Puerto Galera

Leap of Faith

There were lots of boats in the water ... getting this shot required patiently waiting for the other boats to disperse.
We rode in one of these going to and from Puerto Galera.
Off to snorkel we go!

Baby Jo-Lo and I sitting by the beach enjoying the late afternoon sights and letting the water rush and subside before us.

***

Congratulations to Fr. Efren N. Reyes (more popularly known as Fr. Wren) of the Missionaries of Jesus on his 25th Anniversary of Ordination to Priesthood yesterday, April 15th. My wife and I and her colleagues from St. Louis College La Union visited him on this special day at the Sto. Nino Parish in Modesto, San Mateo, Rizal.

Songs that hug and tug

I was tagged by Lady Cess some time ago for 7 songs that "hug and tug" or, as I would interpret it, songs that have senti value to me. So here goes...

1. Eyes on Me. - Are you a gamer, particularly of the RPG genre? If so, you'd know this song by Faye Wong. It comes from the soundtrack of Final Fantasy VIII.

We were thinking of a song for our wedding back in 2002. We wanted it to be different. I remembered this song and played it to my wife. She liked it. I then asked one of our officemates to sing it in our wedding. We brought a CD for the background music, then discovered that the Church did not have a CD player! I couldn't signal to my officemate that it's ok if she couldn't sing it. But soon her lovely voice carried the familiar tune in accapela. It was beautiful.

2. Smoke Gets in your Eyes. - This one's a really old song. I'm a sucker for Steven Spielberg films, and I saw the movie "Always" with this song featured in one of the touching moments. Watch the movie! It's great. This song always remind me of that movie and the feeling of sadness that came with it.

3. Pretty in Pink. - a song from the 80s by The Psychedelic Furs. I can't understand the lyrics so when I sing with it, I mumble whatever phrases and syllables that sound like it. Hah!

I love the movie with the same title too by Director John Hughes. In fact, Princess Em even bought me a DVD copy from the States! Her pasalubong to me. Thanks again Em!

4. If You Leave - by the Orchestral Maneouvres in the Dark, or OMD. Another 80s great. I love the violins interspersed with the drums and guitars. Whenever I hear this song, I get transported back to the time when I was in my teens and we were watching Pretty in Pink at my friend's living room. They were well-off and had a VHS player. "If you leave" was playing in the scene where the prom was starting and an overhead sweep of the dance floor was being shown. The song and the scene blended so well that you knew something important was going to happen soon.

5. Why Don't you Care. - Do you know the original Bagets movie? This song was performed by Harner. In the early 90s, I scoured music stores and record bars for the Baget soundtrack in order to get this particular song. It was so catchy I couldn't get it out of my head. And then a DVD was released last year. I got to hear the song again and then I knew I had to have a copy of that song. There was the internet this time. I was able to contact somebody who was willing to sell me a copy. I now have this song on my playlist! After more than ten years!

May I add an extra song? Farewell by Raymond Lauchengco. Graduation song from our high school!

6. Bato sa Buhangin. - If you know this song, then we must be from the same generation. Hahaha. Actually I can only remember snippets of this song now, but there was a time when I knew this song by heart. I was in Grade 2 then and we were to sing in front of the class as a graded performance. I sang this song. After my performance, the teacher said, "Please choose another song next time. You don't know yet the meaning of this song".
Perhaps the song reminded my teacher of her ex-boyfriend? hehehe

There are a lot of things I have already forgotten that happened in my youth, but this one stuck. And I don't know why.

7. Someone's Waiting for You. - This was sung by Lea Salonga, one of my favorite artists. I knew this song by heart when I was a kid, and it accompanied me in my times of solitude. I was a bit of a loner then. Here's the lyrics to this wonderful song.

Be brave little one
Make a wish for each sad little tear
Hold your head up though no one is near
Someone's waiting for you

Don't cry little one
There'll be a smile where a frown used to be
You'll be part of a love that you see
Someone's waiting for you

Refrain:
Always keep a little pray'r in your pocket
And you're sure to see the light
Soon, there'll be joy and happiness
And your little world will be bright
Have faith little one
'Til your hopes and your wishes come true
You must try to be brave little one
Someone's waiting to love you

Always keep a little pray'r in your pocket
And you're sure to see the light
Soon, there'll be joy and happiness
And your little world will be bright
Have faith little one
'Til your hopes and your wishes come true
You must try to be brave little one
Someone's waiting to love you

***
Oh yeah, I'm supposed to tag somebody else. I have to run off to a meeting right now, so if you fancy doing the tag, please do so.
Happy weekend, everyone!

Puerto Galera

Puerto Galera was one of those "so near and yet so far" places for me. Friends have said that it's so near and accessible from Manila. I didn't believe them. I mean, how can a popular beach area be so near this crowded place?

But with our Sagada vacation cancelled last week, we hastened to make last-minute trip decisions. And Puerto Galera it was.

Peak season = throngs of people. Didn't mind at all. I would love to see Puerto Galera during off-season too, though.

Bars are in adequate supply by the shore, with Bob Marley singing to the groove of the summer heat.
Shirts! beach wear! Bracelets! Ref magnets! Souvenir shops vie for attention.
Jo-Lo had a wonderful time playing with the sand. He got his feet wet too.
What's beach life without barbecue? We had meals in some of the restaurants...

... and when we got quite settled in, we brought out our cooking skills! Yoyo (the guy at left) was able to get a great deal on a whole tuna for our dinner. Yum yum!
I remember my wife Tina was quite timid at getting into the water for snorkeling last year at Boracay. Now, she's become more adventurous and tried it on her own while I looked out for baby Jo-Lo in the boat. Go Dearest!
Watching the sun set by the beach was really nice. For a couple of late afternoons, we just sat by the beach, listened to the waters crash to the shore, with the other people milling about and having a great time, and watch the sun turn from a a yellowish hue, to a mesmerizing red as it finally calls it a day and takes a dip in the waters of Puerto Galera.

Now that I've been there, I still couldn't believe how relatively close and accessible it is from Manila! A really nice escape from the hustle and bustle of Manila. And you can really have a great time there without creating a hole in your pocket during off-peak season.

Thanks to my old and new friends who made the stay memorable!