Summer is a time not only for excursions and vacations. It it also a season for certainlessons, thus many special interest classes are being held during this time.

Children, being away from school, are made to discover the other finer things in life through lessons in, among others, painting, rhetorics, craft-making, musical instrument playing and even voice development. Those interested to develop their physical fitness enrol in swimming, martial arts, basketball and other sports camps. Or cooking as a special hobby.

And speaking of cooking, we are running starting this issue a series on culinary arts, thanks to Chef Richard Ynayan.

To cap their school year academic program, 50 fifth graders in Bago City participated in an educational trip sponsored by the International Friendship Club of Negros Island. The trip brought them to the silk farm in their city and, later, to Palmas del Mar in Bacolod City where they learned about the countries and culture of their host IFCONI officers and members.

With the end of the schoolyear, the school-based Palaro reaches its climax for the year with th staging of the games later this month in Puerto Princesa City, which has refurbished its sporting and housing facilities for its more than 15,000 guests, including 8,00 athletes. The Palaro is a major event in the Palawan capital, as this will be the first time it will host a sporting competition with thousands of athletes seeing action.

Those who may have the time for sightseeing, considering that Puerto is being marketed as a sports and eco-tourism destination, will have plenty to see in the island-province. Options to visit famous resorts depend on one’s budget. Don’t fret.

Dozens of destinations, including at the world-famous recreational coast, El Nido, have affordable resorts. You don’t need dollars to visit the world-class attractions of Palawan . Your shoestring budget can manage if you exercise that resourcefulness needed for you to enjoy your vacation no matter what crunch comes your way. Indeed, summer surprises awaits you in the country’s “last frontier” – Palawan .