PhotoHunt: REFLECT

This is the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Zamboanga City, some 1,900 kilometers south of the Philippine capital of Manila. I accidentally found it online when I was looking for the local schedule of masses during a brief stay in the city recently. It caught my eye online; to see it in person was something else. Its 'whiteness' shimmers in the noontime sun, its distinct shape stands out from among the usual box-type buildings in its immediate environs. It's an example of the ever-changing face of our centuries-old faith.

Zamboanga City, March 2011, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: STURDY

This is Stan, arguably the star of The Mind Museum, the Philippines' first world-class science museum which formally opened its doors last March 16th in Taguig City. Stan is a forty-foot Tyrannosaurus rex cast made from the most complete T. rex set ever discovered. No wonder he is the touted king of dinosaurs: if I were his prey then, his sheer majestic presence would have made me freeze where I stood. Exactly how I felt when I first got to see him up close at The Mind Museum.

The Mind Museum, Taguig City, December 2011, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: AWESOME

Nestled amidst the greenery of Talisay village in Dapitan City, this towering baluno tree, a relative of the mango, has stood guard for at least one hundred years. By itself, it is already an awe-inspiring entity. But in addition to its imposing presence, this baluno has been a witness to the life of the Philippines' national hero, Dr Jose Rizal, while he lived in exile in this village from March 1893 to July 1896. In silence, it has watched Rizal as he maintained a school that mentored a group of boys into fine young men; developed the area into a model for public works and health and sanitation; found true love; buried a son.

If only its leaves and branches can talk, what wondrous stories I'm sure this baluno tree will tell about Rizal's time here in Dapitan, in exile, yes, yet arguably the most free he has ever been...

Rizal Shrine, Dapitan City, Zamboanga Del Norte, March 2012, using a digicam.