Monday, January 31, 2011

Philippines Trip January 2011 Photo Journal #1

How beautiful are the feet indeed!

Before the hike up to Asibanglan we visited Bishop Andaya

The night before the hike, celebrating our grand daughter's 6th birthday



Ready to get going

Some Kalinga artifacts in the Hotel where our friends stayed in Tabuk

Explaining Coffee for Peace to Christy and Eduard


Finally loading up the Jeepney for the 3 hour drive to the end of the road

Not too crowded



On the road

Sometimes the water flows over the road


The luggage at our feet

The road ends at Allaguia

We were met by more than 20 carriers and a few horses


Whoops this one should be later in the journal - washing our feet at the end of the hike

Getting the pigs ready for the journey

Pigs ready to go

Clean feet before the hike

The climb begins

Its slippery

The horses carrying our supplies for the feast

Hiking in single file

Regina is still smiling

The walking sticks are a great help

Sometimes we need help

It is getting muddy

More mud



Still climbing

Beautiful scenery along the way

Add caption

Sometimes it works better hiking barefoot in the deep mud

Great scenery along the way


No end of mud

Wonderful having people to carry our things

The mud gets deep

A rest along the way

No more clean feet

Deep in doodoo now

Resting again

The read soil as we approach Asibanglan


Resting

The sign of welcome as we enter Asibanglan

Sign at the school

Our friend Noemi, one of the teachers was there to welcome us

People welcome us

Especially the kids

Coffee is served

With rice cakes


They built a covering in front of the school in case of rain



Going down the hill to Doleng's where we will stay the night


Our old house, where we lived 34 years ago is still there - the oldest house in Asibanglan

Panorama

Washing our feet at the spring behind Doleng's




On the porch at Doleng's

Visiting with Kalinga friends at night



The celebration


In front of the new library we came to dedicate

The memorial plaque to honour the translators who went before

These gongs make up the orchestra for the dancing

The orchestra gearing up

The rhythm of the gongs


Asibanglan village captain welcomes everyone

With our Kalinga friends enjoying the program

Loved the dancing of these young people





Now its our turn to dance





Friday, January 28, 2011

Philippines Trip January 2011 #18


This will likely be my last post from the Philippines as we leave for our return trip on Sunday night. We are now in Manila, enjoying a little more of a relaxed pace and giving Ginny a chance to regain her strength as she came down with a mysterious fever on our journey out of Kalinga on Tuesday. We have enjoyed a couple of marvellous lunch encounters with friends here in Manila. Our friends here live in different circumstances than our Kalinga friends and family in the mountains, but they exhibit the same generosity and hospitality. I also took a little time here to post some photos on my Facebook page and also linked to an album posted by Regina Mondez, a friend working with Peacebuilders Community who also joined us on the trip to Asibanglan. She got some great shots of the muddy trail. If you are on FB and want to check out these photos, here are the links.
My album called January 2011 trip to the Philippines here:
Regina’s album called Experiencing the Kalinga Culture here:

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Resting and chatting after our hike up to Asibanglan

The priest leading mass before the dedication

The marble plaque commemorating the 3 translators

Saying my piece at the dedication

Christy gave a very nice reflection on her daddy

Getting one of the pigs ready to be carried up the mountain

Doleng in her Kalinga attire, leading worship before the dedication

Pausing to survey the muddy trail for the best way forward

Ginny getting a little help from one of our Kalinga friends

Pausing to view the scenery and rest along the way