Lake Sebu: the land of the 3 lakes and the 7 falls. It is a place that abounds in natural beauty,  culture, and tradition.

Lake Sebu is home to the T'boli and Ubo tribes. The small municipality, located on the mountains on the north of the Allah Valley, is blessed with three lakes (Lake Sebu, Lake Seloton, and Lake Lahit) and countless springs, and majestic waterfalls, seven of which are cascading on the same river system (thus named the Seven Falls).



I grew up in a town about 30 kilometers from Lake Sebu and was able to frequent the place at an early age. After several decades, nothing much has change in this quiet town. Progress, the (destructive) kind we know of, crept.


Mt. Matutum bathed in golden light at sunrise

Visiting the place is always a treat. The sinuous mountain road offers great view of the valley below. If your timing is perfect, you'd see the sun peeking behind Mt. Matutum (the province's iconic peak) at sunrise.



Lake Sebu's natural beauty remains (relatively) pristine. Although lately the provincial governmenthas constructed zip lines in the vicinity of the second falls. One runs downstream from the first falls and passes the drop of the second falls on the way to a hill on the other side of the glen. In the process they have to clear the hill of some trees and also managed to "pollute" the scenery of the second falls. Weird sense of "eco-tourism".


fisherfolks in dugout canoes

Progress has not affected the T'boli's idyllic way of living. Farming and fishing remain to be the main source of livelihood. Their method of fishing and farming had not change much.



The indigenous culture is alive and well. The T'boli's made sure their arts and crafts are not lost. Songs, dances, and the art of weaving T'nalak are passed down from generation to generation.



I met the youngest dreamweaver (as one book calls the T'nalak master weavers because the patterns they weave are inspired by their dreams) during one of my visits. At the young age of 12, Divina was already producing astounding T'nalak with complex design patterns.



Lake Sebu is being actively promoted as an eco-tourism destination nowadays.. I just hope that with the influx of outsiders the town's beauty and charm, which had endured for years, will continue to do so for decades more.

More on Lake Sebu:

• Highland vistas of Tasiman 
• T'boli homestay
• Lake Seloton: the sunrise lake 
• Lake Sebu's 2nd Falls
• Intimate view of the Hikong Bente (the 2nd Falls)
  
• Lake Sebu twilight views
• Lake Sebu's idyllic rush hour
  

The wind and the waves were stronger than I expected. Several times I almost got toppled over. Its just the second day of the year but here I am already drenched in seawater, looking for another coastal beauty along the north western shores of Sarangani bay.

I got together with several of my friends in General Santos (home of boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao) and headed to a place called Kawas in the coastal town of Alabel, a few minutes from GenSan. Unlike the previous days, weather was great this time and we were hoping to have a good sunset. I was excited to field test a new camera body my brother gave me without hesitation (after twisting his arm) after seawater damage mine during my Guimaras trip.



It was more than a decade ago when I last visited the place. We used to go here in my elementary and high school days to collect specimens for our biology classes. It looked different now, the shoreline particularly. The mangroves at the reforestation area (found on both ends of a now established resort) are fully grown.



The place was beautiful, save for the visible shreds of plastic bags and wrappers that got tangled in some roots and low branches of the trees. The local government should seriously look into this as these garbage can also harm marine life.



Finding place to setup for the shoot was tricky. The waves got stronger as the sun dipped towards the horizon. The wind was picking up too. Walking on submerged rocks and roots and keeping your balance as waist high waves rock you while trying to keep your camera gears out of reach of the splashes was a daunting task.



Most of the spots we preselected were already in deep waters by the time Mother Nature showed her sunset colors. I moved to a safer location, closer to shore, rather than risk getting my gears wet.

My aching feet, bruised by sharp rocks and pricked by the thorns of shrubs, seemed like a minor inconvenience as I watched the mangroves sway with the wind against the backdrop of a beautiful sunset sky. I did not mind starting my 2010 this way.

Check out other views of the world in Thats My World.

"One of the challenges in photography is how to render a colorful world in, uhm, black-and-white. The challenge is to make the viewer fill in the blanks, so to speak - to make him see the colors in his mind while viewing a black-and-white photography, and most of all to be able to differentiate between the colors", says i-mag photography magazine about their Color in Black-and-White photo challenge.

I took up the challenge and was elated to see two of my photos included in their current issue (vol 2 number 12 issue 25).


Some photos are great for black and white conversion but they tend to show only, uhm, black and white. So I picked photos that showed the colors in different shades/tones of gray when converted to monochrome, and at the same time should also show rich blacks and striking whites.


My monochrome converted photo of lanterns inside a temple in Yeongjong Island (Incheon) in Korea made it to the top spot. Another image that got printed is a photo of a vinta (taken in Samal island, Davao) with its colorful flag against a backdrop of mid-morning summer sky.

What would one do in Vigan on a rainy evening if one has only a few minutes to spare? I suggest you head straight to Calle Crisologo and take your own postcard shots of the place.

We decided to take a brief stopover at Vigan on our way back to Manila from a weekend of shooting places in Ilocos Norte (Maira-ira, Bangui, Kapurpurawan). The sidetrip was short, just enough to have a quick dinner in a carienderia (small eatery) by the bus station and an equally swift tour of Calle Crisologo before catching another bus bound for Manila. Everybody seems to be asleep in Vigan by 8PM. and places to see (or eat in) are closed.


Vigan, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has a lot more to offer but seeing the city's world renowned cobblestone street turned golden after an evening rain was a great consolation.

I will be back for more, soon I hope.