Skywatch#135 Sunset At El Nido

On our way back to El Nido, Palawan we stopped by Commando Beach, our last destination for the day's island hopping. It rained for a few minutes and afterwards, this showed up.


 

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Skywatch#133 Summer in Britania Islands

We had an early start for summer last month. For years, we have been planning to get to Britania Islands, San Agustin, Surigao del Sur. Finally, after coordinating our group's schedules we did it on a weekend.  With one van full of my friends, we started our trip in the early morning of Saturday. The trip took more than six (6) hours but thankfully, the road was mostly paved. 

Here was one of our rewards after the long trip, a magnificent view from Hagonoy island (one of the 24 islets of Britania islands):



 

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Skywatch#132 Windmills of Tarifa

 
They were like sentinels fanning the clouds. The windmills of Tarifa were lined up on the hills and valleys and can be seen along the highway. That day, we went out of our hotel in Seville in the early morning for our destination, the small town of Tarifa. The town is our jump-off point to the continent of Africa. Tarifa is a small town in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia, on the southernmost coast of Spain. The town is located on the Costa de la Luz ("coast of light") and across the Straits of Gibraltar facing Morocco. At exactly 36 degrees latitude, it is the southernmost point of the European continent, situated south of both African capital cities of Tunis and Algiers.(source: Wikipedia)
 

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Skywatch#131 Twilight Skies Over Christchurch

Twilight was setting in while we waited on the line to get into the Christchurch Museum in Oxford, England. It was eerie but beautiful.
 

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Skywatch#130 Silhouette of Philip IV

Silhouette of Philip IV at Plaza de Oriente 

The statue is located at the east side of the Royal Palace of Madrid, Spain.

Philip IV of Spain (Spanish: Felipe IV; 8 April 1605 – 17 September 1665) was King of Spain (as Philip IV in Castille and Philip III in Aragon) and Portugal as (Portuguese: Filipe III). He ascended the thrones in 1621 and reigned in Spain until his death and in Portugal until 1640. Philip is remembered for his patronage of the arts, including such artists as Diego Velázquez, and his rule over Spain during the challenging period of the Thirty Years' War. (source wikipedia)

 

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Skywatch#127 Last Full Moon Of The Year

 

The full moon the other night was obstructed by clouds and I was already itching with the camera. Thankfully, the clouds cleared momentarily tonight allowing for a few shots. The next full moon will be happening next year.

 

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Skywatch#126

Photo taken at Hyde Park, London, UK.

We communicate to God through prayers (sometimes they become solicitation of favor/s) but one way of giving back what is due Him and appreciating of what He did for us is to appreciate nature. To stop for a moment in a day to see, to feel, to smell the wondrous thousands of colors a day could evoke, from sunrise to sunset. I dare say, God will feel really appreciated for that.


 

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Skywatch#119 Entrance To the Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery

This is the entrance to the Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery, Nagcarlan, Laguna.  Both the church and the cemetery are now considered part of the national  historical sites of the Philippines.





 

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Skywatch#117 State House Of South Carolina

The State House of South Carolina at dusk. The State House is located at the intersection of Senate and Main Streets of Columbia City. The photo was taken from the back of the building.

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Skywatch#115 Summer In D' Leonor Inland Resort and Wave Pool

Summer is almost at its end now. Nights are cooler, even rains are becoming frequent. Still, the days are just sweltering like any summer days should be and maybe even more. No thanks to global warming. One good way to cool off is to head off the waters, the beach or the pool. Since the beach has been the frequent destination for our office summer outing. The pool was chosen as the new alternative and the D' Leonor Inland Resort and Wave Pool just fits the bill. Located at Barangay Communal and just about 30 to 40 minutes from downtown, the new resort has zoo, wave pool, kid's pool, cottages and a zipline.

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Skywatch#113 Villa Escudero, Tiaong, Quezon

One of several cottages inside the Villa Escudero, Tiaong, Quezon. The plantation resort is about 30 minutes ride away from San Pablo City.

The plantation resort has a lot to offer for every one. Carabao (water buffalo) cart rides, bamboo rafting, buffet lunch at the waterfalls restaurant, Philippine native dance show and a whole lot more. For me, the one day trip is not enough to explore and enjoy the place.

To get there from Manila, ride one of the buses traveling to Lucena that ply the EDSA (Epifanio delos Santos Ave.) road or get to the JAC bus terminal in Taft Avenue. Travel time is about two to three hours. Tell the conductor to let you down right after the arch boundary of Quezon Province. The gate of the plantation resort is right after the arch on the left side of the highway.

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Skywatch#111 Philippine Churches#11 San Geronimo Church In The Morning Light

After doing our first station of the Way of the Cross inside Iglesia de San Geronimo (St. Jerome's Church), we made our way to the parking area which was at the back of the church. There was a shorter route by the stairway at the back of the church but we went around the area before reaching our tourist bus. En route to the parking lot, I saw this baclighted view of the church's facade. This is my entry for:

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Skywatch#109 Ho Chi Minh's Concave Roof

 

 This building near the Saigon Central Post Office reminded me of Shanghai Grand Theatre because of the concave-shaped roof.

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Skywatch#108 Notre Dame Cathedral, Saigon, Vietnam

The clouds were few, the skies were blue. It was just a beautiful summery day that day. But,  the heat took me by surprise because I never thought that Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) could get hotter than my home city but it really was. Since we were short of time, smoldering hot or not and with sweat trickling out in every pore of our skin, we need to do the city tour that day.

Like in almost all of our travels, a church is part of the itinerary. This one was no different.

Notre Dame Cathedral is just beside another architectural treasure of the city of  Ho Chi Minh, the  Postal Office.  Officially known as the Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception, the cathedral is located in the downtown of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Established by French colonists, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. It has two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet).

We were planning to get inside the cathedral to offer some prayers but it was closed for the lunch break so we made do with taking photos outside of it before proceeding to the postal office for another round of picture taking.

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Skywatch#107 Boracay Island Dogs

 

 Long before Boracay Island became the famous party island and became one of the most popular destinations in the Philippines, these dogs have been partying along  its beaches ever since when it was only known secretly among the locals and a few foreigners.

 Boracay Island is quite well-known for its beautiful, seven-kilometer white sand-beach aside from its similarly awesome pocket beaches and coves scattered all over the island. Through the years, it morphed into one big party island. A bane and a boon, me thinks. Still, the dogs are frolicking.

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Skywatch#105 Fishing In The Early Morning

An early fishing time for the old man while the sun was just starting to rise. I heard him say it was for breakfast but not sure if he got enough fish when some photographers were asking him to pose (lol!) while he fished. This is my entry for:

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Skywatch#104 Sunrise At Sta. Ana Wharf

It was never easy for me to wake up in the early mornings. That is why I am not crazy about fun runs in the early mornings but when a friend asked if I would like to tag along for a dawn shoot with one of the city's well-known photographers, I readily agreed. It turned out to be a fun shoot and never mind if I was half-awake. Here's one of the photos of the sunrise I took that day..

 

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Skywatch#102 Sydney Harbour Bridge

We were lucky enough that the weather was good during our first time visit to Sydney years ago. Here's the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House as seen from the Sydney ferry:



The above photo is a scanned photo. The digital camera was just starting to get popular when we took our Australia tour years ago. We had 3 cameras at that time and only one was a digital camera, Sony,  my first digital camera.


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Skywatch#101 Magellan's Memorial

With white clouds as its background, this memorial  for the Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan,  stands 30 metres high in Punta Engaño, Mactan Island, Cebu. The spot is believed to be the area were Magellan was killed by the native datu, Datu Lapu-lapu, in the Battle of Mactan on 1521, Philippines.

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Skywatch#100 We Shall Not Forget

This memorial for the fallen soldiers is located at the Corregidor Island. The island is the last stand of the Filipino and American forces against the Japanese occupation during World War II.

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