Ana Valenzuela's Blog

A picture on social media that my friend shared was a man who had lots of wild birds (probably most were maya) on his shoulders and all around him. And this was not an ordinary province post. In fact, this was in Makati CBD.

I was envious to the point that I wondered could I ever be that friendly to birds? I’ve never have any birds. But, to win their trust… This was a long time ago, pre-pandemic actually.

Come pandemic time sometime in July of 2020, I transferred to our provincial home. There wasn...

Only his mother seemed to think that he was special. Everyone else the puppy had annoyed or driven mad to shrills that can triumph over the sound of Manila City. That is why he was named Buster.

Born in the province, he was a little shy of three months when he moved in the city with his mom, siblings, and human granny.

If I had been given the chance to pick who it is I would have adopted, I would have adopted the black faced pup who had been named Bane. He had been friendlier to humans, always wag...

 I'm not a fan of the singer, however this song is one of the top voice coach reaction videos. As I was watching one of those reaction videos, there was a blogger who took it to Google Translate, and it unfortunately got lost in translation.

Please Be Mine
Why can't you feel 
that to me you are important. To you, I am only a friend.But, why can't I accept that?
Will you ever love me?That's my prayer, but I am also begging.
Please be mine, be mine.That is what I pray for everyday.Please be mine, be mi...

 
When we were young,
you looked liked Paraluman.
You danced so gracefully,
be it boogie or cha-cha.
However my favorite would always be 
you dancing El Bimbo.
It move me, pulsates me, gives me shivers.
After school, I'd always go directly to your place,
And all afternoon, you'd teach me how to dance.
Our hands touchedAnd without knowingYou also taught my heartwhat true love is.
My body stiffens whenever the record would play.It's dead to the move of your hips and your lovely stare. I can then see the ligh...

Some of the #HeistClub authors launched their book 2 early this year. One of these authors is Yeyet Soriano. If you have already read her book The Retreat, then you would know what the plot of the stories for her sequel would be. I talked to Yeyet and asked her more about her sequel, The Crime Circle.

Add caption
The stories started with #HeistClub's The Retreat, how did the idea for this came about?

I had to think about the plot and outcome of the stories already in order to write The Retreat a...

Blurb:

At 31, Kris’s dating life is starting to resemble a reality show. So when she strikes up a conversation with a nerdy but gorgeous stranger on the train, getting serious is the last thing on her mind. Been there, done that, and she has the emotional baggage to prove it.


At 24, Ringo knows what he wants—and when a train flirtation turns into a night he can’t forget, he knows he wants Kris. But it’s clear she has other plans, and they don’t include him. So when they find themselves on the...

Olivia Nadal is an almost perfect girl with an almost perfect life. She has stunning good looks, an exciting job that pays well, men lining up to date her, and a homey little condo she calls her own. The only thing keeping her from perfection is her utter inability to cook.

Enter Nate Olivarez, a hotshot chef who's filling in for Olivia's cooking instructor. Sparks fly when they meet, but a fling with the visiting hottie is the last thing Olivia needs. But as things keep heating up in the kitc...

If life were fair, Jam Gallahue would still be at home in New Jersey with her sweet British boyfriend, Reeve Maxfield. She’d be watching old comedy sketches with him. She’d be kissing him in the library stacks.

She certainly wouldn’t be at The Wooden Barn, a therapeutic boarding school in rural Vermont, living with a weird roommate, and signed up for an exclusive, mysterious class called Special Topics in English.

But life isn’t fair, and Reeve Maxfield is dead.

Until a journal-writing assignmen...

Last week, my friends and I travelled to Batanes! When I posted photos on my social media, friends began messaging me for tips. So here goes:

#batanes day 1 which was Last Sunday With @cafeula and @anna.carmella #latepost is what I get when I go to a place that has no wifi nor dataA post shared by Ana Valenzuela (@ana_valenz) on Jul 18, 2017 at 6:41pm PDT

Accommodations:We stayed at Marfel Lodge (airport transfers included). However, since there are more than one Marfel Lodge in Basco, please note which branch you will be at, as people who you will ask for directions and tricycle drivers will tell you, madaming Marfel Lodge.

We stayed at Marfel Lodge Main, which was very near the airport (isang tumbling lang). The Main Branch has two houses, and me and my friends actually stayed in the back house. It has two rooms (room 6 and 7). Lucky for us, we were the only ones staying there.

Even luckier was that it felt like our house for the days to follow. There was a stove and gas, with pots, pans, cooking utensils, plates, silverware and more. There was also a water dispenser, so no need to worry about getting a bottle of mineral water.
Tour:At the airport, you will be asked to pay PhP350 as environmental fee. You will be given a ticket and a map of Batanes, which I really found helpful. The map also has a grid map of Basco with street names. Don't worry it's not as big as it looks, you can walk or bike around, if it pleases you.

The owner of Marfel Lodge, Ma'am Fe is also the owner of Chanpan Tours.

Sorry mr. #frost, but I obviously took the #roadmosttraveled even #dabbing on the way. #rollinghills #amazingbatanesA post shared by Ana Valenzuela (@ana_valenz) on Jul 20, 2017 at 2:32am PDT

Regular rate for North Batan Tour is Php1,200 per person.
Regular rate for Sabang Tour is Php2,000 per person.
Regular rate for South Batan Tour is Php1,800 per person.

So, if you are going for that three day tour of Batanes, better prepare PhP5,000. You can try to haggle for that three day tour of Batanes, she gave us the tour for Php4,500. But, we only paid Php3,000 as we only took the the North Batan tour and Sabang tour. We had the option to take the South Batan tour or not na.

North Batan Tour

If you want to go biking, I suggest that you take this trail. Unfortunately for us, I don't know how to bike, plus it was a rainy Sunday.

Tour begins at around 12noon, so I still had time to wander around Basco (use that trusty map if you don't want to go running around in circles).

Chanpan tour first took us to have lunch (which is included). Then after to Fundacion de Pacita (it is also a resort with a resto, Cafe de Tukon). Then after we went to the Japanese Tunnel then Boulder Beach. We weren't able to go to the Rolling Hills and Lighthouse as it was raining. We went here the next day, after the Sabtang Tour.

Could feel my heart racing as we went deeper on the Japanese tunnel at #bascobatanes We had nothing but the flashlights from our phone and a great guide to show us the end of the tunnelA post shared by Ana Valenzuela (@ana_valenz) on Jul 18, 2017 at 6:45pm PDT

If you want to explore the Japanese Tunnel, I suggest you go with the tour, as there is a guide. He will show you other ingresses, where of course we exited. It's total darkness in here (except of course for the entrances), so best to have your phone fully charged for flashlight and pictures.

Sabtang Tour

To go here, you will need to ride a boat. I suggest that you take the tour, as there are no tricycles here (as far as I saw) plus, the tour covers the boat ride, environmental fee, plus of course lunch.

This is the island where you will get to wear a vakul, the Ivatan headdress.

Wearing the #ivatan women's headdress #vakul whilst loitering around their Barrio, Chavayan in #sabtangisland last pic is one of the weavers #amazingbatanesA post shared by Ana Valenzuela (@ana_valenz) on Jul 19, 2017 at 8:48pm PDT

You can also go swimming at Morong Beach (Ahao Arch is here). Morong Beach was where we had lunch.  May I suggest that you buy some of your souvenirs at the Weavers Association.

#lighthouse abound on the tip of our country. But this one was the only one I got a picture with and even got a chance to have one next to the big bulb. #breathtakingbatanes #itsmorefuninthephilippinesA post shared by Ana Valenzuela (@ana_valenz) on Jul 20, 2017 at 6:09am PDT

South Batan Tour

We choose to just DIY the South Batan tour. We didn't have to wake up early for the tour, although we did. The original plan was we go biking to the Honesty Store and other locations on South Batan. Unfortunately, my sense of balance failed me, plus the sun was so happy to be finally given some air time, that it was so freaking hot. We instead opted to take a bike.

We could have had it all! #rollinginthehills was trying to get that #soundofmusic feel, kaya nga lang nahilo na.A post shared by Ana Valenzuela (@ana_valenz) on Jul 20, 2017 at 6:39am PDT

From Basco to Honesty store, it's worth PhP220. However, we subcontracted our tricycle driver for a whole (or half as we began 11am and ended at around 4 to 5pm) day tour. We paid him PhP1,000. It was worth it. Not only because of the locations we wanted to go, we went, but also because most of the path was uphill (and downhill), and not flat which will make it a lot harder for a beginner biker like me, and would probably have taken us more time.

The Honesty store is good for snacks as there is coke Php20 each bottle, cookies and chips ranging from Php25 to PhP50. You can also buy some pasalubong from here.

We also stopped by the Song-song ruins, a couple of churches, a hillside view of the beach with goats (which obviously I forgot what its called), and Marlboro Country. You can also go to the viewing deck, but we didn't want to tire ourselves out and the viewing deck according to the map is good for sunset.
FoodThere are a few restaurants and carinderia in Basco. However, if you are on a budget and you'll be staying At Marfel's, better to bring canned goods or buy from the local stores (there are many) or from Marfel which also sells some plus rice. You can cook at Marfel's as I said earlier. We cooked our breakfast. We even bought eggs (PhP8 each), garlic, tomatoes (PhP20 for three to four pieces) on the General Merchandise store.

You can also try to buy some blue crab (I forgot what it's called, Coconut Crab?). My friend bought a small one for less than Php300. If you are going to buy some crab, best to cook and eat it at Batanes, as you will need to pay a penalty fee if you bring it to the airport.

This rich chocolate cake tastes like a billionaire, sabi ni chuchie. Sarap din tubhon iced tea.A post shared by Ana Valenzuela (@ana_valenz) on Jul 19, 2017 at 7:37pm PDT

One of the restos we tried was Cafe de Tukon (we went here two days straight). It has good food and an awesome view. Must tries include Dulc...

(Not a spoiler, promise!)In the Tagalog romance publishing world, authors go through this process: Write the 20k-plus-word long novella, submit it, then follow up for feedback several weeks later. If approved, we got paid, and wait for the story to get published after a few months. If the story didn’t get approved . . . Ahh, that’s a tragedy many indie authors would never get to experience (although the feeling may be the same when one gets negative reviews).

The year was 2009. I submitted a...