PhotoHunt: HOT

In order to beat the hordes of madding tourist, and take advantage of the "first-buyer discount," we were in this pearl market at around 7am. These necklaces, bracelets, and earrings are proud products of communities in and around the Sulu Sea, engaged in the trade for decades. The market is located at the wharf behind a landmark hotel which has changed hands through the years; but the pearl sellers, like the beauty of their wares, have consistently endured life's scrapes and scuffles.

back of Lantaka Hotel, Zamboanga City, January 2012, using a digicam.

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.