I have always loved living in the moment, enjoying the epic view, and trying to absorb as much of the experience as possible. Never have I truly tried to capture and reproduce it… until now. Continue reading Capturing the Real-ness
All posts by laura belle
El Nido, Palawan
El Nido, Philippines lies in the northernmost tip of mainland Palawan, and has one of the most diverse ecosystems in the country. Had it not been for our Tao Philippines expedition ending here, we may have missed this little gem surrounded by limestone cliffs and white sand beaches.
![Riding Jeepney Top Load [Video]](http://thadandlaura.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/jeepney-top-loading2-672x372.jpg)
Riding Jeepney Top Load [Video]
In the mountains of Northern Luzon, Philippines, all wheels weave through on narrow, unfinished, pothole-filled, little roads. Several parts of the road, being gravel and dirt, have sunken or fallen. The steep cliffs, lack of rails, and rough ground, make this drive thrilling, to say the least.
a place where time doesn’t matter
Back in our Denver apartment, we had at least four clocks hanging on our walls. We had two alarm clocks and two smart phones to wake us up, time displayed on the dashboards of our cars, phones in our pockets, and roadside clocks on signs nearly everywhere we went.
Kiltepan “sea of clouds” sunrise viewpoint
Tour guides in Sagada, Philippines are very available and heavily suggested for all activities. We may be gluttons for punishment, overly independent, or just plain cheap by not using them. Regardless, we opted to hike to the Kiltepan “sea of clouds” sunrise viewpoint on our own.
![[VIDEO] Cave Connection Sagada](http://thadandlaura.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/cave-connection-entrance-sumaguing.jpg)
[VIDEO] Cave Connection Sagada
Cave Connection is the name of one of the many networks of caves in Sagada, Philippines. The goal is to start at the beginning of one cave and come out the end of a different cave. We were warned that it could take over three hours to complete the maze with a guide, depending upon our abilities.
Using only one small lantern for light, we climbed through the cave using ropes to help maneuver over large boulders as well as our hands and knees to crawl between tight rocks. We also walked through pools of water, squeezed our bodies through tiny crevices, got dirty, and loved it.
Some of the openings in the cave were smaller than I thought we could possibly fit through. But amazingly, we did. The pungent odor of guano left by the thousands of bats provided some extra motivation. Needless to say, the whole cave experience was awesome.
See below for a short video clip of our caving adventure.
Bagio City Market in 40 sec
The Baguio city market is something to experience. It is a huge, open market in the middle of the city. They sell everything from edible goodies like fruit, vegetables, canned items, rice/grain, and all types of meats to hand made trinkets and other woven products like clothing, baskets, brooms, bags, and blankets. It is a bit overwhelming and easy to get lost in all the aisles and seemingly endless rows. The smells are quite crazy as well, as with any given pass, one can pick up scents of roasted coffee beans, ripe fruits, fresh cut flowers, plastics, smoked meats, and raw fish.