Kayumanggi Surf: Kindergarten Days

10 10 2012

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Erwin Barrientos, Yo Muan and Lester Valle

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On the road to greatness, everybody’s got to start somewhere. At times, that “somewhere” fills your quota of darndest moments for a month. Especially if you go talking about SURFING.

Flashback to Perth, Western Australia, February 2012. KT frontliner Yo Muan was carrying his surfboard ashore. The day was perfect: sun of the right heat, waves of the right size, the wild wind on his face. It felt good. In the midst of ecstasy, he was distracted by a strange sensation of clapping.

Flesh. Clapping flesh.

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Categories : Alternative Education, Beaches, Surfing, Travel and Adventure, Waterscapes

There’s A Place Called Sanchez Mira…

1 12 2011

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Carla Ocampo and Lester Valle

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There’s a place called Sanchez Mira, and its long stretch of rock-less, reef-less gray sand beaches are unbelievably empty, when they’ve got consistently big, barreling waves during Surfing Season! What gives? Well, Sanchez Mira (or Sanchez for short) is 12 hours by bus from Manila. Or, three hours on a van from the Laoag or Tuguegarao Domestic Airports. Not exactly the shortest trip to surfing paradise, BUT…

As we’ve said, nothing will stop a real wanderer to get to the best places of these islands, not even uneasy 12-hour trips on a bus! Tara, take up those boards and head to this ENTIRELY UNADULTERATED coastal town; Team KT will now bring you what else to expect, with and beyond the waves.

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Categories : Beaches, Food, People, Travel and Adventure, Waterscapes

Daklis: Dance of Sea, Hum of Harvest

10 11 2011

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Wing Larase and Lester Valle

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“Daklis,” said a middle-aged fisherman, as he let a shy smile peer out from his eyes, when KT lensman Lester Valle asked “Anya dayta, Manong?” (“What is that, Sir?” Lester had asked in Iloko)

It was almost 9AM, the sun was already white hot and everybody on the balmy Lakay-Lakay Beach in Claveria, Cagayan had begun wiping his or her brow, picking out fish entangled from this neat network of cross-knotted nylon strings.

Daklis could then denote the two things that comprise this entire activity: ONE, the very, very long net that could span a whole square-mile of coast and waters, with a funnel-shaped “dead-end” at its very center; and TWO, the community chore itself, of hauling in unison this very long net ashore, where tens upon tens of residents from Claveria’s fishing villages would join in and eventually get their share of the catch, enough for the day’s three meals or —- if they are favored by Apo Lakay-Lakay —- enough to be sold by the kilo for added income, however humble the sums may be. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Alternative Education, Beaches, People, Travel and Adventure, Waterscapes

Claveria in Pictures: Nu Haan Nga Agtudo, Here’s What to Do!

9 11 2011

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Lester Valle

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Summer is still the best time to go to Claveria; on these days the weather is predictably sunny for weeks.

See, the Wet Season brings in quite a lot of rain along the northern Philippine coast. This could be a real bummer, since Claveria (a coastal town) is more of an Outdoorsman’s Playground than a here’s-a-shopping-mall-so-it’s-perfectly-fine-to-be-indoors kind of place —- not to mention the damage to the crops and the meager fish catch in the aftermath of typhoons, which are not too welcome news for the town’s simple folk, whose lives depend largely on the gifts of earth and waters.

For an easy-breezy trip, you’d most probably opt for a pocket of time without rain. Once you nail the perfect schedule, though, Claveria WILL give you the time of your life, and that’s a guarantee.

Nu haan nga agtudo (and that’s “If it ain’t gonna rain” in the Iloko language), here’s what to see, and what to do! Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Alternative Education, Beaches, Mountains, People, Travel and Adventure, Waterscapes

Claveria, The Northern Escape

14 10 2011

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Wing Larase and Lester Valle

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Nothing will stop a real wanderer. Not even the thought of butt-bruising, sleep-depriving, day-long rides just to get to the best places of these islands.

For the knighted ones, who’ve been to several summits, crossed a dozen seas, and endured century bike tours at least five times over, a twelve-hour bus saga is kindergarten.

But for the rest of the populace who’d want to live the traveler’s life, but have yet to pack in the guts— and experiences— to realize it, this 12-hour land trip is a fair enough baptism of fire. And if you’re at all considering this sort of initiation, you might as well choose a destination that’s entirely worth the butt cramps. The KT Prescription: try Claveria, Cagayan: way up north in the Philippine island of Luzon, and twelve hours away— by bus— from Manila.

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KT in Kalinga: Tinglayan’s Treasures

2 05 2011

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Carla Ocampo and Lester Valle

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Kalinga‘s terrain is marked by vast agricultural plains framed by mountain ranges of igneous and sedimentary rock. On these ranges, extensive rice terraces have been carved out by human hands, a Filipino Cordilleran legacy admired the world over.

The inner part of the province, meanwhile, is carved by the force of Nature itself. The Chico River, meandering across Kalinga, sliced through the mountain sides for millions of years, gradually forming a picturesque river valley.

Today, tucked within this river valley is the tribal municipality of Tinglayan. Lower in elevation compared to Kalinga’s other municipalities, a visitor can expect warm, humid days here. Expect, as well, days full of memorable adventures amidst strikingly beautiful gray-and-green panoramas. Team KT proudly brings you the particulars. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Alternative Education, Festivals, Mountains, People, Travel and Adventure, Waterscapes

KT in Kalinga: Tabuk Basics

30 04 2011

text  |  Carla Ocampo

photography  |  Carla Ocampo and Lester Valle

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Largely in partnership with the Living Asia Channel, The Kayumanggi Trails has penetrated one of the more storied parts of the Philippine Cordilleras: the province of Kalinga.

Befuddled local tourists who might still be sticking to what they remember from elementary geography could say Kalinga Apayao, but here’s the tale: in 1995, Valentine’s Day… then-president Fidel Ramos signed Republic Act 7878 which bifurcated the territory into the separate provinces of Kalinga AND Apayao.

(“bifurcated” word borrowed from the Cordillera DILG. Another day of higher learning. Rakenrol!)

On the urgency of this territorial parting, we quote KT friend and true-blue Cordilleran lady May “Adit” Butoy, “It really made sense to separate them because the two have distinct peoples and cultures.” Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Alternative Education, Mountains, People, Travel and Adventure, Waterscapes

Cuenca’s Maculot, The KT Chronicles (Part 1)

19 02 2011

text | Carla Ocampo and Lester Valle

photography | Carla Ocampo, Wing Larase and Lester Valle

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“Ay, Maculot… Paboritong bundok.”

- Axel Pinpin, Pilipinong makata

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LOCATION | TRAILHEAD: Bgy. Poblacion, Cuenca, Batangas, Philippines

ELEVATION | DIFFICULTY:  Maculot Rockies: ~ 706 meters above sea level (MASL); Maculot Summit: ~ 830 meters above sea level (MASL) | Class 1

COORDINATES: 13°55’14.44″N 121° 2’30.95″E

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Not too many people would realize that the view from Mt. Maculot— one of Batangas‘ most celebrated mountains— is world-class beauty.

With its oft-mentioned toothed Rockies gifting hikers with an unobstructed vista of the Taal Lake and Volcano (a geologic wonder, cited in books the world over), the perspective that Maculot offers is a hundred times better— and fresher— than that of tourist-frequented, infrastructure-defaced, smog-invaded Tagaytay City in the neighboring province of Cavite (although the lure of Tagaytay is an altogether different story). Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Alternative Education, Food, Mountains, People, Travel and Adventure, Waterscapes

PadyaKayumanggi, Unang Sabak: Marikina-Infanta Road

28 10 2010

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Elton Chua, Wing Larase and Lester Valle

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Some would ride bicycles to satiate their need for superhuman speed and set their competitive spirit ablaze. Others would pedal their way and sell goods for a living. Still others have bikes just for the heck of it, and go on upgrading sprees while bike parts are “in mint condition”. More and more people, though, are discovering the power of the bicycle in giving them a privilege that lazy butts could only dream of: THE ABILITY TO TRAVEL, IN THE CHEAPEST WAY POSSIBLE. Yes folks, meet the concept of… cycle touring.

This is the first in possibly several long rides to be  undertaken by Team KT. Next time, we’d be asking guests to join us, but before anything else, here’s the story of our collective “baptism of fire” in the gorgeous-now-treacherous-later Marikina-Infanta Road. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Alternative Education, Beaches, Cycle Touring, Food, General, Mountains, People, Travel and Adventure, Waterscapes

Daranak Falls. Rock Bottom.

14 09 2010

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Lester Valle

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Daranak Falls in Tanay, Rizal would have been an image straight out of a fairy tale— yip, butterflies flitting around moss-covered rocks… Richly-crowned trees huddling together to frame a lacy triple-cascade waterfall… the interplay of shadow and sunlight as a spray of water envelopes you like pixie dust… hell yeah, the works. If not for the ugly, ugly truth. We’re letting the pictures talk.

How long would it take before Daranak goes the way of Antipolo‘s Hinulugang Taktak, another waterfall within the province of Rizal where the stream banks smell like rotten Chippy-con-Safeguard, and the “cabanas” look a tad too kitschy for comfort? Not too long, we believe, unless the local government springs to action.

At this point, The Kayumanggi Trails Team has seen enough trash around “eco-tourism destinations” (what a misnomer!) to sustain our collective teeth-gnashing for a lifetime. Enough. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Alternative Education, General, Mountains, People, Travel and Adventure, Waterscapes

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