Sorsogon The Book

The Sorsogon Provincial Tourism Council recently launched Sorsogon Province: A Coffeetable Book. It is actually a glossy rendition of what Sorsogon is all about and what it offers in the area of tourism.

As part of the team that worked on the project, I can't help but be proud of my hometown. Working on the book was like taking a journey of discovery. It was the closest thing to riding the waves to Juag. Or scaling Bulusan. Or spelunking in Prieto-Diaz. Or diving in Donsol.

It was a journey of rediscovery too. As we pored over pictures of old families, I was transported to the Sorsogon of my mother's stories. To the Sorsogon I grew up in and am now collecting stories of for my daughter.

Sto. Nino

I had high hopes on my first visit to Sto. Nino. I had seen it in pictures before, and it was just beautiful, especially since I knew that it opened into a majestic view of Mayon Volcano.

I was not disappointed on the boat ride going there. The sea was calm, and it was just blue, blue and blue all throughout. Twenty or so minutes from the Banao Port, I was greeted by a breathtaking view of Mayon: its blueness rising from the already blue waters.



Inland, Sto. Nino had the feel of a small island abandoned by time. The ascent from the shore to the interior is an effort, but the path is shaded by trees. There is a makeshift schoolhouse that holds first-year classes: made entirely of wood, it is a crude rendering of the classic one-room schoolhouse.





Sto. Nino holds promise as a rustic, rugged retreat: a place you that is not dictated by alarm clocks and bundy cards.