The Backpack Adventures

A Letter to 2020 Thank you for the 365 days that we've shared together. It was just sad that the COVID-9 pandemic took a lot from everyone. Unlike last year where I made sure to have at least one trip per month, the Philippines went on several quarantine procedures to avoid a boom in infection by the virus which took thousands of lives worldwide this year. I took this opportunity to improve my blog by adding cover photos and checking the grammar of older articles. Aside from that, I also exerted more effort in promoting my blog on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Sadly, Facebook saw this as SPAM and blocked my blog. Luckily, my Pinterest and Twitter accounts are reaping dividends and my views doubled in the last few months of the year.  Let's look back and see what milestones we've achieved this year. 1.  This year, I was able to  publish 63  articles  ( 13 articles less than last year 😢).  2. I have finally reached 2.2  million views . (That's 204K  new views this ye

First Timer's Guide to Philippine Passport Application Finally, you have decided to see the world...  However, before booking a flight or applying for a visa, keep in mind that you need to have that one document that would allow you to travel abroad . First Timer's Guide to Philippine Passport Application Readers meet the Philippine passport... My Philippine Passport The Philippine (PH) Passport is an important travel document that certifies one of his identity and nationality. It is issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs or DFA.  There are three types of PH Passports which are often referred to by their colors,  red (official), blue (diplomatic), and  maroon (regular).  The Philippine Passport types The red (official) is issued to members of the Philippine government for use on official business. the blue (diplomatic) is issued to members of the Philippine diplomatic service, while the maroon (regular) is the one issued to any Filipino citizen applying fo

Visita Iglesia is a Catholic tradition of visiting churches during Holy Week. It is one of the traditions followed by my family that I cherish the most because it gives our family a chance to reunite and go on road trips together.  2018 Visita Iglesia: Cavite Loop 2018 Visita Iglesia: Cavite Loop For our 2018 Visita Iglesia , my family and I decided to follow what is dubbed the Cavite Loop . This refers to the route around the towns in the province of Cavite where Spanish Colonial Era churches are located.  Bacoor Church  - Bacoor City, Cavite Bacoor Church interior Since we live somewhere in Bacoor City, our first destination is, of course, our very own St. Michael the Archangel Parish Church which is simply referred to as Bacoor Church . Despite living in the same municipality, I have to admit that this was only my third time visiting Bacoor Church. The reason behind it is simple, we have our own parish in our subdivision, and Bacoor Church is quite far from where I li

Located at Burgos Street in the town of San Juan in Batangas, San Juan Nepomuceno Church is a Spanish-colonial era church named after Saint John of Nepomuk who the Catholics refer to as the martyr of the confessional and patron saint of Czechoslovakia.  San Juan Nepomuceno Church San Juan Nepomuceno Church History The original church structure of San Juan Nepomuceno was constructed in 1843 in a town called San Juan de Bocboc which is presently called Barangay Pinagbayanan. The original church was built using light materials like bamboo, nipa, and palm which were very abundant in the area. San Juan Nepomuceno Church - San Juan, Batangas San Juan Nepomuceno Church facade I'm quite sure that's San Juan Nepomuceno In 1855, the church underwent its first major renovation when stones were used to replace its original materials. However, the church was destroyed by a strong flood in 1883. To avoid any similar incidents in the future, the church was transferred to