Kalinga - Part I - Scenery

It was only for two days, but it felt timeless. 

From Tuguegarao, a town in the far northeast of Luzon, a group of nine of us left at the crack of dawn for the six-hour drive southwest across the Cordillera Mountains into the landlocked province of Kalinga. 

Our destination was a small mountain village called Buscalan. To get there we passed through some stunning scenery.

 Chico River

The final 1.5 hours of the trip were traversed on foot, down and up mountain sides, often at a 45 degree incline. Where the road ended we were met by "porters" - five women of the village, mothers of three to six children each! They nimbly carried our heavy bags and boxes of gifts for the villagers; while many of us, the visitors, unaccustomed to hiking at these heights, huffed and puffed our way up.

There were a number of spots along the way where I struggled with my vertigo, especially crossing this narrow bridge with no railings. Pity the photo does not fully show the long drop! 

[More bridges can be found at Sunday Bridges.]

 Kalinga, 2012

I link this post with Scenic Sunday. Stay tuned for Part II.

Cagayan Skies

These inspiring skies I saw just a few weeks ago near Santa Ana in Cagayan, the northern tip of Luzon, Philippines, I share with you and the good folks at SkyWatch Friday.

 “Be a rainbow in someone else's cloud.” 

~ Maya Angelou
 

"My joy is the golden sunset giving thanks for another day."
~ Johnathan Lockwood Huie

"Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, 

but to add color to my sunset sky."
~ Rabindranath Tagore

PS. I have not been posting these past weeks because I am preparing for a significant life change. I miss blogging and the connection with my blogger friends, but I have had to rearrange my priorities in how I spend my time. So my participation will be sporadic. Just know that I am well and happy.

Kensington Market Mural and Artist

I've just returned home to Manila from a frenetic month in Toronto and Los Angeles. It was an unexpected trip, in countless ways terrific, especially for being able to reconnect with old friends and family long not seen, as well as to connect with new friends, including fellow bloggers Halcyon and VioletSky! 

But while I did almost always carry a camera, I didn't have a spare moment to compose, post or blog hop these past weeks.

I accompanied my lovely friend and hero Ruth on a number of her exciting explorations for her calendar of free multicultural activities in Toronto and her blog. If you live in the Toronto area, these are quality sites to subscribe to.

On one of our excursions we dropped by Kensington Market, one of the city's most vibrant and multicultural neighborhoods. That is where I saw this artist painting on canvas on a mural-filled wall. Thinking that his style looked similar to the mural, I asked him whether he had painted the house and was surprised to hear him say no. So I can tell you no more about this colorful mural I post for Mural Monday.

Toronto, 2012

Reflections in Toogood Pond

Right next to the historic village of Unionville founded in 1794 (in the Town of Markham, Ontario) there is a 33-hectare park with a partially naturalized pond and a marsh. With a university pal I had not seen since 1979, I took a leisurely stroll around Toogood Pond today. 

While we reflected on the years gone by, I also captured a few reflections for Weekend Reflections. A Great Blue Heron with three turtles on a log, a beautiful summer's day sky, and another turtle on a log surrounded by green foliage.

 

Markham, Ontario, 2012

Tony the Greek Mural

Meet Tony the Greek. (No, not the infamous contract killer turned snitch.)

This part of a brick wall mural is a commissioned portrait of Tony Kiriakou, owner of the building and a diner called Wexford on Lawrence corner Warden in Scarborough (now part of amalgamated Toronto). The diner was first run by his immigrant parents and has been open for breakfast since 1958.

Toronto, 2012

This post is not intended as a recommendation for the diner, which I did not even see, let alone eat in, when I drove by a few days ago. I got my mural details by calling a Lebanese bakery shown online as being at this address and the now former tenant was wonderfully informative.

It IS intended to join Monday Mural, where you'll find links to more fun and fantastic murals around the globe.

Breakfast

I consider myself having a rather broad and adventurous palate (up to a point). But even after 27 years of living here, I still cannot stomach the Asian breakfast.

Filipinos typically start their day with a plate of tapsilog: meat/fish with garlic rice and a fried egg. Favorite meats include tapa (cured beef), corned beef, spam, longganisa or chorizo sausage, and tocino (bacon). Fried marinated bangus (milkfish) is popular,too.

Manila, 2012

This restaurant - Big Plate - is currently offering a special: a standard range of tapsilog versions with a cup of coffee for just over US$2 - all day. I wonder whether the brewed coffee is the native grown kape barako.

They make it look appetizing. But no meat or fried before noon for me! I'll stick to my organic cereal or oatmeal with fruit. And of course, coffee!

How do you break your fast?

Linking with Signs, Signs.

Reposo Mural: Hermes Alegre

Hermes Alegre is an artist who likes his women... to paint them, that is. 

This internationally recognized Filipino talent is known for his sultry and exotic women surrounded by lush fantasies of tropical foliage (click to see more of his wonderful work).

In 2006 I chanced upon Hermes contributing to the Reposo fine art wall (featured earlier on my blog here, here and here). Although most of his canvasses are a delicious profusion of colors, this spot on the wall seems perfect for this black and white portrait.

 Manila, 2006

I recently drove by the wall and was saddened to see that new construction had all but demolished most this amazing fine art. I'm so glad I have a digital record of much of it.

Joining the community at Monday Mural.