Masbate, Philippines
This is the province where I was born thirty-three years ago! And it took me sometime to revisit my true home. The home where my lungs are very happy because of the absence of air-pollution, where my quiet soul finds peace and tranquility, and where my eyes are so fascinated by the vast lands and different shades of green and blue.
Today, Hivers I am inviting you to join me in this simple road trip and beach hopping in Masbate, Philippines! This was a trip before the pandemic hit the country.
The team was composed of eight people and it was only me who was actually from Cebu. This was the travel treat from my dear cousins in Masbate to me for paying a visit last December 2019.
We started our road trip at 6:00 in the morning. Although there were eight of us, we only needed three motorcycles because having two "back-rides" were still permitted in the province during that time.
We had our first stop here at Barangay Marcella because our butts were in pain after two hours of straight travel. We also needed to drink water and enjoy some snacks.
I also took this opportunity to ask my cousins to take a picture of me in the place even though I already really missed a lot of chance to capture good photos of the vast lands and pastures of Masbate. I could not ask them to stop for pictures because we targeted to reach Palani or Balud before twelve noon.
After fifteen minutes of rest, we continued our road trip. This time, the team was aiming to travel faster. I was only a passenger during this time because I still do not know how to ride the motorcycle so, I had no courage to suggest other things. Hahaha.
As what we planned, we arrived at Palani before twelve noon. Basically, we had a four-hour long ride to reach this place. Our butts were complaining a lot. 🍑
We were so happy that we arrived safely. But, I was really sad that I was not able to take some pictures of the hundreds or thousands of white cows in the pastures. It reminded me of New Zealand!
The frustrations for not being able to take some photos of the beautiful places, views, and cows, were all gone when I was already facing the vast sea. The saltwater relaxes and makes me feel better. It just takes the negative feelings and emotions inside me. Also, it is not really the right time to feel bad about anything because I was here to enjoy in the first place.
I just enjoyed our stay in Palani Beach Park Resort together with my cousins that is why I only got this two photos. One before getting wet, and one after getting wet. Hahaha
We also had endless chat and laughter as we were preparing and cooking for our food, drinking beer, and before going to sleep at night. We also talked about getting up early so that we can still go to some places, take beautiful pictures and the like.
I woke up very early as I was so excited to see more beautiful places and I was also hoping to take some pictures of the cows! Yes! I was still not over with the cows! But before my hopes went very high, one of my cousins told me the possibility that we might not be able to see the cows because by the time we would reach the pastures, it would be the time the cows would be done grazing grasses.
Unfortunately, my cousin was right.
When we reached this location, I did not hesitate to ask my cousins to make a stop because I really fell in love with the view of the beautiful mountains and hills. Luckily, they agreed!
We had a couple of group and solo pictures that we really enjoyed a lot. Of course, I also made sure that I could have a solo picture. And here it is...
I really love this picture not because I am in the picture but because the view was really picture perfect, well that is how I see it.
We stayed here for maybe thirty minutes just to satisfy ourselves with plenty of selfies and group pictures for our social media accounts. Some even changed their profile pictures immediately.
We continued our motorcycle ride and reach this town called Milagros. It was really not a very special place but, because we were just enjoying our time together, we had so much fun!
After Milagros, we headed to Masbate City for lunch and continued our trip back. We also stopped by in my Lola's place which reminded me good old memories of us together.
This is my Grandmother on my father side. I was not sure if she truly recognized me when I visited her because we have not seen each other for more than two decades. But, I can still remember the fun things we do before. I used to pick her grey hairs and she would reward me with coins, or I would brush, tie or play with her hair.
We had a little chat and lots of hugs. I also handed her money that made her so happy and teary-eyed. As much as I wanted to stay but I needed to go back to my cousins' house since I would be going back to Cebu that afternoon.
It was just a simple road trip and travel to Masbate, but it made me very happy. I was certain that I was going back!
I hope you had fun reading and scrolling on this post despite the fact that this is just my first post here on Hive that does not tackle about art. I was really trying so hard to be able to share the experiences, describe the place, and talk about the feelings I had felt during this Masbate visit.
But one thing is for sure, I had fun editing the photos on Canva, composing the body of this blog, and enjoyed the nostalgic feeling it brought me.
I welcome any feedback and suggestions from you so please do not hesitate to comment.
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Christian Yocte is a public school teacher in the Philippines who also loves other interesting things like making digital and traditional art, exploring new places and destinations, writing journals and musings, and a lot more. He currently resides in Cebu, Philippines. Join him as he ventures different places, shares his masterpieces, and makes his life meaningful.