Hunger Games Craze

***(minor spoiler alert)***

Charlie and I share the same interest in books and we read almost the same types. We exchange books, of course, but mostly he is the one who gives me recommendations. Maybe because he knows good reads more than I do and I trust his judgment. So when he told me about The Hunger Games, I knew it would be good. At first though, I was quite hesitant to read it when I learned that it was a trilogy. I imagined there would be some lull in the storyline or endless descriptions that could fill one chapter or more (one thing that would make me hate a book). But he persisted, wooed me to read it.

He gave me this e-book version of the Hunger Games. I wasn’t so comfortable reading it in the beginning on my laptop since I prefer reading from a physical book. Eventually, I got the hang of it as I coasted through the first couple of electronic pages. Next thing I knew, my eyes were glued to my laptop.

The books revolve around the leading lady of the story: Katniss Everdeen, and it’s told through her own perspective. Set in a post apocalyptic timeline, Katniss a strong-willed girl who volunteers in behalf of her sister who is chosen by the Capitol to take part in an annual brutal game of death called (yep you guessed it) the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games consists of 24 young girls and boys called Tributes, who are randomly selected each from their own Districts to fight each other to the death in an unforgiving arena until only one of them would be left standing alive. The concept of the story is ruthless but then again just like any other book in the adult teen genre, it always has that love story element mixed in. Katniss’ brave act starts the ball rolling for a roller coaster ride of love, deceit, and betrayal that changes her life and the lives of all Panem.

The books were so compelling that I finished them in just 3 days. It’s something, right? Now I’m overly excited to see the upcoming movie. I’ve watched the trailers and followed every update online. I even got my own Panem ID! The casting didn’t disappoint me at all; I especially have my eyes on Josh Hutcherson who plays Peeta Mellark, a gentle and warm-hearted boy who’s in love with Katniss. Because of these books, I began to watch his other movies, from Little Manhattan to his Journey at the Center of the Earth. He is a good actor, not to mention very hot, so it’s difficult not to like him and I think no one is a better fit for the role than him(at least that’s what his fans say, I for one) .

The movie will be shown March 23, and I’m counting down the days. I swear I’ve never been this fanatical about a movie before. I’m even willing to pay extra money to watch it on IMAX. (wink!)

Here’s a link to The Hunger Games IMDB page:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/

And a link to the Hunger Games author’s page:

http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/

See ya at the movies!

Yannie

Minglanilla-Naga Mountain Trek

Last weekend, Yannie, I, and our good friend Gina trekked the mountains of Naga and Minglanilla. We weren’t exactly quite sure though where we had trekked because we kind of got lost in the mountains trying to find a mysterious White Cliff with Cave as pointed to us by three woodland boys playing beside a river. Prior to getting lost, our original planned destination was to a lake up in the mountains of Minglanilla. At the start, we had set out to find the lake with just a printed google earth map, a few vague instructions from a friend, and off we went!

(Our friend Gina on the right, all ready and fired up for the hike!)

We started our trek after we dropped off at Mary Help of Christians School in Minglanilla, Cebu. We wanted to follow a foot trail leading to the lake, but we ended up following a less challenging route: the main road.

On the way, we stopped to rest and saw these cute kids playing by their house right by the roadside.

We also broke into a farm just to take a picture of this amazing gamecock farm

Of course, chickens weren’t the only ones we encountered.

After an hour or so, we ate our snacks.

We were getting a bit tired now, but we had to continue walking, adventure was waiting.

In the middle of nowhere, we were surprised to find an abandoned factory.

(Charlie stops to examine the overgrown vines growing on the abandoned sidewalk)

 The place was giving us goosebumps so we quickly walked away before a zombie could catch our scent.

Finally after three hours of walking we reached our destination, The Lake.

(Can you find the hidden water buffalo?)

By this time hunger had gotten the better of us. We tried to look for a nice spot to rest and eat our lunch.

As we started to follow the stream that fed the lake,

Rain started to pour. We had to find shelter quick!

Fortunately we found this not-so-abandoned hut further upstream.

Nobody was home but we went ahead and took shelter. We were so tired that right after eating our lunch we dozed off.

While we were sleeping, a mysterious figure was watching us.

Turns out, he was just a regular local boy having fun with two of his friends

They were quite friendly, and they told me about an enchanted white cliff and cave. I asked them for directions.

They said that you have to climb upriver through dangerous boulders,

cross a quicksand desert,

climb to the top of the mountain,

meditate upon the mystery of life,

so you can find the wizened cow,

and  follow that wizened cow,

until you see the White Cliff!

Underneath the cliff is the ominous looking cave that no has had dared yet enter.

And so we did just what the boys told us and found the White Cliff after two hours of arduous trekking.

I tried to climb the wall but it was too much, I was too tired. 😦

So I just settled down and took more pictures. 🙂

And that’s it, till next time! 🙂

Charlie & Yannie 

Buhisan Dam

Saturday is a typical day for coffee, movies, fancy restaurants, meet-ups and dates. But since we wanted to pass up the rut, we decided to be adventurous. An adventure trek within the city.

Buhisan Dam just celebrated its centennial year last February 13, 2012. One hundred years of providing the city of Cebu with drinking water for everyone to enjoy.

I’ve never been to the place (Yannie has been there though), I’ve heard so much about it,  being around for a hundred years, but not one of those years have I set foot on the place. So I remedied this situation last February 25 together with Yannie. Here’s how it went.

Things we brought:

2 bottles of of 500 ml drinking water
A blanket
Cooked rice inside an ice cream box
2 tablespoons
1 lechon manok for lunch
A pocketbook. For the quite moments relaxing with nature
Money. Fare is P15 per person for a habal-habal ride
Alcohol/Hand sanitizer
Face towel
Extra shirt
Hat
Camera
Guts (but not necessarily needed)
Our sense of adventure.

Things we should have brought but didn’t think about bringing until it was too late:

Sunglasses
Camera tripod
A fishing pole

We arrived mid-morning around 9:30 AM near Jollibee at Brgy. Punta Princesa. As luck would have it, we haven’t even started our trek yet when we got our first injury. A passerby carrying a bundled chicken wire bumped into Yannie and gave her a nasty cut on her leg. Good thing I brought the alcohol. 🙂  Earlier we had planned to hike all the way up to the mountain, but we decided to just take the ‘habal2x’ since the sun was already starting to burn our flawlessly white smooth skins (hehe). It took us about 20 minutes ride to reach the gates of Buhisan.

The main gate. This is where you SUPPOSEDLY start your way to the dam.

A NO TRESSPASSING sign blocks our way!

Luckily, our ‘habal2x’ driver showed us a not so secret passageway just  20 meters further up the road.

So off we went using this “secret” entrance. The trail goes a winding narrow path. I kinda missed taking a photo of the trail (sorry).It’s a short trek down, and after  about 15 minutes,

Our first view of the lake. (Yes!)

A motionless serenity.

An infinity lake?

We were surprised to see that someone was fishing waist deep in the middle of the lake. We wondered how the hell did the fishes get their way uphill? lol

We decided to settle in and take our lunch. I brought the lechon manok. Yannie brought some rice and two tablespoons as utensils for us.

While eating, Yannie accidentally dropped her own spoon on the ground. tsk tsk, careless. So she took my spoon not minding my own protests. A few moments later, she dropped the spoon again. (hahaha! revenge!)

After eating, Yannie took advantage of the silence and brought out her book.

There is nothing louder here than the chirping of the birds, the sound gentle breeze, and the hushed echo of people’s voices.

While Yannie reads, I take a relaxing nap under the the shade.

A mosaic of leaves from a tree reflected on the water.

We wondered what these pink jellybeans might taste like…

After chillaxing for an hour or so, we decided to explore a bit more. We followed a trail on the edge of the water that led us nearer to the actual dam site. On the way, we discovered a mini waterfalls.

Thumbs up for the mini waterfalls!

Finally, we reached the other side of the dam 🙂

It’s literally the end of the road. 🙂

Till next time!

Charlie & Yannie