Dalagang Bukid

After our annual mausoleum and cemetery visit for All Soul's and All Saint's Day,

we headed off to Hoyohoy 
-- a mountain top in Tangub, Misamis Occidental, Mindanao.

 

I didn't really know what to expect -- to be honest, I thought we were off to the beach again,

until the view started to take my breath away (figuratively and literally).

    

When I was younger, I was a contestant to the Mutya ng Wika competition in school.

(a filipino beauty and brains contest held during the Linggo ng Wika celebration)

During the question-and-answer portion, I was asked

"Kung pipili ka kung saan ka mag bakasyon, saan mo mas gusto, 

sa Disneyland (Florida) o sa Baguio (Philippines)?"

I answered "Baguio po."

At that time, I honestly didnt know how to speak in tagalog, and I wanted so very much to explain that it was because I wanted to see the beauty of my own land first before appreciating foreign land,

but because I couldn't speak an ounce of tagalog, I froze.

The host prodded on "Bakit?"

"Gusto ko lang po!" I answered.

Needless to say, I didnt win, I placed 2nd that year 

(but I was grade 1 going against grade 2-grade 6 students, so I was still proud).

 

 

 

The point of that little blast-from-the-past anecdote was that, 

I love the Philippines and its beautiful surprises.

I probably still wouldn't trade travelling to a whole different country with backpacking around the Phils.

but its nice to be reminded that our country has so much to offer if given the chance.

This little baby's name is ZIPPY -- why?! she's named after the ZIPLINE here in Hoyohoy,

it boasts to be the longest in Asia at 2.35KM (if i remember manong's words correctly),

I'll post pics of that another time. That's a whole different adventure in itself!

 

Visit soon! :)

If you like nature and beauty, you won't regret it.

XOXO,

Joanie