The sky was like a purple haze. When the faint daylight was just creeping in, signalling the entry of a fresh new day, my entire family loaded the car and started hitting the road north bound. With the windows down at a speed of 60kph, I felt the chilly dawn breeze as it caressed my skin. I was half asleep, staring blankly outside when we passed by a beautifully-landscaped road with queen palms trying to reach the skies. That was the mark that we were finally within Tagum City, the City of Palms.Moments later, we entered the compound of the Hijo Banana Beach. As soon as I saw the Hijo Banana Beach front, there was a refreshing feeling to my busy soul, being one with nature and with family, thatmade me realize the real essence of living – feeling pure bliss, making memories, keeping relationships and enjoying nature.
I removed my sun dress, leaving only my bikini on. I made my way to the pool side. I was basking under the blazing sun while drinking aromatic coconut, the sweet coconut variety that canonly be found in Mindanao. What made the coconut so special was its natural fresh taste that can never be found inside any grocery store. After many busy days in Manila, I have finally felt I am home in Hijo Banana Beach. My sun-kissed skin felt the need to be rehydrated.I jumped into the water and it was warm and nice. I started doing normal laps in the pool with my siblings. When everyone was tired, we hung out at the sunken bar in the middle of the pool and drank shaved ice. We were called for lunch and right before my eyes was a table of Filipino Food. We started feasting on the savoury Pancit Guisado, pungent Sinuglaw, Sinigang na Hipon with a kick of zesty flavours and silky Sour soup Shakes.
It was finally time for our Forest ...
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...’s light rays were just starting to fade away when we finished packing up. We sat down the beach front, atesalty and crispy Classic Lays and dazed at the sunset as the sky’s tangelo blush immerses with the azure strokes across the horizon. As the sky covers the warm colors of the sun with cooler hues, I looked up with astonishment.
Moments like thisbring back tranquillity to a busy soul. Breaks from my normal routines and going to places like Hijo Banana Beach remove the barriers that keep me preoccupied. This makes me see and appreciate moments with nature and my family. Escapes like this make me remember why I work hard in the first place, and that is for my family. Sooner or later, my memories will be tattered but the feeling I felt, the people whom I spent time with and of course, places where I make memories like Hijo Banana Beach will always remain in my heart.
The warm wind blew my hair back, while I listened to the chatter and thumps from the steps on the wooden walkway. Car horns occasionally sounded as they passed by up the road. Colorful sail boats provided a picturesque background. Paris had his camera wrapped around his neck and was focused on the glowing sunset. We sat on a black swinging chair, facing the rippling water that held the sunset’s warm reflection. Paris scrolled through the pictures on his black professional camera.
When my family and I could feel the warm fine sand, the gentle cool breeze, witness the crystal clear aquamarine ocean and swaying palm trees, and smell the sweet fragrant scent of plumerias, we must have gone to heaven. The enchanting beauty of this Hawaiian island, Maui, gives us a sense of warmth, peace, and serenity. In search of paradise, we explore the infamous Road to Hana, snorkel with underwater marine life, and journey back in time to experience the true customs, traditional cuisine and the original song, music and dance of Hawaii at a luau.
The Hawaiian sun beats down on my skin, warming and basking my arms in its radiance. I took a deep breath and detected a sweet, flowery perfume wafting out of a small booth which was completely covered in different beaming colored garlands of all sorts. There were yellow ones, and pink ones, and red ones, and just about every color in the rainbow. I rushed over to the stall and selected a pink, white, and yellow garland that smelled so
As my family and I sped along the coast, the sour smell of sulfur vents and sea salt pungently gusted through my nostrils. My clothes were damp from the constant spray of seawater. My sense of balance was overcome by the sequential hop from wave to wave and – combined with the
warmth of the sunset through the blossomed trees. If she were a boy, she could achieve her parent’s approval; s...
The smell of the restaurants faded and the new, refreshing aroma of the sea salt in the air took over. The sun’s warmth on my skin and the constant breeze was a familiar feeling that I loved every single time we came to the beach. I remember the first time we came to the beach. I was only nine years old. The white sand amazed me because it looked like a wavy blanket of snow, but was misleading because it was scorching hot. The water shone green like an emerald, it was content. By this I mean that the waves were weak enough to stand through as they rushed over me. There was no sense of fear of being drug out to sea like a shipwrecked sailor. Knowing all this now I knew exactly how to approach the beach. Wear my sandals as long as I could and lay spread out my towel without hesitation. Then I’d jump in the water to coat myself in a moist protective layer before returning to my now slightly less hot towel. In the water it was a completely different world. While trying to avoid the occasional passing jellyfish, it was an experience of
I desperately attempted to free myself from the relentless grasp of boredom. I looked out the window, but like the thousand times before, I saw nothing but farmland hugging the earth for miles. I was visiting my dad's home country, the Dominican Republic, for the first time in my life. The night before I couldn’t sleep. Every time I closed my eyes the thoughts of all the enjoyable activities I would be doing flooded my mind. I couldn’t wait to go out to sea on my Uncle's small fishing boat, swimming in the crystal clear waters surrounding Punta Cana, and kayaking to a small nearby island with my parents. But first, I would have to experience a 3 hour long drive to go to the quinceanera of a cousin that I had never even met.
We got there right after the sun’s peak time ended, so around 3pm, and my breath was taken away by it’s beauty. The sand is so soft, it feels like a fuzzy blanket on a cold fall day. When I walked on the beach I could faintly smell the of salt. As I would walk into the water, I could feel my skin tighten as the salt water would touch my skin. Then, as I got out of the water, I could taste the salt lingering on my lips.
As I walked down the sidewalk, my nose picked up the salty scent of the sea breeze. I looked ahead and saw the gleaming beach in the far distance. Before me, the tranquil city along with the endless blue sea sandwiched the golden beach that stretched across for miles. Then my eyes were grasped by the incredible beauty of the city skyscrapers that stood hundreds of meters tall, and they probably had also captured the sight of many other tourists. Some people were jogging and others were bike riding Just as the yellow sun rises from behind the buildings. It’s easy for many people t...
Upon arrival into the jungle of vast buildings, the first thing noticed is the mobbed streets filled with taxi cabs and cars going to and fro in numerous directions, with the scent of exhaust surfing through the air. As you progress deeper into the inner city and exit your vehicle, the aroma of the many restaurants passes through your nostrils and gives you a craving for a ?NY Hot Dog? sold by the street venders on the corner calling out your name. As you continue your journey you are passed by the ongoing flow of pedestrians talking on their cell phones and drinking a Starbucks while enjoying the city. The constant commotion of conversing voices rage up and down the streets as someone calls for a fast taxi. A mixed sound of various music styles all band together to form one wild tune.
As I lay on the minute golden grains of sand, I looked up at the brilliant sky, adorned with flashes of pink and orange and purple, mirroring the colours of a flawless seasoned apricot. The goddess-like sun’s face is being embraced by the demure navy fingertips of the skyline.
Closer and closer to the calm water, I began sinking deeper in the sand. It was comforting, the silence, tranquility, and warmth of the faint sun. There is a slight breeze, warm, but cold and lonely. I could smell the scent of fish blowing through my hair and body. The sun was still fading, slowly but surely the day was almost over. About half of it is gone now. I could see shades of blue, red, purple, and pinkish-yellow. They were mixed with puffy clouds that lined the beginning of the sky and the end of the water. I noticed the darker shades on the bottom of the lower clouds.
I awoke to the sun piercing through the screen of my tent while stretching my arms out wide to nudge my friend Alicia to wake up. “Finally!” I said to Alicia, the countdown is over. As I unzip the screen door and we climb out of our tent, I’m embraced with the aroma of campfire burritos that Alicia’s mom Nancy was preparing for us on her humungous skillet. While we wait for our breakfast to be finished, me and Alicia, as we do every morning, head to the front convenient store for our morning french vanilla cappuccino. On our walk back to the campsite we always take a short stroll along the lake shore to admire the incandescent sun as it shines over the gleaming dark blue water. This has become a tradition that we do every
I awoke to the sun piercing through the screen of my tent while stretching my arms out wide to nudge my friend Alicia to wake up. “Finally!” I said to Alicia, the countdown is over. As I unzip the screen door and we climb out of our tent, I’m embraced with the aroma of campfire burritos that Alicia’s mom Nancy was preparing for us on her gargantuan skillet. While we wait for our breakfast to be finished, me and Alicia, as we do every morning, head to the front convenient store for our morning french vanilla cappuccino. On our walk back to the campsite we always take a short stroll along the lake shore to admire the incandescent sun as it shines over the gleaming dark blue water. This has become a tradition that we do every morning together
The sunset was not spectacular that day. The vivid ruby and tangerine streaks that so often caressed the blue brow of the sky were sleeping, hidden behind the heavy mists. There are some days when the sunlight seems to dance, to weave and frolic with tongues of fire between the blades of grass. Not on that day. That evening, the yellow light was sickly. It diffused softly through the gray curtains with a shrouded light that just failed to illuminate. High up in the treetops, the leaves swayed, but on the ground, the grass was silent, limp and unmoving. The sun set and the earth waited.