Philippines

My mother’s unloved diamond ring

We treasure what loved ones left behind, like a favorite piece of jewelry. Or was it? My mother’s engagement ring has quite a story, and now at age 67, I understand why she never wore it. She married my dad in 1950, and later in the 1980’s, after my mother’s death, the sparkly European-cut diamond […]

Appreciating Veterans Day from Manila, Philippines

On Veterans Day, the enormity of war speaks. Acres of marble crosses face modern Manila in the Philippines, forever recalling the sacrifices made by American soldiers and Filipino allies during World War II. I was born in the U.S. of Filipino ancestry, and this is a “roots” trip for me.  One powerful stop was the […]

Philippines: A Visit to one of the Seven New Wonders of Nature

From Cebu, we flew to Palawan, where outrigger hopping to nearby unspoiled  beaches on other islands is easy. But when it comes to Eden, the island of Palawan is no slouch.           Here in Palawan, in 2012 the Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park was ranked one of “The Seven New Wonders […]

Philippines: A visit to a haunted war site

In the town of Carcar in the province of Cebu in the Philippines, we visited The Carcar City Museum, formerly, “The Philippine Health Service Dispensary,” where horrific tortures took place on Filipinos by the Japanese during World War II. That’s not what the two-storied site suggests at first glance. The building is painted white and […]

Magellan’s Cross, Cebu, Philippines

Now we are in Cebu, the largest city second to Manila. The wooden cross planted in the Philippines in 1521 by Ferdinand Magellan is displayed at the Basilica of Santo Nino in Cebu City.  We had a look-see and it’s a cross within a cross since the original is encased in tigala wood for protection. […]