Bicol Adventure!

Donsol, Sorsogon in the Bicol Region is known as the home of whale sharks. Each year during the months of March to May, more and more tourists visit Donsol to swim with the whale sharks. And I can't blame them. Swimming with the largest fish in the world is a one great experience one must have in his lifetime!

During with my trip to Bicol with my friend Marie-Laure, our  first stop was in Donsol to have some whale shark adventure. At since I was kinda nervous. Who wouldn't if you're gonna swim with the largest fish in the world? But not to worry these whale sharks, locally known as butanding, are known for being gentle - thus they're named "gentle giants"...

swimming with the "butanding"...

 unfortunately our camera was not so good so we didn't have a good picture of the whale shark... 

Second stop was in Legaspi, Albay. We arrived there late afternoon and unfortunately the weather was not so good - it was raining - so on our first day there we didn't have a good view of Mount Mayon. But luckily, on the next day we got to see the beautiful Mount Mayon. Early in the morning visited Lignon Hill to have a better view of the volcano...

After our "buko" snack, we visited the ruins of Cagsawa Church... Lots of souvenir items and pili nuts were sold around the area at a cheaper price... :)

Originally we wanted to climb Mount Mayon but we couldn't find someone to go with us. They all suggested we take the Atv but it was so expensive (P1500 an hour) so decided to just rent a motorbike to go near the lave (just the ruins... or dried... or... i don't know how it's called. haha!) Once there we again had a good look of the volcano plus we did a 300-meter long zip line! Quite scary at first but once there - Yahoo! Fun! Fun! Fun! 

Our last stop was in Naga. While waiting for our bus ride home, we visited the churches and some historical sites... And of course, we tried the toasted Siopao and it was sooo good! Thanks to my friend and workmate Yubee i got to learn about this food! Yum! :)

Notes and Tips: 


*Registration fee: P300/foreigner, P100/local ~ one time registration only
*Boat rent: P1500 for 6 people (max)
*goggles/flippers: P300
*under water camera (optional): P700


**Visit Embarcadero de Legaspi and try Bicol cuisines


*** Don't ride on a tricycle too much! It's so expensive! (especially if you're with a foreigner - too bad they take advantage of it) Note: puera de los buenos....

Marinduque!

Zambales!

Nowhere to go this weekend? Why not have a two-day, one-night trip to Zambales? White sand beach,  crystal clear water, pine trees... and good food! 

Since it's a 4-hour trip from Manila, we took the bus (Victory Liner) at 4 am and at 8 am we were at the town proper already waiting for our tour guide to fetch us. Once he arrived, we went to the market to buy all the things we needed like fish and meat, water, rice, etc... Good thing was our "kuya's" wife cooked everything for us before going to the island... Buying all those things and cooking the food took about 2 hours plus the "bangka" ride took as about an hour so at 11 am we were already at the first island - Anawangin Beach.

powdery off-white sand...

Our tour guides helped us put up our tent (well actually we didn't do anything, they did all the work... hehe!) and once done everybody just so eager to jump into the water and swim... except me as I was sooo sleepy so while the others were enjoying themselves I was in the tent sleeping... :)

In the afternoon, after my much needed sleep, I joined the others to explore the area. I was amazed with all the pine trees - I never thought they'd grow there... Plus the sand was sooo white and fine... And also the water is just so crystal clear I got excited and finally jumped into the water! 

The beauty of the sunset....

Once dark we made a bonfire while waiting for the other kuya to finish cooking our food. We were just so "tamad" to cook our dinner since there was no stove. Our kuya used "uling" (charcoal) to cook our dinner and that took a while... 

It would have been perfect if not only because of some campers who were drunk and got very noisy. I guess it didn't cross their minds that they're not the only people in the area. At 11 pm everybody were already quiet aside from them. It was just annoying! I hope whoever the caretakers of the island are would put some rules regarding this matter.

Aside from the Anawangin Island there are two more islands to visit and explore. The second island is called Capones. The beach sand is off-white but there are a lot of rocks and too bad there were a lot of garbage around. We looked for the ruined lighthouse and once there it's just amazing to see a great view of the seascape. 

At 1 pm we were ready to hop into the next island but unfortunately when we were there the tides were a bit high we were unable to visit the third island.

enjoy a great view of the sea from the lighthouse...

At 3 pm we were ready to go back to Pundaquit and head home. While waiting for our ride to go to the town proper we took a shower and changed clothes in our tour guide's house. They were all so friendly - everyone showed great hospitality we Filipinos are known for... :)

Notes and Tips:

       - TakeVictory Liner (should take the bus as early as 3 am as the bus ride will take 4-5 hours and to avoid traffic) 

   - look for local tour guide (call the guide days before going to the place to schedule the tour 

and for the guide to prepare the things needed, as there is no electricity and signal in the island)

   - buy everything needed eg. food, water 

   - ask the guide to cook the food before going to the island (since there is no electricity,

torches are used as light and no gas stoves so cooking would not be so easy)

           - once in the island, the tour guide will leave so better prepare everything.... 

the guide will just come back the next day to fetch you to go island hopping..

           - since there is no electricity and no signal cellphones and internet wouldn't do you any good. 

also there's always a long line in the restrooms/wash rooms.

        * Fare: around P1000 round trip

        * Boat rent - P1500 for 4 to5 people (whole trip)

* Tent rent - P400 for 3 to 4 people

* Hammock (optional) - you could buy it for P300 - 600 depending on the size

* Guide fee - negotiable

Palawan Paradise!

Bora! Boracay!