“It is with hope that each sunrise I give her cheers her more today than yesterday, and that she will accept my messages of hope and love. This is for a very outrageous character who gives everyone around her a renewed zest for life just as she does.”
Philippine Legoland in SM Lanang Davao In observance of Independence Day, a unique exhibit embraces the Department of Tourism’s slogan with a twist, “It’s More Fun in the Philippines with LEGO,” showing the beauty and diversity of the country through a display of the familiar bricks and colors that fascinate both young and old alike.
“It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.” ~ David Attenborough
“Life is like the river, sometimes it sweeps you gently along and sometimes the rapids come out of nowhere.” ― Emma Smith
Thank you, Davao City Government, Mayor Sara and Vice Mayor Rody Duterte, for this wonderful honor. (My years of hard work — labor of love– are finally recognized since I started as a journalist in 1994).
“In the end, the character of a civilization is encased in its structures.” ~ Frank Gehry
Banza Church Ruins, Butuan City © Jojie Alcantara
“Paradise was always over there, a day’s sail away. But it’s a funny thing, escapism. You can go far and wide and you can keep moving on and on through places and years, but you never escape your own life. I, finally, knew where my life belonged. Home.”― J. Maarten Troost, Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu
“There are no more committed people on the planet than surfers. We fall down a lot. We turn around, paddle back out, and do it over and over again. Unlike anything else in life, the stoke of surfing is so high that the failures quickly fade from memory.” ~ Gary Sirota
“Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, you can achieve.” ~ Mary Kay Ash Just little old me last year posing in one of the fascinating mythical ruins in Ta Phrom, Siem Reap, Cambodia where the movie Tomb Raider was filmed years ago. The guides will always incorporate it in their script with pride, showing the paths where Angelina Jolie ran across to fight the bad guys. This Hollywood exposure has catapulted the country to fame, and brought in heavy tourist influx in the years since then. Today, it has since tripled immensely that you can’t take a shot without having several tourists in your pictures. I’ve always wanted to be Lara Croft, with the camera as my weapon. Years ago, I’ve only aspired to be able to reach historical sites and share my photos to the world. Since then, I’ve been to a few more world heritage sites that opened my mind to other …
Happy Independence Day, Pilipinas! “It’s the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance. It is the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance. It is the one who won’t be taken who cannot seem to give. And the soul afraid of dying that never learns to live.” ~ Bette Midler
“Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.” ~ Anonymous
Dahican Beach is a stunning 7-kilometer stretch of white sand facing the Pacific Ocean. Its strong winds and high waves making it ideal for wind and board surfing, and is now a popular spot for skimboarding. It is a hidden paradise in Mati City, in the province of Davao Oriental.
“Each day is an adventure in discovering the meaning of life. It is each little thing that you do that day – whether it be spending time with your friends, running in a cross-country meet or just simply staring at the crashing ocean- that holds the key to discovering the meaning of life. I would rather be out enjoying these things than pondering them. We may never really discover the meaning of life, but the knowledge we gain in our quest to discover it is truly more valuable.” ~Jack Canfield, Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul II
Fishing village in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato © Jojie Alcantara
The small municipality of Cagwait in Surigao del Sur has a hidden paradise to boast of and a festivity to crow about. Blessed with a horseshoe-shaped cove with a long stretch of fine powdered sand and surrounded by azure colors matching sky and sea, the White Beach (or Waikiki, as the famous American aviator Charles Lindbergh called it the first time he saw it) is a tourism potential once known only to its neighboring municipalities until now.
The Scene Stealer 