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It was a lazy Sunday and I was in Balicasag Island with my friends waiting for our fish to be served. One friend was reading about strange pilgrims, one was thinking of a faraway love, the other one was chatting with the locals as if he’d known them for years.

I was on a wooden bench watching the people around me -an old lady carrying a basket of trinkets, a fisherman dozing off on a hammock, a bearded old man with his collection of plastic bottles, a young girl with misty eyes selling coffee and slippers and eggs, an old man peering over cups of instant noodles, and a little girl with a red balloon.

The girl walked slowly towards me, her cheeks puffed as she blew up her balloon. She claimed the nearest tree as her stage, a silent performer leaping onto branches and descending gracefully onto the ground, a ballerina with scraped knees.

She ended her performance with a quick smile and ran home, her little brother chasing after her, clutching his yellow slippers.

Balicasag Island, Bohol.

Here are some photos taken when we were passing through Binmaley, a municipality in Pangasinan.
They say the name Binmaley was derived from Binamin, the name of the leader of the place when the
Spanish missionaries came. Those missionaries were surprised when they found out that the leader
was a woman (tsk) but they named the place after her because of all that she had done for the people

As I peered through the metal enclosure where the bell used to be,
I saw these boys at the bottom of the tower gazing up at me.

We spotted a beautiful brick bell tower and decided to stop for a while.
At the bottom of the steps stood a little boy, looking as though he’d been waiting for us to arrive.
He led the way as we climbed up the tower and showed us where the bell used to be.
I was hoping to see the bell but it had already been removed years ago.

This is a a centuries-old Spanish church in Lal-lo, one of the municipalities in Cagayan.
Standing in the park across it is the Evangelization Cross now encased in glass for preservation.

These Lal-lo boys were very eager to have their pictures taken.
When the youngest one saw his face on the camera screen, he kissed it

Taking a little break from posting Luzon road trip photos.

On my way to the airport, I saw this funny sign at the back of a truck that was loaded with cows.
“PAG-SURE-UY- TAMBLING KO RUN”
Mga Bisaya ra ang kasabot ani. hehe

Check out this charming old fella wearing a green polka-dot shirt, yellow corduroy pants and green felt hat

When the cashier caught me staring at him, she told me that he sits silently in that corner every afternoon, near the freshly-baked bread and the cookies. I wonder what he thinks about when he’s there.
I wonder if he’s waiting for someone to come back.

Tarlac

Apparently, many people in Cagayan.

Spotted this “BOAR FOR HIRE” sign in one of the municipalities in Cagayan. I didn’t know what it meant at first. I was wondering why anybody would want to hire a boar instead of buying one haha

I only learned what it meant from our Tarlac driver a week later. Our Cagayan driver only laughed when I asked him.

We saw an Ifugao store on our way to Central Luzon and decided to drop by. The floor was a delightful shade of orange and when we got nearer we saw that it was covered with corn kernels. We also saw some wooden heads in a basket which the guys found a bit creepy.

The man tending the store hardly paid any attention to us. He must’ve sensed that we weren’t going to buy anything We were saving what little money we had left for the long drive ahead.