Baler
April 13 to 14, 2013

day 1
✿ straight from work, met bob at alabang, then went to baliwag terminal cubao going to san jose, fare was P251 per person, left cubao at 330am, arrived at san jose almost 8am na
✿ tric to tess’ house to meet the rest of the guys, had full breakfast too
✿ went to the mall for some last minute shopping, then left san jose at around 10am
✿ reached sabang, baler at around 130pm, then scouted around for accommodation
✿ got 3 rooms at pedervera resort, brgy puting buhangin at P1500 per room, aircon, tv, hot & cold shower and free breakfast for two. for the price, sobrang sulit ang resort na to, they have quality wooden furniture and the staff and owner were so kind and accommodating
✿ konting rest, lunch, then swimming na sa beach. lakas ng waves, sarap sana magsurf but scary haha. we super enjoyed catching the waves kahit magpagulong-gulong once you get caught unaware, kapagod but had so much fun
✿ dinner – inihaw, sinigang and paksiw. cooking utensils, barbeque grill also provided ng resort

day 2
✿ breakfast, then ligo uli sa beach
✿ left the resort at around 11am, went to the following tourist spots
▪ balete tree in maria – amazing, sobrang laki ng tree, you can get inside and climb it easily, dami naming pictures dito
▪ ditumabo falls – around 45 minutes trek one way, effort talaga bago mapuntahan, had to climb rocks at tumawid ng 4 or 5 ilog but sulit once you take a dip sa super cool water. at first, i was so hesitant sobrang lamig kasi, buti na lang i still did, sarap at nakakawala ng pagod
✿ ate dinner at philamy san jose, had gising-gising (spicy seafood and veggies), pork sisig and lechon sinigang, then rest muna uli kila tess before going back to manila
✿ woke up at 2am, then prep na papunta baliwag terminal uli going back to manila, fare from san jose to ayala was P275 per person. mas mabilis ang byahe, bus left around 330am uli and we were home by 8am
✿ super thankful to des and romy for setting this all up, irene dahil sobrang napatawa mo na naman kami, raquel for the free accommodation in baler and for bringing charice along, and of course kay tess for the generous food and welcoming us to your home plus the take home sibuyas pa. enjoyed this trip sooooo much and loking forward to our next adventure.

contact numbers
pedervera resort: 0915.762.7929; 0918.967.5958 – owner: cecile pedersen

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Ancient Balete Tree

On the way home from our Cambugahuy trip, we stopped at an amazing old tree by the side of the road. It been called the Century Old Tree, or “centuries old” I’m sure that no one really knows. But I could easily believe it was 400 years old. It had a massive girth, amazing hanging roots, and huge crawling roots that spiraled out from its base. It sits next to what must be a natural spring, and probably the reason for its longevity. Kids were jumping and playing in the water.

Amazing roots (dreadlocks) hanging down!

We walked around marveling at the thing, and circled around to the back of it. Latham climbed up the roots to get a closer look. Then I saw the tshirt he was wearing. Rasta guy in a rasta tree. Way, cool man!

Rasta in a Drealock Tree!

Buko juice! They have a vast plantation of coconut tree there.

Museo de Baler

We visited a church just because it’s Maundy Thursday. Haha. Kidding.

I went back home Wednesday afternoon for the Holy Week, called them and asked what’s up for the following days. I was annoyed when my sister said we’re going to Baler on Maundy Thursday when all I wanted was to sleep all day at hoooooome Oh well, it’s not everyday that we get a chance to go to the beach. Yay! That’s next!

]]> http://blauearth.com/2012/04/25/a-sunday-under-the-balete-tree/ Wed, 25 Apr 2012 06:24:24 +0000 blauearth http://blauearth.com/2012/04/25/a-sunday-under-the-balete-tree/ Immerse, linger, unwind, marvel at nature’s bounty… life comes but once.

To many, Sundays are sacred. While others flock to churches, others either stay at home or go outdoors to communicate with the Divine Being.

At dawn last Sunday, with the hubby’s kumpares and families , we hiked to Kaangrian Falls in the mountains of Agaga, Burgos.

It was an ancient balete tree (aka banyan tree), perhaps centuries-old, that took my breath away. As a child, to put me to sleep, my nanny told me incredible stories about gigantic elliptical balete trees. Incorporeal beings, kapre, marmarna, kaibaan — those didn’t scare me however. I played balay-balay inside abandoned dark kamarins with cousins. It was sort-of a dream come true to see the humongous tree and virtually feel how it is to be inside it. No fear…

In hindsight, indulging in lechon while communing with nature is scarier than a balete tree.

Thank you, Lord, for natural shelters.

Photographed by Blauearth © Blauearth™ All Rights Reserved 2009-2012

Preschool-Gradeschool Building. Photo taken from the internet.

it was a large grassy pot of land with two trees on the opposite corners. The tree on the right didn’t play a very big role in this story, but the Balete on the left was where everything began.

Balete trees have long been associated with demonic, out-of-this-world creatures that kidnap and possess humans. Its wide branches, tendriled and vined, weighed down further by heavy leaves form a menacing shape that spawns the superstitions. The one in our schoolyard proved to be no different. Our entire second grade class, from sections A to D, was lined on the second floor of the building just beside the empty lot. Our young, overactive imaginations, coupled by the fact that the material for speculation was an easy distance away, resulted in numerous rumors circling this infamous tree. My memory’s fuzzy but my contribution to the rumor mill was branches and leaves that “move” on their own. In my head I’m yelling at my seven-year-old counterpart, pointing out the effects of wind, gravity, and atmospheric pressure.

Paranoid little second-graders blamed this oblivious tree for practically anything–rash, psychological headaches, imagined colds. That Balete was the plague, the moldy cheese slice of St. Joseph School.

Only a few dared to go near… those who were literally dared to. A group of girls from section B was one of the braver ones who actually went there voluntarily. Vivienne, Lorraine, and Cassandra (I think). Cassandra was the ringleader of their little bevy. One of the few regrets I have of my school is the culture that the kids from the honors class avoided mingling with the other sections–a malpractice encouraged even by the teachers. Anyway, those three girls spent every recess climbing–guarding– that tree, barking at anyone within a five-meter radius. One day, when the end-of-recess bell rang, the three hurriedly ran to their respective line but something was different. Cassandra was, apparently, possessed. She pushed and angrily shouted at everyone in her line of path. Whispered prayers went underway in between fearful requests of Shen Fu blessing the damned tree.

Gr. 2 Purity (I think that half-head is Faye).

It was probably a couple of months before everything went back to normal (including Cassandra who recovered just in time for dismissal to meet her parents). The Balete finally consumed its 15 minutes of infamy.

I don’t think Cassandra (?) ever graduated from our school. I wonder what happened to her. A few years after the mass hysteria, the Balete was cut down, along with the other tree to build the new nursery building. I’m not sure which is worse–a demonically possessed medicinal plant or a massive construction that’s an insult to architecture everywhere.

Other tree-related stories:

1. Back in the old Kindergarten grounds, there was a three-pronged tree that everyone wanted to lounge on. I used to love laying around there during recess with whoever was my favored friend for the week. Hahaha. I’m such a bully. There’s a little hole in the rightmost “prong,” roughly the size of a vienna sausage. Some person said that snakes exit through there, since then, no one stuck around that tree again.

2. There’s a tiny coconut tree in the small field between the old Grade 4-turned Glee Club building and the old Kindergarten area. Over time, that tree had curved into a slight “c.” It was the sad victim of a favorite running-high-kick game we used to take turns playing. Unfortunately, our mad kicking skills caused that tree early onset osteoporosis.