the Cacing Diaries #45

pretty in pink

For the first time in her young 1 ½ years of existence, Cacing cried when I said goodbye today. It’s just one of my usual week-long trips abroad – there’ll be lots more down the road – but increasingly, each time I leave for a trip, Cacing is becoming more aware of her emotions. She still has no concrete concept of time. It is safe to suppose that she quickly got over my departure. But soon it would be different and I’ll have to contend to her heartache. And mine.


the muses of my life, at my mom’s place in Talisay this May



testing the crown



those eyes are smart!



smiling and clowning



the roller brush as a toy



a pink princess



testing the jackfruit



a tease in front of the camera



at the backseat of the car

the Cacing Diaries #44

at Mactan, Cebu, the Philippines

Seems like an eternity when Cacing was able to go to the beach. Blame it on the stormy weather. It is rainy season in the Philippines and we don’t like going out when it’s wet.


tresses gone wild



loving the sea (with my wife’s mom)



testing chocolates


The opportunity came when my wife had her high school reunion. As a fitting finale, their batch decided on family time at the Portofino Beach Resort in Mactan. So we got a room for the day. As always, Cacing was the star of my wife’s family and mine.


gee… my hair is long



checking out her hair



a modelic pose



in the pool with her yaya Jinjin



racing to the beach

a Cebu favorite- the Kawasan Falls, part 2

continued from Kawasan Falls, part 1


Kawasan is a series of 10 or so waterfalls. In fact, before you get to the “first” major falls, you have shall pass at least two or three small drops and numerous brooks and streams. The “first” falls is spectacular. Easily the biggest and tallest at about 50 feet, it offers a broad and cavernous lagoon of cool and fresh river water. Cottages dot the easements, offering food, shelter and the popular bamboo raft that take you safely under the falls. (Don’t worry, life vests are provided).

Another 15 minutes of a rigorous climbing over narrow passageways and steep stairs between boulder-hewn canyons is the second major falls. Although not as tall or as voluminous, this second falls is really not just one but two waterfalls feeding into a deep and inviting pool. The embankments here are also a lot wider and more spacious that the first so there are more cottages more comfy for overnighters.


a minor falls right before the first major falls

For the more adventurous set, another reward waits if you went further upstream. The trail zigzags over trickier tributaries and darker overgrowths. At the end of perhaps a 30 minutes of brisk trekking is a wall of concrete dam with a voluminous cascade, which probably is operated by the small hydroelectric plant downstream.


the first major waterfalls of Kawasan


There were stories in the 80s of communist rebels operating in the border of Badian and Alegria so venturing beyond the mountains was discouraged. Today though, the New People’s Army threat is already gone but it still is advisable to get a local guide as going under the dam is difficult and circuitous. The Matutinao river system after all is 18 kilometer long and getting to the source in the Alegria mountains is an arduous journey but definitely, no less rewarding.


the second major falls



getting the falls without the people is difficult during weekends


To go: Badian is about 90 km south from Cebu City via the southwest Carcar-Barili highway. The Kawasan Falls is in Matutinao, which is marked by a modern church of the same name.


a stream feeding into the second major falls

a Cebu favorite- the Kawasan Falls, part 1

Having traveled some 100 kilometers from the big city for about 3 hours and then hiked some 30 minutes uphill, I was more than eager to be in Kawasan again. It is Cebu’s most famous waterfalls and I’ve been there twice or thrice. My last visit was some 10 years ago so I wanted to come back, with camera in tow of course.


a roiling stream beyond the second major falls


The first time I went to Kawasan was some 20 years back, during my backpacking days in college. Things have definitely changed.


the river of Matutinao, downstream


The trail upstream requires you to cross from one bank to the opposite side several times, so part of the thrill in the past was to balance yourself on makeshift bridges made of bound bamboos absent any hand railing. Now, there already are three concrete bridges that allow for easy crossings.


arched branches provide shade over the river


When before, I felt that I was entering into some uncharted territory through thick green forested thickets and muddy sludges, today, the track is semi-paved with pounded soil or concrete. Still, the trek may be lighter but thanks to a successful community-based environmental management, the “jungle” feeling still holds strong. To its credit, the Kawasan Nature Park, has been awarded numerous times as the cleanest and greenest river in the Philippines.


a concrete bridge before the first major falls


Except for the occasional local bather or laundry washer, a trek to the falls in the late 80s was an exercise of solitude and the occasionally eerieness. Today, the 2 kilometer road already sports modern conveniences from T-shirt stores to ambulant vendors selling cold drinks and ice cream. Who can say now that the journey cannot be leisurely and easy?


two smaller falls downstream of the first major falls


Part 2: the major falls

To go: Badian is about 90 km south from Cebu City via the southwest Carcar-Barili highway. The Kawasan Falls is in Matutinao, which is marked by a modern church of the same name.

Food Fest at the Mactan Shrine

It’s the week leading to the Kadaugan sa Mactan or the Victory of Mactan and since 2001, the city government and the tourism council are sponsoring a weeklong food festival that would end on the eve of the reenactment of the April 27, 1521 battle between Lapu-Lapu and the explorer Ferdinand Magellan.


the limestone obelisk at the Mactan Shrine, Lapu-Laput City, Cebu, the Philippines


Expectations were high when we went there last Wed (April 23). While we don’t exactly do this annually, this was to be my third time to dine in this festival and I was looking forward on checking what food there are being offered by Mactan’s numerous resorts at amazingly democratized prizes. With cuisines from big names like Shangri-La, the Hilton, Plantation Bay, Maribago Bluewaters and Tambuli on display who would not be tempted?

We arrived at past 6:30PM. Parking always would be a pain in the shrine but we found a spot near the northern gate. We had initial trouble securing a table but the greater difficulty was choosing which stall to queue.


a full crowd at the dining area set up near the beach


Eventually we picked the popular Shangri-La stall. Food was cheap! Large servings of the grilled chicken and beef with vegetables were at P60 each. The Plantation Bay’s noodles probably had the longest line though so we had to skip it. A Japanese restaurant had some appetizing offerings so we bought maki rolls and shrimp tempura, also at P60/serving. Ordinarily, they would be at more than 3x as expensive in but in the resorts and restaurants eschew revenues in favor of good PR and CSR (corporate social responsibility).


the tidal flat where the battle of Mactan occurred


Weather cooperated quite nicely. The skies were starless but the rains stayed out. Dinner was quite fun. A local band played Cebuano ditties atop the pavilion where the stalls were.


the food pavilion with a live band at the balcony on top


After getting some bit of desserts and baby-back rib takeouts of from the White Sands Resort (P150 including rice), we gallivanted around the shrine. I’m a pure bred Oponganon and I take pride of this historical place.


live cooking at the food booth of the White Sands Resort


Next year, we hope to be back.


the marker and mural at the memorial at Mactan


To go: The food festival is held annually at the Mactan Shrine on the week of April 27, the anniversary of the battle of Mactan, where on 1521, the local chieftain Lapu-Lapu defeated the Spanish forces led by Ferdinand Magellan. Mactan is about 10 kilometers northwest of the Lapu-Lapu City proper.

a family reunion: an Easter Sunday banquet at Talisay

a Lenten Special

Easter, being the biggest holiday in Christiandom, is best celebrated with family. This year, we all went to my Mom’s place at Talisay where my Auntie Aster prepared a banquet for the immediate family. A professional nutritionist who is now a successful caterer, she can cook up the best of Filipino dishes the traditional Cebuano way.


the pre-banquet snacks: my all time favorite native sweet, the biko


For someone who just abstained from eating meat for the 40 days of Lent, I was dying to eat pork and the party spread did not disappoint. My aunt’s grilled pork was the great abstinence-breaker. It wallowed in such a sweet marinade that even before lunch started, I was filching off pieces off the serving dish.


Auntie Aster's sinugbang baboy


Lunch started a bit late as the kids were having an easter egg hunt and my daughter Cacing even had some action. My cousin Cheyenne, on vacation from New York, helped her find an egg so that she would not come out empty handed.

When we finally dig in the buffet, I made sure I had a big chunk of the dark humba pork knuckles (much like adobo but with lots of soy sauce and some sugar) which was so great it was sinful.


humba in dark sweetened soy sauce


My favorite though was the crispy pata or deep-fried pork feet. The pork skin was so crunchy and crispy that it can easily put the famed Carcar chicharon to shame.


crispy pata


For those who would opt for leaner white meat, there was chicken too. My aunt chose to serve native spring chicken, broiled and served whole.


manok bisaya


As added caloric fair, spaghetti and meatballs were served too. Of course, to countermand the cholesterol assault, vegetable dishes came a plenty. There was bitter gourd with egg and pepper, an eggplant stew and the empanada (fried pockets of diced potatoes, carrots, eggs and pork). Seafood was not the call of the day although there was lukot which from a distance could look like string noodles but is really the secretion of the sea hare.


spaghetti with meatballs



paliya (bitter gourd)



tawong guisado



tinunuang lukot (sea hare secretion in coconut milk)



empanada



the empanada filling


Desserts never take a backseat in our family gatherings. Being partial to native delicacies, I had my fill with sticky rice concoctions like my all-time favorite biko. There too were the sapin-sapin and the cassava pitsi-pitsi, sometimes spelled peche-peche. My Aunt Olive also brought in her creamy leche flan or caramel custard which was just divine and perfectly formed. Plus for the chocolate-inclined, there was chocolate cake.


Auntie Olive’s fabulously rich leche flan



sapin-sapin and pitsi-pitsi


To drown us more in our food coma, later in the afternoon, we were served some freshly prepared native cocoa chocolate sikwate and a homemade puto (white sticky rice, steamed with ginger and sugar) which came from an old recipe handed down from at least three generations.


puto and sikwate


Never easy to beg off from food but hey, it was Easter. May you all had a wonderful weekend as well.

the Easter Sunday Sugat at Sta Fe, Bantayan

a Lenten Special

To most people, the happiest Christian holiday is Christmas. Perhaps but not quite. In Catholic orthodoxy, it really is Easter, the day when the promise of salvation is fulfilled and Christ came back from the dead. This day is greeted by mirth and merriment befitting the culmination of the promise of the forgiveness of sin and the acceptance into heaven.


the sugat at Sta Fe, Bantayan was participated by people of all ages


In the Philippines, a grand tradition continues to this day in celebration of Easter. Performed in the wee hours of Easter Sunday morning is Salubong or Sugat in the Cebuano-speaking regions. This pre-dawn ritual, as its name suggests, is a depiction of the imagined meeting of the Risen Christ's with Mary, His mother.


costumed dancers performed before the meeting of the two processions


The occasion is not just a spectator event as the community participates by joining two separate processions. The statues of the Risen Christ and select Apostles (the identities can vary by location) are led by menfolk and the icons of the ladies led by Virgin Mary are ushered by the women. The two solemn parades often converge in a specially prepared meeting place or sugatanan usually in the churchyard.


a passion play preceded the convergence of the two processions



the statue of the Risen Christ led by men making its way into the church while the passion play was winding up


Some communities would hold a short play of the Passion, from Christ’s conviction through Crucifixion to the burial of His dead body in a cave guarded by Roman soldiers. The The part where the missing body is discovered missing in Easter morning by Mary Magdalene and Mary of Cleophas is timed when the two processions shall arrive. Usually, the two parties are separated by an arch or by a curtain.


a giant white curtain cordoned the main street of Sta Fe in front of the church for the sugat processions


The climax occurs when a tiny girl dressed as an angel is lowered by ropes from a high platform to lift the mourning veil of the grieving Mother. Then the celebration of Easter begins and church bells are rung, alleluias are sung, the icons are brought inside the church and the mass is celebrated.


the Risend Christ being brought before the sugatanan



the parted curtain showed the meeting of Christ and Mother Mary (note the unopened false ceiling at the arch)


In the Philippines, the more famous salubong plays are performed in the provinces of Cebu, Rizal, Naga, Pampanga, Bataan and Marinduque. Easily the most grand of Cebu’s sugat presentations is in Minglanilla where numerous girls are suspended in mechanical contraptions.


the false ceiling parted while a girl angel was lowered down by rope harness



the angel lifts the black veil to signify the end of mourning


I have not yet witnessed the Minglanilla kabanhawan (resurrection) festival but almost every town has their own version albeit in a smaller scale. The photographs here are the ones I took in town of Sta Fe, Bantayan Island. Their affair was down to earth, subdued and intimate but no less sincere in declaring the joy that is Easter.


the Virgin Mary revealed



the celebration began after the veil was lifted


Happy Easter everyone!