Aguirangan Island, Caramoan: Bicol - Caramoan Adventure Series Day 3

My hubby Peter took my first shot at Aguirangan Island. That's Mayon Volcano behind me from afar.

I can't believe I'm blogging for three days straight now. I'm on fire! LOL! Unfortunately, I haven't been sleeping much which is bad. I guess something has got to give if I want to continue blogging. I can't just give up my work nor my time with my Bes Hanz nor my role as a wife, right? If only we can have more than 24 hours in a day... Anyway, I also just want to finish as many posts as I can since I promised myself that I'll finish my travelogues before the year ends and I still have so many. Plus, I'm not so sure if there'd be wifi at the 2012 International Youth Seminar on Life and Ch'an in Taiwan. The first week (July 18-25) is jampacked with seminars, activities and tours, while the second week (July 26-Aug. 3) will be devoted to a lot of meditation. 

Donsol Whale Shark Adventure: Bicol - Caramoan Adventure Series Day 2

This blog post is the second part of our awesome Bicol - Caramoan adventure... 

So, after our trip to Lignon Hill where we did the zip line, then visited Cagsawa Ruins and the nearby LCC Mall, off we went to Donsol in Sorsogon the following day to swim with the gigantic whale sharks. Unlike the ones I saw in Oslob, the whale sharks in Donsol are huge... even bigger than the buses here in Manila! They were so huge (about 12-18 meters and weigh as much as 40 tons) that it was difficult for me to take a photo of its whole body. As you can see from the pictures below, I was only able to capture a portion of its body one part at a time. 

Nikko Bali Resort and Spa in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia

In my previous blog post, I told you my side of the story of how and why I was able to join PAL's Manila to Bali inaugural flight. 

Kawasan Falls and Beach in Badian, Cebu

I'm currently in Siargao right now for my 15-day vacation. I'm enjoying my vacation so much that I barely find the time to update my blogs. But maybe I can post some of my travel photos here just to update you where I have been and what I have been doing.

 That's me. the one wearing an orange life vest at the right side of the frame.

The other day (March 13), I was in Cebu for one whole day. Instead of just staying at the airport to wait for my flight, I decided to visit the town of Badian instead, located at the Southwestern part of Cebu. You can just take one of the Ceres buses at the South Bus Terminal located along N. Bacalso St. Fare costs Php131 for aircon and Php126 for non-aircon.

La Union Things to Do

It was supposed to be a day full of sun and  surf. Yep, we had a ton of sun alright, but no surf. The waves weren't big enough to go surfing so the next best thing would be to bodyboard instead. Good thing that we always bring not just our surfboard and skimboard every time we go to La Union, but our bodyboard as well. At least there'd be other activities we can do in the water.

Speaking of other activities, going to La Union is always such a thrill. I'll just summarize here the highlights of our short trip and perhaps you can do these things too if you wanna go to La Union sometime soon. Here are the amazing things you can do when going to La Union:

Hidden Island Resort in Bucas Grande Siargao

I have a cousin who lives in Surigao del Norte (well, most of my maternal relatives are) and when he found out that Peter and I were going to Siargao, he kept insisting that we go to Hidden Island Resort. When I did some research, I found it to have reasonable rates but unfortunately, I didn't wanna be hidden away from the rest of General Luna. Moreover, we were already booked in Patrick's. Maybe next time. Still, my cousin insisted that we at least drop by the place. He said our Siargao vacation won't be complete without it.

I took note of what he said but at the same time, I didn't hold my breath for it. If it happens, it will. If not, then it's not meant to be.

Cloud Nine in Siargao

Siargao is known as the surfing capital of the Philippines, as well as the surfing paradise of Asia because of the famous waves and beach breaks of Cloud Nine. Now that the surfing season is coming (September to March), more and more people from all over the world are visiting either to surf or watch surfers brave the thick, hollow tubes of Cloud Nine (or Cloud 9).

La Januza Island in Siargao

La Januza island in Siargao (also called La Janosa) is one of the two islands included in the tour package we got from Patrick's on the Beach during our second day. The first one was Mamon island which I already shared with you in my previous post.

La Januza island is also one hour away from the municipality of General Luna via a motorized boat. It is a barangay with about 500+ residents as tallied back in 2007. Although it's not as pretty as Mamon island, its beauty is characterized by its unique black rock formation.

Mamon Island in Siargao

Mamon Island is part of a two-island package tour which we got from Patrick's on the Beach for Php3,700 during our second day in Siargao. It is already inclusive of food, drinks, use of kayak, surfboard and snorkeling gear. The other island is La Januza island (also called La Janosa) which is just a few kilometers from Mamon island.

Guyam Island in Siargao

Look at the photo below. See those two islands from afar? This photo is taken right in front of Patrick's on the Beach located in General Luna, Siargao. The two islands there are Dako island on the right (the bigger one) and Guyam island on the left (the smaller one).

From Patrick's on the Beach, you can actually rent a kayak for Php500.00 and kayak your way over there especially if it's not as wavy. In fact, when the tide gets really low, you can walk all the way to Guyam Island.

Dako Island in Siargao

After our refreshing stay on Naked Island, our boatmen brought us to the biggest island in Siargao, hence the name DAKO island. "Dako" or "Daku" is a Visayan term which means big or huge.

Dako island is not just huge. It is also lush with a vast coconut plantation and other shrubbery covering most of the island. See our video below:

Patrick's on the Beach in Siargao

Our Bohol-Cebu-Siargao trip hasn't been planned properly. As usual, we were too busy. I bought the tickets several months ago but never got the time to plan our specific itinerary. However, even way back in 2005, I have been wanting to check out Patrick's on the Beach located in General Luna, Siargao, Surigao del Norte. It has been recommended by my best friend's ex-boyfriend, and though he was a jerk, I believed in his judgment. Teehee.

That's me enjoying the beach in front of Patrick on the Beach. Behind me is their famous and romantic Beach Tree House.

A week before our departure, I contacted Patrick's on the Beach and was able to secure a nice deluxe room for Php2,100.oo per night. Since we were spending three nights there and I was very much looking forward to this trip since 2005, I wanted to feel really cozy and nice. I mentioned to the owner, Elizabeth, that I wanted to feature their resort on my blog and I was delighted to be given 50% discount on our accommodations. Whoopeeee! That really made our trip so much more worthwhile.

Win MISIBIS BAY Luxurious Getaway through NIVEA Sun

OMG! OMG! OMG! I only have a few more days left to join and hopefully win this contest! After everything Nivea Sun and I have been through this entire summer, I really think I deserve the chance. I am the last person who wants summer to end and the past week has been hard on me with my husband being sick and all. Winning a luxurious island getaway at MISIBIS BAY will more than make up for the fact that we were not able to celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary in a special way. Winning will give us all the time we really need, especially since we will be doing something we both love — traveling and exploring a beautiful and luxurious island, that is Misibis Bay.

The Starfish @ Magalawa Island

My favorite hobby whenever I'm at the beach is snorkeling. So while my two girlfriends were sunbathing on the beaches of Magalawa island last weekend, while Peter was skin diving, I was out there in the middle of the sea, on full snorkeling gear, trying to take a peek at what's underwater.

Magalawa Island Water Rafting & Snorkeling

To see Day 1 of our Maglawa trip, please head to:
Magalawa Island - Day 1

To see Day 2 of our Maglawa trip, please head to:
Magalawa Island - Day 2

To see all posts about Magalawa Island, please click the link below:
Magalawa Island
~~~oOo~~~

Part of the package we paid for when we went to Magalawa island last weekend was a 45-minute snorkeling adventure at Magalawa's coral garden.

La Union Surf Resort and Isdaan

Yep, you read it right. I went sunbathing in La Union together with our friends instead of doing what I naturally loved to do there before — surfing.

 

Camiguin, The Island of Fire (Part I)

 The famous serpentine White Island with Camiguin’s Mt. Hibok-Hibok (its only active volcano) in the background

To officially welcome summer, I’d like to do a feature on Camiguin, a quaint little island north of Mindanao, which I’m very fond of. The very  first time I’ve been there was when I was six years old.  My grandmother and I used to visit the place when she was still serving as the Dep.Ed. Superintendent of the region. It didn’t really change that much over the years. The air is still fresh, the people are still as friendly and the sites are still as breathtaking as I remember them to be. 

L: Riding a bus from CDO to Balingoan Port; R: Arrival at Benoni Port in Camiguin

The island is said to be born of fire because of its seven (seven!) volcanoes. Had I not seen hardened  lava rocks all over the island, I would not have believed it to be so. How freakishly awesome, right?

Munting Buhangin Nasugbu Getaway

Like I said we were supposed to head to Calatagan and visit this place I found online --- White Castle Resort. The pictures I saw really seemed so grand. But when we got there, the place was so small, the pool was greenish and there were no visitors! To think it was summer and I expected the place to be fully-booked! I would've considered it if the beach was somehow ok but it wasn't! Black sand is fine by me and Peter. But black sand with soil and rocks... no, no, no! So off we went back the opposite direction and headed to Nasugbu instead. We wanted to see the other coves there. But as luck would have it, Peter was not able to gas up Zach and we were afraid (well, I was afraid actually, while Peter insisted the car can make it) that we might not be able to have the luxury to go resort-hopping and find what suits us. So, we ended up in one of our old fave beach hang out --- Munting Buhangin Beach Camp which shares the same beach as Terrazas de Punta Fuego. Not bad. Not bad at all.

La Union Surfing Near Death Experience

As I’ll be leaving for Boracay tomorrow early morning for the 20th Neil Pryde Boracay Funboard Cup and I’ll be staying there (at Laguna de Boracay Resort) until the 13th,  let me leave you with a summarized travelogue/photoblog of the most recent surfing trip we had (Dec. 15-16, 2007)…

Enjoy the rest of the week, folks! I’ll try to go online during my stay in Bora, but I can’t promise. I might be dead tired from all the physical work during the day plus I might be partying at night (crossing my fingers). You see, although this will be my 7th trip to Bora, it will be my first time traveling alone (read: without Peter). Oh God…. This will be so much fun!!!! Ok, I’ll try not to miss my baboo too much. He’s always working anyway, making more money for the both of us, hihihi. Don’t worry baboo, we’re millionaires! (Think positive lang yan! Hehehe!)

My mantra for this week goes:

I AM BEAUTIFUL, GORGEOUS, HAPPY, HEALTHY, SMART, SEXY AND WEALTHY. I AM EXPERIENCING WONDERFUL NEW HORIZONS OF OPPORTUNITIES AND ENJOYING MY LIFE IN BORACAY!

~~~oOo~~~

Back to my La Union travelogue now:

  

We dropped by SOUL cafe for brunch.

   

We haven’t had anything to eat since we picked up our friend Rea from Wack-Wack, Greenhills at around 5am and headed straight up north. 

Malimono Beach Surigao del Norte (Vis-Min Tour)

The next series of travelogues that  I will be sharing with you consist of three weeks worth of vacation,  touring parts of Visayas and Mindanao two summers ago.  This was the time when both of us were able to scrimp the P40,000 we saved up for this adventure and learned the art of backpacking by experience. I’ve already posted the first, second, and third legs of our trip (Cebu ,Dumaguete, and Bohol). Now, let’s check out Surigao Part II. Come, join us on our journey and explore the beauty of our country. Maybe next time, we can do a backpack tour of Asia and Europe as well. *crossing our fingers now*

~~~oOo~~~

Enjoying Malimono Beach with My Family…

The next day, our relatives brought us to Malimono Beach which was way farther than Mabua. We passed by cliffs that gave us such  a beautiful view of the sea below. It was just quite scary coz the roads weren’t paved just yet. Finally, we arrived and the first thing I noticed was the beach (of course!). This time, there were many pebbles much smaller than those in Anilao. The second thing I noticed was the quality of the water. It looked quite fuzzy. When I snorkeled, I realized why. Just like in Coron’s Twin Lagoon, the water there was a mixture of hot and cold. So I couldn’t get a good view of the fishes underwater due to this varying temperatures. I think it was the sea that was warm while the water coming from an estuary was the one that was cold. And when they mix, they gave us this fuzzy eerie look. Oh well, we just enjoyed our little picnic there until it was time to go.