The Sanctuary Cafe, National Road, Lanuza, Surigao del Sur

  The Sanctuary Cafe is a stop over cafe of motorists and tourists. It is located along the National Road of Lanuza, Surigao del Sur. The Sanctuary Cafe is a project of the Local Government of Lanuza, Surigao del Sur. Though a "sleepy town", Lanuza is famous for its annual international surfing competition. The competition is held annually during the month of November.

Entrance to the Sanctuary Cafe

The signage of Sanctuary Cafe along the road.

The tables located outside of the Sanctuary Cafe

   Sanctuary Cafe serves food of whatever is available in their kitchen. They don't have a food menu. I just ordered rice and tinuyang isda (fish soup with cabbage, ginger, red pepper, and shallots). The food tasted very well but I later realized that the food was suitable during the rainy season because of its spicy hot flavor. Their comfort rooms are well designed but has no running water. I have to excuse myself into their kitchen to wash my hands after using their comfort room.

Sanctuary Cafe sells native handicrafts inside their store.

They sell banig (native floor mat made of abaca leaves),  hats made from native materials, native necklaces and bracelets, etc.

The Pacific Ocean view when you are inside of the Sanctuary Cafe.

    When I saw the Pacific Ocean from the inside of the Sanctuary Cafe, I was pondering of what kind of swiss watch brand divers use to explore this vast ocean. Will the divers prefer Rolex over Omega or vice versa? And do divers have life insurance?

Cordillera Art "Mini-Bulol" ? crafted on Animal Bones at Bencab Museum, Baguio City, Philippines

Around 4 years ago, me, my nanny, and my dog spent our Holy Week vacation in Baguio City, Philippines. I drove for 6 hours using the Kennon Road from Pangasinan. I like Kennon Road over Marcos Road because of the following reasons; 1. I'm used of driving in Kennon. 2. There are no big buses using Kennon 3. It has a short distance from Pangasinan to Baguio City. The only problem of Kennon is, the road is narrow compared to a much wider Marcos Road. Kennon Road was built by the Americans in 1903. On our second day in Baguio City, we went to Bencab Museum along Asin Road. I did not use my car because I did not know where Bencab Museum is. We hired a taxi and asked the driver to bring us to Bencab museum. The road going to the museum is not meant for me to drive. I was scared of narrow roads in Baguio City. My car insurance is not comprehensive, I do not have a personal insurance, and I just sold my Sunlife Phil Equity Mutual Fund. I do not have enough coverage. Haha. When we reached the museum, I went directly to the place where they sell souvenier items and I bought two Bencab prints of which I eventually sold to collectors in Manila after our Holy Week vacation. One is a Mother and Child and the other one is a sunset in the Cordilleras. I politely asked Bencab to personally sign the two prints. He was in the museum during the time of our visit. During our tour of the museum, I was intrigued by the carvings on animal bones of "Mini-Bulol"?. This animal bone carvings are part of Bencab's collection of Cordillera Art. Bencab is a monicker of Benedicto Cabrera. He was awarded National Artist for Visual Arts in the Philippines in 2006. He is a Famous Filipino painter and has sold his artworks around the world.

I am standing infront of some of the hard to find Bulol Collection of Bencab.

I did know that Bencab was on my left side while I was having my photograph taken infront of the reception table of the Bencab Museum. I really love the painting on the wall. This painting is really a representation of the Art and the people of the Cordilleras.