PhotoHunt: MAGICAL

This is one of the rare times I really wish I had a real pro's camera because my puny point-and-shoot simply did not do justice to capture the majesty of Tinago Falls.

The Filipino word for "hidden," Tinago Falls is nestled in a lush forest environment about 45 minutes' drive on rough roads from the national highway. As a person in the worst possible physical shape, it me about 20 minutes to go down some 300-odd steps into the valley that cradles Tinago. (Then thrice as long to go back up.)

But to say that it is worth the hike is the year's understatement. It is simply amazing. Even magical.

Iligan City, April 2012, using a digicam.

Sugar and Spikes

Technically it was not my first encounter with this Queen Fruit of the South. Whenever my father would come home from a business trip to Davao and its environs, he would bring home packs of durian candy. Being the incurable sweet tooth, that pack would be a goner before you can say, Honey I'm home. Then when I myself was able to visit Davao a decade ago, I got the chance to eat durian ice cream and all the candy I can get my hands on. But still, the fruit eluded me.

Yet the durian and I were destined to meet. In Cagayan De Oro last month, I finally caught a major whiff of and a spoonful of this delectable fruit. It isn't really malodorous; rather, it's sweet scent is so strong that it wallops one's sense of smell. And, at least that particular spoonful I tasted, was Pure Condensed Milk Pretending To Be A Fruit. IT WAS SOOOOO DELIRIOUSLY SWEET. Too sweet and too creamy, even for my own taste buds. I'm sure it's a great fruit, and other varieties are far tastier than what I sampled- but I don't believe I will be rushing to my suking prutasan to devour another durian.

If it is in ice cream form... That's another story.

As my bosses attack a couple of durians at a roadside durian stall, Iligan City, April 2007, using my Canon A430 digicam.