Elements Bits: Mandrake

Cast:

Max Martini - Sgt. McCall
Benito Martinez - Harry Vargas

A wealthy business man of Spanish descent named Harry Vargas, sets out an expedition to retrieve the fabled Quayin Dagger of Pedro Arias Alvarado, a decorated Spanish conquistador, that is believed to be buried in Selva de los Muertos, the Jungle of the Dead.

The expedition was led by Sgt. McCall, which was supposed to be an easy task, but when they finally find the dagger, they also discovered that a once extinct tribe called the Yamballi, has been protecting the dagger for centuries. After hearing that the expedition was attacked by the Yamballi, Harry Vargas sets out on his own to find the dagger.

As ruthless and merciless these tribesmen may be, they fear for something else. It's called the Jungle of the Dead for a reason.
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Elements Bits number 1:
What are you willing to sacrifice to get what you want and how long will it take before you realize that you are never gonna get it. Yes, sometimes what we pursue is beyond our reach no matter how hard we try and how much effort we put in. There may be just some things that were not meant for us to achieve. Sometimes perseverance can lead to stubbornness.

Memorable Quotes:

Vargas: "There is no such thing as luck Ms. Manning, only determination and perseverance."

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Not all sacred sites are restricted and inaccessible to us. There are actually many out there that receives millions of tourist every year.

Meiji Shrine and Sensoji-Temple

Kashi Vishwanath Temple

Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe

To find out more, click here: World's Most Visited Sacred Sites by Travel & Leisure

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Top Spanish Conquistadors:

Francisco Pizarro - Conquered the Incan Empire

Hernando Cortes - Conquered Mexico and the Aztec Empire

Juan Ponce de Leon - discovered the Gulf Stream and was famous for searching for the fabled "Fountain of Youth"

Thunderbird Resorts: Antipolo

Summer equals to Summer vacations. And this is how I rolled so far. After spending the Holy Weekend in Lucban, Quezon, (Holy Week 2012: Lucban) the week after that the family had a scheduled getaway at the Thuderbird Resorts in Antipolo, Rizal. A measly 30 kilometers from the metro, it's like making a round trip to my office from my house.

But before we reached our destination, we had lunch at the Crescent Moon Cafe - Pottery and Resto.

The Squash Soup w/ Buko Strips was superb!

My 2-yr old kid, feeding the fishes and turtles

On to Thunderbird....

Kian's morning walk with his iPod

....And this my friends, is how my Summer should be spent every year.

Holy Week 2012: Lucban Highlights

Due to our hectic schedules at work, we were not able to plan out properly how to spend this year's Holy Week. I was not even able to complete the usual "Visita Iglesia". (Normally we do 7 churches, but since I had to report to work at midnight, I had to cut the visits short.)

But all was not lost. We travelled to Lucban, Quezon where my uncle have these wonderful houses built at a very low cost in Greenville Subdivision. Right after my shift, we drove for about 4 hours before finally reaching our destination. The house were we stayed was just wonderful. Though it looked a bit old from the outside, it was still well maintained. The interior design was refreshing and it was not dirty as what you would expect from an old house were nobody actually lives in.

After lunch, we bought some merienda; banana-Qs and kamote-Qs, the local fave Pancit Habhab and Okoy.

That late afternoon we drove to the town proper to witness the parade of shrines and the carriage of the Black Nazarene. And when night fell, we grabbed a bite in the cafe of my uncle, Cafe San Luis.

Cafe San Luis

The next day, our uncle showed us this great camp site where we trekked going down the river. To my surprise, my 3-year old son bested all of us, leading the way to the river. (Of course with the help of his nanny) Unfortunately for me and my eldest son, we literally fell victim to the muddy rice fields.

1st Casualty

Despite missing out on a couple of other attractions such as the water parade on Easter Sunday, it was a great way to experience nature tripping.

Next year, I will truly make it my mission to plan out these activities well. And will most definitely include Lucban in our itinerary.