A Sassy Swinging Summer

And now there's only one week of summer vacation left. Only one more week of bumming around, playing around, drinking around, and devoid of any responsibility or schedules. I must say I am prepped and ready to start the school year already. Though, I do say this with a little bit of sarcasm. I mean, who is ready enough for the start of school right? Despite the ticking clock of the impending school year, I find myself smiling when I look back at the summer I just waded in.

The biggest highlight of my summer is my beibe's return from Hawaii! Yes, it's the city of flowers, beaches, and women in bikinis. And he was there for almost a year! Although we went through rocky times when he was away, we're still together and very much happy! ^_^ He gave me a Canon Ixux 80 IS as pasalubong. Thanks beibe! This is why my blog has decent pictures now and not anymore grainy as taken by my camera phone before.

As I am typing this now, my skin is hell of a lot tanned (tanned is how I prefer to call it) and I am slightly bulging in some areas. This is all thanks to my almost two-month stay in Ilocos. I lived in my relatives' house which is just in front of the sea and the locals said that the sea breeze makes skin darker even if you don't swim. Not that I didn't do any swimming. Another reason aside from the sea-breeze thing is swimming without sun block and swimming with sun block but not waiting an hour before stepping out into the sun. I guess I broke some holy rules of "sunblocking" and skin protection but I just can't help it. The tug of the ocean breeze, the smell of the sea wafting along with it, who can possibly resist that? I went to around five beach resorts this summer and I still can't say I've had enough of the ocean!

Fort Ilocandia Swimming Pool Area

Pangil Shoreline

Kadilian Beach Resort - Pool Area

Aside from the breathtaking beaches, I also went to Chavit's zoo aptly named as Baluarte ni Singson along with my beibe's family. The entrance was free at the place and it was surprising because the zoo was very spacious and it had numerous animals from supposedly feisty felines (they were cute sleeping tigers) to curly-haired camels. They also had a butterfly sanctuary that could match the one at Camp John Hay in Baguio. The best part about this zoo is that the animals were roaming freely. Most of them, that is, and of course, not the predators. You can even feed the deers and the horses traipsing around the place. Thomas even wanted to pat an ostrich's head but he chickened out when he got near it. The ostrich was much taller than him and was very daunting. It looked like it would kick anyone who would dare to bother it. Haha!

He/she seemed aloof to bite at first...

This camel reminds me of someone...:)

Big cats, small cats, doesn't make a difference when they're asleep. Aaaw cutie...

I bet this one is dreaming of hugging his/her teddy. :)

We also went church-hopping (Bisita Iglesia) during holy week. The service supposedly requires visiting fourteen churches and a prayer will be recited on one station for each church. Since the vicinity did not have that many churches, we only visited four and prayed on three stations per church. The service turned out to be quite a cultural experience. The old churches looked really nice and although it wasn't the first time I saw them, it was the only time I got to appreciate their ancient beauty.

Paoay Church

San Nicolas Church

Laoag Church

Batac Church

I think I have maxed out my summer this year. It's a good thing too because I won't have a full summer anymore next year because of the internship. Nevertheless, this summer rocked so it'll be alright. Yep, I do have a good reason in having a large grin on my face especially after recalling this sights-filled summer.

Ilocos is <3.