, I spend it running around in the farm, bathing at the nearby river, or the beach which was just a few minutes from our home. I enjoyed every minute of it!

My feet in the sand at the beach.

I have left Dulag many times, but still I long for the "Tabo" (Market Day) on Thursdays where my grandmother and I would buy the freshest fruits, vegetables and meat at the market, plus a few local pastries that would last me until the next Thursday. I still long for the rainy days when my mother would make "Tsokolate" (native hot chocolate), made from pure roasted and ground cocoa seeds, which my grandmother makes. And the fact that this drink is mixed with coconut milk, makes it taste creamier and more special. These simple things make me want to go back to Dulag. 

Dulag marketplace during "Tabo"

Most of my relatives also live and work in other places, but we'd usually go to Dulag on National Holidays, which makes home-coming the highlight of the entire year for the whole family. And then we all relive the times we were there.

The sign that meets everyone who enters the town.

So no matter where I am and will be in the future. I will always find my way back to the place I call home --Dulag Leyte. 




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