A Story Of Intertwined Coincidences...

As an avid history follower, Poland always lingered in me as a destination of special interest. Copernicus, The Polish Wars, Madame Curie, The Solidarity Movement, Pope John Paul II, a favorite author in Ryszard Kapuscinski, Col. Ryszard Kuklinski... just some of the reasons.  Meanwhile, dots following these separate memories and events would somehow, in time... connect.

First:  Posthumously promoted to general, Ryszard Kuklinski was a colonel in the Polish

Palace of Culture and Science
Warsaw

Army.  After finding himself conflicted when he became party to the drafting of the Russian invasion of then Czechoslovakia, he offered to adroitly spy for the "only-too-willing" West. Thus, it was his covertly passing a series of information to highlight the reasons  why the Iron Curtain/West "War" stayed cold. When his dual identity was about to be discovered, the CIA then spirited him and his family out of Poland to eventually reside in the US.  https://culture.pl/en/article/kuklinski-how-the-cias-best-placed-cold-war-spy-escaped-the-eastern-bloc

Second:  A Polish friend introduced me to Dekalog.  It is a short Polish TV series based on the "Ten Commandments".  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092337/
How brilliant, outright I thought it was. The series were presented against the backdrop of

Central Warsaw

everyday communal living under the then communist era. I would end up watching the films over and over not only because of contents, but also because I became enamored with the Polish language which I found rather gentle and pleasant sounding... in contrast to some of the neighboring Balkan family of languages.

Third:  After the September 11 terrorist attack in New York... the airlines were driven into relative disarray. I decided to then take a sabbatical from the industry. It was during this stretch when I ended up managing a restaurant with a niche clientele in Washington, DC. And it was that one evening when I saw then State Secretary Codoleezza Rice along with Col. Kuklinski approaching. I advised the staff to where exactly seat the unassuming guests. The state secretary was easily recognized but she, being a Republican in primarily a Democrat leaning hangout... not much ado. As far as Col. Kuklinski, no one else seemed know who he was but I... and in my own quiet excitement, I simply whispered tidbits to a couple of regular guests who have become close friends. A couple of weeks later, I read of Col. Kuklinski's death at 73, from a stroke. 

Fourth:  In a little over a year later, the industry started to show signs of sustained recovery, I was back with the airlines. And two weeks into my return, I was tasked to accommodate a film crew with certain media equipment fee exceptions. Into the process, I was presented with Polish passports. It was then when I gradually began to pepper our conversations with Polish terms and phrases. They found this rather amusing and amazing upon my telling them of my Philippine origin. Of course, their being a film crew... our exchanges gravitated to my mention of Decalog which was further a surprise for them. 

And here's the gist... It turned out that the person leading the group, was one of the characters in Dekalog 7, "Thou Shalt Not Steal". And that here he was... producer/director of a film... documenting the transfer of Col. Kuklinski's ashes back to Warsaw... where after being once branded a traitor, he is now noted a remakable hero... and no less by the West too! 

The way these personal and separate anecdotes compiled into a single narrative... I find rather fascinating I simply have to share. Cheers!

Wigry Monastery, Suwalki County / Hel, Puck County / Sidewalk Sculpture-Wroclav
A rural Saturday market scene 

  

Food For Thought...

Often I get asked how I manage to maintain trim despite an obvious love of food. 

High tea at Shelbourne
Dublin, Ireland

Rich dishes, devilish desserts... I savor them with epicurean delight. Diet? That, I find rather a misnomer. Let me then,instead,... share a personal school of practices I try to be as much a disciple of: 

• Home cooked, else...slow versus fast food. 
• Prefer grilled or baked rather than deep fried. 
• Eat often, smaller in portions.
• Know your herbs and spices. 
• Balanced meals, veggie-centric, as organic and as local as available. 
• Raw fresh vegetables, else... slightly undercooked
• When there are options, try local sweet specialties.
• More fresh or dried fruits, nuts, cheeses... less candies and chips.
• Wine, beer... to complement, in moderation.
• Self-monitor, and conditioning of own digestive responses to food preferences.

To good health... BON APPETIT!

 Paris, France  Buenos Aires, Argentina  Santorini, Greece

         Boracay, Philippines   Dublin, Ireland     Home Dish of Native

                                                                          Philippine Sweets  

Alone In The Desert...

Revisiting a past solo desert excursion... exploring California's Death Valley... which easily has since become a landmark travel experience for me. 

Already past sundown on arrival at the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, with nary a tent... still, a night under the stars upon a sand dune was an easy call. 

The suddenness of silence magnified the sound of my own measured breaths, the whispers and the occasional howls the winds would randomly bring in and pass through. The stars
twinkled with orchestration... the half moon silver-lined the scene. My awe of the setting was untamed... and so, there I was, reduced to a spirit with a humbled sense of being. Quite freeing it was!

At Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes 

The next day, after a glorious morning watching an eager sun gild the horizon... off I was to escape the sun about to gradually scorch the desert floor. Reaching the cooler high desert was a treat in ways only nature can enrich us with. A visual feast of desert mosaic, of canyons, of teeming life despite the seeming scarcity... only further heightened own awareness on being careful to always let humility be within reach.
 
So, yes... precisely why, I find "alone in the desert" just-as-right-a-prescription... to self-help spiritual nurture. 

Death Valley National Park - California, USA

Cebu, Both A Historic and Natural Destination...

Cebu has long been a favorite destination among both domestic and international travelers. With its international airport's new upgrade to world class... the island's rich

Heritage of Cebu Monument and
Cross of Magellan

history and natural bounty continue to now see... times over increase in visitors, extending the region's Central Visayan allure to unprecedented. 

Rich in history, Cebu was where Spain first established a colony. Before then, the island was already widely engaged in trade among its Malay and Chinese neighbors. The arrival of the Spanish marked thus, the birth of a Christianity based culture and governance in the new found archipiélago.  
(A personal favorite to visit is the Jesuit House Museum... tucked inside a non-descript warehouse at the Parian district of Cebu City.)

River canyoneering in  Badian

From sea to summit, the island is nature rich and offers quite a variety of activity laden natural attractions . From a thresher shark dive in the north to an interactive swim with a whale shark in the south, river canyoneering and trekking... Cebu can be as adrenaline driven as one may so choose.  

Indeed, a privilege it is that I'm a mere island hop away... Cebu, the island and the city, an easy destination I never tire of!
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTctOpsQhLo

With various places of interest being within mere short 
distances... the south Cebu area is a natural draw.

Travel Should Start Way Before Reaching A Destination...

A query I usually am asked, "What is your favorite place?"... or a travel buddy making a wondering comment, " I was with you, how come I never saw it?"  To the first, I 

A non-descript fountain ran into
along a Roman alley... and the colorful
stories it seemed so eager to tell... 

actually don't have one. I never compare places. Rather, each is appreciated on its own unique merits. On the second, I don't get so fixated on the destination to the point where I deprive myself of surprising and amazing discoveries. And yes, today... as much as I appreciate technology... two devices I  purposely refrain form using... a compass and GPS. After all, as I often quip... "getting lost is, more often than not... how I end up with discoveries". Did you know that under the cover of heavy forest ... most moss growth on the side of trees points to the north in the northern hemisphere, and south in the southern hemisphere?

A structure is not just it. It's an interesting read about a people, an era. Natural wonders, allow them to humble you. Those smiling faces, curious gazes, suspecting stares... search as lightheartedly or as deeply to arrive at own defining sense and understanding of own observations. Let how you immerse yourself in these experiences redefine your own insignificance. Travel... should start way before reaching a destination... the enrichments let linger well past each reach.
 

And so, a day in once a Roman visit... it randomly became all about fountains...

Beyond Health, Is Wellness...

Mayo Peak, Mt.Guiting-Guiting-
Sibuyan Island, Romblon
(Photo credit - Lee Ann Mejia)  

Myself, now dawning on becoming a septuagenarian... and relatively still espousing a rather active and participative lifestyle, no prohibitive physical functions nor under any medical maintenance... often I get asked what my secret is.  The truth is, there is no secret nor magic pill. What works with one will not necessarily be as effective with another. What I advise instead therefore is, develop own unique discipline... and however it may shape out, religiously let  diet, moderation and balance play significant roles.  

Further along then, first... know and understand own physical state as you let own physical being adapt to a changing you. Set realistic goals and do so in stages. Then, at a time... build on the gradual gains achieved. 

Eventually, with discipline... a new awareness will set-in on how physical attributes, mental conditioning and spiritual nurture will pave the way toward wellness... the new embrace. 

The Romblon climb up Sibuyan Island's Mt. Guiting-Guiting

  

Rather, It's Earnest Hard Work Rightfully Rewarded...

Atop Cebu's Osmeña Peak

"You're lucky"... an expression we would at times hear. Myself, I find it rather an escapist saying. It's a way of giving self an excuse why a sought after position, possession, health condition, peace of mind and the like... seem rather evasive. Actually, luck is the least of the reasons. It's about, instead... the depth of one's desire, conviction, determination and quiet insistence that, when a timely situation offers itself... preparedness and dedication to a wish, allows for easy recognition... and reaching out for it comes with hardly a flinch. Simply, it's about perseverance and earnest hard work rightfully rewarded. 

Masbate's Ticao Island...

Masbate often escapes inclusion into many travel itineraries and I suspect... primarily because of limited flights, which are only to and from Manila. Other options would

Spilling out into the open sea...
the 60-Ft drop Catandayagan Falls
(Photo Credits-Frances Penaranda)

be through sea routes from the province of Sorsogon, either from Pilar if coming from the north... or from Bulan if originating from the south.  Most arrivals are into San Jacinto. Monreal is the jump off point for island hopping to a number of these hidden gems. Catandayagan which has a waterfall that spills out into the sea would be the farthest out... then the return would weave through these uniquely awesome stops.

A few days to spare middle of last month... it was there where I and Frances then ended ourselves heading to.
A visual feast, nutrients for the soul... the escape was.

Borobangcaso Beach and Rock Formations
Halea Beach and Nature Park

Stress, Mostly Is... Brought Upon Own Self

Today's ninety-year-old-plus age group... just think how stressful some life stretches must 

have been for them.... the Depression, surviving WWII... 

Waiting for sunrise atop
Mt. Guiting-Guiting's Mayo Peak

then from black and white television to color, turboprop planes to supersonic jets, from landlines to wireless... specially so for those "must-have-it-must-do-it" type personalities.  In so far a span of a lifetime though, most are in good graces still because of how they, one way or another, coped with and managed stress... stress being easily the root source of many an ailment. Thus, so often engaging become the exchanges... revealing and inspiring are the stories we gather from said group.

Let's bring the situation in perspective to the changes we so face now

Leyte's Kalanggaman Island sunset.

this digital age... the frequency and degree of which can be unnecessarily so overwhelming. I sometimes would lightheartedly offer that, "an issue I have with technology today is, the offering of solutions to problems that don't exist yet... to a point where user-society is prompted to go ahead then... create the problem".

In hoping to lay as much a bridge in facilitating understanding generational and relative individual challenges in managing stress...  this personal synopsis and list of points I then wish to share.  

• Positive attitude is incessantly cultivated, nurtured and exercised... for self to remain well ingrained with.
• Regular revisit of personal goals and values... to label, prioritize, synchronize.
• Acceptance of the present must first be a condition prior to one "moving on". 
• When one doesn't have time for "it"... "it" is then absolutely not a necessity.
• Recognize own threshold when an acquisition will hence, in return... mean giving up one, or more even.
• Setbacks are temporary and are lessons learned rather than failures.

Cheers!

Aran/Tukang Cave...

A more immersive experience for me when out exploring nature is when involved... some

roughing it up. A latest spelunking excursión of about a couple of months ago... entering Tuba, Baguio's Aran/Tukang Cave... easily fits into such category.

An impromptu call to a travel buddy in Gil Lian lead into the threesome of us with Linda Alisto, who I was introduced to.... entering the underground a morning this last March. It wasn't Linda's first, she therefore had the initiative to bring along an SLR camera... else we would not have had as good photo captures. Thus, all photos on this article is through her courtesy. Indeed, great thanks to her.

Sidling in while prone to the ground was how we initially entered. And who would have thought that snaking ourselves through, often single entry openings...from chamber to chamber we would reach cathedral domes, a couple of swimming lagoons and a pair of waterfalls. It simply left me in constant awe from start to finish. On exit, our guides lead us through where it was like being given egress from a mother's womb. It did give me birth into yet another discovery episode to often relive... to treasure anew and humble own soul.

Early Window Into Politics...

I continue to have vivid memories on how, as a 4-year toddler... and not being tall enough to look out the window on my own, I would slide open the

wood-turned-railings protected lower section, so I could observe how outside my "world"then in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur... was moving along. The house we lived in was facing the town square... where the church was on a side facing directly across the municipal hall... and the commercial section on the other side from ours. In the middle of the plaza was a covered kiosk, where a town fool would usually lay claim to.

It was through this window where I would draw my formative impressions from said observations coupled with conversations randomly heard. In retrospect, I did have an early exposure to such political circus... as the exchanges were usually about the priest, the mayor, the businessmen and noted residents... pitted among each other depending on who were engaged on these conversations... the "common tao" generally left off the loop. With the just concluded elections... it really is funny, or perhaps not... how, for better or worse... so negligible the changes in Philippine politics continue to remain.

Tacloban City

 Commemorative stone mural at the
Leyte provincial capitol.

After the unimaginable devastation in late 2013 by typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda)... my current home base of Tacloban is a city that has seen just as phenomenal as the natural calamity was... a recovery with its current spurt of socio-economic growth and rediscovery of its non-defeatist soul.

... at the Leyte Landing Memorial

Why Tacloban... primarily is because of the urban setting being a mere hour or less away from my ancestral home town of Barugo. 
Leyte, the province.... is historically known as the point of return for General MacArthur and the Allies' recapture of the Philippines from the waning days of Japanese occupation during WWII. 


Here are some of the areas' nearby natural attractions:

From top left clockwise... Leyte's own Kalanggaman Island / Sohoton Cave and Natural Bridge National Park - Basey, Samar / Biliran's Sambawan island chain / Sea Lagoon - Limasawa, Southern Leyte.

Introduction...

WELCOME!  

"Sharing is caring"... here thus, is an own online publication I wish to share with those whose minds tend to relatively be as random and open, have adventure and discovery travel often being the preferred mode... and indeed, in on the reality that, yes... time waits for no one!

Ah, TIME... the only REAL TREASURE that we each all have...that, no matter of "wealth" owned, social standing and sphere of influence... when it's gone, it's GONE! And let there be no excuses... we all are each given twenty four hours a day, seven days a week... no one has more, no one has less.

This past Easter Sunday's sunrise view
from atop a home area mountain.

HEALTH, of course... weighs heavily on enabling us to maximize time as we choose to.  Let WELLNESS then be... a lifestyle evolution, best experienced along a balanced approach... be it diet, exercise, outlook and personal attitude.

FAITH, in self first... then let outgrow own being through trust upon as many others... and in things and events beyond own earthly comprehension... to let then embody own set of personal BELIEFS.

THANK YOU!