I kissed April goodbye

Bright, sunny day to end April - me and my friends decided to go trekking to Mambukal Mountain Resort.

Mambukal Resort is about 31 kilometers east of Bacolod and is surrounded by therapeutic sulfur springs, leisure trails leading to waterfalls, streams, lush valleys and hiking trails leading up to Mount Kanlaon.

It was a "no-plan: we're just bored" outing, so we are really not sure what's in store for us. The boys werent even prepared so they decided to buy some "gears" in the nearest market. As for us girlies, we went shopping for basic stuffs like chips, water, and more water!

Our first stop: SM Save More - Libertad.

COUPLE A: Tarah and James

COUPLE B: Tequila and Phael

After our breakfast and prep sessions at Save More, we are now ready to face the challenge.

Welcome to Mambukal Resort!

Now let the trekkin' begin!

Inside Mambukal Resort, you will find lots of amenities like sulfur bath, swimming pool, bathhouse with spa, boating lagoon, butterfly garden, rock climbing wall, and slide for life.

They also have their food court with 5 different concessionaires. We decided to have our lunch taken out since we want to have it on the 7th falls. And since the trail for 7th falls inside the resort does not allow bringing of food, we took the other way - the longer way. The road less traveled. It was actually an hour and a half walk compare to the one inside the resort, but we dont have any choice.

I'm giving credits to this guy since he never gave me a single flower before.

Not that I blame him for not doing it, I'm just not a fan of cutesy, fancy, flower-giving tradition.

What a scene!

GameCocks farm on top of the mountain

Thirst quencher

And we're so glad for this cute water bombs we bought in Save More. For 5 Php each, it helped us get through the tiring walk under the sun.

So what's the 7th falls looks like?

You need to check it out by yourself. :) Trust me, it's worth it. Although I could not assure you that you wont get....

Blisters! x_x

Lunch Time!

We arrived around 1:30 PM, and gosh we are starving and tired. So we prepared our lunch (which we bought from the food court inside the resort) and ate sincerely. Ahhhh!! :)

After eating, we decided to take a dip. The water is very cool and the sound of it is so relaxing. I love it there! Serenity. Pollution-free. Heads up though: take it easy with the slippery rocks.

We left the 7th falls around 3 Pm and trekked down to other falls. Along the way, wild flowers caught my attention.

And though we hiked the other way, Mother Nature never failed to amaze me with its beauty.

After 20 minute walk, we arrived at the 6th falls. The 6th falls is less crowded but surely caters for the daredevils. It is 12 feet with strong current and only few would dare ump from the high cliff.

And one of them is...

Phael: My knight in shining aluminum foil with a daredevil attitude.

This part of the 6th Falls is about 12 feet high.

After satisfying his thirst for adventure, we hiked again to check out other falls.

3rd Falls.

After about 5:30, we decided to pack up and fix ourselves. Its time to go home. But before leaving the resort, we decided to drop by the Butterfly Garden.

The Butterfly Garden is located near the Boating Lagoon. Admission Fee is 20 Php. Inside, you'll find taxidermies of different butterflies, beetles, and other insects. Life cycle of butterflies are also shown in diagrams as well as its anatomies.

Taxidermy of Beetles and Butterflies.

And of course, you get a chance to have a close encounter with these beautiful winged creatures.

Us and the butterflies. ♥

Indeed, time flies so fast when you are having fun. We left the resort around 6 PM.

Tired but happy.

We finally made it to Bacolod around 7 PM and decided to have dinner at McDonalds. I really had a great time with Tarah, James and Phael. This is actually our post monthsary celebration. Yay! We're 6 months and counting.

Our next stop: Silay!

This is not goodbye

March 11, 2010 - I received a bad news last night. And I didnt quite expect it would come too soon. My friend Bebe died.

Bebe is a young, carefree 12-year-old girl who used to come to our house and help her Mom do our laundry. She's the diligent girl who would clean and sweep our backyard without being told so.If there is one thing I could not forget her, its her coy smile every time you asked her about crushes and life. Like me, she have this thirst to learn a lot of things. She's a smart girl. And sporty too - she loves badminton. And though she was deprived with all the luxuries in life, and sometimes deprived from playing as well, Bebe didnt complain that life was tough.

At a young age, Bebe was diagnosed with meningitis. I dont know when for all I was, she was too young to have such disease. But I guess, no one is too young or too old for this disease. It was just hard to accept that a young, happy, and smart girl would die too soon. . .

Bebe with my Sappho

For Bebe,

Sweet child... I will miss every thing about you. From your being industrious to your being carefree, happy self. I wished we saw each other for the last time, but I guess it wasnt meant that way. I know you are in a happier place now and I know that in there, you can do what you have been deprived of. You will never be forgotten for the moments we've shared are marked well in my heart.
Give my regards to my Lola Azon and Lolo Lydio, I know youll meet them there. I will miss you Bebe.


P.S.
Can I see you in my dreams?


Hugs and Kisses,
Manang Cathie

214

Definitely not the Rivermaya song. And neither does it stand for February 14. 214 is Markie's room number. Markie was confined in Bacolod Sanitarium Hospital. For what? DENGUE.

Dengue has been one of the most deadliest disease in the country. According to statistics it killed 31 Cebuanos from January to October. Bad Mosquitos!

Aedes Aegypti: the Dengue Hemmorhagic Fever Carrier

So anyway, let me tell you more about Markie. Markie is my friend and classmate when I was still in the College of Nursing. He has always been happy and gay. And dont forget, very amiable. We haven't seen each other for almost three years. It was only until Nov. 3 that he texted me o break the news that he is in the hospital. And with that news about decreasing platelet count, I was worried. He needed blood donors. I wanted to donate but unfortunately, we are not from the same blood type. I texted him instead, and promised to visit him and help him with the donor.

On the gloomy day of Nov. 4, Jane Mae and I visited Markie in the hospital. He doesnt look well, but he can still manage to smile. He was lean 3 years ago but now he was leaner. He shared with us about what he feels, about his disease, the hospital, and our classmates who visited him. We ended up having a little reunion because one of our classmate, Renaiza, was a trainee nurse there. And of course, with me around, no moments were left unrecorded on my little click-snap-camera. :)

Sexy Markie

Markie and Renaiza

Markie and Jane Mae

Its really good to see old friends taking care of each other. Most of all, it's good to see Markie smile. We left the hospital by 8 pm. We left with a prayer and hope that Markie will do fine again. And we left with a promise that we'll keep in touch more often.

Ahhh, its good to rekindle old friendship. It's good to have friends who really care for each other. and its good to be healthy. So Markie.....

Get Well Soon, Markova!!!!


Love ya!