everyday is God's masterpiece

reminiscing this beautiful sunset at caba beach in brgy.  cabacungan, allen, northern samar, circa march 2021, at the height of the covid-19 pandemic, no less!

for full three years, this photo sat on my drafts. i planned on writing something around it

but i never got to publish; it kept getting put off.

this photo is real lovely and it was even lovelier in person.

there were times that i wanted to write a new blog but i just ended up staring at this photo 

for hours and hours.

 how time flies and so much has passed since. 

when I close my eyes, i feel like i could almost go back and 

feel that carefree moment.

i've had two babies since. 

i know, i know. 

and I haven't posted anything on this blog ever since I found out i was pregnant

between being fatigued and nauseated and now living in constant chaos, i barely have 

time to type a thing or two.

but hey, i am not complaining.

my hands are full but so it my heart.

oh, these two!

I've blogged about alighting at the Abak Beach Resort and visiting the iconic Faro De Capul but I totally skipped about making a  blog post about where we spent the night. So here it is! For future reference, if you happen to visit Capul and are on the lookout for a place to stay.

This place is called the Acapulco Beach Resort. I may have mentioned in my previous post that the island town's name of Capul was derived from the word Acapulco, as in Acapulco, Mexico because this place was a guidepost at the height of the Acapulco-Manila Galleon Trade (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capul). However, the beach isn't just the main attraction here because there's a two story house that can be rented out for various purposes. A friend of mine (we go way back from our Uni days), her family owns the place and I asked her about the rates and they are as follows:

Php 7, 500.00 per day (rent a home, good for 15 to 20 persons)
Php 1, 000.00 per room (good for 2 persons)
  - Add Php 250.00 per person in excess of

First off, here's a panoramic view of the house and the beach. It's a lovely view to wake up to, isn't it?

Werk it baby girl!

That would be me, having my moment. Though, I am saddened by the crappy quality of this photo. 😔

Here's the grassy lawn, right in front of the house. Some of my companions brought along their own tents and decided to sleep under the stars.
I don't have a photo of the interiors but this place feels like a home away from home. You can cook, grill some barbecue, sing the karaoke at the top of your lungs, or party 'til the break of dawn like we did.

The owners were truly very hospitable. There were about 80 of us from the Northern Samar Police Provincial Office who came to have our Women's Month Celebration last March and we basically took over the house that some of us were running out of bed space. We were offered a private room of the proprietor which is situated at the top floor and it had a great view! Here are some shots taken at the top and the exteriors.

Some people travel because they want to look at the scenery or some of nature's wonders. Some do it to experience sports like surfing, hiking, zip lining, etc. Others do it to put their buns out in the sun. That's not me children, that's not me. I'd rather be trapped inside a library, a museum or other historical structure. It's always amazing to be in a place that helped shape the lives of people. Anything ancient calls to me. But ghost stories freak me out, okay, so let's stop right there.

The Faro is one of those places that I've been wanting to visit ever since I set up camp in the North. I experienced this place under the heat of the 2 o'clock sun and boy oh boy was I out of breath while descending those steps. But first, I thought this place would just be close to the town's center. News: it's not. The Faro is located at the northernmost tip of the island. We took a habal-habal ride for what seemed like forever. And we're not talking about a smooth ride huh. It was bumpy with a lot of ups and downs and good views of cliffs. Yikes! I'm aware that the manong driver is a pro went it comes these winding roads, but still!!! Anyways.

According to the inscription, this lighthouse has been guiding seafarers passing through the San Bernardino Strait since the 1890's. That's a lot of history there, and lot's of lives saved too, since judging from the strong current, this strait isn't an easy breezy place to navigate. The recognition from the National Historical Commission declaring it as a National Historical Landmark in 2013 is well-deserved. You can read the rest here. ⇩

And because of that, I couldn't resist my daughter's wish that we climb up the lighthouse tower. I forgot I had a fear of heights; I was curious too. Regret came raining down on me as soon as we were on the  third step of the spiral staircase, but my daughter was oblivious to it. Climbing the stairs was the least boring thing she'd done all afternoon. It was a short climb but it got steeper and steeper towards the top and I swear to God I thought we were going to fall off! 

From down here I got a clearer view of the sea and the rugged coastline. I bet it would be a lovely experience to walk around the whole place if the sun isn't burning up. Sunset, anyone?

There's is also this rock formation on one side which seems to resemble a huge foot. In fact, it's locally known as the Big Foot. My daughter believes it's a giant's, just like the ones from Giant Country in BFG.

How many times have I wanted to go to Capul Island but never really made it? Countless, I would say. And it's not like its very far from where I live: just an hour's boat ride. Wait up, maybe that's the key word there: BOAT RIDE. I'm not afraid tho, it's just that I don't know how to swim and I easily get seasick. Let's not put two and two together for they are lame excuses, I know. Which is probably why I finally decided to throw 'em away this summer and took the chance since life gave a golden opportunity. 

The island municipality of Capul is located in Northern Samar, about 45 minutes away by boat from the ferry terminal at Allen. There are four island towns in Northern Samar, namely: San Antonio, Capul, Biri, and San Vicente, respectively. I was already able to visit San Antonio in 2016 and since then I have been wanting to reach the other island towns too. Finally it happened this year and I couldn't be happier.

The first spot that we visited was actually where our boat docked. The place is called the Abak Beach and it's breathtaking. You know what I felt when I saw the place? I felt like I made the right decision to get on the boat, waves and seasickness be-damned. Totally worth it. Celestine was with me and I was so sure that she would have a blast. 

A little tidbit from Inquirer.Net: Originally, Capul was called Abak. According to folklore, its present name was derived from “Acapulco.” During the galleon trade between Manila and Acapulco during the Spanish colonization, many boats would drop anchor at Capul, waiting for the current to flow outward to the Pacific Ocean before they start their long voyage to Acapulco in Mexico.

Capul has a unique language called Inabaknon, instead of Waray-waray which is widely used in the Samar area. I tell you guys, Inabaknon is a league of its own. I'd very much like to learn it but it's not like Cebuano, or Bisaya which shares similar words with my Waray-waray. Due to few speakers, the language is highly endangered.

So, now we know where this place got its name. Anyway, on to the exploration.

First on the itinerary is the picking of shells. *cough cough* This must be the reason why our baggage was heavier on our way home. Full of seashells and other knickknacks. 

Yep, the beach. She has told us like a year ago that she would want to celebrate her 7th swimming so here we are.

First of all, the Frozen-themed cake is kinda off since we're surrounded by sand and sea. We should've gunned for The Little Mermaid but she's not hearing it. See? 

But it doesn't matter to her, really. Food doesn't matter because nothing it more important than swimming with the friends. It is your moment, after all, baby girl. So live it!

For brief moments she would get out of the water; the only chance we had to take this family photo. However, what's more important is that she had fun. It's evident in her skin color afterwards. 😉 We had an advanced celebration on the 9th of December. We're lucky that the sun came out that day. Our birthday histories are very much riddled with typhoon and flood stories. Ha ha ha. And there's a lot more to be thankful for than just the weather. So many little things that make up the big things.

Here's to more birthdays and blessings!

And oh, I'll just leave you with the aftermath. :)

It seems like only yesterday when I was writing a blog post about Celestine's Moving Up Ceremony in April and now, here we are: saying hi to June... and July, 'coz this blog post is overdue. :)
In other parts of the world, and even in some schools in the Philippines, June means being close to the end of the school days. But for us, it's only the beginning of the term.

So it's goodbye to sleep ins and hello early mornings.

Goodbye to late night movie marathons and hello homeworks.

Basically, it's goodbye to the chill life and hello stress.

I've also done a bit of parenting stuff at school. Yep, general cleaning. That, plus waking up an hour earlier than what I'm used to. Plus cooking breakfast and making her eat quickly. Why do kids move like sloths in the morning? Plus convincing her to take a bath even if the water is cold. And dressing her up while she thinks of a few more delaying tactics. That's just some of the adjustments I've made. And it's just for one kid. If I had three, I think I would go crazy!

A month into this new routine and I am happy to report that I am doing well. I've adapted, as moms are wont to do. And I am glad that despite all of the stuff that I have to do in the morning, I am never late for work. Actually, I arrive at least fifteen minutes earlier than 8:00 AM. I'm doing well, thank you! ;)

Real life isn't perfect. Nothing ever sails smoothly forever. 

But here I am, putting up a good fight. All because I have a good girl with me and I have made a promise since Day One that I will always, ALWAYS have her back.

It's a delicate balance that moms have to make: we want to always be there for them but we also want to teach them to be independent.

There will be wrong answers during quizzes but hey, that's more reason to work twice as hard.

Now, where's that Momoland stuff and let's start dancing to Boom Boom. :)
Kids these days.

XO,

Mummy Cassie 

While waiting for the Processional, I took these photos. It was a sweltering day by the way. Summer is here! She's looking lovely and excited on these photos. She decided beforehand that she wanted braids and a butterfly headband. Her Tita Jeny did her hair. I put some light makeup on her and just dabbed a lip and cheek tint for a hint of color. I also pinned that pink ribbon corsage on her. I noticed that no one else did that so maybe it's not a thing here in Allen. But growing up in Burauen, I always had a corsage on during Recognition Days so it's a tradition. Anyway.

Getting into the first grade will be  challenge for my daughter and I promise as a mom, ka- career -in ko and pag support kay baby girl.

Go go go!

She did say that she's ready to be a Grade 1 with full conviction. Aja!

XOXO,

Carissa