Skip to main content

Hot-air balloons!!

Once upon a time, I decided that I was capable of driving all the way to Pampanga. The motivation was to see the hot-air balloons lift off at sunrise. But I failed and have never gotten there in time because I value my sleep and safety more than being at the airport at the crack of dawn.

So just imagine my excitement when friends from the lab decided that they wanted to join me on my latest road trip AND catch the balloons fly off at daybreak. We just had a set back before driving off: the driver thought we were leaving on Sunday but we were leaving on Saturday! My chance to catch a few zzz's while we're on the way vanished. I automatically became designated driver.

Along the way, I told Jojie, Krishna, Crisline, and Jojie's friend that we'd miss sunrise by an hour and they had to content themselves with seeing the balloons from the highway. Not a problem, they said. Shiela drove her own car because she was coming from somewhere near the NLEX already and she was bringing Josh too. We met up with each other at a gas station on the NLEX and fully intended to drive as a convoy... never happened. It was already bright outside by the time we entered the SCTEX, thanks to the pre-dawn heavy traffic (where all these vehicles came from, I could not fathom).

Finally, we entered the Clark Freeport. The girls became excited and started screaming because the balloons were flying already! Then there were tandem paragliders and twin-engine, flour-bombing airplanes up in the sky. I was able to watch and keep up with the passengers because the traffic was at a full stop. It took a bit more than hour to get to the parking lot. We were all happy despite the traffic jam because we were able to watch the activities almost directly above us.

Great way to begin our attendance to the Philippine International Hot-Air Balloon Festival, eh?

A photo posted by Rochie Cuevas (@rochiecuevas) on
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for dropping by!

Before moving on, please share your thoughts or comments about the post. :)

Thanks again!

Popular posts from this blog

10 things I learned while driving on Marcos Highway to Baguio City

I went on a day trip to the City of Pines, which was around a 700-km drive from my house. I drove  going up there and then from the city to Victoria, Tarlac. After that, my dad took over the driving duties. It was day trip with Tita Ising and Tito Sibing with us. Anyway, this trip was my first time to go to Baguio City with me behind the wheel. As everyone who drives up knows, there are three main routes to Baguio from the lowlands: Kennon Road, which ascends from Rosario, La Union. It was out of my options because it's too dangerous to use that road in the rainy season. The second route is via Naguilian Road, which makes my trip a lot longer because the beginning of the ascent is in Bauang, La Union (further north). The last route, and the one I took, was the Marcos Highway, now known as the Aspiras-Palispis Highway. This 47-km road starts from Agoo, La Union and is touted as the safest route among the three.  As I drove up and then down (on the same day; we were in Bagu
5 comments
Read more

How MALDI-TOF-MS makes mycobacterium diagnosis faster and more accurate

The laboratory I work in has plenty of instruments that help us characterise and identify microorganisms causing diseases in patients. One of my current projects is to validate an instrument called "matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometer" (MALDI-TOF-MS) in identifying members of the Mycobacterium  species. Many of these organisms are opportunistic, meaning they only cause illnesses in people whose immune systems are not strong enough to fight infections. Mycobacterium leprae  is known for causing leprosy, but we cannot grow this bacterium in culture media, so we cannot isolate it. Mycobacterium tuberculosis  complex, on the other hand, is a group of several species of Mycobacterium  that causes tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is a disease that killed 1.6 million people in 2021 alone. It is a leading cause of death globally, second only to COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Identifying the Mycobacterium species that has infected a patient is
Post a Comment
Read more

a crash course on traditional Filipino houses

On Dr Jose Rizal's birthday this year, I was back in historic Manila with Ate Bing, Ate Mary , and Manuel . But instead of visiting him, we opted to soak up on Philippine culture. Our first stop: the Cultural Center of the Philippines ' (CCP) Museo ng Kalinangang Pilipino .  Aside from the musical instruments, I noticed the dioramas about Filipino homes. Filipinos living by the sea (the 'sea gypsies', Sama Dilaut or Badjao ) have boathouses; those who live in the mountains, like the Bagobos , have developed interconnected houses in the trees; Filipinos who live along the path of the strongest typhoon winds, such as the Ivatans , have developed houses of thick limestone walls; and people who live in calmer conditions used bamboo and nipa to construct their houses, like the lowlanders and the Agtas . Sama Dilaut 'lepa' and houses on stilts (in the background) Ivatan limestone house nipa hut Ifugao 'fale' Maranao '
Post a Comment
Read more