Travelogue: Toledo, Spain

On our back to Madrid, together with some of my co-trainees from the ZCR project, we decided to visit and have a mini-tour of Toledo, Spain.  It is the home of Don Quixote and his windmills, with his comrade, Sancho.

                                                           Painting by Pablo Picasso, 1955


Toledo is a municipality 70km south of Madrid.  It was declared a World Heritage site in 1986 for its extensive cultural and monumental heritage as one of the former capitals of the Spanish empire.

A walk around Toledo gives a feeling of its rich history and tradition, art, culture and architecture.    

Its very compact and pedestrian-friendly.

The Toledo cathedral is ranked among the greatest Gothic structures in Europe.  

Toledo is also known for its metal and steel industry and for their great tradition in making swords, knives and armors.

Aside from this, Toledo is the world's largest center of production of Damascene.  Damascene, or "Damasquinado de Oro or Damasquino" is the art of decorating non-precious metals with gold.  Damascenes items generally display 2 distinct traditional types of patterns:  Arabesque (geometrical designs) and Renaissance (birds and flowers).  These patterns are obtained by engraving deep, patterned cuts into steel and then placing a gold foil into the lines of the design.  We were lucky enough to witness how it was done, and even luckier to take a souvenir back home.  Its incredible craftsmanship!

  

One of the most important paintings ever done, our curator and guide says, is found in Toledo.  It is the painting done by El Greco, The Burial of the Conde de Orgaz, oil on canvas (1586-1588).  It is currently housed in the Church of Santo Tome.  

What a great place Toledo is.  Hasta la proxima Don Quixote!

Travelogue: Angkor Wat @ Siem Reap, Cambodia (Part 1)

After 6 long hours of bus travel from Phnom Penh, we finally arrive at Siem Reap, Cambodia.  It is the capital city of Siem Reap Province, and is the gateway to Angkor Region.

Siem Reap really feels like a tourist city. Our guide says everything they do is for tourism, from the roads, hotels, infrastructure, etc.  Its their main source of livelihood.  Much like our Bohol, but the main attraction of Siem Reap are the temples.  They say that there are almost a thousand temples scattered within the city.  Glad we had our 3-day pass to see some of them.    

Our guide showing us the map of some of the temples.

We started our temple hopping with Angkor Wat.  This is the magnificent view outside the temple as we approached it.

According to our Lonely Planet companion, it is the largest and undoubtedly the most breathtaking of the monuments in Angkor.  Indeed!  It is also widely believed to be the largest religious structure in the world.  Some interesting facts about it:

• It is oriented towards the west, symbolically, the direction of death, which scholars says that it must have existed primarily as a tomb;
• It is surrounded by a 190m-wide moat, which forms a giant rectangle measuring 1.5km by 1.3km.  This is huge compared to the moats surrounding European castles!

• The sandstone blocks from which Angkor was built were quarried more than 50km away and floated down the Stung Siem Reap on rafts.  

• There are more than 3000 apsaras carved into the walls of Angkor Wat, each of them unique;

• The spatial dimensions of Angkor Wat parallel the lengths of the four ages of classical Hindo thought. Thus the visitor who walks the causeway to the main entrance and through the courtyards to the final tower, is metaphorically travelling back to the first age of the creation of the universe.  

Our walk thru the causeway

The main entrance..

The courtyards...

And upwards to the final tower...

The final tower.

"To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders"- Lao Tzu

It was a great experience to discover Angkor Wat and really worth revisiting. 

One down, 999 temples to go...

 

Travelogues: Masbate City

Masbate City’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) is currently being updated and aligned with its Vision:

By 2020, a Vibrant Masbate City: The Country's Marine Sanctuary with a sustainably improved economy, clean and green environment, disciplined and productive Masbatenos, governed by a participatory, proactive and responsive leadership 

and thru stakeholder consultations, one of the identified development potentials is the enhancement and promotion of Masbate City’s Biodiversity and Ecotourism Triangle.

According to a recent technical study, the Masbate Pass, located between Ticao Island and Masbate City is home to very rich biodiversity composed of the Bugsayon Marine Reserve and Buntod Marine Reserve. Potential tourism areas also located within the city are the Pawa Mangrove Reservation and the Tugbo Watershed Ecopark. These tourism areas can be clustered into Masbate City’s Biodiversity and Ecotourism Triangle.

1. Buntod Sand Bar and Marine Sanctuary—the first established marine sanctuary of the City covering 250 hectares, where live hard and soft coral covers highlights the majestic underwater sceneries; the Tugbo Watershed is a potential ecotourism destination with its lush vegetation, ideal for hiking and camping;

2. Bugsayon Marine Sanctuary—a 50-hectare marine sanctuary where you can see the amazing live corals and diverse marine species; and

3. Pawa Mangrove Ecosystem and Wildlife Park—the City’s biggest area of mangrove growth. Tourists can experience the dramatic scene of the 300 hectares of mangrove plantation along its 1.3 km of boardwalk.

Visit: http://www.masbatecity.gov.ph/

Travelogues: Almeria, Spain

The Zero Carbon Resorts Project (ZCR) gave me the opportunity to travel to Spain. Our destination: Almeria. Our purpose was for a technical training about Solar Power technology. Our host was the partner organization of the project: Plataforma Solar de Almeria (PSA). The location for the development of the solar technology is perfect because of the climate, adequate sunlight and ample wind.

Almeria is a city in Andalucia, Spain. Its located at the southern part of Spain, near the Mediterranean Sea.

Our 7-day stay in Almeria gave us the chance to experience the city; its rich history, architecture, urban planning, and, yes, food.

Its colorful history, according to our guide, was highlighted by the continuous battle between Christians and Muslims. It experienced many sieges, especially during the time of the Crusades. This explains the many fortresses located within Almeria, the biggest of which is Alcazaba, a Moorish Castle and considered to be the second largest among the Muslim fortresses in Andalucia.

Our guide also explained that the planning of the city was influenced by military strategies; the narrow streets, some leading to even narrower streets, or to open plazas. One would imagine that the streets were planned in such a way as to lead the enemy toward open areas for strategic military maneuvers.

A walk-thru of the city is a great experience, some ideal planning elements: pedestrian-friendly, wide linear parks that traverse the whole city, artworks in public places, charming architecture mixed with modern design, and fine weather (comparable to Baguio on a very cold season).

An unforgettable symbol of Almeria is the Indalo Man. According to locals, it is a well-known souvenir and lucky charm. They say that it was an ancient cave painting discovered that date back 4,500 years ago. The painting depicts a man holding a rainbow in his outstretched arms. History books say that it represents man's search for ancient truth and wisdom. Some also say its a man holding an arrow, which depicts a different interpretation.

And of course, the food. We were served with different varieties of cheese, wine, and beer. Muy delicioso!

And of course, Mcdonalds!

Our trip to Almeria, Spain was capped with an entertaining Flamenco performance from El Tite, Spanish flamenco singer.

Hasta luego Almeria!

To know more about Zero Carbon Resorts Project, please visit: 

http://www.zerocarbonresorts.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=117  

Planning: Theory to Practice

When I started wanting to become a planner and started reading books, New Urbanism became one of my advocacy.

New Urbanism Smart Code by DPZ

After my MA thesis, I started to ask. (My thesis was about Land Use Planning and how it shaped Philippine Cities. But that's another story)

Lipa, Batangas

Now based on some project experiences, my personal take is that on the ground, its really 'not as simple as I also thought'. But its always great to challenge and evolve your own ideas and beliefs when you move from theory to practice.

Planning in Masbate City

And its also nice to experience different places along the way ;] 

Here's a version of what I think planners really do:

1.  We start with the question, what is there now? What are the resources of the community and what are the pressing problems? (Community Mapping and Ecological Profiling)

2.  The next question is where do we want to go? What do we want for the community? What do we envision for the future?

3.  Then how do we get there? What is the plan? How can it be implemented?

Planning is a participatory and collaborative process that involves the choices and decisions of the people.  Thus, a planner's role is to ensure 'stakeholdership'.  The planner is the facilitator, guide, the community is a partner and owner of the plan.

That's what I think I do.