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.

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:

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
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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.

Boracay Island Hopping

One of the things I love to do when I'm at the beach is snorkeling. So it was quite tragic for me when I suddenly had my period during my last few days in Boracay. I was planning to bring Peter to Carabao Island on Easter Sunday so I can at least stay at the shore while I watch Peter swim in its virgin waters from a distance. Unfortunately, the people we were supposed to go with backed out the last minute. They must have been so wasted from the previous night with all the parties that were held. Tsk, tsk. Our tickets got refunded and we had no other choice except to make the most of our time in Boracay.

Boracay Reef Walking or Helmet Diving

Boracay Reef Walking is one of those exciting things Peter and I did in Boracay. It took half a day before Peter convinced me to do it. As some of you may know, as much as I love being in the water, I'd rather be on the surface (like when I'm snorkeling), rather than going under (like when diving).

Since reef walking or what is also popularly known as helmet diving involves going 15 feet underwater, I had my apprehensions about it. Why?

Mekong Delta Tour - Beehive, Pollen Drink and Snake

This is still a continuation of my second day at Vietnam. Previously, I shared with you the interesting cruise I did with my friend Jem at Mekong River. But prior to that, there were some exciting stuff we did that morning. I'll just summarize them for you:

SHOPPING!
Many of the merchandise we saw in the stalls looked like what we usually see in our own tiangge here in the Philippines except for the Vietnamese hats and the traditional Vietnamese Aodai, the beautiful dress of Vietnamese women.

BEEHIVE DELIGHT!

Never in my entire life had I touched a bee, more so a beehive for that matter. It was quite scary! But since everyone was doing it, I put on a brave suit and smiled for the camera... for at least a few seconds, before I ran out of there. LOL! Below is a video Jem took of the beehive and its caretaker and how she was blowing some of the bees away so tourists can taste the honey right from the hive. Yikes!

Mekong River Cruise @ Vietnam

Let me continue my travelogue about my journey to Vietnam. We are now on our second day and we were scheduled to go to Mekong River. Let me give you a brief background first about this historical tourist destination...

The Mekong River is the longest river in the Southeast Asian region. It is 2,700 miles (or 4,350 kilometers) and flows through through China, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Does this mean I've practically been to the tips of these wonderful countries? Hehehe.

Anyway, the brown water-ways of the Mekong serve as the region's foremost conduit for their local transportation and trade. It is also known as the Lancang River in China, which is considered to be the heart and soul of mainland Southeast Asia. There are more than 60 million people who depend on the river and its tributaries for supplies of food, water, transport and a lot of other aspects of their daily lives. The Mekong river supports one of the world’s most diverse fisheries, and is second only to Brazil’s Amazon River. How amazing is this? And I'm so happy that I've been here and experienced it all.

Mekong River is at the southern part of Ho Chi Minh. Here's a video Jem took while we were riding the bus going there:

Finally, after an hour or so, we got here at the docking station. This is the place where I bought my Vietnamese hat. Had I been a lot thinner, people could've mistaken me to be one of the locals. Teehee.

We rode these boats on the way to the narrower parts of the river. Since Mekong River is the longest river in Southeast Asia, the 7th longest in Asia, and the 12th longest in the world, it took some time before we got to the most exciting part.

Watch this video Jem took while we were riding this bigger boat:

After lunch, we took a walk heading to the docking station of the bancas. It was a good way to burn some calories as the walk was a bit long.

Sardine Run @ Pescador Island in Moalboal, Cebu

It was supposed to be the last day that our team, Motivating Minds, will train the staff of Club Serena. However, when Carelle and RR decided to stay late the previous night to finish the training, we had the whole morning to ourselves. It was a perfect set up which means my friends get to dive while I get to snorkel at no other than the most famous marine park in Moalboal, Cebu --- Pescador island.

Carelle, RR and Ian were all raving about it. I just hoped it wasn't like my experience at Gato island where I couldn't see anything underwater because of the illegal fishing going on causing the water to be murky with dead fishes floating. On the other hand, I was still excited. They were hoping to catch the sardine run on video and I was hoping to catch it too from the surface where I'll just be snorkeling.

The boat ride from Club Serena to Pescador island was about 30 - 40 minutes. The boat docked near the shallow part of the coast where I can already see the beautiful and colorful corals from where I was sitting. I thought I'd snorkel there too. Unfortunately, as soon as all the divers went underwater, the boat moved to the deeper part of the coast where the water was so choppy. I was scared to snorkel at first. But thinking that we'll be going back to Manila later that afternoon, I gathered enough courage and just went into the water.


I was dumbfounded with what I saw. There were like a billion sardines swimming all around me! I snorkeled right into the middle of the sardine run! I couldn't explain how I felt. I was just too happy that I didn't have to dive just to see this! I was one with the multitude of sardines swimming all around me.

Illegal Fishermen at Gato Island in Malapascua

I'm back to my regular programming now. Teehee. My goal is to finish blogging about all those travels I did in 2010 so by the time I live in Boracay come summer, I can finally do a near real time travel blogging. I've never done that before. I always wanted to enjoy my travels first then just blog about them much, much later.While this method of blogging has been very enjoyable, it's also been time-consuming for me. Since it's a brand new year, I figured, I can try doing a more real time type of travel blogging starting this summer.

Anyway, moving on, here are snippets of my visit to this not-so-wonderful marine sanctuary that is Gato Island. I'll tell you why...

Seeing Gato island from afar...

Gato Island is supposed to be a marine reserve which is about 1 hour boat ride from Malapascua Island. I went there together with our team of divers (Carelle, RR and Ian) for their Monad shoal dive. They were excited to see white tip sharks! Gato island boasts of a cavern that runs through the island, about 25 meters in length. Since I'm no diver, I thought of just snorkeling instead.

RR ready to dive...

Unfortunately, by the time I hit the water, I couldn't see a single thing. The water was so murky and dark. When I did see a pair of huge lapu-lapu, I thought they were sharks so I panicked and went back up the boat and just sunbathed instead.

That's me catching some sun...

I thought the murky water was the worst of it. By the time my friends came back to the boat, Carelle was cryings coz she saw some dead nemos and dead swordfish (photos below).

Potipot Island Getaway - Getting There

If you want to read all my posts on this wonderful island, just click the following link below:

POTIPOT ISLAND

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That little oblong-shaped island from afar is Potipot Island, as seen from the beach of Dawal Resort in Uacon, Candelaria, Zambales. This is where we rented a boat for only Php 400 round trip.

Donsol - Swimming with the Butanding Whale Sharks

Happy Earth Day, everyone!

That's me and my guide as we were swimming on top of the Butanding whale shark... scary but nice. ^_^ Photo was taken by Peter by the way.

Padre Burgos Beaches in Quezon - Puting Buhangin,Mag-asawang Bato,Kwebang Lampas

This post is still about the places my husband Peter, and I, explored last Good Friday… If you want to start this Padre Burgos beach travelogue from the beginning, please click the following link:

Padre Burgos Beaches

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After our short stay at Borawan Island, our next stop was at Puting Buhangin Beach. On our way there, the boatman showed us Mag-asawang Bato, a stretch of rocky island that was divided in two, perhaps, by the tide and passing of time. The water surrounding it was full of corals so we didn't stop over anymore. We just admired this magnificent formation of islets from a distance.

Borawan Island in Padre Burgos Quezon - How To Get There

This post is still about the places my husband Peter, and I, explored last Good Friday... If you want to start this Padre Burgos beach travelogue from the beginning, please click the following link:

Padre Burgos Beaches

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After waiting for about a hour, the boatmen finally arrived. I told them about the arrangement I made with Kuya Vic. We wanted to visit all possible islands in the area for the price of Php1,500 (Borawan, Puting Buhangin, Maliit at Malaking Talabaan, Kwebang Lampas, Mag-asawang Bato and Dampalitan Beach where we will camp for the night). They obliged and a few minutes past 7 in the morning, we were on our way to our first destination which was BORAWAN island.

Padre Burgos Beaches in Quezon - How To Get There

This post is about the places my husband Peter, and I, explored last Good Friday… If you want to start this Padre Burgos beach travelogue from the beginning, please click the following link:

Padre Burgos Beaches

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Last Holy Thursday, Peter and I spent the day cleaning up the house after the carpenters left, arranging the extra white rocks at the balcony, having the cars cleaned, doing some last minute grocery shopping for our camping trip, and sleeping from 6pm to 12 midnight. And by 1:30 am on a Good Friday, we were already on the road to Padre Burgos in Quezon, where a lot of white beaches abound.

HOW DOES ONE GET FROM MANILA TO PADRE BURGOS, QUEZON?

Puerto Galera Series Part II

Hey guys, it’s almost weekend again! Where are you off to this time? Summer is almost at an end so may I suggest that we all try to enjoy the remaining weekends ahead? Yes? Great!  One of the resorts I’d like to suggest  is Coco Beach in Sabang, Puerto Galera. 

For shuttle and boat services contact their office because they use a different route as compared to what the regular boats use in going to White Beach. Usually, meeting place is in Manila Hotel very early in the morning. Their very own coaster or van will come pick you up and bring you to a more private pier near Batangas port in just 2 hours or so depending on traffic . 

Then their very own boat will cross the choppy waters of Mindoro and in another 30-45 minutes you’ll find yourselves docking at their wonderful beach, forgetting about all the worries the city life usually brings. In terms of the resort’s ambience, the cottages and the stuff you can do, this place is fantastic! They even have their own soap and coconut oil factory which they sell at very affordable prices and they produce their own water. 

They also have a game room for pool, darts and videoke and TV room with cable, which you can enjoy with your family and friends. However, there was a moment when their staff didn’t deliver their services so well that I had to throw a fit just to get their attention. But that was before (year 2004 to be exact). 

Other than that, even when we had to climb 200 steps just to reach our cottage, even when we had no choice but to experience brownouts at certain times to conserve water and electricity and  and even if we spent around Php 8,000 ++ for our cottage for a 3 days/2 nights stay which already included welcome drinks, lunch upon arrival, breakfasts, toiletries, picnic lunches, island hopping and banana boat rides, I guess they were all worth it…

The Arrival

Bais Bay Dumaguete Adventure

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 leg of our trip (Cebu). Now, let's check out Dumaguete. 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*

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Waiting to board our Ocean Ferry ride to Dumaguete...

It was due to pure luck that Dumaguete became part of our vacation itinerary. Have you ever been invited to one of those seminars for time sharing? That was how we got to be members of Club Panoly Boracay by the way. Anyway, one day, Vacation Club , Inc. (VCI) called us saying we have won a free accommodation. But in order to get the prize, we need to come to their office and witness a 90 minute presentation about their product and services, emphasizing that there was no obligation to buy on our part and that we'd get to pick up a free vacation after the show. So that's what we did.

We just arrived at Dumaguete. We then explored Rizal Blvd. nearby...

One evening after work, we went to their office and listened to them talk and market their time sharing scheme. They did a hard sell on us but since we already spent tons on our 10-year membership at Club Panoly, we no longer have budget for this. Nevertheless, after 2 hours of their sales pitch, they let us pick from a fish bowl a free accommodation at one of their resorts and we picked up Bahia de Bais at Dumaguete. I immediately rearranged our schedule and before we knew it, we were already on our way there.

Simple and cozy Bahia de Bais all to ourselves...

Puerto Princesa, Palawan Honda Bay Tour

We just boarded our boat.

On our third day, we decided to take the offer of the tricycle driver again (Mang Lito - 09184397471) for the Honda Bay tour. Because there were four of us (Peachie and her sister Marichit were with us), instead of paying Casa Linda P900 each, we only paid the driver P400 for transfers from Casa Linda to Pier and back again, then paid P1,100 for the boat that will bring us to three islands - Pandan, Snake & Starfish. Solo namin ang boat and kami ang bahala sa time. Unlike if we were part of a package tour, nakadepended sa tour guide ang sked namin. And since it was not a package tour, it was up to us to prepare or buy our own food. It’s a good thing that the driver of yesterday’s Underground River tour, Kuya Nervon (09059681215), was very nice to us. He knew someone who caters and so we were able to order food for P200 each consisting of 5 dishes (fried shrimps, fried chicken, squid, kinilaw na tangigue, chopsuey, rice, softdrinks, water and fruits).

  

In the middle of the sea, we saw the mangrove forest on our left and this lone native house on stilts on our right. 

By 7am, Kuya Nervon dropped our food  baskets at Casa Linda. By 7:30 am, Mang Lito was already outside waiting for us. By 8am, we were the first batch of tourists to arrive at the pier and so we were able to get a nice boat exclusively for our group only. Our first destination? Pandan Island.

Puerto Princesa, Palawan Underground River Tour

 

Arriving at the entry point of the Underground River 

On our second day, we bought the package tour of Casa Linda for our trip to the Underground River. It cost us P1,300 each. We would’ve gotten the one offered by our trustworthy tricycle driver, Mang Lito, if it didn’t involve being on the road for two hours. I thought, if something bad would’ve happened to us, at least Casa Linda would’ve been accountable for it. So we went on with our journey.

The left side of Sabang Beach was where we boarded our boat.

By 7:30 am, we were already on the road. The annoying thing about joining a package tour is that you get to be with other people, mostly of foreign descent, who have their own various styles and personalities. What ticked me off about it was these two Koreans is that they move so slowwho happened to move so slow. They seemed ignorant about the concept of respecting other people’s time. We waited for them outside Asturias Hotel for more than 30 minutes when we could’ve been using that time heading to our destination already! Apparently, when I talked to the Filipino couple we were with, who also came from Asturias Hotel, they explained that their hotel front desk  officer was not able to coordinate well with the tour agency. The two Koreans thought they were going to Honda Bay, so they went back to their room and changed attire making us all wait for them in the process. How inconsiderate, right? Grrrr!!! It was infuriating!

Capones Island, Zambales

WE ALL FEEL THE HEAT WAVE EVERYDAY. AND IT IS GETTING QUITE UNCOMFORTABLE, ACTUALLY. GLOBAL WARMING OR NOT, SUMMER IS DEFINITELY HERE TO STAY. WHAT BETTER WAY TO COOL OFF THAN TO SPEND IT OUT OF TOWN, PREFERABLY BY THE BEACH AND JUST SUNBATHE AND FROLICK THE SUMMER DAYS AWAY…

Just don't forget your hat, shades and SPF70 lotion and you're ready to conquer this scorching heat. Consider some of my suggestions for places to spend your summer vacation…

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We miss surfing so much! But because it's been hectic at work, we couldn't find the time to visit La Union. Then I thought, how about Zambales? So I texted my friends and luckily, 2 joined us --- Ella and Odhe and my brother Mac as well. We met up at 7-11 (our usual meeting place for our trips) near Quezon Ave. MRT. By 4:30am, we were off to Pundaquit. It was almost twilight when we hit the North Expressway. So the fog at that time wasn't that unusual. However, around 6 am, as we were approaching Subic, we noticed that the thick fog was still surrounding not only the farm lands but the main road too! We even turned our fog lights on just to be on the safe side. It was pretty peculiar and creepy at the same time. More like a venture into the Lord-of-the-Rings scene if I may say so.