Lopez Jaena, Misamis Occidental

My mother hails from Lopez Jaena. This is a municipality in Misamis Occidental named after our hero Graciano Lopez Jaena.

The last time I visited there was during grade school years. Our province is relaxing, simple life with fresh air and lots of fresh sea food. I can remember eating Swake (sea urchin) and I really loved this seafood! You can go to nearby beaches easily and there is a river where you can bathe outdoors.

                              

My Lolo  is a former Mayor of Lopez Jaena and we are a big clan in this province.

This time, I returned back after decades to attend family reunion. It is a well-planned 2 days reunion of 4 generations of Dolotallas Clan (my mother's great grand parents). I felt so loved that I have met my relatives convening together fun, thinking that we all have the same bloodline. I met again my childhood playmates, my 2nd degree cousins and it brings back good memories.

Farming is the main livelihood in Misamis Occidental. I love to binge on mangoes freshly harvested from the farm. Im excited to go back again on the coming years.

2024 Boracay Island

This is my vacation trip to boracay for the 4th time. This is a visit after the covid pandemic where things are already under normalcy. To make this trip memorable,  I intentionally book a flight during Laboracay (May 1) celebration to experience parties and fun at the island.

May is a busy month and Boracay is flooded with tourists as expected. For my previous trips, my arrival port is Kalibo hub since the planes are big and it is an international airport. For this trip, the port/hub I chosen is Caticlan to save time in land travel via van.

                   

I recommended Southwest travel and tours for the Caticlan Boracay transfers due to convenience. You can easily book even once you arrive at Caticlan. For Hennan hotels (where we stay), they also have affordable Boracay Caticlan transfers which we tried for our return trip in Manila.

Mactan, Cebu

 Cebu is special to my heart because of my colorful experience in this place:

• My vivid childhood memory of  a happy sea travel was with Princess of the Orient (before it sank in 1998). I enjoy sea travel, lounging inside the ship with play stations, view deck and double deck beds.You can bring large luggages without kilo limits as long as you can carry it.  Airplane fare are too costly those days. Now, everyone are on short haul flights.
• My previous work as junior researcher requires me to travel in Cebu and stay there alone like for 1-2 weeks (i became independent as young adult at age 22). I visited more than 30 corporate offices/businesses due to work, wheew
• My econgirls barkada escapade are beach getaways. Bantayan and Cebu are good memories to keep (see my previous write ups)
• We have relatives in Cebu☺️ my advantage is that i can understand bisaya.

My friend wants to go to Cebu this 2024  and considering that I had been travelling there for x times already and done in visiting Lapu Lapu City and Cebu City's tourist attractions I have to plan well the itinerary so I can still enjoy Cebu and its beautiful undiscovered sceneries

We tried Shangrila Mactan for an experience and we are delighted with the 5 star service. The beachwater is clear and you can play around with the fishes  by feeding them. When you swim at the pool, you will be provided with cold face towels to refresh. I love the breakfast buffet and their mango giveaway as way of welcoming their guests.

It was eventful on our Day 1 because it was the Battle of Mactan day. The president is also in Cebu for courtesy visit. Thus, we experience heavy traffic like 1 hr waiting in taxi just to go to Mactan newtown for the mercato.

Because of the local holiday,  we experience that the lechons in restaurants are sold out😂. Like we were only able to eat lechon at zubuchon which also has a branch in Manila.The next day,we tried the local lechon known in the Mactan area.

                                         

For this 2024 trip, we visited also Leah's temple, the Sirao garden, the Mactan Newtown Mercato, the hilltop and went to Magellans cross to have a picture souvenir as a couple. We also bought sto ninos  and leachon as pasalubong. 

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Viansa Sonoma

The first time I went to Napa Valley in 2021 was at the height of covid pandemic. Stores are mostly closed and the wine tasting packages or gatherings are  limited. I promised to myself to visit again the wineries in the area of Napa and Sonoma valley to enjoy what is it like when things go back to normal. A day tour in this region is a must when you visit California.

Viansa Sonoma is just an hour drive from California. When you are in their vineyard, you will feel relax and peaceful, much more if there are varieties of wine to taste test. I love rose, sangria and red wine.  They have the best wine tasting menus and fine delicacies.

Texas Cowboys

I was fortunate to be able to plan well my vacation in the US and visit my relative living in Dallas, Texas. It's surreal to be able to fly with Southwest Airlines from Oakland to Dallas. Some memories of my college life were the business cases of no frills, cheap flight, and peanut snacks of Southwest. During my flight, peanuts were no longer served but i really enjoyed the simplicity of boarding and seat anywhere (like in boarding a bus).

Dallas is a beautiful clean city with a different vibe compared to California. The highways are wide and when you go farther to Grand Prairie, the wide landscape will welcome you. The weather in Dallas was hot that time, I felt i was in Philippines. The weather in Texas as what my cousin told me is either extreme hot or extreme cold. 

What i love the most during my sightseeing are the beautiful big houses "mansions" in Texas that i only see in movies/netflix. Most houses do not have gates and are open.