Hello, Summer Season!

A #beach trip journal and curated #summer essentials.

Dear reader,

I once dreamed of becoming a marine biologist or marine life conservationist so I can work and live near the ocean, go to the beach every day, and discover other bodies of water with ocean life. I believe I am an ocean kid. Growing up, I've loved swimming ever since we started living in a condominium where I could use the outdoor lap pool almost every day; had great memories at the beach with my family (oh, we went places!); and have been fond of foreign films that were story-lined in an ocean or beach setting such as The Little Mermaid (AHAH. my 7th birthday was a huge one and it was themed "Under The Sea". I had a mermaid ice sculpture, Little Mermaid-themed cake, and cupcakes and wore a beach dress I picked myself. If you were to ask which birthday had the grandest celebration, I'd say it's the 7th because it was as if I were celebrating my debut---I had a videographer and fancy album too!), Aquamarine (I wished I could instantly change my nail polish color at any time and had those starfish earrings that gave compliments), The Last Song (lol. live by the beach and save the turtles!), Dolphin Tale, & Chasing Mavericks (I would love to learn how to surf!).

For the past two months, I've traveled to several beach places in the Philippines. Only then have I realized that there are various types of beaches.

There were those with smooth sand ocean floors where, you can swim in freely, not having to worry about stepping onto something; ones that have rocky floors and other ocean life or species (e.g. seaweed, urchin, fish, jellyfish, starfish, etc.) you have to be aware of; ones with sandbars when its low tide; and ones that have fringing reefs and rock formations and aren't meant for swimming in but dipping in.

January

01. 12 .19 Lakawon, Bacolod

It was my first out-of-town trip with my High School friends and two days we spent at the beach. What I enjoyed most on this beach was the sand bar we found during the low tide hour. There were multiple starfishes, dead corals, rocks, and seaweed scattered by the shore and in the ocean bed. I'd say we had to thrive our way into reaching the sandbar because of the said "obstructions".

01. 19 .19 Iba, Zambales

This was one of my more memorable trips of the year because almost everyone from my dad's side of the family was with us. Some of them had only returned to the Philippines after years of staying in the United States.

Although we stood on gray-colored sand, almost like silt, the floor was pure sand when we swam in the ocean! (don't judge an ocean by its sand!) Apart from swimming and catching waves, my cousins, siblings, and I busied ourselves with frisbee and ocean tag which gave me a glorious tan. I think this place is one of the more underrated beaches we have!

February

02. 01. 19 Station 2, Boracay Island

As always, the white sand beach of Boracay's great for swimming and water activities (e.g. paddle boarding). What's new were the beach regulations, roving tourist policemen (like every 500m per station), and (in the morning) a group of local volunteers doing a beach clean-up. My Boracay beach experience was augmented because of all this change! Everyone enjoyed the beach all the more and it was just a comforting feeling to see the cleanliness of it all.

It was still the low tide hour and I was able to stay in a sandbar, a few meters away from the shore, and swim in the deeper part of the beach.

02. 23. 19 Bolinao, Pangasinan

One of my High School best friends invited me to the hometown of her mom: Bolinao. I haven't been to this side of Pangasinan. What surprised me were the multiple beach places in the area which were about 30 minutes away from each other. Although what we did were mostly dipping in the ocean because of the low tide, I deeply appreciated how I had the time to observe and wallow in nature.

I went to a beach with a fringing reef which is a type of coral reef that grows from the shore line and ends in a downward slope. Below is a photo. If you notice, the tip of the wave is where the reef slope ends. This explains why the waters have a deeper blue color compared to the shallow waters on the flat coral reef of which I am standing on.

Patar Beach. || This is what a fringing reef looks like! I was standing on coral formations!

About fringing reefs: notice the gradience in water color and the irregular rough patches near the shore? That's where the fringing reef starts!

of fringing reefs and rock formation: my friend's mom did say the formation ( i think it's a mix of coral & rock!) is shaped like that of crocodile.

Just in time for the sunset at Patar Beach.

Reader, I'm still in search of other beach places and so far I have a couple in mind. Here's to finding more hidden beach gems which I can share with you guys!

UNIQLO SUMMER LOOK BOOK

Before Uniqlo came to the Philippines, I've been fond of their brand since finding them in a previous Japan trip in 2012. What I love about #Uniqlo clothes is that their comfortable everyday clothes and easy to style and accessorize with. (Think it's pretty obvious at this point that most of my clothing are from Uniqlo. hehe). For the summer season, I've curated outfits which are perfect for traveling wherever: whether at the beach, mountain suburbs, or in the city.

Tanay, Rizal. || What I wore: a green mercerized cotton A line mini dress

Ortigas Center. || What I wore: A cotton circular high waisted denim skirt & maroon relax fit crew neck U shirt

Iba, Zambales || What I wore: denim jersey shorts & a black handkerchief hem short sleeved shirt

Tagaytay, Cavite || What I wore: high rise boyfriend fit jeans & a navy blue parka

BEACH TRIP MUST HAVES

To prepare for my beach trips, I've used and packed with me these essentials.

1 Scion femme anti-perspirant and whitening deo

Because I love water activities and sunbathing, the deo was very useful in moving around the beach; and with confidence on my part.

2 AP24 whitening fluoride toothpaste

Noticed my pearly whites from the photos up close; even on long shots? Thanks to the AP24 whitening toothpaste, you can see my smile from afar and even with my tan and the dark photo lighting.

3 artisinal beach bag

I bought the handwoven abaca bag in a pop up store in Boracay. It's one of those good buys because I found out I just supported a local craftsman from Ilocos! Also, I've recently come across an online shop Elinora_ph who sold the same bag and other native accessories.

4 multipurpose beach mat/shawl/cover-up

I didn't want to have to bring too many things at the beach so I thought of purchasing this multi-purpose cotton piece.

5 Uniqlo swim wear

What I love about this two piece is its functionality. I didn't have to worry about my top getting loose nor showing too much of my behind. It was so easy to move with this kind of swim wear that I felt like I can use it for playing beach sports (e.g. frisbee)!

tammiesunday's summer playlist.

All those looonnnggg drives to the beaches I've visited called for some entertainment and I'm a sucker for music and carpool karaoke(!); hence, here I am sharing my go-to GV summer playlist. It's a mix of pop (indie pop, pop-rap, funk pop), rock (alternative & dance rock), r&b, and indie folk.