There was once a friendship I knew—sweet, innocent, and pure. A friend who would spoil me by sharing even the little he had. He was a brother, a confidant, and my protector.
We grew up, life led us down different paths, and though we tried to stay connected, somewhere along the way, we lost touch.
There is a friendship I deeply miss, a friend I still long for. I remember how he would give so freely, even when he had so little.
I wish I could be that same, clingy, little sister-friend who would let him break through my walls again. I wish I could…
Not so long ago, I encountered Love—beautiful, sweet, and naïve. I wanted to embrace Love, but I hesitated, afraid of its fragility, its tenderness.
Years have passed, and once again, we find ourselves at a crossroads. My heart quickens, skipping a beat or two. Love looks different now, more mature, with stories etched in the lines of its face, stories of the Love we once knew.We tried to hold on, but Love had its own path to follow, new priorities to set.
Love is now here and there, sometimes lingering at the edge of a memory, smiling softly. Love is the wet lick of a furry friend on your cheek, a fleeting warmth that catches you by surprise. It’s the sun, the wind, and sometimes, the storm that rages within.
Love never truly ends; it simply changes, evolves, finding new ways to touch our lives.
When I was younger, I always envisioned an angel as having long blonde hair, wearing a white dress, and possessing fluffy wings. She had a beautiful smile that could lighten any load.
But as I grew older, I realized that angels come in many forms—short, tall, Black, white, men, women, or anything in between.
It maybe a kind face that is willing to give you a smile
An angel is more than just a celestial being; it’s a metaphor for a blessing, a symbol of hope, and a source of light that can make you smile when life feels hard to define.
We are all angels in our own way.
As my favorite author once said, “We are like angels with one wing; we need each other to be able to fly.”
Love, kindness , compassion and prayers is all we need to get through those days that are very challenging
So, choose to be an angel in someone’s life today.
A Fairytale Come to Life For as long as I can remember, Rothenburg ob der Tauber has been on my travel bucket list. Nestled along the Romantische Strasse—the Romantic Road of Germany—this picturesque town in the Ansbach district of Middle Franconia, Bavaria, has always called to me.
Finally, after years of dreaming, planning, and imagining, I found myself on a long drive through the rolling countryside, each mile bringing me closer to this enchanting place.
As I approached Rothenburg ob der Tauber, the anticipation that had been building inside me reached a peak. The town’s iconic medieval walls, turrets, and half-timbered houses appeared in the distance, looking like they had been plucked straight from a storybook. I had seen countless photos, read endless articles, but nothing truly prepared me for the magic of stepping into this fairytale world.
The moment I walked through one of the town’s ancient gates, I felt like I had traveled back in time. The cobblestone streets wound through the town like veins, leading me to charming squares and hidden alleys, each more beautiful than the last. It’s often said that Rothenburg is like a Disneyland for adults, and I couldn’t agree more. But where Disneyland is fantasy, Rothenburg is delightfully, authentically real.
This town wears its history proudly, with every building, every stone, telling a story. The medieval architecture here is breathtaking. Timber-framed houses painted in soft pastels line the streets, their steeply pitched roofs and intricate details making them perfect subjects for photographs. It’s no wonder every corner of this town is Instagrammable.
I found myself constantly pausing to capture yet another scene—whether it was the flower boxes brimming with vibrant blooms, the warm glow of sunlight filtering through narrow alleyways, or the towering spires of St. Jakob’s Church in the distance.
The most icon street Plolein , this was featured in the 1940’s disney film Pinnochio
One of the highlights was strolling through the Castle Garden, where the view of the Tauber Valley was simply breathtaking, surrounded by vibrant flowers and ancient stone walls.
I also savored a glass of Franconian wine served in the distinctive Bocksbeutel bottle, which added a local touch to the experience.
BocksbeutelOne must have a typical German Cuisine
And let’s not forget the famous Schneeballen pastries—a sweet treat that’s as delightful as the town itself.
The Schneeballen
Rothenburg isn’t just a town; it’s a dream come true, a place where history and beauty collide in the most enchanting way.
It was long beautiful drive back home with Rothenburg Ob der Tauber in my heart .
Sundown but our spirits are high .. thank you Rothenburg
In the journey that we partake we will always meet a soul that shines like a diamond in darkness of the night .
I have met ms Maruja early this year. She is the founder of Butuanon Choice award , one of the “it” event both on social media and for Butuan itself.
Butuanon Choice Award
As a starting non governmental organization, we aim to have a platform that could make our voice for our advocacy a little bit louder . Butuanon choice is one of those platform
I have shameless chased for this award , for this nomination just because I believe that this could shed light on the programs that the MOONWALKERS 1989 incorportated stands for .
In the process of this all ,I met ms. MAruja. A person with a beautiful face and a very humble heart .
Maruja
It all started with a short messenger call we chatted she expresses her points on how to become a nominee and more so to become an awardee ..
I should say it was love at the first call…we started sharing thoughts and passion for our beloved Butuan .
Ms. Maruja is an icon of her own right she have motivated the younger generations by recognizing their potentials .
She is more than just her name, for she carry her heart with kindness towards her family , friends and to those people that needed to be seen .
Butuan is lucky to have her .
Awardee
We, together with the MOONWALKERS 1989 incorporated eventually got the award . But in my heart I am awarded more than just a trophy.
The universe gave me a friendship , She showed me a beautiful being witha heart full of kindness
The universe showed me the soul of Ms. Maruja Maestrado …
A gift by a friend who see me through my soul , my being ..
There are moments that we keep close in our hearts . Moments that sparks of joy to our souls and bring a smile to our lips . .. These moments are not huge they are just pulses of life that we sometimes take for granted . A warm hug , a cake and good company.
The pulses of life
Cherish ,them took a portrait of that moment.
Portraits are the mirror of us in the eyes of those who loves us and despise us . Portraits reflects a moment in time. It brings us back to a nostalgic road of joy and at times path of lessons that have been resulted from broken relationships.
Broken relationships are not necessarily be a bad thing or a bad experience … it is a journey of growth and self development as we better ourselves.We change and we grow apart. I am thankful for the lessons for those who broke me ..For it is to them that I grow .. It’s with them that I become a better version of meyself.
As I walk in this path of cherished moments ,I will always take portraits of special moments.
“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.”
— John Muir
Introduction
It has been weeks since we have finished the walked in Santiago de Compostela . Weeks seems like days and we have our own way of holding on to that special week of ourlives .
Back to reality
REDISCOVERING OURSELVES
Before the Camino we have this pre concieve notion of ourselves . This is manifested with the line of thinking of ” gosh I am old can’t walk that far.” Or the feeling of we have been friends like forever she will never surprise me.
The week that we have walked redefine our limits, our kindness , our friendship , our determination and our patience .
-REDEFINING OUR LIMITS.
This was that moment that some of you hiked up the hills of Sarria or that moment that Beh Sally just walked in the dark bushes of Palas de Rei not wanting to stop , or ate Violy and Tes saying that that they can only walked 5 hrs a day but ended up doing two 21km , or Mader and Ate cing who walked 28 km .. Their Faith redefine their limits and Hope formed our Determination to see the end of the camino .
– Being Kind in a different level
We shared a certain attentiveness to our fellow peregerinos , experiencing the warmth of their testimonies .
We extend our helping hands without any second thoughts it was like the Cuban Lady story .
“It was one of those downhill trail that we have noticed her. She struggle for her steps as she decends. She was walking alone , her group went ahead . A half blind Cuban lady determine to walk her 115 km pilgrimage trial.
I took her cane, hold her hand as we go down one step at a time ..
She said ” thank you for your time and kindness “
No matter what language you are speaking or nationality . We can always understand gratitude and kindness.”
-The Test of Friendship and Patience
For quiet sometime now I have been traveling with friends and we have this anecdote that says ” we will not travel together for more than 3 days or else we will be with each others nerves .”
Traveling with friend is a break or make things especially if you have been confronted with circumstances like fatique , hunger and all that is in between .
Little rifts arises , walk outs and of course the infamous exchange of words .. we were tired at times wet and most of the time hungry. It was the glare of kuya Libs towards kuya Rey during one of those discussions .. its when kuya Libs just walked away and at our first stop Kuya Rey would buy him a water ..then they smiled towards each other
In us , with us is the Love for our Friend ,it is not those clashes that counts it was those undefine reconciliations ,we never knew when or how but we hug and say sorry .. we moved on .
To Conclude
As we continue with our daily lives , we know that we have been formed by thd bug of the camino , Mader bravely walked more than 10,000 a day when it was a struggle before . As Kuya Libs roamed around Boston and NYC with the itch of the Camino in his heart . And I continued to eat nuts and raisens ( typical lunch that kuya Libs and Ate Beth).
As Ate Luz and I have agreed that the camino have strengthen our friendship .
Above all, there is this unspoken bond that has been created in each one of us .
We continue to say “Buen Camino” to each other…let that bug of kindness and love continue to reign in our hearts ..
” All our dreams can come true , if we have the courage to pursue them.” -Walt Disney
The grateful Peregrinos
Introduction
The Camino Santiago de Compostela was a dream of my Ate Luz . She have been watching the movie The Way. This movie inspired her to do the Camino as her way of saying thank you to all the blessings that has come to her life . A dream, a vow and a promise that has been postponed for years .
Until accidentally my Ate Luz expressed her desire to walk the pilgrimage in Santiago . I told her that I will see what I can and I will do some research and inquiry about it .
A year long planning from the itinerary to the financial budget . October 8 – 23 , 2023 starts the journey of our dream .
Team NYC
Ate Luz have invited some of her friends to join her with this journey . Violy, Tes, Sally, Rey and Ato joined ate Luz . The NYC team left earlier they had a side trip in Lisbon , Porto and a pilgrimage to Fatima . They were accompanied with my good friend Mario of Ocean Clover .
After four wonderful days in Portugal the adventure continues in Madrid where I will join them together with my Tigolits mamas .
Madrid the tigolits version
We have arrived day ahead of ate Luz and friends .It was an evening flight we have arrived late in Madrid on the eve of the 13th of October . The first thing that we did was ate at Jollibee , a famous fastfood chain from the Philippines.
The reason why I love Mercado San Miguel
We have also walked around the center of Madrid who was at that time was celebrating the National Holiday the sphere was very vibrant and warm.
First timer Madrid
The Convergence ( official pre camino meet up)
We woke up early had a sumptous breakfast at our hotel .
Start your day with an amazing breakfast and the rest will follow
Today will be an exciting day , I will meet ate Luz after x years and meet all these wonderful people who were up to this point were my cyber Ate and Kuya.
While waiting for them to arrived , we had a small walk at Santa Lucia and eventually had a sneak peak of the Debod temple .
The Temple of Debod[ (Spanish: Templo de Debod) is an ancient Egyptian temple that was dismantled as part of the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia and rebuilt in the center of Madrid, Spain
After this sneak peak , we hurried back to our hotel, that was the plan but then mader , ate Beth and Rosita have decided to go window shopping while I took the cab towards the airport.
After almost 2 hrs of waiting Ate Luz and co have finally arrived. A quick checked in and get to know …we started our Madrid exploration …
First stop was of course Mercado SanMiguel , then Beh Sally bought us some bubble tea . We tried to visit the Secret Nuns cookies of Madid but unfortunately the cloistered nun was closed till October 17.
Reunited feels so good
Later tonight we will have our tapa dinner while watching the flamenco show .
Flamenco Experience
Flamence is a very expressive dance and this is one of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage .
We have arrived a little bit late but we haven’t missed a lot yet . The food was good so was the wine . Everyone was awed by the intensity of the dance.
An hour long intensive foot work that will simply takes your breath away .
We ended our convergence day with a high note .
Tomorrow will be our day trip to Toledo and Segovia.
TOLEDO, SEGOVIA AND ALL IN BETWEENS
Toledo city, old town Segovia and its Aquaduct were declared as a UNESCO World heritage due to its beautiful monuments .
The functioning Aquaduct of SegoviaThe city of Toledo
It was a guided tour and the soon to be pilgrims of Santiago de compostela savored the sights of these ancient city . I will discuss this experience with another blog .
It was challenging day since we have experienced pickpocketing upclose and personal when our dear Kuya Rey realizes that his pouch was stolen along with his passport..
“I HAVE PREPARED FOR THIS FOR THE WHOLE YEAR ” – Kuya Rey
These were the words that kuya Rey said when he realized that his passport was stolen and that he would not be on time for our flight for Santiago .
Both Kuya Libs and myself did the possibilities since giving up was not in our vocabulary .. The three of us did the necessary steps while I did with google’s help search for other means that Kuya Rey can arrive in Sarria after filing for an emergency passport .
As the saying goes if there is a will there will always be a way .
October 16 , 4pm Kuya Rey accompanied by Kuya Libs arrived in Sarria and was ready for the start of our Camino.
CAMINO STARTS HERE
We arrived at Santiago de Compostela airport waited for our taxi to take us to our starting point Sarria. This will be the walk of faith , friendship and gratitude .
We did the Camino the French way starting in Sarria , this is the last leg for the Camino the French way . We will walk a total of 115 kilometers ( 100 km walking is the minimum kilometers needed to be considered as a pilgrim, while 200 kilometers if you will do it with the bike).
I will shun myself from discussing the weather or the technicalities of the terrain for each one of us have walked with a certain purpose.
This walk is not only a journey of appreciation of the scenic towns or the chase of those iconic stamps that will be exchanged with the pilgrimage certificate at the end of this walk, it is more than the elevation and this distance that we have walked .
This a journey that we part take with full of reflection . Every step or climb that ate Luz , Violy , Tes ,Beth , Sally ,Cing , Mads and Kuya Rey and Libs are full of purpose may it gratiutde or simply adventure but for sure it has been done with faith .
Faith will defy everything , it is the root of Hope to overcome any obstacles.
It was like when Ate Sally or Ate Luz walked in the rainy evening from Sarria _ Portomarin .. The conviction to finish the day walk was so huge that no matter what the weather circumstance was we keep on going .
It praying for everyone ‘s safety when unforeseen events pops up . That stormy evening when we were ( Kuya Libs, Ate Beth and myself) the only ones who arrived dry in Palas de Rei and everyone was still out in the rain .. My heart was in panic as I tried to keep my cool , trying to locate ate Luz and Mader , while running out in the rain trying to meet others who were having a hard time finding the hotel. The Camino speaks of being kind and taking care of those who are in need .. this was when Kuya Libs told me to asked everyone who came late to choose the food as we will order them and take them back to the hotel . It was when the hotel receptionist offered to drive us to the resto and take us back to the hotel .
The Camino is full of warm stories from the half blind Cuban woman who did her walk alone .
To our very own Kuya Rey who refuses to give in to the pain but instead focus on finishing the last 21 kms .
It mirrors Love and Friendship as I have seen how kuya Libs took care with Kuya Rey , how he would talk to him, tease him when he thinks he is already at the edge of giving up or in pain or How mader would hold kuya Rey’s hands to assist him . The patience that Ate Luz shows when the situation ask for it .
And above all it teaches us to be humble towards nature and towards each other . To try to speak with kindness even if we are tired . To be understanding of each others situation ..
The Ten of us have different testimonies about the Camino de Santiago but there is one thing that we have in common .. We are grateful for the chance that was given us to be able to walk such an epic route .
To witness the Botafumeiro and adore the exquisite beauty of Santiago de Compostela .
This was a walk of gratitude , friendship , brotherhood and sisterhood .
To everyone who made this journey a very colourful one ; and as we continue our Life’s walk always remember to say “Buen Camino” .
Rowena
Santiago de Compostela 2023
special thanks to : Mario Rui Macedo for a wonderful tour in Lisbon, Porto and Fatima ( Ocean Clover -Viagens e Turismo , http://www.oceanclover.eu )
Ylena Conesa of Santiago Ways ( http://www.SantiagoWays.com) for a very nice arrangement up to the smallest details ; it made our walk more enjoyable .
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