Over a cup of coffee

Coffee and lovers often mix. But each coffee shop I've been to exuded a different atmosphere, a different love affair. I can always feel the ambiance and the pulse of the people there. Different folks, different strokes. People converge here to talk, to see and to be seen and sometimes to be left alone. Or to heal a broken heart. The mocha-colored environment seemed an endless rainbow to me.

I’ve met my lover in a coffee shop.

And many others that followed. Maybe they sensed my love for coffee long before they knew me, a common denominator among us. We drank our coffee; we fell in love with each other. I was sure then that both our cups overflowed with love and joy as we talked about our future.

And it was here, over a cup of course, that I cried myself, over the pain of break-ups later. A close friend shared my dissent for "that person", as we drank our cupful. Desperation, too, seated at my side.

Coffee allowed me to meet different personalities. I've discussed contrasting views, haggle like a businessman, and carried away with the different trips of life. Over a cup, I've traveled to distant shores in different times. I've bid my farewells and goodbyes in coffee shops. Cup after cups of coffee have sent me to bed and awaken me in the middle of the night. My dealings with coffee have been as mysterious as a cappuccino or a latte, even more inexplicable than my shadowy affairs.

I was forced to stop drinking coffee for a short while when my doctor advised me not to, but it has not stopped me from visiting coffee shops. The scent and smell of coffee were as tempting as the fruit of life offered by Eve to Adam, making my medical fasting for coffee to last only for a while. With or without my doctor’s consent I splurged myself cup after cup. As if my very life itself depended on coffee.

And I haven’t stopped since then. When death shall have overcome me, I would still want my cup. And like death, each cup is worth a delightful wait.

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I have a bias for Bo's Coffee. They are not just owned by a Filipino but their coffee is much better than other counterparts. Bo's Coffee has branches all over the Philippines.

Bacolod, Always on My Mind

There are places you want to go back. The people, the culture, their food, are more than enough reasons to return. Bacolod is one of them and has been on my places-to-visit-before-I-die-list for so long and one visit made me long to go back even if the plane has not departed yet. 

Bacolod City is located in the northern part of the Negros island in the Visayas part of the Philippines, and very near Cebu, the hub of central Philippines. I have always known Bacolod as the sugar capital of the Philippines because books from the elementary years taught me that Bacolod has vast plains of sugar plantations, so vast you can see sugarcane to no end.

But when I went there I could hardly see plantations of sugarcane. 

Bacolod means a hilly place, a stonehill or as the Boholanos called it, bakilid. But far from its original meaning, it has become a modern city in a wide and sprawling space. The City of Smiles, as the city is fondly called, is known for its Masskara Festival and would not only offer smiles and a masked hospitality but a real down-to-earth joviality never found elsewhere. 

FIRST TIME KO 

My first taste of Bacolod was at Aboy’s (Liroville Subd., Singcang, Bacolod City; Phone: +63 34 435 0760; Resto Hours: Mondays to Saturdays, 9:00 am–11:00 pm), an impressive restaurant with a lot of my favorite decorative pieces- masks. I felt at home right away at Aboy’s. 

From the tales of our guide, Aboy’s used to be a small eatery but with good food and good service, the eatery became a full restaurant equipped with function rooms. A bigger place for bigger groups of hungry patrons means their business is doing well. 

They offer an authentic array of Negrense cuisine combined with the fierce Ilocano recipe giving way to a new and different Aboy’s experience. 

Having a hard time choosing our food at Aboy's

We feasted on squid fat adobo (a must at Aboy’s), ginataang pague (stingray in coconut milk), grilled manumbok (blue marlin), mushrooms, Bicol express and grilled squid. We capped our lunch with a complimentary tarragon tea and a little chitchat with the owner, yes, the guy called Aboy, who used to be a medical representative. 

The man himself, Aboy

After our lunch has settled in a more comfortable position, my host, Lee Santiago, brought us to the old capitol building to visit a non-government organization he has been helping to promote their products, a real NGO that needed assistance, that has likewise been helping SMEs in the province. We actually bought some coffee and other goodies from them. 

We then walked around Bacolod’s mini zoo ending at Bacolod’s Organic Market and the Museum Café nearby. 

Organic halo-halo at Bacolod's Organic Market

GOING ITALIAN 

Somewhere in B.S. Aquino Drive, if I remembered it right, there is this little restaurant called Carmine Cucina that is owned by an Italian chef, Carmine Pece. 

Chef Carmine Pece

Not minding the tacky décor for an Italian resto, the food at the Cucina was my first taste of an authentic Italian cuisine, as the owner claimed, and they were actually good! My firsts- Gnocchi, Trippa, Salsiccia Padella, Linguini Pescatora, Pizza Caprecciosa, Zuppa Inglese. Godetevi il vostro cibo! Buon appetito!

Pizza Caprecciosa

(Update: Carmine Cucina is now closed and I felt sad.)

TASTE OF NEGROS 

You can never really claim you have been to Bacolod if you have not tasted cansi. Cansi is actually a soup made from bony parts of beef slowly cooked with batuan (Garcinia binucao) and other spices. The prized part is the bone where the marrow is invitingly tucked inside making the cansi not just a heart warmer but also a heart stopper, literally. 

Waiting for cansi to be served

We went to Sharyn’s (Capitol Shopping Center, Bacolod City, Phone: +63 34 433 1374), a no-nonsense restaurant that reminded me of downtown Cebu. Only this one was cleaner. The staff might have wondered who we were because we arrived late, rowdy and curiously taking pictures of the bone marrow and nobody dared smile to us. 

I cansi clearly now

Sharyn’s cansi and all other cansi around town is a sour bulalo version, the hours of cooking and heating the beef bones made the meat and tendons soft and easy to chew. The batuan may have made a difference of this stew. They seemed to have an abundant supply of cansi soup. 

Then we made it to the Manokan Country in Rizal Street for our dinner. 

At Manokan was where the famous Aida’s Chicken is located. Aida’s owner may have been a fan of Miss Bacolod since I saw pictures of the candidates in one of the walls. Intricate masks fit for beauty pageants also were displayed at their stall. 

Pass Aida please. Yes, the chicken.

We ordered different parts of the chicken and have them grilled. I did not find them extra-ordinary though. But I admire the enthusiasm and the vivacity of the place. It was like a big market place of grilled-something waiting for guests to bite on. Manokan Country is a must-visit. 

CAPPING THE EXPERIENCE

A day tour around Bacolod and the nearby towns made me feel like I have visited the whole of Negros Occidental. Tasting food on our way to Mambukal Springs was an experience I could not have done anywhere else in the country. 

But on our last night, a royal experience in the house of Millie Kilayko set my travel to Bacolod beyond imagination and at par with the show of Anthony Bourdain. 

Millie Kilayko, the lady in red

Millie Kilayko is one of the most gracious hosts in the whole of Bacolod. She welcomed us to her lanai and let us have a tropical fruit punch with Negros rhum while we witness how a good binacol should be cooked. Binacol is one way of cooking soup inside young bamboo tubes that were surrounded by a generous amount of fiery charcoal. She let us opened the bamboo tubes and we were engulfed in the aromatic stew of lemon grass, spices, mushrooms, slices of chicken and smoke. 

In the table upstairs, a different setting awaited for us. The fare included Bangus Spanish Style, Mamaita's Crackling Noodles, Adobong Pitaw, Lola Sayong's Mechado and Brown Rice. Pitaw, which were actually ricefield birds, was my favorite in the menu. That, besides the binacol. 

Getting the binacol out of the bamboo tube

Millie explaining her menu of the night

Beautiful setting at Millie's table

 Good coffee after the meal and some Casa Carmela piayitos smeared with Dulce Gatas sang Silay made me thought I have died and gone to heaven. It was an exhausting, filling and remarkable trip I would surely be coming back. 

HULING HIRIT

As my ride waited for me, I rushed to Calea, perhaps Bacolod's most famous coffee and cake house, to taste their cakes before leaving the city. At the last minute. It was a cool morning and drizzling and the best time to gorge on sugar and coffee. I sinfully ordered their bestsellers, Blueberry Cheesecake and the specialty Chocolate Cake and a mugful of coffee.

It was like saving the best for last!

To die for- Calea's Blueberry Cheesecake

HELPFUL HINTS

There are a lot of affordable accommodations in Bacolod. For this travel, I stayed at Saltimboca Tourist Inn along 15th-Lacson Sts.; Tel.No. (034) 432-3617, 433-3179. The place is clean and offers free WiFi connections. Your room accommodation has a free breakfast of your choice. Saltimboca is located in the center of Bacolod where a lot of restos and cafes are just a walking distance away. 

We hire an air-conditioned van to get us to places. A van usually costs 2,500 pesos per day. You can have your travel agency contact and reserve one for you. Or if you have friends in Bacolod, ask them to do it for you. 

The Bacolod airport is actually in Silay City, a good 30-min ride by private car. So if you are taking the public bus or jeep, be sure to estimate your travel time. 

A nice combo: Piayitos and Dulce Gatas

Bacolod’s piaya (or piyaya) is actually very good when eaten fresh. There are home-baked versions in Silay as compared to heavily commercialized versions in souvenir stalls in Bacolod and at Silay airport. The Casa Carmela piayitos, small and crispy version of the piaya, is recommended. They are really good, especially the ones with mangoes in them.

Cebu Pacific flies to Bacolod from Cebu three times daily and six times from Manila.

To Amay, a dear friend

There will always be a part of you that misses her. You'll see something that reminds you of her and want to tell her about it, only to realize she's not there anymore. Then you'll feel her loss all over again.

~ Sherrilyn Kenyon, Dark Side of the Moon

I know you are in a better place
But I miss looking at your face
You were so young to die
Every night I sit and cry
Wondering why does it have to be this way
It hurts so much because there’s nothing I can do or say
That can make you come back to me
There is one thing that’s plain to see
That one day we will be together again
And now until then you will always remain my best friend.

@Tsambika Angelidakis

Bohol celebrates 2013 Sandugo Festival

Welcome to Bohol and welcome to Sandugo Festival!

Photo grabbed from Soc Garcia

Sandugo (Blood Compact) Festival is a commemoration of the friendship between chieftain Sikatuna of Bohol and conquistador Miguel Lopes de Legazpi of Spain. Both agreed to shed blood on a cup of wine and drank them to forge that friendship. This historic event made Tagbilaran City the City of Friendship.

To commemorate that event, the province celebrated Sandugo Festival, a month-long festivities of culture, heritage and arts. Sandugo started on July 1, also the Charter Day of Tagbilaran City. Main events, however, are celebrated after the Charter Day celebrations of the province of Bohol on the 22nd of July.

If you are interested to come and join in the celebrations, here are the program of activities for the 2013 Sandugo Festival.

July 1

47th Tagbilaran City Charter Day. Expect parades and musical events on this day.

July 1-31

Nightly activities at the City port with different nightly sponsors. Usually bands and cultural presentations.

July 13

Miss Bohol Sandugo 2013 Swimsuit Competition

July 17

Miss Bohol Sandugo 2013 Talent Competition

July 20

Miss Bohol Sandugo Pageant and Coronation Night

July 22

Bohol Day Celebrations (159th Charter Day of the province)

July 24-28

Sandugo Trade Expo 2013 at ICM's The Block. This year's them is Go Green, Buy Local. The Sandugo Trade Expo will feature locally made products focusing on heritage, culture and environment protection by using eco-friendly and indigenous materials. Surely, you will love to go shopping for furnishings, fashion accessories as well as fresh and processed food. 

July 26

Sandugo 2013 Street Party at Tagbilaran's main street CPG Avenue. This is going to be the fun part of the Sandugo Festival. The Bohol Sounddugo Street Party boasts of the biggest, baddest and loudest sound system, perhaps, a first in Bohol party scenes. I am sure you won't want to be left out.

July 28

Sandugo 2013 Streetdancing Competition. I hope there's going to be a big bunch of competitors this year. Last year was quite a disappointment among photo enthusiasts who came in to join the street dancing photo competition.

Don't forget to wear a smile. Boholanos are known to be hospitable and may welcome you to their homes. But be careful and be wary of scammers and other bad elements. Tagbilaran is recently experiencing major crimes done even in broad daylight and the police seems not able to solve them.

The greatness of GREAT Catigbian

The receiving area for guests and visitors of the Park

Bohol's ecotourism vision has been greatly rewarded since its implementation way back when Bohol had younger generation of politicians leading the province. 

One of the municipalities who ventured into ecotourism is Catigbian. 

Catigbian is a 4th class municipality in the interior part of Bohol, 35 kms north of Tagbilaran City, Bohol's capital city. As an interior town, Catigbian is blessed with an abundance of natural resources and a terrain good for farming and adventure tours. Hence, the GREAT adventure tour. 

NAME-CALLING

The Canopy Walk

The Green Recreational Eco-Adventure Tour (GREAT) is actually a part of the Abatan River Community Life Tour, a project participated in by the municipalities of Cortes, Maribojoc, Antequera, Balilihan and Catigbian and initiated by the PROCESS Foundation with the assistance of several government and international funding agencies. 

Bohol has seen lately a lot of acronyms in the past years. There’s EAT Danao, Loboc’s LEAP, and now the GREAT Catigbian, which is actually an attached activity to the Dagook Adventure Tour Experience (DATE) Park. Dagook is the waterfalls you can see from the Monkey Bridge. Why all these names? 

DATE WITH A PARK 

Upon entrance to the site, you will be fitted in with safety gadgets by eager staff- helmets, ropes, and harness, everything to make you alive from beginning to end of the tour. I asked if it would be that challenging since I looked like a miner going to the depths of the earth sans flashlight.

The staff only smiled, ignoring me, a gesture I made to understand that they want us to experience the adventure without a hint of what would happen next. This is a sort of a blind date? 

HOLDING ON 

The first challenge is the Canopy Walk. 

I passed the test in a breeze. In my life, I have traversed rivers with hanging bridges more challenging than the canopy walk. So, my adventurous spirit was not lifted hence, I told our guides to make the canopy walk more challenging like, if all the participants are in the middle of the wooden bridge, let it swing or drop a few feet down. 

My friends reacted and said I must be high on something. Adik! 

We went uphill to experience the second challenge- the Monkey Bridge. I don't know why they are calling it monkey bridge. I believe they were not referring to the faces of guests whose smiles would transform into an indescribable contortion upon seeing the “bridge.” 

Or the way we would hold hard later on the wires to keep balance. 

The scary Monkey Bridge

The monkey grip we used to avoid falling off from the thin wire of a trail would be taxing as the guides would tell us- Relax. Loosen up. Don't use too much force or we would have muscle cramps.

But when you are afraid you couldn't help but cling to your life or else we would be hanging like macaques of Loon. This caught me off guard. Yes, we had the precious harness with us but the rain and mud from the forest trail way down made my shoes slippery on the wire. 

Despite the beautiful waterfalls droning its power below, I think nobody minded it because everyone was busy minding where our feet should land, or else. 

My shirt got soaked with sweat. But still I joked to make the trail more challenging despite my nervous smile. 

SLIDE TO FINISH 

The final challenge- the Mountain Slide. The zipline, here termed Mountain Slide, is the last of the exciting activities at the DATE Park. 

The line is not as fearsome as Danao or Loboc but the rush towards the final stage is like a slap of fresh air after the adrenaline rush. And I thought, it was bitin. I was left hanging for more! 

And as the staff was detaching the paraphernalia, I suddenly realized I want to go back. Again. 

That would be 700 pesos please. 

Getting ready to be zipped back to our comfort zones

HOW TO GO TO THE CATIGBIAN DATE PARK 

It is advisable to hire a car to go to Catigbian unless you would want to wait for the unreliable bus service plying the Catigbian-Sagbayan route with no fix hours. I heard the name of the bus is the Fatima Bus Line but haven’t tried it yet. Their bus terminal is at Cogon District in Tagbilaran City. The fare from Tagbilaran to Catigbian is about 45-50 pesos one way. 

Going to the DATE Park from Catigbian’s poblacion is about a kilometer or two. You can hire habal-habal from there or walk towards it. I think walking would be more fun. As always, haggle the price before jumping in the habal-habal. 

A private van would usually cost 2,500 to 3,000 for a day tour. Ask first and tell them your destination since this is not the usual day tour most travel agents would recommend. You can call Mawe Gamit at 0917.999.2297 or Lugod Rent-A-Car at 0922.848.7083 or 038.501.8907 for airconditioned transportation (van or car). Lugod is accredited with the Department of Tourism (DOT) so they are a rate higher than most companies, but they are reliable and honest. Negotiate first. They might give you a discount. Just bring my name and RUN! 

Trails are provided at DATE Park. Some easy. Some challenging.

The activities at Catigbian DATE Park cost about 700 pesos. However, discounts for locals, students and senior citizens are available. Please ask before engaging in the activities. They usually give you a bottle of mineral water for free after undergoing the activities. 

Rooms are available at the site for 1,500 pesos a night with free breakfast. But with its location, I wonder what would you be doing there during the night. 

Unless you are on honeymoon.

The Dagook Falls from the Monkey Bridge

Peace and serenity at Catigbian's DATE Park