Photo dump: CALATAGAN, BATANGAS

As I've blogged before, photography has become my new hobby, my way of countering the stress and monotony of my academic life. Not much is to be expected, however. With no formal lessons whatsoever, I'm a greenhorn when it comes to photography.

I bought a new Nikon D5000 out of my hard-earned election money. And yes, I had to traverse through Quiapo to get to Hidalgo just to buy my camera. It was worth it though.

Calatagan became the venue for my first official photo trip. I've gone to a lot of trips in the past, but this one was special. For the first time, a tourist-friendly beach was not the main priority. Rather, we went there for this special hard-to-find lighthouse and a supposed pristine hidden beach. Nothing grand or posh of course, but I was told that the view would be amazing for picture-perfect moments.

We decided to bring my car. I was unsure how to get there, so we had to rely on the GPRS on my iphone. Inadvertently (and I say this because we got lost), we passed by this beautiful heritage town in Taal. Something about this town spoke to me. I felt the town's history and mystery etched in every wall. One structure in particular-- a Church-- struck me.




I absolutely adore old Churches. When you look at it, you know that you're not just looking at bricks and stones. With each click of the camera, we capture a part of a long history of struggles, beliefs and passion. It's not just a place of worship. It's a witness to history.




After hours of driving, with my aircon deteriorating with every kilometer travelled, we finally arrived at Calatagan. We decided to go find the light house first. With posters and pictures of the lighthouse scattered all around the town proper, we were confident that we would be able to find it. We were wrong. We were dead wrong! We spent hours going back and forth along the same freaking street, before we realized that we had to go through this extremely narrow path covered with thorny bushes. It was so constricted you can hear the leaves and thorns squeaking through the car's window. When we finally got there however, we were greeted with closed gates! Yes, after going through all that trouble, we discovered we weren't allowed to enter. Alas, no pictures.

We did, however, managed to find the hidden beach of Calatagan. Similar to the lighthouse, the right to see this beach had to be earned. Suffice to say, we had to go through another labyrinth just to find this one. I have to say though that my expectation exceeded what I saw. But it was nonetheless an amazing opportunity to click away. Besides, something about its coverture appealed to me. Enjoy the pics...