It has been such a long time since I last went on a trip. As much as I wanted to travel a lot before, I honestly was not big on that because either I am frugal or it just wasn't always on top of my priorities. Haha. When pandemic hit, naturally, my out-of-town visits stopped altogether.
I don't know what triggered the moment, but one day, I just found myself being sentimental while reminiscing my trips for the past years. The photos brought so much memoriess. This then inspired me to start a series called, Walking Down Memory Lane, on my art account, wherein I recreated some photos from those trips.
In this post, join me as I look back to these moments in my life.
May 2017
2017 was the year when I decided to leave Cebu and join my family in Metro Manila. It was a big decision for me because I was quite enjoying the independence, plus I tend to cling to people I am very close with, especially before. I also am not fond of uncertainties, so I weighed things countless times, overthinking every single day. I hated the idea of leaving my workplace, friends and the comfort of the home I was used to. But in the end, I still went on to the big step, not knowing what was waiting ahead for me.
Anyway, early 2017, I made it a goal to travel as much as I could before I would leave, no matter how far or near the destination was. One of the trips I had then was with my High School friends. We went to Bantayan Island, Cebu!
If I remember it correctly, we only booked a place for one night because that was the only available room we found. We agreed to look for another place to stay at once we reached the island.
Our stay there was not super planned, in a sense that we had a couple of places in mind, but didn't have a real itinerary to follow. It was fun!
I could no longer recall the names of the places we went to, but there are some moments that stuck in me.
On our second morning there, some of my friends and I got up early to witness the sunrise. I loooove sunrise and sunset, and seeing them in different places is one thing that excites me when travelling. For breakfast, I can't recall what we initially had, but I remember someone selling us steamed scallops. It was super cheap, compared to the City prices, so we bought a few and ate them right then and there. Aaaaaaaa. Yum!!!
Aside from going to places, another highlight for this trip was renting a motorcycle. We were 6 girls then, and 4 knew how to drive the motorcycle. But the thing was, only one had a license. I am all for rules and such, so I was super iffy about that. But majority insisted on it as it will make our stay less hassle, so I had to go with the flow. I actually wanted to rent a bicycle, instead, but it would only be good for nearby destinations. (Riding a bicycle in the island sounds super cute and appealing, though! I was a bit jealous whenever I would see someone biking around. haha)
Our motorcycle ride went okay. There was only this scary moment when we no longer knew which way to go, and Waze was guiding us through a secluded road. It was already night time then so our silent anxiety was slowly eating us up. We knew better, though, and everyone stayed silent and appeared calm as we figured our way back to our inn. When we finally saw the market area, we stopped to buy dinner, and everyone let out a loud sigh of relief. Haha
The artwork above was from a photo taken when we went to Kota Park to watch the sunset.
April 2018
One perk of being a preschool teacher is that we also have vacation breaks whenever students have theirs. So during the 2018 summer break, I decided to go back home to Cebu for 2 weeks. I contacted my friends and previous workmates, and we made plans.
I met with my College buddies then, too. My friend borrowed her Tita's car so we (and 2 more) drove towards the South to visit another friend and her baby boy!!! Roadtrips with friends are the best! We laughed a loooooot. Haha
Our friend's house in the province was near the ocean. Literal na their frontyard is the entireeee oceaaaan. We had our lunch there, outside. The wind was brushing on our skin while the waves were serenading us. It was super relaxing. In between all these great things, we also played and annoyed our baby boy! Haha.
After spending a couple of hours there, we decided to bid goodbye. But before heading directly back to the City, we had a few stops. We went to Bacalla Woods in San Fernando, wherein we tried the big Bali-inspired swing. I am not fond of swings, in general, because the back and forth motion makes me dizzy. But I didn't want to miss that opportunity, so I tried it! The time we went there, they allowed people to stay for an overnight camping. I'm not sure if that still applies to this day.
After breathing in the forest air, we made a stop at Minglanilla Baywalk. We just walked around and took several photos. Shortly, we resumed our way back to the City.
The artwork above was from a photo taken outside my friend's house, with the view of the ocean.
April 2018
This was one of the things I did during my 2-week summer break at Cebu last 2018. As I mentioned earlier, I made plans with different set of people during my stay. But as an introvert, I thirst for alone time. So for the days when I was free, I looked for place I could visit that were quite near our area. While doing so, I learned about AO Farm. I was so surprised to know that there was actually a farm within the city. I read articles and looked for posts about it, and shortly, I was convinced that it was a place for me.
Another good thing I learned was that there was a way to commute going there from an area very near our Brgy. I just had to ride on a habal-habal, and the fare was super reasonable!
I enjoyed, not only my time at AO Farm, but also the ride going there. It was windy, and the road was being sandwiched by tall trees. I looove looove being surrounded by trees, so that ride was surreal for me. Aaaaaaaa.
When I arrived at the farm, I was happy because it was not crowded then. There was an entrance fee ata? I can't remember clearly anymore. But for sure it was cheap and very sulit! It was fairly new that time, but they had a bunch of flowers already. I really didn't get to walk around that much because I opted to the areas where there were no people. Haha.
Super cool pa because I found an area with a hammock!! There were 2 or 3 friends taking pictures when I got there, and I even offered to take a picture of them! Not that I am great at taking pictures, but yknow, it's still nice to offer. I remember them holding a balloon because one of them was celebrating her birthday! Cutie.
When they left, I stayed at the hammock. It was a sunny afternoon, but I guess the hammock area had a shade because I ended up staying there for a loooong time. I took pictures, relaxed, and even painted! YEP!!! I went ready. Hahaha I brought my watercolor and paper with me. Hehe.
The artwork above was from one of the photos I took myself. Timer was my bestfriend! Hahaha
October 2019
Being someone from Metro Manila, this one is not much of a trip. I still wanted to include this in this series, though, because I was in one of my favorite placessss-- Intramuros!!!
I have been in Intra for countless times, but it still gives me a different feeling every time. When I am there, I feel like I am in a different dimension. I suddenly find myself smiling, and basta! Super good vibesss.
There are a few spots there that you can visit, and some have an entrance fee. The restaurants and cafes inside the Walled City also give different vibes, matching with the "theme" of Intramuros.
On this day, my church friend and I agreed to spend time at Intra, with the goal of taking cute photos of us. But our modelling and photography skills still need a lot of work to do. Hahaha. And oh! Aside from the photo-taking, we actually wanted to try the e-scooter that was launched around this time. It was still for free, so the line was super long. We waited for around 20-30 minutes, but it was progressing so slow so we decided to leave nalang and find another thing to do.
It was still fun, though, especially because there was an ongoing event then. There were a bunch of booths that were selling various local products. We also went to PLM (Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila) to inquire about their Masteral classes. Before leaving the campus, we stayed at their chapel for a while.
At the end of all the strolling, I brought my friend to my favorite cafe in Intra--Cafe Janello!!! I like it more before they renovated, but their current set-up is still nice. Aside from the ambience and food, another plus points for me is that they hire people with disabilities! However, I am not sure about their current employment status.
The artwork above is extra special for me because aside from being at Intramuros, I am holding my favorite book there! You should try reading The Lost Track of Time by Paige Britt, too! It is actually a chapter book for younger readers, but it is a good reminder for adults that being in idle also brings magic into our lives!
I still have several photos that I would like to include in this series, but I haven't been able to recreate them into a digital art piece. Sooooo, I might have a part 2 of this in the future. We'll see.
If you would like to see more of my artworks, you may visit and follow my art accounts on Facebook and Instagram.
Thank you!
Stay sane and safe.
Let's spread happiness.
herkeepsake
❤