Beautiful Capul

The wifi connection in the island is wonky due to the weak signal I'm getting every night in my mobile phone. Pictures of this beautiful place will be posted, hopefully, by tomorrow night. It's going to be a long travel back to Manila so going online in transit is quite impossible.

This afternoon, the teachers brought us to the historic parola or lighthouse. The view took my breath away. I wished to stay for one more day and see other sites in the island, walk on the beach and comb the shore for shells, take pictures and buy some pasalabongs. But duties and obligation await me in Manila.

I will come back to Capul.

Second Day in Capul

The first day of the SAS Teacher Training Workshop here in Capul, Northern Samar folded up two hours ago. It had been a very fruitful day. The teachers of Capul are responsive and eager to learn. They're work ethic and self esteem are very high. What's more, they came wearing their yellow t-shirt that says: I'm Proud To Be A Teacher!

It's been a tiring day for me considering that I was restless last night. It was so warm. I made a mistake not to remind Cats to request for a generator. People in town depend on solar energy. Electrical power begins at 4PM and ends at 12 midnight. Now we all know better.

The venue for the training is in the newly constructed municipal hall which is just across the 16th century church built by the Jesuits. The name of the parish is St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish but is being run by the Catarman Diocese. I was amazed at the fortress like structure. According to Kagawad Marlon, the church was a "balwarte" and watch tower during the Spanish period. On September 14, the church will be instituted as a historic site by the National Historical Commission. Ambeth Ocampo will be present to grace the occasion. We hope to hear mass there tomorrow.

Another site we hope to visit before we leave for Manila is the lighthouse or parola. It was built by the Americans and was used during during World War II to help ships and the US Navy navigate its way into Leyte Gulf. There is more to Capul than meets the eye. Apart from these historic sites, its people are its real treasure. Their language is very unique to the region. An anthropological restoration is in the works. Tomorrow, I'll be conducting the session on Experience Stories. Talk about right timing!

Since yesterday, we had to contend ourselves wading in the pool tides. Not bad at all. It's very relaxing actually. Late this afternoon, Cats, Jojo and I did our debriefing by the shore. Once we're done, we hit the sea to wade in the low tide. The twilight view was magnificent.

Live Blogging: At Terminal 3 Leaving for Catarman

No wifi connection at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Terminal 3 so I'm doing this via 3G technology. The flight to Catarman will take one hour and a half plus, a jeepney ride and a boat ride to Capul. Cats Alcaraz of Sa Aklat Sisikat Foundation tells me how rustic the place is. I'll take as many photos as I can.

We will be training twelve teachers and as far as my SAS experience go, this has to be the least number of teachers I will be working with. We hope to finish early on Sunday. From the photos of Capul seen in the web, it looks like there are great places to see and visit.

Will keep you posted!