Hunger hurts but starving works
When it costs too much to love...
- lyrics from "Paper Bag" by Fiona Apple
During a trip to Palawan with a few friends last year, I asked Greg as we were sitting out on the porch of the rustic beach house we were renting about something that my mind just wouldn't lay to rest. Earlier that day, we had toured the myriad of islands in El Nido and by golly, the view that stretched out in front of me was so sublime that my eyes hurt. I was so struck by the blinding beauty of the place that the question I posed only made sense: "What is it that makes places like this a thing of universal beauty?" That is, if there is even such a thing.
Much like moral relativism, I believe in the plurality of aesthetic values, in how something to which one ascribes beauty as a natural truth can be viewed quite differently by another. But certainly, at the key moment of recognition, there was no question in my mind as to whether El Nido was beautiful. No ifs, no buts, no maybes. I'm saying this now because prior to our arrival in Palawan, I had expected the rave reviews of El Nido to be overrated, that maybe the budding tourist trap was not all that it's cracked up to be. Now I know that to cradle thoughts to the negative was a sacrilege. To even acknowledge such a question could exist in the realm of the natural world was unimaginable. And that was what got me wondering, exactly what was it that made imagining so difficult.
To this day, I still have no idea.
And really, all I wanted to do was just post pics of some of the things that got me asking that question again today. But of course, I had to have an opening. =P
Anguilla
Nevis
Tangiers, Morocco
Capri
Amalfi, Italy
St. Barts
This is why people like me work like dogs. Because you never know when it's gonna be the day that the cosmos might decide to go nuts and give you your lucky break. C'est si bon!
Photos courtesy of Wimco Villas. The Conde Nast-winning villa and boutique hotel reservations company has an ongoing essay contest wherein you stand a chance to win a US$1000 credit on your villa vacation. Check out their official site and MySpace profile for more information.
4 comments:
hey nice photos! you should check this out www.new7wonders.com for more must-go-to places. Philippines actually has an entry! Tubbataha reef.
yeah, i think i've seen that one na. voted for tubbataha din ata.
Yeah, nice photos! Specially the first one. And I'm proud to say that I was there as well to enjoy the magnificent view if not the one who took the photo (ako ba or si Jub?) Hehehe.
Balik tayo ng El Nido, V! =)
i think it must have been you. it was a precarious perch, di ba? i think i remember saying, rescue mo na lang ako if i fall off the banca, har har.
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