A New Journey
Life is full of surprises, love, happiness, sadness and there are times of misfortune.
Hello everyone my name is Ryan and was also known as @watersnake101. A content creator, amateur photographer, foodie lover, nature lover, and YouTuber Watersnake101. Let me share with you my passion and open up a window from our country.
One of my passions in life is photography and I am crazy about church architecture. Our country has been colonized by Spain for more than 300 years. Because of this, there are a lot of Spanish churches and cathedrals all over our country. Whenever we go to different places I am always looking for these Spanish churches.
There are times we get to catch a wedding taking place. Witnessing a wedding especially in an old cathedral is always beautiful. Seeing the start of a journey of two hearts being bound together is one of the most beautiful things in our world.
Churches give me a sense of peace and I get butterflies in my stomach every time I visit an old church. Being inside a church that has stood for hundreds of years always gets me excited. As I sit quietly in one of the pews, my imagination goes wild thinking of all the things that have happened within these old walls.
My favorite part of churches are the painted glass. It feels medieval in some sort of way. As the sun's rays hit the glass, the gentle glow and the colors tell different stories from the past.
Our country was left in ruins after World War II and there are a lot of interesting ruins to visit.
As we travel we stumble upon exciting places like this old haunted hotel ruin.
We are always on the lookout for interesting places but still always consider safety first. This used to be a retreat house for friars during the war. A lot of atrocities have been committed in this place. Because of that, restless spirits have been seen haunting these halls. A decapitated priest and a nun are said to appear especially at night.
We love sharing our culture and we often share our trips to the market. I market places you can see different colors, scents and a good place to showcase the culture of one's country.
Since our country is an archipelago we are surrounded by the ocean and there is a lot of seafood available. Dried fish of different species and be found all over the country.
We always share our travels and this deer farm that we visited is no exception.
Although this species of deer is not native to our country it was fun visiting a deer farm. As you wouldn't see a lot of deer in our country.
Aside from photography, I love the ocean and have always dreamed of living near the beach. Whenever we get a chance we always go to the beach or an island away from the city.
Being near the ocean is so calming and you can even feel your body rejuvenating as you hear the sounds of the waves and the ocean breeze.
My wife Mhel and the kids were always supportive during our travels and I cannot imagine traveling without them.
While on the road and hungry you sometimes stumble upon unique roadside restaurants. Imagine driving along a winding road, surrounded by hills and trees when suddenly you see a small restaurant hut. Of course, you would stop over to get some food and a little rest especially if you have been driving for hours.
A small restaurant hut surrounded by flowers with a fantastic view.
Here they served one of our local favorite dishes called the Lomi. This dish is made from thick egg noodles with a thick flavorful soup. This includes slices of meat, egg, liver, vegetables, and a lot of crispy pork rinds.
We love eating and I often create content about our local favorite and native dishes. Food tells a lot about our culture. We have been occupied by the Spanish, Japanese, and Americans our food has evolved. You can see a lot of that history in our local dishes.
If you love to eat? I love cooking and sharing about our local food. I hope join me in my travels as I share more about our culture.
The past years before the pandemic was exciting and full of life. Thinking of places to go and thinking or restaurants and food to try out was endless. No one was ready for what was going to change our lives forever.
The world around us has changed greatly, but we have learned to adapt and embrace the new normal. In the middle of the pandemic, I went to a downward spiral of fear, depression, and uncertainty. Trying to protect everyone in the family has taken a great toll on my mind and body. I developed anxiety and my acid reflux has made it worse. Waking up in the middle of the night having trouble breathing with a feeling of impending doom. This has haunted me for months like a troubled spirit who would not leave me alone.
Life shifted drastically from living life to the fullest to being locked up at home and struggling to survive.
I created content again to feel alive and try to get back to the normal way of life. Unfortunately, I realized I lost the keys to my account in which I tried everything desperately to recover. I eventually gave up and lost hope. I stopped creating content and hid away my camera. Again I continued on a downward spiral. I was like a zombie living life in a cycle. Waking up early in the morning, logging on to my laptop to work. After the end of my shift, I eat dinner and go to sleep. This has gone on for months which pulled me further down in a spiral of depression.
My wife Mhel is always supportive and noticed that I was changing. I was like a zombie, lifeless, always quiet, and talked less even more. She was worried and convinced me to start creating content again which I used to love so much. Even though we still can't go out much, she encouraged me to get back up and pick up and camera. She asked me to revive her old account which has been dormant for years now and start a new journey. "Life only stops if you give up on your passion, hopes, and dreams. This time around we do it together."
So here we are now Ryan and Mhel on a new journey. Facing challenges and continuing to live life. Thank you for spending some time with us today and listening to my story. I hope you join us as we start a new chapter sharing about our culture, food, our travels, and almost everything under the sun.
See you around, stay safe and healthy.
All photos are original and owned
Taken with Lumix GX85
Taken with Lumix GX85