outing in Albuquerque with Dom Marcus' parents

Two days of fun outside the monastry were granted to me by my superior and these two days were spent on an outing and a tour in downtown Albuquerque, NM with the parents of Dom Marcus.

Since Dom Marcus was still tied up with the monastery attending and entertaining his countless guests who still stayed a day after May 31st, he sought permission for me to accompany his parents to Albuquerque for two days of tour and an outing with their Filipino compatriot Myrna Samson who had been their neighbor in their province at Pangasinan in the Philippines.

The host of our two-day outing, Myrna Samson was just too willing to drive us to the city's attractions. Myrna is Dom Marcus's parents friend and neighbor at their province in Pangasinan, Philippines wayback years ago.

The outing was very relaxing and enjoyable as it gave me a chance to hang-out with Filipinos in Albuqueque and visit some remarkable landmarks in Albuquerque as well.

the couple Ret. Judge Pedro Santiago and Rose Santiago with our host Myrna Samson gladly posed infront of the Parish Church of San Felipe De Neri in Oldtown Plaza, Albuquerque

Judge Pedro and his wife Rose at Albuquerque Oldtown Plaza

at the Bataan Park

at the Bataan Park, Judge Pedro was pointing at me the province where he served as judge for some years

at the museum of Natural History and Science, I took a self-shot inside a replica of an ancient cave in New Mexico

the replica of the cave looked so real and authentic that one would feel the cold temperature penetrating the bonemarrow

in the city's most visited landmark: Aquarium of giant marine life of sharks and all kinds of fishes and sea creatures

viewing my monastery from atop the Chama Canyon...

It is Springtime at the monastery. During this season, the monks, who were stucked inside the monastery cloister and inside the monastery compound for several cold long months of Winter, conduct series of hikes by groups atop the canyon overlooking the monastery.

The group of monks in formation, that is, the postulants, the novices and the monks in Simple Vows, went up the canyon last two weeks ago and had their bonding atop the canyon. The hike was part of their so many activities in Spring.

They erected a life-sized wooden cross at the edge of the cliff facing the monastery's Abbey Church, so much so that when inside the Church and when one looks up thru the cystal glass wall of the Church, one can view the cross so vividly, which is just perfect and ideal for one's meditations and reflections...

showing the pentagon-shaped Abbey Church on the left, the square-shaped Cloister surrounding the x-shaped garden at the middle and the old cells (matchboxes)on the right



the monastery compound in another capture



another angled capture of the monastery compound



the Chama river along the monastery property



the panoramic view of the canyons surrounding the monastery which are actually subdivided by the Chama river

taking a dip in Philippine waters in the coldest night of the year

living in an area of New Mexico Northern Desert,USA with just mainlands and no major body of waters like sea or river which are ideal for swimming and beaching, my life has been so 'dry' for six years now....

so i do really miss the phils seas, beaches, resorts and rich-in-vegetation-mountains...
but thanks to the customary practice of my community because with it, i am able to at least get to go back to my home and native land to enjoy a 20-day break from the monotony and structured routines inside the monastery.

last january 26, 2005, my last week of my 20-day visit to the Philippines, i was able to finally quench my thirst for swimming and beaching even if the season was at its coldest. After a day's eventful activity , we all proceeded to a place called Pasacao, a town nearby Naga City of Camarines Sur Bikol, on a truck that brought us to our destination safely.


with my brods and sis (in the fraternity that i joined when i was in College, the customary and its tradition is that once one gets accepted in a ritual by which one is handed of the ideals and secret pasword, he becomes fullfledged member of the fraternity for life), i conquered a beach in the countryside called Pasacao beach resort. Being in the coldest season of the year, they had to shy away from taking a plunge in the sea as it's indeed cold... but the chilling wind and cold weather did not stop me from my most awaited moment of my life: to finally enjoy the Phil sea and its rushing waves and its tiny marine creatures floating on the waters....so my much awaited swimming session went on for hours unmindful of the surrounding sis and brods taking turns in teasing me of all sorts.
the most decent images of me in the waters: Click image to enlarge!


the bravest brods (the youngest in the group)in terms of dealing with the chilling wind and freezing cold shed their clothes and joined me in a pictorial of biceps and chests (LOL!)

the night of fun and laughter went on until wee hours of the next morning when most of them slept while me and few of my brods and sis stayed awake with me listening to their stories and jokes and all that...




to my brods and sis, taking a dip was not as fun as gathering and telling stories over glasses of hard drinks and beers, but for me, at that very moment, telling stories was not as fun as taking a real cold dip in the sea!...but still, i did enjoy pictorials with them but not so much as i was still feeling the waters in my skin from my hours of swimming.



the night ended with me getting satisfied and delighted of my all-night long union with the philippine waters, and as well as getting to know new brods and sis(current member-residents of the group) in my fraternity...

getting rid of the scorching Summer's heat

today, my summer getaway is usually spent in going to the Chama River adjacent to the monastery property and do boating, fishing or simply hanging out in its riverbank where there's this huge tree serving as canopy while i would content myself from just sitting down on its wooden bench, listening quietly to the sounds of the winds and the rushing of current from the river...

just like that. But in the past, when i was still living an active life outside the monastery, i used to get rid of the summer's heat by going to Pansol Laguna Phils, to quench my thirst for a dip in a cool fresh water....and sometime in late 1990's, i went with my buddis in La Vista Resort, Pansol Laguna to do the much awaited summer dip in the cool water....

this was the last time and chance to have myself enjoyed frolicking amidst the scorching heat of the sun in the summertime, because after a year, i had to shy away from all of my usual treasured hobbies because i already did start with my discernment for possible entry to the religiuos life...to a monastery! (and the rest is a history to be told!)
....images were scanned from printouts by a sony digi scan-cam.
enjoy them.

the ultimate tropical paradise vacation experience...

event: my 2006 home visit to the Phils.
target place: Shangri-La's Mactan Island Resort & Spa, Philippines
its url: http://www.southtravels.com/asia/philippines/shangrilamactan/index.html
target date: January 15-16 , 2006
companion: my foster brother J
Images: