Beach, Fishing and Fishes

Philippines is an archipelago that's why fishing is an invaluable source of income and food for most Filipinos. The water surrounding the country is not only rich with fishes, but also home of other aquatic treasures, which make Philippines one of the most biodiversified places in the world. 

There are lots of beautiful beaches in the country, making it a tourist hot spot. Boracay island, for instance, is one of the most popular in the country, and perhaps in the world. The country's tropical climate added to its desirable attributes, especially to tourists from cold countries. The picture below is taken at Panggubatan, Island Garden City of Samal. The water is very clear, clean and rich with food sources such as fishes and sea urchins.

A typical Filipino fishing boat

Rice, vegetables and fish are Philippines' staple food. Usually, fishermen in small towns or barangays, as what we call it here, sell the fishes they caught to their neighbors. It's often a door-to-door transaction, where the merchants go on foot and shouting to the streets about their catch for the day. The usual call is something like this: "Isda mo diha!" The photo below is an example of the usual fishes found in the Philippines. Of course, it's different in every region and on different seasons.

I hope you enjoyed the photos! Thanks for dropping by!

Puffer Fish

I am always amazed how nature works, especially for species like the puffer fish I'm featuring in this post.

When I saw this photo of my father's friend holding a puffer fish, I got curious about its "blowing up" mechanism. I already know that this kind of fish blow up to make themselves look bigger, thus making them look more intimidating against predators. But, I want to know more of what's going on in their body to make them blow up! Well, I did some research and this is what I found out: Puffer fish inflates itself by sucking in air or water from the environment. It is able to stretch its skin because instead of scales, it has elastic skin. Nevertheless, it is no fun experience for the puffers to blow itself up because it's physically stressful to them.

FYI:
Puffer fish had many names such as blow fish, globe fish, Fugu, swell fish and balloon fish.
Not all puffer fishes are poisonous, such as Takifugu oblongus.
Japan and China celebrate a so-called Fugu Feast, where puffer fishes are served in different delicacies.
There is no antidote as of this day for puffer fish poison.
Puffer fishes vary in sizes and appearance depending on its species.
Puffer fishes have four teeth, thus belonging to the family Tetraodontidae
There are more than 120 species of puffer fish in the world.

I hope you enjoyed this post! Thanks for reading!

When I was a Nursing Student

I'm proud to be an alumna of one of the best nursing schools in the Philippines: San Pedro College, Davao City. My experiences in that school, and even outside the school (community immersions) were fun and full of learning. Below are some of my photos taken when I was in college:

Carlo and I got a surprise when we received leadership awards during our NSTP class (1st year, 2006)

This is one of the most awaited events in the nursing school: the Capping and Pinning ceremony. This means that we're now ready to go on clinical duties and related learning experiences in various clinical areas. That was me in the center.

This was during the lighting of the candle, I think for Nightingale's prayer. The camera was set on "no flash" mode, giving it a more solemn look.

This time, the camera was set with flash. I just remembered how strictly we practiced for this event. I guess it paid off, seeing this photo of neat and behaved nursing students.

This was taken after the ceremony. Look how big my smile was! I couldn't be more proud and I'm happy that my parents were beside me.

Ailyn, me and Froilan were enjoying the walk in the beach after a community service. Poor umbrella!

I love this photo! Look how my classmates started to come closer for more picture-taking!

We usually ride the tricycle from the community back to school. Well, it's the only transportation service that could take us from the area  directly  to the school.

This was how it was back then at the physics laboratory class. Shhh...

Taking notes (though some of my classmates in my side of the class were sleeping)

Scales and weights

Our professor left us to do an experiment and we had fun with it, as well as with the camera!

Caught in the act Clarissa and Carlo!

Cute baby during IMCI community service

Me and Myles with the prizes for the club competitions

The BSN 1C was prepared for the 1st year BSN classes cheer dance competition for the PE subject.

The whole class participated in the competition, basically because it's graded! No participation, no grade! LOL!  However, it was worth it because our class won in the competition.

Graduation day! My parents and I were waiting for the ceremony to start outside the Banko Central ng Pilipinas, Davao.

I'm having fun with my father's sun glasses during the graduation ceremony, which was about 4 hours long.

Ger, Jes and me after the ceremony. Cheers!

I hope you liked the photos! More photos of my experiences to come soon! Thank you for viewing.

Pearl Farm Beach Resort,Island Garden City of Samal, Philippines

Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS) is most popular for its beautiful beaches, water falls, and other natural beauties. One of the most popular resort in the Philippines, and perhaps in the world, is the Pearl Farm Beach Resort, located at Kaputian, IGACOS. I would never have visited this place if not for my close friend, Imee, who got tickets from her mother as a gift for the summer vacation. Here are some photos of the things that we did during that day:

A walk from the registration area in Lanang to the boat that would take us to the resort.

Boat ride is 45 minutes - 1 hour. Newspapers were provided for those who would like to spend their time reading. Complimentary bottled water were also provided for the guests during the ride.

A beautiful view of the popular Pearl Farm cottages.

Upon arrival to the resort, the crew were already waiting to welcome the guests. I must say I was impressed, especially when they started giving out welcome drinks. The drink, which is orange-mango flavor, was really delicious and refreshing, perfect for that hot summer day!

Relaxing a bit before plunging into the beach!

This is me and Mitch, my friend's sister, having fun at the beach.

This is my friend, Imee.

Lunch time! Lunch was available from 11:30am - 3:00pm, and the best news is that it was buffet-style so you may eat all you want, all you can! 

Enjoying the summer heat, plus the relaxing ambiance of Pearl Farm.

I hope you enjoyed my photos! Feel free to add your comments and questions below. Thanks for viewing!