Stop over/Water World Wednesday

A lagoon beside a 7-Eleven and gas station in Subic where we stopped for gas.  Because SBMA is an economic zone, fuel sold here is not taxed so it's a bit cheaper.  While Pikoy was gassing up, and girlfriends were shopping in 7-Eleven, I was busy shooting.  The boardwalk leads to a restaurant.

Linking to Water World-Wednesday

Summertime/SWF

 Then followed that beautiful season...Summer

Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape

Lay as if new, created in all the freshness of childhood.

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Beautiful skies at Sky-Watch Friday

Orange glow/SWF

If I can put one touch of rosy sunset into the life of any man or woman, I shall feel that I have worked with God.  ~ G.K. Chesterson

An orange glow illuminated the sky a few minutes after sunset at Subic Bay; Grande Island on the foreground, Subic mountains at the background.

Linking to SkyWatch-Friday

Diving in Subic Bay/OWT & WW

From the second floor terrace of the beach-house at Edgewater, I noticed this boat anchored not far away from the pier. Em told me scuba divers frequent the area.  This area of Subic Bay is a marine sanctuary where commercial fishing is not allowed.  Aside from the rich marine life, there are also ship wrecks here--either from the Spanish-American War in 1898 or the World War II.

Subic Bay is part of Luzon Sea at the west coast of Luzon, the biggest island in the Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay.  The shores were formerly the site of a major US Navy facility, now the location of an industrial and commercial area known as the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

Linking to Our World-Tuesday and Watery Wednesday

Sky-watching from Triboa Bay/SWF

straight out of the camera

I took this photo near the gate as we were leaving Triboa Bay.  Triboa Bay is a cluster of beach-front villas inside the Subic Freeport.  The villas were originally built for leaders who attended the 1996 ASEAN Summit.  Now most of the villas are privately-owned and some are rented.

edited version

Linking to Sky-Watch Friday

Kamana Sanctuary/OWT & WW

We were driving around Subic one Sunday afternoon when M asked if we wanted to go to Kamana Sanctuary.  I relished being just a passenger that weekend and told M to just take us anywhere she wanted to go.  

Kamana Sanctuary is a fairly new resort in Subic Freeport, nestled between a rainforest and Nabasan Bay, and overlooking Grande Island and Subic mountains.

There was only a short stretch of beach so the main attraction here must be the eternity pool.  The casitas (rooms on stilts) looked interesting.  We wanted to see the rooms but we were told at the reception that the resort was fully-booked.  We chilled by the pool, sipped fresh fruit shakes, enjoyed the cool breezes and the view.

There is a spa here but I guess it's not open just yet.  I am actually more interested in the spa than the pool or the beach.  This is not my kind of beach resort.  Besides, their room rates are expensive.  I'd rather go to an island and sleep under the stars.:p

However, I'd say this resort is a good weekend getaway...just a short, easy 2-hour drive from Manila and there are lots of things to do in Subic.  And according to M, Kamana Sanctuary serves good food---that's a plus in  my book.:p

Kamana Sanctuary is inside the Subic Freeport, a former US naval base.  Subic Freeport is about 2 hours from Manila via SCTEx.

with my girlfriend, Maria

Linking to Our World-Tuesday and Watery Wednesday

Sparklers/SWF

 Sunbeams like diamonds falling through sunshine.  

Triboa Bay, Subic

Linking to Sky-Watch Friday

Skywatching @ Edgewater [SWF]

Subic Bay turned into liquid gold as the sun slowly retired behind the Subic mountains.  

The birds, the waves, my spirit fell silent at God's poetry.  

Captured this golden afternoon at Edgewater on Sunday.

True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment. ~ William Penn

Some days, we just need to turn the quiet up. ~ Dr. Sun Wolf

 More beautiful skies from around the world at Sky-Watch Friday

Edgewater [OWT and WW]

A friend and her husband recently bought a beach-front property at Edgewater in Subic Freeport.  I was invited to spend the weekend with another friend, BL. These photos were taken in front of the beach house--it's overlooking a small cove in Subic Bay.

Edgewater is a cluster of privately-owned villas inside the former US naval base.  Across the bay is the Subic mountain range.

Linking to Our World Tuesday and Watery Wednesday

Daily [Photo Hunt]

When I went to the doctor recently, he reminded me to drink more water daily. I have been trying to do it, I told the doctor, but I always forget---and I need to make it a habit. Like most people, it takes a lot of effort for me to establish daily habits like exercise, drink more water, or write a "to do" list.

It's no different with prayer. Prayer, like most things in life, needs to become a habit to work for us. It took me a long time to develop the habit of praying. I am not religious and I don't actually pray the "usual" prayer, but I do "talk" to God on a regular basis--every night before I go to sleep, every morning before I drive to work, and a few times during the day---"grappling with life in Jesus' name". It gives me daily comfort.

Courage is fear that has said its prayers.

- Dorothy Bernard

Posted for Photo Hunt

Ships [Watery and Outdoor Wednesday]

I said, love's easier when it's far away
We sat and watched a distant light
We're two ships that pass in the night
We both smile and we say it's alright
We're still here...
It's just that we're out of sight
Like those ships
That pass in the night...

~ Ships, by Barry Manilow

Posted for Watery Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday

Spotted [Photo-Hunt]

Spotted this napping Bengal tiger at the Subic tiger safari. The sound of his snores made my hands shake as I snapped this photo. His paws are huge!

It was nap-time, too, for the spotted civet cat or alamid, as it is locally called. The civet cat is a nocturnal omnivore that is usually active between 6 pm and 4 am, less active on nights when the moon is bright; and its favorite diet is chico, rambutan, mango and coffee.

Coffee Alamid, the world's rarest brew, is coffee prepared from coffee beans harvested from droppings of wild civet on different forest floors of Philippine mountains. A 100-gram pack of coffee alamid costs US$100...a kilo is US$500. I haven't tried it yet but I was told that coffee alamid makes such a sublime cup. When roasted, it exudes a fruity aroma, and has a strong, sweet, dark chocolaty taste.

nocturnal civet cat

It looks like this spotted deer missed his nap. This nocturnal creature is listed by IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) as an endangered species. Scientists call it the "world's rarest deer" and it is one of the three endemic deer species in the Philippines. Surviving population of the Visayan spotted deer still roams the rain-forests of the Visayan islands of Panay and Negros, specifically in the protected habitats of Mt. Kanlaon National Park, North Negros Forest Reserve, Mount Talinis and Lake Balinsasayao Reserve and West Panay mountains. This deer species is protected under Philippine law.

Visayan spotted deer in captivity

Posted for Photo-Hunt

Makapal [thick] - Litratong Pinoy

Berde at makapal pa ang kagubatan sa Subic Freeport. Kabilang pala ang kagubatan ng Subic sa mga protected areas dito sa Pilipinas. Pinangalagaan ito ng mga kano ng higit sa 50-taon noong nandito pa ang US Naval Base at pinagpapatuloy ngayon ng SBMA. Sari-saring habitat ang nasa gubat na ito at ang resulta ng forest biodiversity survey ay nagsiwalat ng 745 species ng halaman. Tatlo dito ang endangered at apat ang potentially threatened. Kaya kailangan ng madaliang pagkilos upang mapanatili ang pangangalaga hindi lang sa kagubatan ng Subic kundi sa iba pang kagubatan ng Pilipinas.

The forests in Subic Freefort are still thick and green. A part of the Philippine national forest, Subic forest is a protected area. The forests were protected from over-exploitation for more than 50 years while under the jurisdiction of the US Naval Base. The current preservation of Subic Forest in under the administration of SBMA. A wide range of habitats are present in these forests and results of the forest biodiversity survey revealed 745 plant species, three of which are endangered while four others are potentially threatened. Therefore, there is an urgent need of preserving not only the Subic Forest but other forests in the rest of the country as well.

some of the famous residents

Posted for Litratong Pinoy