Home is Where the Heart Is - Philippines.

Just a quick background about me. I was born in Cebu, Philippines back in 1985. I moved to the US when I was five years old. When I was younger, my family and I would try to go back and visit every year or two but given budget constraints and the rising cost of airline travel through the 90s, our routine trips became less frequent. However in the recent years, traveling to the Philippines has become more affordable and now that I'm an adult, I can actually afford to pay for my own ticket hah. After ten long years, I was able to visit Philippines back in 2014. It was truly a remarkable experience, one that I'd like to share with everyone here.

My dad grew up in a very rural/mountainous area. He came from a family of farmers and much of his childhood and early teen years were spent working the land alongside his parents and siblings. Every year he goes back to his home province for an annual celebration held collectively by the locals. I was fortunate enough to be part of that experience and I was able to snap this awesome picture of my cousins and the local kids playing volleyball.

Most of the people in the area come from very humble beginnings much like my dad and his family. To show their love and support for their community, every year my parents and relatives pool together money to sponsor the annual feast, providing the locals with food and water. In addition to that, we host family fun games with prizes and a fireworks display for the entire community to see. In this picture, the kids are lined up as we hand out toys to everyone.

What's a party without some home made roast pig?!?

When all the festivities are said and done, my relatives and I went out for a swim, but not just any swim, island hopping! We chartered two motorized boats ran by the locals and hopped around five to six different small islands surrounded by coral reefs and fish sanctuaries.

Spotted a mermaid...or should I say a merman?...with a Gopro? This picture doesn't show it clearly but I was surrounded by a variety of tropical fish.

My cousin just having fun in the shallows.

If you're ever in the Philippines, this is an absolute must, swimming with whale sharks! Conservation efforts have really ramped up in the last decade and I'm happy to see that my country's compassion for wildlife is showing. Whale sharks are closely protected in my country and though there are some strict guidelines to follow when swimming with them, the experience is absolutely amazing.

Though I've grown up in the US and will continue to live here, Philippines will always be my first and true home. I'll always miss my family, my community, and all the beauty that my country has to offer. Hopefully I'll find myself back there in the coming year or so and when I do, that'll be blog post number two!

If you have any questions about sightseeing in the Philippines, feel free to ask! I'm all ears =)