A Glance Of My Hometown - Baler, Aurora

Baler is the capital province of Aurora, formerly a part of Quezon province. It is around 230 km northeast from Manila."Genesis" which is the only bus liner that services the route. It takes about 7 hrs or so to travel from Manila to Baler during a good weather. There are two roads going there, one is through the Palayan City and the other on is through Canili Road via Talavera and Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija. One advise though for those travellers who gets nauseus during long road trips, better take some medicines for that. The road trek is rough and "zigzaggy". I do not bring our car going up to Baler because of this but they say that the trail going there is much better now because of Sen. Angara's projects to rehabilitate the road and he is promoting the tourism there.

I remember when my Lolo Enoy and Lola Estaling was still alive, lolo would be waiting for us at some drop point along the road to fetch us while lola is waiting for us sitting on a rocking chair holding her big "abanico fan" and then a hearty meal would be waiting for us prepared by her.

There are a lot of sightseeing and activities you can do there. It has its share of historical sights such as the home and resthouse of former Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon. The province also has a beautiful Catholic church and several historical markers. Surfing is one of the most reason why tourist visit there. Nowadays there are a lot foreigners going there just to surf. Fronting the Pacific Ocean is Sabang Beach which is renowned for its gigantic waves ideal for surfing & wakeboarding. They say that from October-February would be great for such activities because of the big waves during these months. In fact Jericho Rosales a local actor and a surfing enthusiast would often be spotted there. He was also starred in the movie "Baler" along with Anne Curtis as his leading lady.

Here are some tourist spots to visit:


Me with my son, Shawn. Sabang beach on an early morning, it's waves are still calm.

We had our breakfast there which is inside the plastic bag I'm holding! Pandesal!

Standing Along Sabang beach is a structure which has the first Tsunami marker
here in the Philippines.Located along the Pacific Ocean, Baler is prone to tsunamis.
The last tsunami that strucked this area occurred- April 7, 1970.

Shawn's first time to try surfing!

Ditumabo Falls: Also one of the most visited tourist spot in Baler. Hydro electric power plant was built here.
The trek going up the water falls is 2.5 km! Imagine that! It took us 2 hrs of walking to see the magnificent view of the water falls. Everybody was already complaining because of the scorching heat of the sun plus we're all hungry already. Halfway through, I wanted to back-out already. Crossing the big currents below isnt easy. In fact I got leg muscle cramps twice along the way becasuse the water is very cold. Good thing there's a camping site halfway through and we got to rest there. It is a good site to eat your lunch there but too bad we didnt brought any that time.

Around 1km way from the falls.

Almost there! They call this the "baby falls".
In here are my 2 brothers Han and Jr and also Marvin our cousin at the middle.



The long trek going up the falls is so worth it! "Mother Falls" as the locals call it.
You'll feel a sense of tranquility and thank God for giving us such blessing.

A famous local picnic site: Deteke River.

Dinadiawan Beach




 

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Smoky Eyes: MAC Cosmetics

I was going to attend an evening party last month and usually I hire a professional to do my make-up and my hair-do. Unfortunately my usual make-up artist isn't available on the day of the occasion so I decided to invest for a good eyeshadow & foundation. I asked the make-up artist for the best cosmetic line and he suggested Mac or Shu Uemura. Hmmm... these brands are quite expensive I thought but I'd still like to check them out. To cut the story short I bought 2 new eyeshadows, a liquid foundation plus a brow set which the sales representative recommended to me. They are all from MAC btw. The latter, I wasn't quite convinced yet if I'm going to buy since I'm in a tight budget. I asked Ish who is btw a very lovely & friendly make-up artist from Mac to give me some demos on how to do my make-up. She suggested for me to opt for "smoky eyes" for a more dramatic look. She was able to convince me to buy the brow set in "Girl Boy" because it suits the color of my hair which is a light shade of brown. When I saw the result it actually makes a difference!

So here are the pics and the make-up was all done by me. Would you be brave enough to ask me to do yours too?! :)

If you're also opting for a "smoky eyes" look, your lipstick and blush should be on a lighter hue. Here I used Mac lipstick in (Hug Me) and over it Victoria's Secret Very Sexy lip gloss in Hot Pants and Miel Glace powder blush from Lancome.

Overall, I am satisfied with my new cosmetic loot but not so with the foundation. I think I did'nt get the right shade for me but for its purpose it served me well. It's a pro-long wearing foundation for my semi-oily face. Maybe I am just not used to it yet... hmmm... I'll let you know and update you again about this new foundation of mine. 



DISCLAIMER:
This post isn't a paid advertisement nor associated with Mac Cosmetics but if you wanna go and check out MAC cosmetics don't be intimidated. They'd gladly help you and assist you. Ish is btw from Trinoma's branch of MAC.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

My New Favorite Singer: Karolina Pasierbska

I haven't heard yet of this singer "Karolina Pasierbska" from anybody but oh boy! oh boy! I love her voice and her own renditions of some songs from jazz to modern music. Karolina is renowned as a singer of many different styles and genres. She reached the finals of many important vocal competitions, including one of the most famous polish TV competitions "Szansa na sukces". ("Chance for Success") Yes! She's from Trzebnica, Poland.

My most fave' is her own version of "Someone Like You" from the musical "Jekyll & Hyde". Next would be "But I Do Love You originally sang by Leann Rimes.

For those who loves Bossa Nova genre, you'll appreciate her version of "Fly Me To The Moon".

What do you think?