Allacapan Cagayan

The Municipal of Allacapan is situated at the northern portion of Luzon. Travel by land would take about 2 hours drive from the province capital of Tuguegarao and about half a day from Manila.

Allacapan is bounded by the Cagayan River to the east, the town of Ballesteros to the west and to the south are the northernmost foothills of the Cordilleras. Its more popular neighbour, the town of Aparri, is just to the eastern bank of the Cagayan River. Together they cover the river outlet.

The landscape in Allacapan’s interior is mostly made up of small hills with narrow flat planes in between. The tallest hill would probably be no more than 200 meters. The flats are planted mostly with rice or are made into tilapia fish pens. These are flooded during periods of heavy rains, giving the impression that it used to be submerged in a period of time.

Along the hills a variety of crops are planted, where the most popular are pineapples, coconuts and citrus. Exposed grassy hills are being used for carabao grazing. Coconuts, citrus and pineapples are being sold to nearby towns through middlemen.

Allacapan is just a small town based solely on agriculture. Rice is the main crop supplemented by a variety of vegetables and root crops. Tilapia is now a growing industry as many land owners and farmers have been converting part of the land for tilapia growing.

An

Old Road

There used to be an old route which goes directly to Aparri. This road runs along the coastal barangays and a bridge used to join Allacapan to Aparri. However, frequent flooding must’ve been the reason why they stopped using this as the main road.

The route being used now goes via Lallo and doesn’t pass Aparri. On a road trip, one could easily miss the town Aparri along the new route. However, there are still small boats which can tow products and people across the old route.

Yamashita Treasure

It is interesting that there is a growing legend that General Yamashita of the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II, in his retreat had passed Allacapan. This gives some speculation that he had hidden some of his looted national treasures in one of the major hills in the area. I’ve heard some stories over some drinking sessions that some groups, mostly locals, have been digging up the hills in secret.

My Experience

I worked with a group of farmers managing a government project to regrow trees and make their land more productive. We brought several varieties of fruit trees combined with native forest trees. This became an incentive for farmers to become members of the group, granting them access to the free seedling from the project. A sharing scheme was agreed upon when the trees bear fruit. With this approach, more and more farmers went into membership and the project had support from the local community and the government.

trail running tips - planning your runs

Living near Melbourne, I don’t have much access to local trails during weekdays. The closest trails takes about and hour drive from our apartment. This leaves me only Saturdays and Sundays to have race specific training.

So how does typical city dweller prepare for these weekend trail runs?

Plan - it is essential to plan for these weekend outings

• Choosing a trail - Start with a trail that is easy in term of terrain and proximity to you house. Choose a trail by checking information from the local parks page. Print out maps of the trail and maps for driving directions. Study these park maps in detail to identify which points I would start and identify where I could park my car. With the current technology in the internet and gadgets such as gps, it is easier to have access on information on a trail. In particular, I used google earth to have a better idea on the terrain and what the surrounding area looks like.

• Check the weather - The days closer to your planned outing, check the local weather. This will tell you what to wear or what extra things to bring or eventually if you have to cancel the outing if the weather turns bad.

• Time - Decide on how much time you will spend on the trail. Since you will not yet be familiar with the terrain and potential obstacles, plan based on time. For me, this is usually an out and back route from a parking spot in the park.

What to bring

• Travel light – this is the principle that I apply whenever I’m outdoors. Leave out the things that are not necessary. Speed is compromised with the amount of weight you carry in your pack.

• Map - I usually place it in a transparent plastic sheet in case it rains or if it’s a bit moist.

• Water – the type of water carrier is a preference. I alternate between a 2 litre pack and 700 mL handheld. A 2 litre will last for longer (up to 5 hour) runs while a handheld will be enough for up to 2 hours.

• Food – 2 plus hours will require you to bring food. Consume up to 300 calories an hour.

• Shoes – I prefer a light trail shoe with good thread

• Other essentials – leave the wallet but bring driver’s license, a credit card and some money. Also bring a small cell phone, this will come in handy in case of emergency.

 What to wear - the clothing you'll wear will depend on the weather and temperature during the day. Remember -there is no bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.

• Warm and sunny - I usually wear shorts and a singlet or a shirt. A light hat with visor to protect your head from heat and eyer from the sun's glare
• Rainy - an light jacket on top of your shirt will do. This is just enough to bring you back to your car
• Cold adn windy - in the cold protect the head feet and hands from becoming cold. Wear a beany, an extra thick socks and some hand gloves.

•  

Constant change

Change. We are in constant motion.

For the past 11 years, me and my family moved seven times to different places. The longest time I stayed in a place is where I'm currently at, four years now. Not that I find it difficult to establish myself in a place or in my work. Just when I start to feel that things are pretty much routine I get bored. I always reflect on the future - am I going to get old in this place, would I be doing this for 30+ years. It's the constant yearning for new things to discover, new challenges to conquer and new goals to be achieved.

I also would like to think of the change as a milestone to an achievement. A new path, a new environment, a better life. I'd like to embrace the change for all uncertainties attached to it and leave all the certainties behind from the last place we've been to.

Change don't always refer to moving physically but meeting new friends along the way. New friends provide you with refreshing new ideas, a new view to life. I always welcome that opportunity to share part of life's journeys with a new companion.

It may also mean loosing someone - a relative or a close friend. It constantly reminds us that lilfe is short, its a gift and have to be lived with fullness and goodness. Despite the sorrow of loosing someone we love, it somehow strengthens us by inheriting the character and continuing the things they had started with.

Born to Run

I've finally figured it out! We'll with a little help, I guess.

I've been trying to reserve this best selling book - Born to Run by Christopher Mc Dougall from our local library for several weeks now. And boy was lucky enough to see it available in the library web! Finally got it 5 days ago.

The book is about a regular jogger (also worked as a war correspondent, journalist and contributor to tunners world mag) who wanted to run more but couldn't as his leg injuries kept him sidelined. His quest to become a better runner has taken him from consulting a foot doctor who told him that he is not built for running to finding the mythical Tarahumara -  a hidden tribe who can actually run great distances  (hundreds of kilometers at a single time) on as little as sandals.

As a runner myself and like many runners do, I am faced with the same series of injuries that's bugging people who wanted to stay fit. I want to run more and faster, why can't I do it without becoming injured??

Chris Mc Dougall went to see for himself how these remarkable culture-the Tarahumara Indians-- are able to do what modern man can't - run long distances on as little as sandals. Well, he also consulted human evolution experts and biologists. Chris conculded the following:

1. We are born to run -

Our entire anatomy is design for running and our running is the sole reason how we've survived the planet before we even learned how to farm. We were outrunning other animals under the suns heat.

Our feet is the best feature we have in propelling our bodies to long distances. Then tendons, ligaments and muscles specifically the achilles heel acts as rubbers to absorb impact of running -not the shoes. Our forefoot has many sensors which aids us in feeling and reacting to the ground

2. Modern shoes hurts us and makes us weak -  modern shoes, thick cushion are bad for the feet and legs. The cushion blocks the sensation and do not let the foot do its natural thing -to feel the ground and control our landing. The shoe gives us a sense of false security when running

3. Minimal footwear - what we need is just protection from rocks and sharp objects from the ground and not completely block the sensation from our feet

I've been suffering also from a series of strains on my legs. To put the theory to the test - I finally tried to wear my cheap watershoes at $5 from the local KMart. Been doing this for 2 days now, back to back sessions on concrete and asphalt.

My initial impression was - It was a great feeling of balance and adjustment you body does.  The first time I tried it, I started with a slow jog, having nursed a ITB and strained fibular tendon. Felt pretty good for abour 10 minutes. Then I decided to do a familiar 5 k loop around the neighborhood. I felt like I was in "full control" of my entire run. There was a little bit of twinge here and there, but the brain and body automatically adjust to this by making your posture erect as you run and having shorter strides. I actually felt like bouncing.

I ran an average of 6:15 per km in the entire run. Can't imagine doing this while on recovery.

I also did a session near our office at lunchtime. Some joggers were actually looking at me, maybe in disbelief that I'm wearing aqua shoes on concrete.

People were born to run. I shall prove it by conquering the hundred mile.

Barangay Maligaya

For several months in 2002, I worked for a reforestation project under the government program called SIFMA. SIFMA stands for Socialized Integrated Forest Management Agreement – granting areas for plantation establishment to private entities.

The area is a 1,500 hectare dipterocarp forest in General Nakar Quezon. This is on the southern part of the Sierra Madre Mountains. The are is in Barangay Maligaya.

Initially, I had a chance to recon the site. It was a road drive from Manila to Infanta and a banca ride from Infanta to General Nakar. This takes about 12 hours total. Nakar for its remoteness has been considered as hotspot for insurgencies – that time I think added to the thrill of working in the area.

When I started working on the project, mainly to implement the project plan, I found out that the plan for the area did not fit the conditions in the area. First, the write up assumed that the area was bare and plans to replace the vegetation with coconuts, fruit trees mixed with agricultural crops. For me, this would mean stripping the entire forest and replacing it with agricultural crops.

From my impression, the plan was a pro-forma, done quickly without looking at the site. Second, I guess it was a bit to entice potential investors – since forest trees are a bit unknown to many agri-based investors.

Firsthand, we quickly worked on revising the drawing board. Working on maps to revise the plan and do the maths. Agriculture was not an option since this would be more costly. We replaced it with restocking of indigenous trees in “bare” areas and trimming out unwanted trees in potentially regrowing dipterocarp areas. The rationale for this was to bring back the forest to its natural state – where mostly dipterocarp trees would thrive. We would put up a central nursery and several temporary sub-nurseries. We would collect the planting materials onsite by gathering already growing ‘wildlings and collecting seeds.

The first couple of visits were more on exploring the site to plot out areas and spots for planting and thinning as well as identifying trees for seed collection.

While doing this, we also started to prepare the nursery, laying out beds for seed germination and filling plastic pots for seedling production. The soil in the nursery was still rich, so we don’t have to go elsewhere to collect soil. So part of our daily task would be measure, pick and plough the soil. We hired several people from the community to help us with these task and for them to maintain the nursery while were away.

We were able to plant at least 100,000 seedlings along roads and the identified open forests at the start of the rainy season (June). We hired about over 100 people from the barangay, usually on shifts to plant the seedlings.

My work was cut, when I accepted a better job offer.  

Some of the highlights during work in Nakar:

1. Town Fiesta – me and my boss were asked to be the judge of a singing contest and was one of the guests of honor, we sat on a table with the Mayor during the celebration. I watched a local tupada (cock fight) in the morning. We drank all night till morning and slept all day
2. Ghost– we rented a small bungalow which also served as our office. The house has been vacant for months and the owners transferred to Infanta, after their daughter experienced seeing ghosts and a crocodile-like creature. My companions also experienced having nightmares seeing a witch-like lady in their sleep, chocking them. One companion-a bakla- claims to not have any of these nightmares – we jokingly told him na “may sapi ka na kasi, kaya di ka na pwede sapian”!

3. Beside the river – our nursery is beside the Magnac river, where we constantly see logs being transported/floated downstream. We also saw a huge brown python on a rainy day swimming out of the river and climbing up the forest. There’s a deep lagoon near a bend where we occasionally dive and snorkel

4. Dumagats – yes, the area is home to the Dumagats. And the townspeople have many Dumagat jokes. They’re very friendly and also helped us in our nursery as hired laborers

5. NPA – new people’s army who constantly bug us asking for revolutionary tax and permit to operate. They believed the project was part of a grander scheme to establish and international trade port in the area. Believe me- they are corrupt as well – kailangan din kumain ng mga loko.

6. Names – these tagalog/Quezon folks have an unusual way of assigning horrible names like Urok, Apyang, Badong

Winter Plans

In 9 days, I'll be running 50 kilometers around the Macedon Ranges Regional Park. This was the run that I substituted for the Cancelled Wilson's Prom 45 k. I'm so excited for this run. I've never done 50 k on a trail with 2,000 m uphill. I've done a 50 on flat with a time of 6:48. Unfortunately, the kids and my wife couldn't come so not so inspiring not to see them in the finish line. I've set a target pace time of 7:30.

The event is organized by trailsplus. Had the pleasure of participating in last year's You Yangs 30km challenge. Trailsplus cater to runners who wants to step up the challenge by going to the trails and most of their runs are just near Melbourne which attracts about 100 - 200 runners. If one is aspiring to step up to trails and ultras, trailplus caters to that niche.












A map of the 50km run

After this, I plan to set some Saturday hikes/bushwalking with the kids, possibly invite some family friends. This will be part of my active recovery as I try to recuperate from hard training for the past six months while trying to keep a certain level of fitness. For the kids, I'd like to share with them the appreciation of nature, show them the things I've seen during my trail runs.

Places on my list are:

1. Gellibrand Hill - the closest to our apartment with just 15 -20 minute drive

2. Macedon - probably a section of the trail I will run

3. You Yangs -  a short loop once its open. This area is now undergoing rehab from recent floods

4. Werribee Gorge

I'm reading about other parks and bushlands near Melbourne from a book I borrowed from our local library. It has info on the proximity of each and some loops as options. So there's additional exploring and several items to be added on the above list.

Fr Amado Picardal's Journey

The past few days, I've been reading about Fr Picardal's blog. It's very inspiring the way a priest combines his life of prayer, reflection, fitness, advocacy, preaching and love of nature in one activity.

Recent days, I've read Fr Picardal's pedestrian adventures across Mindanao, Spain and currently - Davao to Aparri. He travels on foot, some times stripping his sandals when conditions permit and completes an average of 50 km a day. He's now around 2,000 kilometers somewhere in Cagayan province and very soon will complete his journey ending in Aparri.

He usually take Sabbatical leave after his regular academic teaching. He takes this as an opportunity to reflect and preach his advocacy on peace and environmentalism. At the same time, he tries to combat illnesses such as high blood, etc by trying to be fit. Not your typical priest!

I read an interesting post on 'Warriors diet' following a pre-historic eating philosophy wherein he only eats one full hearty meal at night. He also shares some insights on his personal views on politics and other issues in the society.