Terrifying Fun in Sulu

The Province of Sulu in Mindanao has been on the news for years. It is a sad fact that this volcanic island paradise has been dubbed as danger zone, terror town, etc. To us travelers and aiming to complete the provinces in the Philippines, it is a dream destination.  It is a place boasting with jaw-droppig beaches, rugged mountain ranges and indigenous culture worthy of a visit.

All these are part of what Sulu can offer, above all, the generous and very hospitable local is something to look forward to. Seafood ranging from the famous Curacha, fishes that can only be found in Sulu sea and the delicious Sulu Coffee for breakfast will serve as a foretaste of our short adventure.

This is a reminder that with all the news you could hear and read online about the place such as Sulu, having experienced how accommodating and eager these people to show their homeland will surprise and enrich you in more ways than one.

Zamboanga Hermosa Festival 2015

Dubbed as the Asia’s Latin City, we are here once again in the colorful city of Zamboanga, it’s time to practice our Spanish accent. (hehe) Little did we know that the dates we’ve selected for this trip matches with the city’s festivity, I know we’re the lucky ones. If someone believed in travelling with a purpose and everything happens for a reason, I am one of them. Luckily we met one good soul, a local from the place who’s willing to show us around.
Every October the scenic city celebrates its grand annual Zamboanga Hermosa Festival or the popularly knows as Fiesta Pilar.  The city welcomes thousands to the region's best and most extravagant celebration of the year.  The people of Zamaboanga passionately believe that the lady served as their unifying cultural and historical symbol. 
In tribute to her feast day, the city displays enthusiasm through live music and performances, street parades and wonderful regatta with of their famous vintas. 'Hermosa', which means beautiful, is an appropriate term for this visually dazzling event.

We just settle our stuff at Zamboanga Town Homes and then started our walking tour. There are some spots I missed during our first visit and since we still have the entire afternoon to roam around, might as well take advantage of it.
Took us 30 minutes to reach our first destination, Yakan Village. A 15-20 minutes jeepney ride from the city proper, you will be able to find the Yakan tribe vibrance through its tapestry. This tribe is another  Mindanao tribe that originally dwell in Basilan.  I can see the art of this tribe is different from ones I saw in Tawi Tawi through its patterns  and color combination.  It’s dominated by bright red, blue and yellow. Did I just say BLUE? Oh well, I got a wallet of course.

Just watching a weaver do her thing  intrigued me, I tried looking at how intricate the designs and of course how they actually do it. I don’t wanna mess up what she’s doing so I just pose like a pro. It’s very complicated just seeing how each of the thread needs to be weaved based on the pattern below.