Speechless me!

I'm a person of many words, my posts can attest to it. But today I decided to just let the pictures speaks for itself, no detailed itinerary talks. See the pics and I know anyone can relate to the same profound emotions I've been feeling when I was there taking some of the shots below.

Have nice viewing everyone!!

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Who would not wish for a trip that includes a cruise in one of the famous floating restaurant in Loboc River? The food, fresh air, the country songs, smiling faces of Boholano not to mention the picturesque view of a place- so green, the water - so clear, the air - cold and fresh that you could utter a wish to just stay there for as long as you want!

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Busay Falls - a mini falls about one and a half meter at most. It marks the point where the floating restaurant cannot go any further. Shot taken by chinaeyes alexis.

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Loboc River @ the background




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The floating restaurant




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I had taken shots below while wandering alone along the shore of Balicasag Island

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As early as 5:30am we were already in the middle of the sea, eyes alert and always camera ready because at any moment, dolphins will be swimming by. There were around ten boats with tourists on board, and just like us, hoping to take a closer glimpse of these sweet, playful creatures. Every time dolphins came out of the surface, everyone was shouting in glee, fingers all pointing towards the direction of the swimming dolphins, all boats were racing towards it just at the same time that these playful creatures swam back to their hiding. The lines "ayun! ayun! ayun! wala na!" (translation: there! there! there! It's gone!), paired with an almost exasperated look, were famous.

I am just lucky enough to capture dolphin's dorsal fin in one of my shots. This is an achievement because no one in our group did! Can you spot a pair of dolphin?

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We had also dropped by the Butterfly farm. It is in this trip that I was able to differentiate the pupa of a moth from that of a butterfly. And that a lazy butterfly actually lives for 90 days but a butterfly who loves to fly and pollinates every flowers it passed by will only live for 21 days. A side information added: Butterflies lived a short life but their mating usually lasted from 3hours to 24 hours, non-stop! Some of my guy-colleagues even wish they have the stamina of a butterfly! (lol)

Pictures of a butterfly below taken by cj, the flowers shot by chinaeyes alexis

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Can you spot the Mayon Volcano? This is a shot taken by ram aboard Zest Air on our way to Bohol.

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Tierra Azul beach basking in a fresh Saturday sunshine. It's a perfect weather for dolphin watching! Pictures below taken by CJ (you're the wackiest dude!)

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A Bohol trip will not be an official Bohol Trip unless you have spotted a tarsier. Because the entire day of our first day were jam-packed of country-side tours, we stopped by the tarsier sanctuary at past 7pm. At my first glance, I thought it was a rat! I took a closer look and my gaze was met by an enormous eyes. They said a tarsier's eyeball is as big as their brain. I wasn't able to take a good shot because of low light. Flashes were strictly not allowed as these will stress this vulnerable creature. And when the tarsier is under stress, it tends to hurt itself. Suicidal! Thanks to the big boss who shared the good shots.

Life's uncanny twist

Life is composed of good and bad jokes. Jokes that are real, are happening and are meant to knock you down big time! Jokes that will mold you into who you will become as years go by.

It is the 'bad jokes' really that makes a life all worth living. Unpleasant jokes are the ones that leave marks into our being. When you happen to take a flash back at your earlier life, you would recall those but the recollection will just make you smile and wonder how in the world you were able to surpass those great trials.

I have a friend who happened to have her most unpleasant joke in her entire life so far and it took place yesterday. Her bad fortune yesterday might not be at its highest peak yet but this one really knocked her down. I can relate to her situation because I happened to be in her shoes a month ago when I had dealt with the possibility of my being an instant jobless.

She applied for this global company where all her abilities are put into test: her memory and adeptness, patience, health and her financial conditions as well. But she'd overcome it all except for the one thing that is beyond her control. Once she's in with the company, she will be sent abroad for a required training, for chartered accounting I guess. Thus, passport is one of the most important and a must requirement and she have not applied for one yet.

Passport application here in the Philippine is one of the greatest challenge for every Filipino. If you want to have your application submitted in a day, you'll have to wake up very early and line up your ass at DFA at a wee hour or to be specific, be there as early as 3AM so you could grab a slot. If you're late you'll end up standing at the line's tail 'til your foot sore and if you're not lucky enough, head home without being accommodate because DFA had already filled out their slots for the day.

Being ill, she decided against lining up herself waiting for her slot number to be called. She went to some agency, filed for an expedite passport application, agency promising her to have her passport in no less than 10days, paid 1300.00 or something closer to that amount and wait. The company she'd applied to on the other hand never did falter doing their follow ups of her passport. Now and then she'd received a call, a text, an email, a call again asking the status of her passport application and if there is already a feedback of its release date.

Today, March 8, 2010 is supposedly her first day at her new company. Yesterday, her luck went down. The company called and canceled her employment all because she could not provide her passport's release date. This, I thought, is a total zero consideration though I understand they have every right to turn down her employment. The agency gave no further details on the release date but just keep on assuring her they're working on it.

The release date is just what the company is asking. The agency was not able to provide it. DFA is transferring their office which will affect the processing of passport application. Being assured of the employment since she'd already signed a job offer sheet, she'd submitted her immediate resignation and already served her last day at her previous company last Friday thus making her today an instant jobless.

Wrong move? Or is it just the twist of fate? Conflicts entangled as if, if one conflict is solved, one is simply designed to be there to prevent her from getting the job she had so aspired. It seems like there is unseen reason to it all. Well, being an instant jobless does not mean an end of the world for her but putting up all her strength and hope to this 'job of her dreams' and having to exert all effort that it totally felt like she was fast-flying, broke her wings, somersault into the
air and 'splat!' suddenly hit the floor, helpless. I understood her bawling.

And to think of it all, the job is already an inch-away and she could already have it, its becoming positive that she could feel it and even I already had wish her luck for her new found job. Only the fate intervene as if everything that happened for the past two weeks of her application dilemma were all but a joke. A bad joke. A bad dream. The pleasing feeling of nearly-acquiring it returns a bitterly disappointment.

As we try to alleviate her grief (strong word but the only exact word I could think of to describe her bellowing), we could only think of something: a reason for it is yet to be understood. We'd tried to shift her focus on small positive things that happened like she'd already completed her requirements and applying for another job would mean less effort and time arranging for those papers not to mention she just got a call from a prestigious company considering her application.

We made funny comments just to lighten up the moods and somehow our unhappy chats drifted to a jovial conversation. We jokingly said we could share her our happy meals consisted of noodles, breads and oat meals. Then I told her, 'don't worry time will come that when you look back you'll find humor in this'. Adding up, 'sometimes bad thing leads to a breakthrough, you just never know.

Yes I'd said life is composed of bad and good jokes. But let me stress on this, life itself is not a joke for it is brought into purpose. Yes, the choices we made decide our fate which partially means we are basically in control of the things we would like to achieve. But ironically there is always this divine intervention that however we tried, there are things beyond our control making it impossible to reach that choice we so wanted.