On the Road

"Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” -Jack Kerouac

A beautiful little girl inside a Manobo Hut, Butuan City 

A kid who went up a tree and came down with a bird, Leyte

A kid learning to write the Eskayan Alphabet, Bohol

I've been writing this post in parts, all over the place- in the car, by the shore, at a random coffee shop in Tuguegarao, overlooking the mountains of Kalinga, on a ferry ride to Bohol... taking mental and actual photos along the way. 

 Dreamweavers, Butuan City

Tinikling Dancers, Leyte

 Eskayan Elder, Bohol

Fortune-telling, Quiapo

When I got back to Manila, home was still home. 
The first thing I did was take a long shower.

It's not easy being always on the road. I wanted to sleep some more, take longer showers, have days off, eat at my own pace. 

But somehow, I learned to look for pieces of home in quiet moments while I was away- reading a magazine issued 2007, a good cup of manually brewed coffee, short naps in long ferry rides, some sense of normalcy before we had to pack our bags again to leave for the next province. 

 After filming waterfall rappelling, Antique

 Skimboarding Capital of the PH, Tanauan, Leyte

 Kids bathing in the Ulot River, Samar

 

Sir Toto riding around Calo Horse Farm, Butuan City

 Crocodile-hunting at the Agusan Marsh, Talacogon

Jaime takes off her boots before shooting the Eskapi scene, Butuan City

 Floating houses in the Agusan Marsh, Talacogon

 Kawasan Falls, Cebu

*note: We had to trek and go canyoneering for 6hrs while lugging our equipment around.

(L) Eskayan elders during class, Bohol

(R) Tinikling dancers on a break, Leyte

Battered DJI Phantom 4, Butuan City

This is our team's 2nd season filming Ride N' Seek with Jaime Dempsey. The 1st one (Season 3) brought us to a road trip from Manila all the way to Kalinga to be tattooed by none other than Apo Whang-Od. 

This season (Season 4), it's a journey from Manila, crossing the Visayas, and eventually reaching Mindanao to meet the dreamweavers of Manobo. Basically, we traversed Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao in 36 days straight. 

 

Filming the shooting range segment, Cebu

 

Filming the segment on mud eel (puyoy), Roxas City
*note: underneath this mud are oysters and eels touching our toes and legs. We're trying our best to keep our cool.

 

Mermaid lessons, Boracay

 

Mermaid lessons, Boracay

 

Filming inside Dagohoy's Cave, Bohol
*note: the cave is pitch-black and we had to feel and film our way while some members of the crew are actually claustrophobic. To make matters more interesting, we're also submerged in water.

Our wonder camera man and audio man, Tito Joel and Tito Allan, Boracay

My squad, aka, the Leyte Dance Group, Tacloban

 A soldier from the re-enactment of The Battle of Mactan, Cebu

Re-enactment of The Battle of Mactan, Cebu

 

The Ride N' Seek Team (plus me behind the cam, as usual), Bohol

A member of the Manobo-Mamanwa Community demonstrating Eskapi, Butuan City

People think it's easy to create a travel show. After all, the goal is to get paid doing what you love. But honestly, crafting this show is a different kind of adventure in itself. In between packing and unpacking, we would film during our waking hours while thinking of the shoot the next day. When we close our eyes to sleep, our dreams are like cue cards for the next shoots. There is no "off" switch. 

It sounds crazy to think about the effort and sleepless nights required to pull this off, especially when an episode airs for just 30 minutes! But honestly, I don't mind. Every project we film is a chance to mature and also play, in a way. And it's heart-melting bonus when people tell us they enjoyed it.


Because despite everything, that's what we did :) 

 

Jaime learning how to make her own bolo, Bohol

Kids as actors in The Battle of Mactan, Cebu

Tito Joel, Jen, and John, Butuan City

Filming the skimboarding segment, Tanauan

Jaime and the dreamweaver's daughter, Butuan City

 

The Ride N' Seek Crew (missing our prod manager, Mini Maglahus), Boracay

 

Jaime Dempsey, Butuan City

And something tells me, maybe we're not ones to slow down or stop. Maybe we're not done exploring yet.