pictures of a picturesque journey

more images from my trip through mindanao last year between september to november. during that time i was able to visit san francisco, agusan del sur; surigao and siargao island, butuan city, davao city, general santos, marbel and surallah in south cotabato; lake sebu, south cotabato; zamboanga city and of course my home base cagayan de oro city.

high school girl in full costume, street dance competition, zamboanga city.

yet again i was lucky to have been in zamboanga during their city fiesta (more popularly called fiesta pilar). that day i gemini and i met up with viejay, who brought with her an old friend, who is a photojournalist from the philippine star. he was cool about me tagging along while he takes pictures during the festivities. so come celebration, i was on the road too, snapping away and recording the street dance competition on video. had a blast, ive never gotten that close to taking photographs of strangers. quite an experience. the music from the drum and bugle corps still ring in my chest cavity 🙂

police barricade during the parade, zamboanga city

everybody that day were in high spirits and the crowd were clamoring for pictures as well. here’s one unguarded moment from the men on guard hehehe

yakan weaver, yakan village, zamboanga city

on my last day in zamboanga, the boat i was to take to general santos was delayed for hours (apparently somebody fell overboard in mid-sea, exciting, no?). so girlie saavedra and roland, my companion in the bookid, toured me around the city (on a tricycle–a three-wheeled motorcycle) for the last time. one of our stops was in the yakan village. i was able to buy a few souvenirs, including a bag whose weaver i met that day. this old lady was his grandmother i believe.

marker of the ancestral domain in lake sebu

this you pass by when you go up the lake sebu. it marks the beginning of the area that is comprised of the CADC 003 and CADC 004, which were awarded to the t’boli and ubo tribes. despite the recognition, tenurial security remains a dream as issues and old skeletons continue to haunt these people. some of the their lands were forcibly taken from them. since the tribes people have no concept of securing land titles and canned goods, they have been deceived of friendship in exchange of land areas. migrants have populated most of the areas near the lake and the tribes people have evidently been pushed up the mountain. environmental concerns include the progressive encroachment into the watershed areas. moreover, concerns of the tribes not only include education on modern methods in land management but might need an overhaul of cultural traits and customs as well. if they lose that, then they wouldnt be so different from ourselves.

grilled tilapia from the waters of lake sebu

during the fiesta in lake sebu, the city government organized a tilapia eat-all-you-can festival. tickets were sold at p100 and mygas, the tilapia! grilled, fried, boiled, stewed, drowned, you name it! it was the first time they did that and it’s something to look forward to every year.

gemini fernandez in cloud nine, siargao island.

to get around siargao, one still has to rent out a habal-habal (motorcycle). either that or you go around swimming. cloud nine is where you would find the biggest waves for surfing. and since we didnt know how to, we ended up just looking and taking pictures. siargao is a wonderful place, luv it!

general luna, siargao island, surigao

gemini and i decided to take a short sidetrip to surigao from agusan en route to cagayan. it was an impromptu decision really. we arrived in surigao late in the evening and had to check in a lodging house prior to taking the first boat out to siargao the next day. we were also supposed to have stayed half a day only but the place was so inviting it was a shame to have traveled so many miles and not enjoy it. so we ended up renting a cottage and taking a few motorcycle trips around the place, swim in the blue waters and be in wonderful company and beer in the evening. and yes, they have internet on the island hehehe