what a Spanish backpacker saw in the Philippines

Here’s an unusual photo of Banaue taken by my friend Beltran in February 2009.   In his album, Filipinas, hay que verlo (Philippines, a must see), he shows a quiet and  fresh (the word that comes to mind is crisp) look at life in our islands.

Made me think of how traveling alone really makes one observe, listen, and engage a new place and its people.  It’s disarming in a very welcome way, and I wish I had it in me to also brave the places Beltran visited, and brave them alone.

Girl taking in the sun in Banaue

Beltran is a Spanish tour guide who visited the Philippines for the first time in early 2009. A native of Sevilla, Spain, he found his way here because of a Dutch couple he met in Indonesia the year before:

Solo recuerdo el año pasado por estas fechas, en  Indonesia, concretamente en las islas togian en Sulawesi, charle con una pareja holandesa mayor que venían de allí, y me dijeron que Filipinas era un sitio sin mucho turismo e increíble y muy cercana a la cultura española.

(They told him the Philippines is an incredible place with not that many tourists and a culture similar to Spain).

He spent a month exploring our islands, with the goal of mapping out a Philippine travel route to offer to his clients.   Goes without saying, he had a grreeeeaat time, and is actually the viajero I mention on my page on travel tips to the Philippines for Spanish-speakers.

His one-month itinerary went something like this:

Manila
Banaue
Sagada
Baguio
Manila
Cebu
Bohol
Bicol (Legapsi to see the Mayon volcano, and also the whale sharks in Donsol)
Mindoro
Manila

Amazing that after one month of traveling, he was able to condense his trip in just 34 fotos.   I say that’s admirable.  The hand that is able to restrain, especially in this digital age of unlimited everything, surely comes from a gentle, quiet place within, where wonder really flows nonstop.

Hurrah for visitors like you, Beltran…you will always have a home here!

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Beltran also wrote about his adventure on his travel site, rutasporelmundo (English translation available, no worries!).  Quite encouraging to see the Philippines through his eyes.  Also look out for the mention of a guapísima Johanna who took him around Manila…