Last May 25  Jp, Jun, Jun's dad, and I left for Cotabato on a crosswind. After a day's worth of driving we found ourselves driving through Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, the Mayon Volcano, and stopped at Donsol, Sorsogon. 

We spent a night there. It was there that we swam with the whale sharks in the day.(3 to be exact woohooo!) At night, we cruised down a river to gawk and be amazed at the sight of thousands of fireflies swarming around a single tree. It was a perfect moment, the sky was clear and all the stars were visible..a beautiful play of flashing and moving lights were a few feet ahead of us, and there was glowing plankton in the river below us. They would glow when disturbed (like in the movie the beach) Being able to swim with the whale sharks was an experience on its own. It was sort of like swimming with dinosaurs..these huge giants were just so beautiful. It actually seemed surreal for a while in the water. The guide grabbed me and before i knew it i was staring face to face with a butanding!! Wow, i want to bring my family back there...

After that we rode a ferry to Samar and spent another day driving through that big chunk of land. If we only had more time we would've stopped to surf..but we really had work to do.

From Samar we passed through Surigao, Butuan and made our way to Cagayan de Oro. After spending a night there we headed for Cotabato city which was 6 hours away. We spent 4 days there to shoot for the ELSA Youth Camp, where future Muslim Leaders were being trained to become great leaders. It was great meeting those energetic and very sincere children. Children who only had good intentions and goals for their country and their families. (Those 4 days right there deserve a whole new journal entry. haha.) After working there, we drove back up to cagayan, did some unexpected family history rooting, watched the Virgin Suicides on DVD then boarded a bus bound to Surigao. From there we took the ferry to Siargao. We spent 4 days there surfing and island hopping then boarded a plane back to Manila.

to see the pictures click HERE.

ANG GANDA NG PILIPINAS!!!!!! cant wait to explore more of this beautiful country of ours! thank you Lord for making this trip even possible...

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oh and i spent the long weekend in La Union with the shop kids and had a super sunday session! Click here for the photos c/o Kage. One of the best trips ever..