Year-Round Sun in the Canary Islands

Located just off the West coast of Africa, the Canary Islands are a hugely popular holiday destination with British and European tourists, and it’s not hard to see why. Aside from great beaches, bustling resorts and a diverse range of things to see and do, one of the islands’ best traits is its location - which means it boasts a sunny, temperate climate all year round and makes it a great choice for both Summer and Winter holidays.


Although clustered closely together, the Canary Islands differ quite significantly from each other and offer a unique experience depending on which island you choose to visit.


Holidays to Fuerteventura are usually all about the beach. The island is generally laid-back, with little in the way of nightlife but plenty of great family entertainment and mile upon mile of golden sandy beaches that are just perfect for that much needed rest and relaxation. In contrast, the island of Tenerife - the biggest of the archipelago - is famous for its nightlife which attracts top-name DJs, while Lanzarote is a fascinating island formed by ancient volcanic activity that left behind a legacy of spectacular lunar-like scenery with deep caverns and a craggy mountainous landscape.


On a Gran Canaria holiday you’ve got elements of all the other islands with superb scenery, glorious beaches and a range of resorts to suit different tastes. Dotted around its beautiful coastline you’ll find everything from lively towns and all-night clubs to laid-back family resorts and sleepy seaside villages, with plenty of accommodation choices to suit every style and budget - including low-cost self-catering apartments, all-inclusive hotels by the beach and luxury cliff-top retreats with all the trimmings.


The Canary Islands are full of character and a great choice for any style of holiday. The only difficulty you’ll have is deciding which one to visit.

Tuesday Travels#31 Saigon Central Post Office

The Saigon Central post office is located at downtown Ho Chi Minh City, just walking distance from Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, the city's main church. The post office building was constructed when Vietnam was part of French Indochina in the early 20th century. It has a Gothic architectural style. It was designed and constructed by the famous architect Gustave Eiffel, the same designer who did the Eiffel Tower of France.

Her First Visita Iglesia After So Many Years

She left Catholicism years ago but because her family belonged to that religion for generations, she could not easily and totally leave it alone. More so, that our culture is intertwined with it.

I started doing Visita Iglesia years ago when I did it the first time during our Ilocos tour. Amazed with our historic churches’ beauty and longevity, I started doing it whenever I am in the country during Holy Week. Now, we are scheduled to do the Visita Iglesia together. Her first after so many years. No, she is not reverting back to her old religion. She was just curious enough about my stories of Philippines churches and their amazing architectural designs that lasted for generations. I do hope she will love the trip as much as I did for the past years.

Sunday Stealing#116

Today we ripped off a blogger and blog named Susan K. Mann. She claims to have been tagged by the lovely Pippa from A Mothers Ramblings in this & Questions and by the book loving Big Book Little Book. But, it was probably stolen there as well. So, of course, that will be as far as we go. Tracing back our theft's thieves might take some time. Take the time to comment on other player's posts. It's a great way to make new friends! Link back to us at Sunday Stealing!


Sunday Stealing: The Last March Meme

1. Which TV character do you think you are most like?

Not sure..I like the quirky characters like Zooey Deschanel's character in New Girl or Brooke Elliott's character in  Drop Dead Diva.

2) What time do you go to bed? 

Mostly, near midnight nowadays. Would love to change back to earlier time for bed though.

3) What was the last meal you made from scratch? 

Omelette.

4) What is your favorite type of music? 

Dance, R & B.

5) In what position do you sleep? 

I sleep on my back.

6) What is your first memory? 

Of a Sunday morning, me just waking up in my bedroom and hearing my father's favorite songs playing from the radio while my parents have their early breakfast. The house smell of newly-cooked food. 

7) What is your least favorite smell? 

Cigarette smoke and smoke from vehicles.

8) It's your round at the pub and your friends asked you to surprise them. What drink would you buy and why? 

The native drink, tuba and lambanog (fermented coconut juice). Both easily get people drunk.

9) What was the last thing you read/watched that made you cry?

 Jeffrey Archer's Kane and Abel.

10) They say that you learn something new every day. What was the last thing you have learned?
Liars lie whenever they can, small matters or not. 

11) Which Literary love interests would you snog, marry and avoid. 

Huh..my old brain can't easily recall all that.

12) What is your oldest memory? 

Hm..still a lot actually. Mostly, of old relatives

13) Paperback, Hardback or Kindle? Which of these is your favorite reading format and why? 

Paperback. I like the touch and smell of paper on my hands and besides, it's not hardback but hardbound which to me is more expensive.

14) If you could bring back any canceled TV series for another run what would you pick and why? 

Charlie's Angels.

15) Paperback, Hardback or Kindle?

Is this a typo? you already asked this. See#13. 

Litratong Pinoy#177 Mahirap Hanapin (Hard to Find)

On our first day, we walked for several hours at the city centre of Tacloban. We were looking for something to buy to take home and I didn't expect it to be so hard to find.  We got tired and it took us well into the night and we did not them. Good thing though that on our second day, somebody told us where the buy the Tacloban native delicacies.

They said, the Tacloban trip can only be complete if one has eaten the native delicacies of binagol, moron and sagmani. This is why we where quite happy to see them lining up at Zamora St., fronting the Goldilocks store near the public market of Tacloban.

Pilipino: Sa unang araw, naglakad-lakad kami ng ilang oras sa sentro ng lungsod ng Tacloban. Naghahanap ng kung anong dapat ipasalubong at hindi ko akalaing mahirap hanapin pala ang mga iyon. Inabutan kami ng pagod at kalaliman ng gabi pero hindi talaga namin nahanap. Mabuti na lang at sa pangalawang araw na pagsubok, may nakapagsabi kung saan namin matatagpuan ang mga pasalubong na kakanin ng Tacloban.

Sabi nila, kulang ang byahe sa Tacloban kung hindi nakakain ng binagol, moron at sagmani. Kaya, ang saya namin ng makita namin itong nakalinya ng marami sa daan ng Zamora, harapan ng tindahan ng Goldilocks na malapit sa pamilihan ng bayan.

Photography Without Photoshop

Ask any photography enthusiast if they do photoshop, likely a lot of them Photoshop their photographs. Except for this author who prefers her photographs unedited with just the watermark obscuring somewhat the view, photoshop has become such a part and parcel for anyone who ventures into photography. There are a lot of good things to be done on the said software. Amazing and awesome fit the descriptions of the said software.

God knows, how many significant pieces of life recorded in a photograph were saved by the Photoshop or by any photo editing software out there. However, for me, a good photograph is a really good one if it has not been edited or enhanced. For a professional photographer-friend, his recent discovery of Photoshop was a lifesaver. However, the time spent and lost editing his photos thru Photoshop is making him lose money. He now realizes that the best option is always to make sure to take a good photograph than rely on on any photo editing software.  As one photographer said, know your camera first before you photoshop.

The Rare Watches - Montblanc Replica Watches

The Montblanc Watch has approach an extensive technique from its modest first phase as the associate line by the Montblanc the corporation based in the country France. Formerly, better identified for its well works in creating the high class pens and the stationary, the brand name has approach an extensive method in manufacturing its individual line of the Swiss Watches.

This fashionable watch arrives with the limited version assortment. These limited editions watch simply manufactured and circulated to the online and offline shops of the entire world to be take pleasure in by the followers of the high standard Swiss made Watches. This is only of the brand which the brand which is famous for its popularity. So, this watch is very high in the price due to its popularity. For the reason that normal class person cannot purchase this kind of costly watch then the Montblanc Replica watches comes into the market for the fashion followers. The competitors of the Montblanc Replica watches produce the same kind of watch every year, but the people always trust on the Montblanc replica because of its quality and superior function.

This stylish is rare to locate but you can easily find this fashionable and high demanded watch from the online store. You can find a number of unique and attractive functions in the Montblanc replica watches.

The characteristics of the Montblanc replica watches which differentiate it from additional branded watches are the similar to feature and quality. Only the most excellent substances are utilized when making these luxury watches. So you can be positive which the watch you hold is a strong one which can situate the test of occasion. The Montblanc replica watches are certainly a huge speculation and can be hand behind from age-group to age-group. So don’t waste the time and purchase these stylish watches at the reasonable price.

Tuesday Travels#30 Vietnamese Girl

 I wanted to buy at least one of these Vietnamese girls as souvenir and also, to add to my mother's doll collection but I ended up having none because I run out of Vietnamese money. So, just took a photo of them instead.

No Benefits

Because am a bit of a night owl, I always end up rushing through my mornings since I could not seem to get up early enough. The result makes the taxi drivers happy considering I have to use them almost everyday now (the habit is hurting my purse badly.) The morning habit had me befriending some “suki” and we got to talking about their lives. Their woes are familiar to me considering my father was one of them for years in between his overseas works.

Since they mostly rent their taxis from the operators, they are not actually considered as employees but mere renters. Thus, the benefits that they should have were not given to them. It is common among taxi drivers to not have SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG and a health card. Most of them only know that their daily income goes straight to buy for their family’s food and for the children’s schooling. But leaving these benefits unpaid for are not good for somebody who is a breadwinner has no retirement plans or even health cards and has no other job options.

While riding the taxi, I mostly take my time in explaining them the experience I had with my father’s government benefits. He was actually luckier as he was employed in some private corporations that provided him the SSS and PhilHealth contributions. Only when he was in between jobs or when he was being a public vehicle driver that he stopped his contributions. The Pag-IBIG membership he had, I took the initiative to pay it along with my mother’s. For SSS and PhilHealth, enrolling and continuing in the membership payment will help the member and his beneficiaries in times of sickness. When my father got sick, PhilHealth really helped in our medical bills. SSS monthly pension made our daily expenses less burdensome.

For Pag-IBIG membership, which can be withdrawn upon maturity or retirement age, it was a big surprise for us to receive the amount in lump sum with dividend earnings that is more than the usual bank interest and without tax deduction! So, for those who are earning from work or business, even if it seems burdensome and unless you have millions stashed somewhere, it’s always imperative to get those memberships from SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG. Always, they could help and in some days, they could unexpectedly.

Litratong Pinoy#176 Lalaki (Male)

Male dancers during the Kadayawan festival's streetdancing held last year.

Pilipino: Mga lalaking mananayaw ng Indak-indak sa kadalanan sa piyesta ng Kadayawan noong nakaraang taon.

Tuesday Travels#29 Mutya ng Dabaw Beauties

Since I will not be able to see the Araw ng Dabaw festivities this coming March 16, Friday, I am posting the Mutya ng Dabaw beauties who won the beauty contest last 2010.

Araw Ng Dabaw Is A Holiday

The city’s foundation day dubbed as Araw ng Dabaw is on March 16. The city government already announced that it’s going to be a holiday. It’s just too bad that I won’t be here to see the celebrations. Several events are already lined-up for the week-long celebration of the city's foundation day. Already, my nieces are planning to see Coco Martin and the cast of the TV hit series, Walang Hanggan at one of the city’s malls this coming Friday. As for me, I am tra-veling...

Litratong Pinoy#175 Babae (Woman)

When you say  "Filipino woman", she'll surely have the talent and brains. These are the women dancers who participated in the Kadayawan festival streetdance last year. Their group was one of the top winners for that year. Today is the International Women's Day.

Pilipino: Kapag sinabi mong "babaeng Pilipino", siguradong may galing at talino. Ito ang mga babaeng mananayaw na sumali sa Indak-indak sa Kadalanan para sa piyesta ng Kadayawan noong nakaraang taon. Ang grupo rin nila ang isa sa mga nanalo nang taon na iyon. Ngayon ay internasyonal na araw ng mga kababaihan.

Tuesday Travels#28 Malagos Garden Resort (more photos)

Here are more photos I took from our Malagos Garden Resort trip sometime ago..

The visitor's receiving area..

The garden by the restaurant...

As I said from my previous post, there were several installations scattered around the resort. One of the installations is called Noah's Ark which is surrounded by animal topiaries.

This huge circle is said to be one of the installations done by the National Artist Napoleon Abueva.

Sunday Stealing#115

Today we ripped off a blogger named Moi from the blog Bite the Apple. She states that it's Curmudgeon's fault because he tagged her. But, it was probably stolen there as well. So, of course, that will be as far as we go. Tracing back our theft's thieves might take some time. Take the time to comment on other player's posts. It's a great way to make new friends! Link back to us at Sunday Stealing!



Sunday Stealing: The Eve Was Framed Meme

Cheers to all of us thieves!

1. Why is your favorite color your favorite?

My favorite color changes depending on my mood. Right now, I like orange and green. Orange because it looks happy and perky. Green, the light colored one, because it's cool to the eyes and it means hope.

2. Do you prefer dogs or cats or do you just hate animals, and want to kill baby seals?

I don't hate animals, love them. I don't have any plans of killing any of them too.

3. How much time do you spend on the computer?
A lot, at work and at home.

4. Not including porn, what do you do on the computer?

Work. Research. Update my blog posts.

5. Are you a clock watcher?

Not really unless am trying to check on an appointment date.

6. What do you/did you look for in a partner? 

God-fearing, hardworking, honest and proactive.

7. What type of clothing do you prefer? 

Comfy clothes. Basically, t-shirt and/or shorts/pants. 

8. What is your favorite type of music? 

Anything except the metallic rock.

9. Do you believe in the paranormal, Ghosts, ESP, levitation, spoon bending? 

A little.

10. The most important question: Do you have a inie or outie belly button?
Huh, don't get you.

11. What kind of car do you drive?
I don't have a car. Good thing because gas prices keep getting high.

12. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun or The Boys Are Back in Town?

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.

13. Camping or the Ritz?

Camping but I won't mind the Ritz once in a while.

14. What food are you craving RIGHT NOW . . . did you eat it?

Hmm...deep fried tuna.

15. The most thrilling place you've ever visited. Why?

Top of the Philippine highest mountain, Mt. Apo.

16. If you could slip into the skin of one public figure--celebrity, artist,--who would it be?

It used to be Madonna. Nowadays, I'd like to know Lady Gaga.

17. Look up from your computer. What do you see first?

Knick-knacks.

18. Sum up your philosophy of life in one sentence. You can borrow it from someone else, if you'd like.

Live life to the fullest but stay true to yourself. Work hard, play hard.

19. Name the one thing you just don't understand about kids today.

Fashion and attitude.

20. If you could steal one work of art from a museum or gallery, which would it be?

Any of Monet's work.

Litratong Pinoy#174 Sapin sa Paa

 

 

 

 

I had fun taking pictures of the costumes of the streetdancers of the Kadayawan festival last year. What I like most are their footwears. Unique. Colorful and of course, the Filipino's ingenuity and talent were quite obvious. 

Pilipino:

Kinatuwaan kong kuhaan ng mga litrato ang mga suot ng mga mananayaw ng Indak-indak sa Kadalanan sa piyesta ng Kadayawan noong nakaraang taon. Kasama sa nagustuhan kong mga kuha ay ang kanilang mga sapin sa paa. Kakaiba. Makulay at siyempre pa, kitang-kita ang galing at malikhain ng Pinoy.