Thinking of Tingloy

   Pictures of my trip to Tingloy have been surfacing on my FB Memories. Yeah it was in this same month last year. 

    I realized I didn't write about it in this blog. Probably because I got busy with graphic work that usually piles up during the last quarter of the year. 

Well...  look who's got plenty of time now haha!

   Looking back at the pictures just makes me miss what I believe is one of the happiest beach vacations of my life haha! Looking at them also frustrates me. Not being able to go to the beach is just one of the saddest things about 2020. 

    Well, we're just over 2 months from 2021. Maybe we can finally get a dose of vitamin sea this summer, yes?

Boat ride from Talaga Port.

Arrival at Tingloy Port.

          So, let me tell you more about Tingloy. It is a municipality in the island of Marikaban in Batangas. You get there from ports in Mabini (Anilao Port or Talaga Port). Tingloy is known for Masasa Beach with her light beige sand and crystal blue waters... under which sea turtles are usually seen snooping around for food.

Tricycle ride to the other side of the island.

First glimpse of the South coast.

   Tingloy Port is at the North side of the island while Masasa beach is at South. So to get there you take a  2.5 km bumpy uphill and downhill tricycle ride. 

    The coastal town of San Jose, where Masasa Beach is located, is actually underdeveloped and that contributes to its unspoilt charm. Electricity is only available in the daytime. There are no noisy bars and restaurants or souvenir shops. Just sari-sari stores. Not even a carinderia. Transient houses are mostly huts or cottages and it's rare that you will find an air-conditioned room. If these details takes you aback well Masasa isn't for you haha! Go to Puerto Galera or Boracay instead. Tingloy is perfect for those who like to commune with nature and momentarily enjoy the rural life.

    I stayed at the Lagoon Bay transient house where you can sleep in one of their camping tents for only Php 300 a night. Their nice little service boat took me there real quick. It is a kilometer away from Masasa Beach but still along the coast. The shoreline in this area is rocky and it has it's own appeal. This is where u can go pick up shells and coral fragments for souvenir.

  But really I didn't mind walking a kilometer to get to Masasa Beach because of the scenic seaside views and interesting rock formations I saw along the way. 

El Bohemio at the Art Sector Gallery and Chimney Cafe

     It feels great to go riding outside the metro again! Never felt so alive in months! Haha! Haven't rode my bike to far places since the start of the Community Quarantine in March. Some of my rider friends were able to go riding after the GCQ (General Community Quarantine) that started in May. But I  guess I was too lazy to join any trips. Then came the rainy season - more laziness haha!

Met up with friends at KRB.

With Shah and her new XTZ!

Just arrived! 

    Anyway, yeah, it's good to see some of my rider friends again. I was invited to a birthday celebration last October 2nd in Rizal Province. We all met at KRB Motocross Speedway in Antipolo for lunch, at Coach Mel's place (known by riders as Mel Aquino's Yamaha Off-road Training Camp woohoo!). Then we headed for Binangonan to this really awesome place. 

    On a hilltop in Eastridge Executive Village stands this white modern-Mediterranean style building that gleams brightly under the sun. It houses the Art Sector Gallery and also Chimney Cafe 360. 

   It is a special events place where not only can you can appreciate fine art while you lounge and enjoy a favorite beverage or snack, but also marvel at the beautiful view of Laguna Lake and the Sierra Madre mountain ridge. You can also see how lovely the sun or moon rises or sets on them from their balconies and decks.

   If you know where to look (and if weather permits), you will see the Pililla Windmills or even Ortigas Center or Makati, or your house if you have excellent vision haha!

El Bohemio y La Pandemia

     I was looking at my blog and and I feel like a store owner visiting his shop that has been closed down since the quarantine, checking if all his stuff is still in there hehe! Oh but this blog has been "closed" since the start of the year. Let's just say that the owner wasn't motivated enough to fill his shop new goods. 

   Why wouldn't I feel un-inspired? Well I'm pretty sure a lot of people share the same  sentiments. I mean, we all hoped that 2020 would be a better year - a blast of good things, because 2019 seem to had been a tough one. But instead, 12 days after New Year, a volcano did an earth-shaking blast, as if it heralded the coming of difficult times. True enough, not so pretty news continue to flow down on us like lava, both here and overseas. You hear about sudden deaths and they remind you of the shortness of life. You hear about natural disasters and they remind you of the end times. Those reminders makes you wanna go out and seize the day. But you can't go out like you used to. Covid-19 says go seize the day in the confines of your home. (Lucky for you if it's spacious and has a yard).

  Turn a spare motorcycle helmet visor                                       into an anti-covid  face shield.

    So how am I? Well I'd like to think I'm okay. I've been surviving, you know. I survived the Community Quarantine with all its enhancements and modifications (ECQ, MGCQ, GCQ, and MECQ). As well as the negative vibes brought about by government blunders, the people's disobedience, the whining and  criticisms about them all on social media; I survived the paranoia, the boredom, the loneliness, and the temptation of  buying things online that  I really don't need; I survived the heat of the Summer and the anxiety of not being able to go to the beach; I survived the days of continuous rain that added gloom and extra hassle to the already sad situation... It has been more than 6 months now and this pandemic is expected to last at least 2 years and that doesn't sound okay at all.