Ara Mina relishes the chance to travel

Feeling blessed at the Holy Land

by yesu LAbRADo

Bringing a power bank or two was necessary because when you’re there, you’d want to bring back as much memories as ”you can

Yes, she portrayed roles that were mostly on the sultry side, but what people don’t know is that actress, singer, entrepreneur and certified celebrity Ara Mina (Hazel Pascual Reyes) is also a keen travel bug.

Just recently, she embarked on a whirlwind, 10-day blitz trip to the Holy Land and the Middle East, touching her heels in countries such as Israel, Jordan and Egypt. Planned several months ago, it was a trip that was at the top of Ara’s travel calendar, an integral part of her bucket list that one day, she will be able to visit the Holy Land.

By God’s grace, she was able to meet the very generous and humble owners of Highlands Travel travel agency in one event, who invited her to join the Israel, Jordan and Egypt tour, with a huge all-in discount, to boot! Who would say no to that, right?

Elated with the opportunity, Ara’s feeling was indescribable the moment she stepped on the streets where our Lord Jesus walked, and everything was surreal, and there’s no way to capture the exact emotion once you’re there. All Ara did

was just to make the most of the moment and she wholeheartedly took it all in.

It was indeed a short trip, but she still managed to squeeze into her itinerary the time to buy little somethings for pasalubong back home and more importantly, took tons of pictures for the memories. So many in fact that she had a tough time choosing which ones to upload and at what time because the time difference was a bit hard to adjust to.

The Middle Eastern cuisine was quite new to her taste buds, yet she found it was quite delicious! “We were taken care of 24/7 and we didn’t feel the slightest fear of being lost in the crowd of people because our tour guides were very alert, attentive and caring, like a father to his children. Bringing a power bank or two was necessary because when you’re there, you’d want to bring back as much memories as you can so you’ll end up taking all the storage space of your phones and will surely sap your battery juice, taking pictures and videos the whole day,” she said.

Going home, Ara knows she was fully blessed to have the chance to travel while still able. Yes, it was tiring with the endless walking and sightseeing, but she really didn’t care. She was happy. Though unable to tour all the spots, she averred that she will go back sometime in the future! Traveling, she said, is an important part in her life and suggests everyone to go and see places while they still can and are still young. “Don’t wait until you’re old and wrinkly,” she suggests, “because you’ll get to do so much more by exploring your adventurous side.”