(Travel Diary) Weekend in Caramoan Part 1

Last February 15-17, most of my relatives from the father side trooped to Naga City for the long planned getaway to Caramoan Islands in in our home province of Camarines Sur. My Uncle/Ninong Albert and his family also came home from Canada so it was a great opportunity to bond with them.

The beauty of Caramoan is quite famous in the international community and  so, it is ironic that even though it’s only about two hours from my home town, I never managed to visit these past years. Finally, I had the chance to see its charms and I was quite surprised we have a paradise so close to home.

The shores of Matukad Island.

Eating the Bicolano Way

I’ve been back in Manila for almost a week now but I  still can’t help but think about Bicol especially its food. I went home to Iriga City for almost eight days and I literally did nothing but indulge myself with  Bicolano dishes that I rarely get to eat in Manila.  I guess we are like that to some extent. No matter where we go, nothing beats home. I, for instance, would not trade Bicolano food for anything else. I may not be good at eating hot food but I love my share of anything with coconut milk (ginataan in our dialect) and recado (mix of tomato, onions, garlic, ginger, salt and black pepper). So let me share to to you some of the  Bicolano food that I really love.  Let me call this “eating in a day the Bicolano way”.

Breakfast

I usually eat rice for breakfast  but I would not mind a combination of pansit and fried banana. There’s a particular type of pansit that can only be found in the Rinconada district of Camarines Sur. It’s called pansit bato. It’s either made of squash or malunggay leaves. One thing I love about this pansit is even if you just saute it in onion, garlic, tomato and a little bit of salt and black pepper, it’s already very tasty.

This is how it look when it’s raw.

When cooked, tada!

There’s Reprieve in Going Back

Oh noes! I cheated on my Post a Week 2011 challenge! I’ve been quite buay the past two weeks that I barely managed to think about other things apart from life’s basic necessities of eating and sleeping. I was literally all over the Luzon the past two weeks.

I managed to squeeze in a six-day vacation in my schedule. I was in Iriga City from October 28 to November 2, 2011. However, I can hardly call that a vacation since our house was in chaos for that entire period due to the All Souls’ happenings. My family lives in the ancestral house so during long vacations, our relatives literally camp in our house. It’s fun having the entire family in the house but the household chores associated with feeding and entertaining ~20 people can be nerve-wracking.

In my so-so hours, I managed to do some nature encounters. LOL. I love taking pictures of things I find fascinating. Look at some of my discoveries. I also took pictures of the sky since I rarely see this kind of blue in the skies of Metro Manila.

Black termites. Have you seen one?

Fantastic Bicol skyline.

I’ve Been Here and There

Workless Vacation

It’s in my fifth day in Bicol and my activities have been so repetitive. Sleep late. Wake up Late. Eat. Watch TV. Watch DVD. Read books. Surf the Internet. Do my home-based part time job.

I was expecting piles of work since it’s vacation. Apparently, my employer doesn’t like working on Christmas vacation. So there. My deadlines are until today only. I am also expecting many e-mails from Dr. Carino but till  now she did not send anything. I was also thinking of doing my PI and Archaeo 2 papers but I forgot my notebooks in Manila. Stupid me. So these schoolworks will have to wait till I get back in Manila on the 5th. Argh. That would also mean cramming.

It’s cold and windy here. Brrrr. The best thing to do is be a bum. XD XD Merry Christmas everyone!

Almost There

As what my fellow chem batchmates have said, ONE MORE EXAM TO GO! Haha! Finally. The uber long finals week is about to end. The sad part. I guess I have to take the finals iin biochem. As they say, “wala namang mawawala”. Who knows? *evil grin*

I and Eloi already rewarded ourselves for a more or less job well done for the sem. Hahay! I just got  home from SM North. Bought another pair of flip flops… again. Nyay. In awhile, I’m going to pack my bags! 😛

I was also chatting with my brother awhile ago. He’s already asking me when will I arrive. Yay! XD XD See you Miko in a day! 

Ceaselessly in Motion

It’s 10 pm already. Nice. How am I supposed to study a sem’s topics for 15 hours? Chem 112 is is creeping on me.  Grrr. Anyway, Chem 112.1 has officially ended. The exam was so looooooooooonng. And, it made me and Eloi so hungry that we were able to eat two full servings of rice at the House of Sisig. Ahaha! Anyway, food is always a reward for job well done. Err. Also for others not so “well done”. Haha! For short… stress reliever!

I wonder when will Ma’am Carino email our 3rd exam results in Biochem. Hope she emails us at most tomorrow lunch. I am dying to see my score. Anway, more or less two exams to go. Oh! I almost forgot our final paper for the special project in Chem 112.1 Argh. So… erase my earlier statement. Chem 112.1 is not officially over until I pass our paper. Haha! Anway, it will be not so hard anymore since I already know what to write.