ISLAND TOURS

"No man or woman is an island. To exist just for yourself is meaningless. You can achieve the most satisfaction when you feel related to some greater purpose in life, something greater than yourself." Denis Waitley (American motivational speaker and author of self-help books.
Posted by Ebb Resella-
Ebb:Welcome back Esther! Welcome to reality! Inip na inip na ako sa pag-balik mo. If not for the constant stormy rain I will not spent time cooped up inside our condo. It's a blessing in disguise because I am able to catch up posting on my art blog & our pwu blog. I also worked on my travel scrapbooks.

Esther:Hi Ebb: Here are some photos of islands I took in the Phils. You may want to add them to your collections in Gintong Daan Blog.
Ebb: I know you have gazillion of things to do after your long trip to the Philippines. When are you going to start posting on our blog?

Esther: I am still in Phil. time...antok na antok during the day and wide awake at night. My brain is still clogged and hopefully I will be able to start posting this coming week.

Ebb: At this age, jet-lag is a common obstacle. Last year, after 2 months tour of the Philippines & Southeast Asia, it took me a month to recover. Unbelievable! I couldn't wake up earlier than 11:00 a.m. (U.S. time). When I was younger, I could travel without jet lag. Now I take every chance to nap where ever traveling takes me. Mahirap talaga ang tumatanda, ano?

Esther:Hope you had a great week-end.

Ebb: Yes! Went to church in the morning. Late afternoon, I spent lots of hours watching the Academy Award night. The best part was looking at those lovely actresses parading in their gorgeous gowns. They looked so..... perfect.

I am sure you have lots of photos to post in the future especially your reunion w/ other classmates. Take your time!
TOUR AND PHOTOS BY ESTHER LEJANO

1st photo - Canyon Cove, Nasugbu, Batangas
"At times our lives seem like that of a tranquil island in a sea of chaos. The battle is to keep this sea of chaos at bay and let it wash us away unto utter chaos."-Sanjeeva Ananthan- 2nd - Canyon Cove, Nasugbu, Batangas “Your life is an island separated from all other islands and continents. Regardless of how many boats you send to other shores or how many ships arrive upon your shores, you yourself are an island separated by its own pains, secluded in its happiness” Kahlil Gibran 3rd - Tagaytay-“Work becomes our spiritual journey when our destination is no longer just becoming more successful or more wealthy, or getting a pay check, promotion, or job security, but when we also work to resolve a most fundamental question: Can we be at home in our lives - can we be open, honest, and at ease under all circumstances, moment by moment?” Michael Carroll 4th - Tagaytay - “We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
5th - Tagaytay- "You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island opportunities and look toward another island. There is no other land, there is no other life but this."-Henry Thoreau (American essayist, poet and philospher, 1817-1862
TOUR & PHOTOS BY EBB RESELLA: I'd like to share and add our day trip to Tagaytay last February , 2010. I have never been to Nasugbu, Batangas. I have nothing to write about this place. I wonder, if there are many "guwapos" in Nasugbu? Esther's photos are romantic. But I had been to Balayan Bay, Batangas many times. During college days, I attended many bible conferences there. I had many beautiful & inspiring memories of the camp. Although it was funded by American missionary group, the camp was not as fancy. But it was gorgeously located by the Balayan Bay. That's the only place I'd seen in Batangas.TAGAYTAY,PHILIPPINES (2010)
Rhod & Ebb- This photo was taken at some POINT w/ the beautiful Taal Volcano & lake in the background. We took a jeepney to get us to the top. It was pricey but some of our companions couldn't walked the steep walkway going up. But we walked going down. It was much easier, good exercise and libre.
The City of Tagaytay is located in the province of Cavite, Philippines. It is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations. Tagaytay City provides a good view of the Taal Vocano. The city is a popular summer tourist destination because of its cool climate due to its high altitude. It's about 2 hours from Manila w/ out traffic. W/ heavy traffic it's 3 hours nightmare.
A LOVELY VIEW OF TAAL VOLCANO
Taal Volcano, in the Philippines, has been called the smallest active volcano in the world. It is located about 70-km south of Manila on an island inside a lake called Taal Lake. What makes Taal Volcano more unique is the fact that the volcano itself has a lake of its own inside its crater which is called the "Crater Lake." CLOSE UP OF TAAL VOLCANO & LAKE- As tourists we went to the town of Talisay, a few kilometers down the slopes of Tagaytay city. A motorboat & a guide took us to the volcano island (where this crater lake is) for approximately 45 minutes. For those who could afford, disabled, ederly or plain lazy — they normally take horses up the slopes to the viewing deck. By horses, the viewing deck is only about 20 minutes from the shore(where the boats dock). By foot, the same distance can be covered in an hour or so. During our visit, the path was very dusty.We decided to forgo the horse tour although it's included on our tour package. It was extremely hot and dusty and we don't like to get sick.

OUR HAPPY GROUP- My cousin Lita & her brother Carlos (our driver)accompanied us to this tour (left side.) Dave & cousin Cely fr.Maryland ( right side) joined us too.We were a happy bunch despite of the heat.