Revisiting the National Museum

    A week ago I went to National Museum  with a couple of blogger buddies. My last visit was in October 2012 during the Museum Month when admission to the galleries is free. Now after 3 years I became curious about what improvements and newly acquired artworks I will find there. 

   It just so happens that May is National Heritage Month.  So again I didn't have to buy a ticket to get in. ^_^

      Originally a mortuary statue, this work by Tolentino stands behind the wall on which Juan Luna's Spoliarium  is hung. Yeah I simply had to look at that grand old painting again no matter how dark and depressing the subject may be.

     There is just no reason for not visiting the National Museum in this very warm summer season. You get to see awesome works for free and the galleries are fully air-conditioned! ^_^

      Even the corridors display art. That's how many artworks are exhibited here now.

    One of my favorite galleries here. I just love the orange walls, black and white checkered floors and of course the antique rebultos.

    Nothing compares to seeing the works of Filipino art masters in-person and up-close.

Puerto Galera for the Primera Vez

    My, my! It's been a month since I last made a blog post! Well there could only be one reason for that, and I'm kinda tired of saying it as much as you are probably tired of hearing it. But I'm sure you'll be glad to know I took a vacation on the first 3 days of this month in Puerto Galera, Mindoro with my close friends and cousin, and it was a vacation that I really really needed!

 
      So I'm gonna talk about my first time at White Beach in Puerto Galera. Yeah it took me 40 years before I stepped foot onto that famous beach. I have been invited there many times by the same people who I went there with.  But the fact of it being famous could only mean that it's a crowded and very commercialized place - and that just didn't appeal to me. I'd tell them that I prefer beaches that are secluded and unexploited, the kind that's perfect for a nature-loving boho like me. Just like Caramoan which I visited last year and Anawangin in 2010.

   When our boat reached the shores of Puerto Galera, I saw a beach that is lined with business establishments with their permanent structures and signages. Also I saw waters on which float clusters of rafts, banana boats, and jetskis. It was 11 AM when we got there and the scorching heat of the sun just didn't get me excited to take a dip.



   By late afternoon more and more people started to show up. I've never seen this many people in a beach in my entire life as a hermit LOL. My friends say that it gets even more crowded on Holy Week, particularly Good Friday to Easter Sunday. Pilgrims? I think not hehe.

   But I'm asolutely not a snob. Bohemians can find beauty anywhere they go. And in my 3-day stay in White Beach, I'll tell you guys why I now LOVE Puerto Galera hehe.

    The Sand. It's pretty vast. It's about 20 meters to the water and the entire beach is about a kilometer long. The fine sand is light beige and looks white under the bright noontime sun. Why shouldn't they call it White Beach? Puerto Galera, by the way is Spanish for Galley Port. A galley is a kind of ship different from a galleon. Anyways...



   The water. It is magnificently blue. Cool and clear and the current that flows North East keeps it that way. I of course brought my diving mask and snorkel. There's not much to see down there but I've heard you'll see more marine life in Sabang Beach which is also in Puerto Galera.

  The sunset. Nothing makes a beach more romantic than a golden sun setting behind a glistening sea. *sigh*  Sunset will always be my favorite time of the day.