Monthly Archives: November 2016

Missing Maya

Maya is my friend’s Australian shepherd. It wasn’t really love at first sight between us as typical of shepherd dogs, she was very protective of her humans and did not immediately warm up to me, a stranger. She was barking rather madly (the kind that’s sure to scare anyone) when she met me, but I’m such a dog person I just stared her down till she quieted and let me pet her.

Eventually, I became her constant playmate the whole week that I was in Manila. Each morning before and after breakfast, we’d play games in the garden. She’s such a sweet giant of a dog.

And oh, so active. There’s no rest where she’s concerned. She would go to my room with her toy and insist that we play. Sometimes, she’d chase me around the house too.

Maya’s also very intelligent and stubborn. She loves disobeying her humans, and it’s funny how she has this look whenever she doesn’t feel like following someone’s instructions.

And yep, she loves displacing me and hogging the bed to herself.

Despite her stubbornness, Maya’s really sweet (especially when she wants food, te he) and can easily charm someone’s socks off.

Isn’t she adorable?

Oh, Maya, I so miss you and can’t wait to see you again next year!

Gold Coast: Hinze Dam

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While this vast embankment and ungated spillway across Nerang River’s primary function is to provide water security and flood mitigation to Gold Coast, it has also become a popular destination for locals and tourists alike because of its stunning views as you can see from the above photo.

This Open Space was my first view of it as seen from the coffee shop that’s above the parklands and the lake.

While my friend waited for our breakfast, I headed to where the walking trails were and was utterly charmed by these views.

So pretty. And the weather’s perfect for walking. (I was in Gold Coast during winter, so it was still cold despite the sunny weather.)

I lingered here for sometime to read a couple of signage that tell the history of the place, and found out that the dam was named in honor of the Hinze family who lived in the valley that got flooded by the dam.

Don’t get confused by the Little Nerang Dam in the above signage as this forms part of Hinze Dam.

When I felt my tummy grumble, I headed back to the café to eat. I’ll share more details about my dining experience at View Café in a future post. In the meantime, here’s a teaser photo of my latte.

After my filling breakfast, I headed to where the dam itself was. On my way there, I got sidetracked by the information center, which was still closed when we arrived. I spent some time here too learning about Hinze Dam’s design and operations.

While the views by the circuitous pathways were lovely, the views along the top of the dam wall were just as pretty.

The views were so picturesque I felt it’s worth a selfie shot. Te he.

I was so in love with the views I have dozens of photos from this spot. Here are some of my favorite pictures.

Blue happened to be my favorite color, and it was just so relaxing to watch the tranquil vivid-blue waters against the paler blue sky and the cottony white clouds and lush mountains.

From the same spot, I could also see the village and parts of the dam.

I’ll end this post with a panoramic shot of the dam taken while I was on the bridge.

It’s definitely one of the prettiest sights I enjoyed in Gold Coast and among my many travels, so if you do find yourself in GC, make sure to include Hinze Dam in your itinerary.

Today’s Sunrise, November 25, 2016

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I usually do my morning walk at 5:30 AM, but today, I decided to head out early as I was afraid it would rain that I’d miss my daily exercise. Tropical Depression Marce, after all, was due to make its landfall in the province this morning.

It was drizzling when I went out. I expected cloudy skies, but I didn’t expect streaks of light among the clouds hovering over Plantation Bay’s saltwater lagoons.

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Pardon the photo quality as it was still dark, and my smartphone isn’t really good at taking pictures in low light. I was too lazy too to come back to my room to get my camera or GoPro. Te he.

When I reached the resort’s Galapagos Beach, I was sidetracked by this view.

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So pretty. And the sound of the crashing waves was therapeutic to hear.

I took this photo on my second lap. The weather was kind of crazy. It was drizzling, and the wind was strong, but the sun was emerging too.

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On my fourth lap, I noticed that the sky was looking all golden, so I headed to Xanadu Lodge as it’s one of the best spots for sunrise-watching in Plantation Bay.

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I loved how the clouds looked wispy and golden and almost moving. The views were so lovely that I stayed for almost fifteen minutes, just when the color of the clouds changed to lighter shades of yellow.

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