Weekend Adventure: Ambuklao Dam
Monday, March 22, 2010 - - 3 comments

"A sunken village... where beautiful horses used to run." That's what our new friend, a young man named Russel, a resident of Ambuklao, told us when we asked him about what was under the water before this mountain valley was dammed to supply electricity for the country.














" The Ambuklao Hyroelectric Plant is located in the mountains of Bokod, Benguet and is about 36 kilometers northeast of Baguio City. The plant was designed to provide 75 MW (megawatts) of energy to the Luzon grid. It utilizes the Agno River which is the longest waterway in the Island of Luzon. "














tiny white bubbles on the spillway






"During the 50's the Ambuklao dam was the highest and biggest in the Far East. It is made of earth and rockfull which measures 129 meters in height and 452 meters in length. The elevation of its crest is 758 meters and the roadway that runs through the top of the dam has an elevation of 756 meters. The gross storage capacity of the dam's reservoir is 327,170,000 cubic meters and it has a usable storage capacity of 258,000,000 cubic meters.


mariz




When I asked Russel what happened to the inhabitants of the area, he said that a handful of the original villagers stayed and built their homes around the fringes of the lake, while most of the people dispersed and found themselves in different other places. He said that, at the least, the villagers were promised to be provided of free electricity after the dam's completion. But in the end, even such a small consolation for the villagers, who unwillingly gave-up their ancestral lands, was not complied with by the Government. Sad.





shore near the hidden village where they do tilapia farming







& villagers arriving home by boat.




...




how we got to the "hidden" village at the corner end of the lake:

After a winding uphill and downhill 2 hours bus ride from the city, we arrived at our destination, the Ambuklao dam. Walking on the roadway that runs through the top of the dam, we spotted this mother and son who seemed to be waiting or preparing to go somewhere. As far as our eyes could see, there seem to be nothing across the lake. As we were curious of where they were bound to, and as we were so excited to do some boat riding, we approached them and asked where they seem to be going, and if we could go with them. They told us they were going home to their village at the far end of the lake. I think they were too polite to refuse our request to go with them. They took us. But I detected from the mother's facial expression that she worried if we really knew what we were doing. The boy who drove the motor boat was as curious about us being curious about them.

the lake was much bigger and longer than we expected. after some relatively long but smooth ride, we arrived at the other end of the lake where we found a small village of about 20 families, hidden behind the mountains.







we spent most of our time here, front-yard of the village's primary school. it is located on top of a hill overlooking the lake. for several hours we just relaxed, chatted and laughed without a care of the busy world we left back in the city.

it was so refreshing!











it was a really beautiful weekend adventure. the high excitement was perhaps also due also to its spontaneity. we just decided about it the night before while chatting over dinner.




ps.
... by the way, this dam had not been functioning for more than a decade due to some damage. it seems that the repair was only recently started.
... strange that they have kept this huge structure idle for many years.





travel period:
march 21 '10





... hence, the Title of my Blog
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 - - 3 comments




... is, A Charmed Life: Life's a Play, because my "Life Expression" number is:








Your Potential Natural Talents and Abilities

You are at the height of your self-expression when you feel that others are experiencing "being high on life" like you are. One of your personal goals may be to uplift humanity or spread joy or enthusiasm wherever you go. You know how to unite others through the magic of performance, song, dance, singing, acting or literature. For this reason, you are fated to entertain others in some way, whether you are in showbiz or not!

-- no showbiz for me, writing, storytelling, and dance, yes!


You are imaginative in every way possible. As you are a great innovator your career choice may be unorthodox in some way. You consider the accumulation of experiences to be your greatest wealth so you may choose a career in which you travel a lot so you can meet as many people and encounter as many different kinds of situations as possible.



You love to dare to be grand and this is reflected in your mannerisms and speech. You often speak in full paragraphs and are a captivating storyteller. You often throw your entire body into your self-expression so that it is one with what you are saying. For this reason many of you make incredible actors, opera singers, teachers or performers.



You also have a natural dexterity that makes it easy for you to learn and play music. Threes are often blessed with a natural sense of comic timing as well as rhythm. This makes you an excellent dancer and lover.



You love philosophy and the old cliches that are true in life so when you feel lost emotionally you rely on wise words to get you through. You rarely take anything that happens to you in life personally, a trait that frustrates your enemies to no end. This ability to let stuff "roll off your back" serves you well in the many complex emotional situations that threes often get into.

-- i'm a wandering philosopher, or is it wondering? lol.



You relate better to large groups of people then you do one on one. As threes are often no shows in their family lives and rarely have time to pay attention to their lovers they are likely to show their affection by giving lavish gifts. However this is often perceived by others as an attempt to buy others affection or as a lousy substitute for real emotional support.

-- uh, uh, does not resonate.



As you adore being in the spotlight you probably dress to impress. Either you dress in the latest trendy fashions or in an eccentric fashion that makes it impossible for others not to notice you. As you are an oddly sentimental creature, you are fond of heirlooms and one of a kind jewelry and clothing that sets you apart from the crowd.

-- dress to impress!?! :-) I don't usually dress to impress, but i do relatively like to dress differently, specially using some weird accessories.. tehee..



One of the greatest gifts you have to offer others is your boundless optimism and enthusiasm for life. Others who meet you rarely forget you as you always make a permanent first impression.

-- a charmed life


Although on the surface you might appear to be a bit shallow to others usually you are motivated by the desire to have others transcend petty emotions and pains in life. Nothing annoys you more than a person that insists on looking down at his shoes when he could be looking up at a big wide sky full of stars. The ultimate achievement of your life expression is to change the consciousness of others so that they aspire to their highest ideals.


All in all, 97% accurate, but most people actually don't know me, even those who think they do. 



What is Expression Number? 

This is sometimes known as the Destiny Number
or the Personality number.

This sum describes all of the talents and potentials that are
at your disposal in this lifetime and is calculated from the
letters that compose your full birth name.  It represents what
kind of ideals or standards that you need to live up to in
this lifetime to be "complete."