A Spooky Night

We visited Mark's grandma in La Castellana, Negros Occidental, a 6-hour travel away from our own town. Mt. Kanlaon  is a clear view from here when the sky is clear. This place caters for most of Mr. Danding Cojuangco's sugar cane, pili, and mango plantation. So most of the people here depend on his 

hacienda for a living.

I've been to this place for a number of times already and Kristoff for three times. Most of our visits here with our little boy didn't give us any problem. Without any problem, I mean, our travels and stays here were just easy. I could say that Kristoff can just easily adopt to the new environment.

But our last night to this week-long vacation was an exception. It's a Saturday and we went back to the house of Mark's aunt at around nine in the evening from a visit to his other relative. Kristoff was already asleep at that time and after I laid him to bed, I just wiped him with a damp cloth and changed his diaper. He was in deep sleep, so undisturbed.

The house was situated at the back border of the subdivision facing the sugarcane plantation.

Half an hour before midnight, I felt him sucking his thumb, a sign that he's hungry. I got up to prepare for his milk when he suddenly burst into wild cries as if in pain. It was just one of his ways to tell me that he's starving already and I'm too slow to feed him, I thought. So I rushed up.

But then, when I gave him his bottle, his wails even persisted and made Mark wake up. I thought he might be having a colicky abdomen but dropped the idea when I percussed and listened to his tummy. This scenario is not usual, Kristoff always have peaceful nights of sleep even when away from home.

Mark closed the curtains from the two windows of the room. I don't really believe in aswang, but Mark's actions made me have goosebumps! I couldn't protest with my son in that situation. The househelp awakened and suggested that we move to the living room. Kristoff only stopped crying for awhile and feed and then resumed his wild wails. Nanay Lucia, Marks granny awakened and upon knowing what's happening, ordered Mark to go and check around the house. She then prayed the Apostle's Creed, while I cradled my son. Molo, the helper burned charcoal and sugar and made the smoke fill the house. In Hiligaynon, we call it "tuob" and is believed to ward off evil spirits. 

Mark also burnt something outside the house.

Like a miracle, Kristoff fell silent and relaxed, with his eyes closed. I fed him and he just sucked his bottle as a normal him. Mark entered the house and told me that he heard a "tiktik" outside. Actually, I haven't and I couldn't identify the sound of that tiktik but most of the people I know do. They said a tiktik is an aswang that transforms to a bird.

We ended up sleeping in the living room and this event left me thinking about all these beliefs of aswang and the like.

Hmmm...yet, I'm still undecided. Kristoff's cries might have other causes and besides I really haven't heard that tiktik or saw an aswang in my entire life and hope I won't if there's really one. The only thing I know is that I'm thankful that my son is not crying anymore and is peacefully asleep.

First Trip to La Isla Bonita with Daddy Mark

I mentioned in Choosing La Isla Bonita that Daddy Mark was captured by the beauty of the said resort that even though he was still on-board, he promised me that we would go there again when he comes home. And so, we did!

But it was a sort of planned and unplanned thing. Yes, we planned of going there long before that day and yet we never really expected that that day would be the day. We were totally unprepared! Get what I mean?

Here's the story. Our little town, Hinoba-an doesn't have a working ATM machine, so we have to visit the neighboring city, Sipalay to withdraw. The three of us went to Sipalay ( 30 minutes by bus) and after withdrawing some money, we realized it was too early to go home and then...the idea of going to La Isla popped up!

It was around 11AM, we wanted to catch up with lunch, thus we hurried to go the market and bought raw bangus, pork, spices and seasonings, cooked rice, water and charcoal for grilling.

When we had already settled in the resort. Daddy started grilling while MK and me took some time to ourselves.

This is really family! How I missed this! Who wouldn't? Mark was away for nine months and this is one of the moments both of us are dying to have.

Choosing La Isla Bonita

The water seemed muddy because this photo was taken right after a heavy rain.

La Isla Bonita, formerly known as Tinagong Dagat (literally translated as Hidden Sea), is one of the most visited beaches in Sipalay City, Negros Occidental. Owned by the Campillanos family, a native clan of the place, La Isla Bonita has captured the hearts of the tourists that they usually come back every time they get a chance. Well, I'm not flattering you because we are actually one of those regular visitors.

We first visited there when Mark was still on-board and it seemed that he too got so captured by La Isla's beauty that he promised me to go back there, with him, of course. 

La Isla Bonita is a good choice for first time visitors of Sipalay beaches. Why? Here are some reasons:

1. Easy to reach even for those who don't have a car. We don't have a private car, so we just commute. Upon reaching the Sipalay Public Market, we can just negotiate a tricycle driver to bring us to the resort at Php20-30 per person. We get there for only 10-15 minutes. However, make sure to tell the driver to fetch you at a scheduled time because the place is not a part of the vehicles' route.

2. It's cheaper compared to others. If you only want to stay for a day, then you only got to pay Php350 for the big cottage which is the nearest to the kiddie pool and Php250 for the smaller cottages which are just some stairs away from the pool. Whichever you may choose, it's still practical with the scenic views you can see there.

3.  Worried about wearing bikinis or swimsuit? You don't have to in La Isla. You definitely have a choice - to have your light shirt and shorts on or go for the swimwear.

However, an always important reminder is before you go there, always contact the management first for bookings especially during the peak season (summer) and during weekends. They are usually fully booked.