Sa tuwing ipinapasyal ng Tatay, pag-uwi’y
babaybayin ko noon sa isip ang nilakbay
at saka iguguhit sa papel. Magsisimula sa ilog.
O sa isang kanto—at saka dadalhin
ang lapis sa kung saan. Pipiliting iligaw
ang sarili. Dadagdagan ang kalye,
o lalagyan ng puno ang dapat sana’y tindahan.
Pero hindi ako nawawala.
Noon ko nasumpungan ang mukha ng paglikha.
Pinangalanan ko ang mga lugar,
kahit ang mga di-narating, o wala naman
talaga—Manggahan, Ligaya, Engkanto, Atbp.—
pangalan ng kalaro, ng mga bagay
na madalas makita, mga táong iniibig,
mga bagay na gustong paglaruan.
Inibig ko noong lakbayin ang mundo
na kailanman, di ko matatakasan.

The post Mapa appeared first on 7641 Islands of the Philippines.

What does freedom really mean? It’s a question often posed to Filipinos both here and abroad every time June rolls in.

For Filipinos in the diaspora, it always comes with a follow-up—what does it really mean to be a free Filipino anyway? Answers are often varied. It can be as whimsical as the ability to share one’s culture by way of making kare-kare from scratch to something as sobering as resisting colonial influence at every turn.

Few things, however, can bring out the pride of being free and unite Filipinos away from the Philippines than Independence Day celebrations.

The food, merriment, and celebration of our independence and culture during this time of year is something people always look forward to. In between bites of lechon, the Filipino Ambassador’s speeches on the importance of independence and bravery, and clapping for the children dancing tinikling, you often hear Filipinos longing for home and what they’d do when they can finally go back for good or even just a vacation. They look forward to the time they can show their kids around or even their foreign friends they invite to visit them.

Still a Filipino

“It’s important to me that my children are aware of and that they practice their Filipino heritage,” says Lea Millares-Sylvester, a Filipino teacher in Germany and mother of two daughters. She adds that the experiences she had growing up are a big part of how she raises her kids despite being in a different country.

“My daughters just read First Around the Globe: The Story of Enrique,” shares Lea, whose kids have been eager to visit Cebu since reading about the Filipino interpreter. “They want to learn the language, visit the beaches, and try the food.”

Apart from beaches, Cebu boasts of some key historical sites that speak of Filipino achievement. Visitors often see the statue of Lapu-Lapu in Mactan, celebrating his fearlessness in facing what was then a rising global power.

There are many places in the Philippines that have become part of history books, which may just rekindle one’s love for the country even after being away.

Just a few hours from the capital is another cross. This time, on top of Mt. Samat, surrounded by over 31 thousand hectares of land that’s part of a national park in the province of Bataan. More commonly known as the Dambana ng Kagitingan (Shrine of Valor), the place is great for a minor hike. This allows you to connect with nature while honoring Filipinos who fought against the invading Japanese in 1942.

Don’t skip Manila

For Kriztel Lorbes-Goetze, a mom of a Filipino-German boy, it is imperative that her son has love for both his parents’ cultures.

“Living outside the Philippines is a challenge as I believe immersion is one factor that really helps a person identify with his or her heritage,” she adds. Pre-pandemic, Kriztel has already travelled to the Philippines with her husband and her son who was, at that time, still a baby. Once it’s safer, they’re excited to do it again now that he’s bigger.

Even while living in Berlin, her son is taught to speak Filipino along with German and is growing up to be a big fan of tinola. “I wish to take him to Bohol where his dad and I got married,” Kriztel says. “And to Manila, of course, to learn about its history.”

Often overlooked by Filipinos themselves for being busy, our capital city still has a lot to offer.

Within Intramuros and the walls of Fort Santiago, the cobblestone streets have stories of bravery to tell. Like that of our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal who was, for a good part of his short life, a part of the diaspora himself.

While incarcerated in the old fort and waiting for his execution, Rizal penned his goodbye poem in the form of a love letter to his country. His ideas, which were embodied by his novels, inspired many of his contemporaries, including the revolutionary Andres Bonifacio, to rise up against over three centuries of colonial rule.

Nowadays, Intramuros has moved on with the times, eager to welcome visitors practicing safety protocols and tell its stories. Even dining options within the old city have improved, making it a destination that can fill one’s head with culture and historical information while satiating one’s gastronomical cravings.

A short boat trip from Manila, meanwhile, takes you to Corregidor. The island is known for being the site of the Philippines’ last stand against the Japanese in 1942.

With its poignant history that can be appreciated with even just a day trip, Corregidor is more than enough to rekindle one’s love of country. There, stories of bravery and sacrifice Filipino soldiers and their American comrades exemplified during the Second World War abound.

When talking about places related to our independence, there’s no way the Aguinaldo Shrine in Cavite cannot be mentioned.

The home of the first Filipino President, Emilio Aguinaldo, was where the country’s independence from Spain was declared on the 12th of June 1898. The national anthem was also played for the first time on that day. These days, the mansion is a museum showcasing the country’s long and arduous fight for self-determination.

Looking back, moving forward

Centuries after these historic events, one must ask: what can these places teach us and the next generation about being Filipino?

Is it patriotism? Most of us should hope so. It may not be inherent and it may be something we have to keep cultivating within ourselves and share. However, love for one’s country, its culture, and its people can be infectious. A love that goes beyond political colors.

It’s not enough to like the food, to carry the passport, and to have Filipino blood in one’s veins. Patriotism even varies in intensity but transcends borders and paperwork. Being Filipino is about being proud of who you are and where you come from every single day of the year.

Travel safely!

The Department of Tourism (DOT) reminds the public to always wear a face mask and shield and practice social distancing when outside. For up-to-date information on open destinations and the safety protocols and requirements needed for each location, you may visit www.philippines.travel/safetrip or download the Travel Philippines app at app.philippines.travel or the Google Playstore.

The post These Spots Can Reignite Your Passion for the Country appeared first on 7641 Islands of the Philippines.

The first time I visited Lanao, it was raining and a dense fog blanketed the lake that afternoon. After dipping my hands, I felt a connection to the lake that was hiding its vastness then, deeper than the countless stories I have heard about its majesty and mysteries.

As a writer, it was not the first time I tried to encapsulate moments into words. Nor the first time I touched nature to be reminded of the ageless connection of humans to the physical world—of us being a part of nature and of nature being the backdrop of our lives.

In one summer, I was fascinated with the intricate patterns on the shells of the baby turtles being nursed in the Pawikan Sanctuary in Maitum, Sarangani Province. I imagined how the town’s fisherfolks had probably held these gentle creatures in their hands when they had decided to protect them instead of cooking their eggs for food.

In another summer, I was dipping my hand in the waters of the Celebes Sea while aboard a motorized boat heading to one of the islands of Sarangani, Davao Occidental, a municipality just a few miles away from the maritime border between the Philippines and Indonesia. I remember the feeling of the water getting a little colder as its blueness deepened from light to greenish to dark. I then used that description as a metaphor in a story I wrote about children navigating their identities amid their fluid multicultural society.

As travelers, we navigate the world by touching other humans – tapping a shoulder to ask for directions, shaking hands of new acquaintances or linking arms with travel companions as they explore a place. I like touching creations made by hand, such as when I examined the thickness and softness of the colorful textiles sold at Canelar Barter Trade Center in Zamboanga City.

As shared with me by some of the merchants, woven and dyed into these fabrics are the stories that span the waters of the Malay archipelago, as most of the items they were selling had sailed across the waters of Indonesia and Malaysia before reaching the Philippines. That trip ended with me bringing home a malong with a floral batik pattern.

In another trip, I visited the Grand Mosque of Cotabato City, the largest in the Philippines, and scrutinized by hand the unique curvatures and carved designs that make up its grand architectural plan. In a conversation I had with the driver of the motorcycle that took me to the mosque, he explained how the Grand Mosque connects them to the people of Brunei Darussalam as the latter’s sultan helped fund its construction, hence, it is officially called by the sultan’s name.

He also said that the mosque is a symbol of openness, as although it’s a Muslim structure, people from all walks of life are welcome to enter—an apt description, I think, of how the diverse makeup of their city works. I recalled this conversation in one of my poems by describing the estuary near the mosque based on the driver’s observation, “nagsasanib dito ang alat at ang tabang,” this is where the saline water of the sea and the freshwater of the river meet.

Past travels, I emphasize, because I have not travelled for months now since the pandemic began. As someone who writes about moments of touching objects, places, and people, I found myself unable to write. I look at objects I’ve collected during my travel and look forward to a time when I can freely travel again, for now I hold in my hand the malong with a floral batik pattern and remember Zamboanga. I begin to plot the other destinations within Mindanao that awaits travelers like me.

For travel updates on open destinations and its safety protocols visit www.philippines.travel/safetrip or download the Travel Philippines app at the Google Play or Apple Store.

The post Why Mindanao Should Be on Your Travel List appeared first on 7641 Islands of the Philippines.

I wonder about the places outside these circles. Will I ever see them again? For now, I make do with photos and memories of travel. I remember a trip with friends to the Abatan River in Bohol. The fact that I could not take a photo of that experience meant there was no way of forgetting it. No camera could capture the glowing plankton we saw underneath nor the fireflies dancing on my palm as we sat down on our kayaks at sunset to start the river tour. The guide said they were bioluminescent, a new word I learned to describe living creatures that produced light.

They lived in the thirty-three mangrove species that existed in the great expanse of the river. Kayaks were the best way to see them said our guide without disturbing their habitat. We were led to a grand spindly tree lit up with fireflies like a billboard sign. They were mating. The male fireflies were glowing to attract mates. We carefully paddled our way under one of the roots open like a canal entry and spent a moment lying down to see the fireflies above us twinkling like stars within reach.

Will I have another chance to visit Bohol? Or any place for that matter? These are some of the things I think about because I didn’t know it would be possible not to have choices. It seems even going to the grocery now feels like handling a grenade. If I do get to go; who would I be then? Probably still someone with a bottle of alcohol in the bag. Who knows? Since the pandemic began, travelers spending in the country dropped by a dizzying 83 percent while foreign arrivals were slashed by 82 percent. Tourism provides five million jobs which contributed an estimated 12.7 percent to the country’s GDP before Covid-19. Like the other big numbers thrown around by experts during lockdown, these figures are hard to fathom fully because the reality is just too terrible to face.

I wonder too if these spaces devoid of people are still the same. The best trips in remembrance always came with the pleasure of meeting the people who continued to live in the place where they were born. Without them and their living culture, travel would just be another image you saved on your phone and uploaded on the internet without context or meaning. Even with the advantages of technology, it cannot replace the living, breathing actuality of being there.

Rikka Mestiola Atole, a regional tour guide who began a vlog and Bicolana Facebook page promoting destinations in the region when lockdown began says she misses everything about her work: From being exposed to places, people, and culture to waking up early in the morning and preparing her commentary for the day.

For Jecel Sanchez, a mountaineering guide in Bukidnon, it was missing hiking, camping, and climbing the rocks of the Kitanglad Mountain Range, an ASEAN Heritage Park home to 600 endemic species including the second-largest flower in the world and the Philippine eagle.

One learns a lot from leaving home teaching you that there are many ways to lead a good life different from what you know. In an uncertain world, when it is safe to move again from one place to another, travel can help heal places changed by the circumstances of the pandemic. There is the pride of place and determination to endure.

Siquijor homestay owner, Joy Dominie U. Chan says, “It makes me feel good to know that I have helped and assisted my fellow stakeholders in fulfilling requirements for us to operate successfully and even garner awards…Most of all, I love being who I am, speaking my mind, sharing creative ideas and finding solutions to the present crisis.”

There also continues a sense of hope in the places they live in amid a world in flux. James Allen Santiago, a tour guide and culture worker in San Fernando, Pampanga started producing virtual tours for the city in anticipation of the time when the situation improves. He sees his role as curator of the San Fernando Train Station as preserving Kapampangan heritage by rooting for local artists, lantern makers, and even kutseros.

Second generation silver jewelry maker, Rommel Marcelo from Baguio expresses a similar sentiment when it comes to craft heritage. He says, “Our pride is boosted by the acceptance we have received from clients. It justifies the handcrafting skills we put in our creations and the quality we apply to everything we produce. Be it from a simple ring to the most intricate of filigree works.”

To work in tourism is to look out for the well-being of the guests who travel far to be there and to be a guest is to also contribute to the economic well-being of the people you visit. Lemon Dines, president of the La Union Surf Club and surf instructor since 1999 says he recalls the time when people would do their best to get ready on Friday in anticipation of the tourists arriving during the weekend. He says: “I’ve been to a lot of surfing areas but nothing beats the hospitality of the La Union community. We take care of our tourists and make sure they have a memorable time.”

At its best when travel takes into account concerns about the environment and the way of life it opens to others, it is an act of friendship for the traveler to go, to be there not just in page views or clicks and appreciate the joy of place once taken for granted, now valued even more.

Joy Dominie U. Chan tells me Siquijor is an island known for its sunsets and mystical healing traditions. I might just go there instead of Bohol when this is all over, to rid myself of bad juju from months of isolation. If you get there before I do; tell them I am on my way.

The post If You Get There Before I Do appeared first on 7641 Islands of the Philippines.