Shared from The Prayer of the Heart

Prayer of the heart

Hold on to what is good,

Even if it's a handful of earth.

Hold on to what you believe,

Even if it's a tree that stands by itself.

Hold on to what you must do,

Even if it's a long way from here.

Hold on to your life,

Even if it's easier to let go.

Hold on to my hand,

Even if someday I'll be gone away from you.

-Pueblo prayer

Photo by Alma P. Gamil

Bulusan, Sorsogon

Philippines

Dachshund Meets Carabao

On our way to Palogtoc, Tucky (dachshund pet of Yapa, my niece) stopped suddenly to take a good look at the carabao trimming the carabao grass (what else!). Trimming of course is done by the carabao (photo) by leisurely grazing at the wide expanse of the coconut patch near Palogtoc Falls - a practical and green alternative to the mechanized lawn mower and the grass cutter.

Tucky: "What a strange creature. Black and big!...needs a bath too!"

Carabao: "What an odd looking dog... "

Tucky : "Cool...good job Mr. Carabao!" (Tucky gazing at the sprawling green 'banika' under the coconut palms).

Location: Coconut farm patch adjacent to Palogtoc Falls
Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines

Photos by Alma P. Gamil

Sand volcano on the beach

Dancalan Beach seems to imbibe an ambiance of a frequently visited tourist spot nowadays. Gone are the days when I can call the beach as 'all my own' - a day when I can bring my camera to the beach anytime and take photos of a long stretch of almost clean white sand with no traces of chaotic footstep markings and ramblings around  minutes ago such as this one (photo). Today, tell tale signs of visitors coming and going are everywhere. There was even a 'sand sculpture' mimicking Bulusan Volcano sitting on the beach :)

As usual, these details did not escape my eyes. The 'sand volcano' was captured by my camera before it was totally washed away by the waves.

It is clear to me now that the beach will never be all my own -  alone...on second thought, maybe this is just the beach's summer fling.


Dancalan Beach
Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines

Photo by Alma P. Gamil

Katmon

The katmon tree does not grow into a very large tree making it ideal for backyard gardens.  This one is wild, growing in a farm patch in Odikin (Sta Barbara), Bulusan.

The layers of ornate pistils and the showy white petals attract wild bees and pollinators ensuring continued supply of wild katmon fruits.

While passionate gardeners are already cultivating the katmon as a unique backyard garden plant and for culinary purposes, in Bulusan it is still very much wild. My visit to Odikin (Sta Barbara) yielded several photos of wild katmon along the way. Its showy flowers were a joy to behold whether on top of the canopy or in a flower vase.

Katmon species can be found in primary and secondary forests of the Philippines but it is now cultivated and popular with garden enthusiasts and native tree conservationists. However, it is only in Bulusan that I've heard of two kinds of katmon - the 'lunohan' (soft) kind of katmon, this according to Oya Choleng, a native of Odikin, is the better katmon and the other one is the 'kidit' or the not so soft kind. Both  varieties are growing in their village.

Katmon flower is also a gem for macro photography with its ornate pistil layered in intricate organic forms.

The ASEAN Tropical Plant database listed Katmon as endemic to the Philippines with the following data:

Scientific name	Dillenia philippinensis Rolfe
Family name	Dilleniaceae

Photographs by Alma P. Gamil in Odikin
Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines

Barcelona's Presidencia ruins

A trip to Barcelona, my hometown's border town, will not be complete without passing by the Spanish  period Presidencia ruins. A former part of the Old Bulusan, Barcelona is so similar to Bulusan town in so many ways including the language.

The structure is said to be part of a protective defense structure against the moro pirates during the Spanish colonial period built  probably at a later date than the fortress in Bulusan town, extant of which still dot the coastline of the Poblacions.

The Barcelona Spanish colonial Presidencia structure though in ruins is a major heritage site of the town that attracts tourists both local and foreign. It is located just across the Barcelona church (also a tourist draw) and faces the vast Pacific Ocean.

Note:

Information from LGU Barcelona about the history of the ruins reads: Moreover, the Presidencia Building with a two-story structure was the seat of Barcelona local government headed by the Governadorcillo. Being a few meters away from the shoreline of the Pacific, it served as a FORTRESS from pirate attacks with an underground tunnel leading to the parish church across the street. During the Japanese occupation, the Presidencia was used as a garrison. After the war, it was used again as the seat of the municipal government. A series of typhoons destroyed the upper part and surrounding walls. Its remains served as a historical landmark and an awesome sight to savor the past. The remnants of the adjacent Stone Building which was also built in 1874 as a school building for the children of the “Illustrados” can still be seen. During the American rule, it was still utilized as an elementary school building until a typhoon destroyed its roof.

Photographs by Alma P. Gamil
in Barcelona, Sorsogon, Philippines

Easter eggs what? Happy Easter in Bulusan

Posing at the belfry landings, the Kampanaryo (belfry) is a perfect backdrop for the present aleluya choir, yearly maintained by the parishioners to carry on the well loved 'aleluya' -- a more than three and a half century old tradition in Bulusan. 

Light moments for Tristan and choir members, all local girls and boys.

Tristan radiates happiness after a successful performance as lead soloist for the Aleluya.  Notice the black veil  and the carried over angelic pose of Tristan. Extreme right, is his cantora  teacher.

Starting at a very young age as  choir angel members.

The aleluya choir after the pictorial at the kampanaryo (belfry)

The cantora teachers for this year's Aleluya, Marieta, center and Oya  Ines, extreme  right.

In Bulusan, easter egg hunting tradition for children is not practiced. Easter egg is Greek to almost all the local children  (including myself and my siblings when we were children). In our town, the local kids during Easter Sunday are more familiar with the Filipino folk traditional 'Salubong' locally known as Aleluya where an angel descends from 'heaven' (a tower made for this purpose) singing and lifting the black veil of mourning off  from the Blessed Mother's face. It highlights  the Resurrection of Jesus Christ after the Good Friday commemoration. It is considered the feast of all feasts in the Catholic tradition.

The children if fortunate enough to be part of the 'angelic' choir will have the chance of a lifetime to experience the event up-close that will be carried on down the memory lane (my mother, a former aleluya lead angel soloist  could still sing the aleluya song at the age of 85 from memory). Hundreds maybe reaching a thousand locals and visitors regularly flock to the church ground to witness the Aleluya event.


Photographs by Alma P. Gamil
Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines

Sakristan Photography 101

Location: Saint James the Greater Parish Church
Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines

Startled.

Rock band pose.

One is looking at me and knows exactly what I am into, the other three are clueless.

Is this the new hemline for sakristans?

Puzzled 

While waiting for the Sunday mass, I observed and took photographs of sakristans assigned to assist the priest during the mass. Most of them were unaware what I was into. By the time they noticed my shutterbug activity, I'd already done some clicks secretly. Several thoughts ran across my mind while observing the sakristans: Garbed in the sakristan sotana, it seemed to me that the boys convey their behaved nature with hidden mischievousness. The hems of the sotanas: Is the new hemline midway between the knees and the heel or mid-calf with the rubber shoes  and pants prominently showing?  It looks nice though for teen boys. 

Gowns I concluded looked good on men. No wonder why the ancient Roman and Greek men wore gowns.

Photographs by Alma P. Gamil

Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines