Travel and Leisure: Awesome Caramoan!

Travel and Leisure: Awesome Caramoan!: Caramoan, a peninsula bestowed with splendid islands has a lot to offer. Its rock formation with naturally carved designs will surely wow y...

Awesome Caramoan!

Caramoan, a peninsula bestowed with splendid islands has a lot to offer. Its rock formation with naturally carved designs will surely wow you, the lush mountains will catch your attention and the beaches will incredibly invite you to swim. With its unspoiled nature, Caramoan is not commercialized yet. Conversely, the place has captivated the international attention as this is always used as the venue for Survivor in various places in the world.

Even then, I never wished to explore the place due to its nonstrategic location for people like me. I just keep watching some segments shown on national television on the natural gift of nature, from its grandiose rock formation to its spectacular hidden secrets to keep myself familiar with the place or simply by googling it.

Anyway, we were originally booked to Legazpi and 4 days will be a lot boring. I thought of a side trip and through maps, Caramoan is the most feasible one. At first, it was not exciting as I worried on my budget. I want to go back in Cebu with much money on hand. We were three then, but my friend contacted someone to be with us in Caramoan.

It was Friday 06:00PM (April 19, 2013) when we left Legazpi and reached SM Naga at 08:05PM. We took our dinner and shopped foods to munch during the island hopping.After we took a rest in Sampaguita Suites located nearby SM Naga (3 minutes from SM). We packed our things and we headed in SM Naga van terminal at 4:30AM.  Transportation from Naga to Sabang Port will take 2 hours with a fare of P120.00. And from Sabang Port to Guijalo Port takes 2 hours via ferry boat with a fare of P120.00.

 This in Sabang Port, that man in black was asking us for the environmental fee of P10.00.

We arrived at Sabang port at exactly 09:00AM. There is a registration area and a payment of P10.00. If you are bringing a lot of bags, you may ask a porter to bring it to the boat and you just need to pay P20.00. While at the boat, we were lucky though because one of the porters is from Medellin, Cebu and he recommended Paniman Beach for our accommodation as the place is very near the islands. Gaspar, also helped us with our transportation that made our trip at ease. And the two-hour travel started.

Turn up the music, plug in your earphones and take photos while on a trip. This surreal mountain ranges will surely amaze you until you reach in Guijalo Port. If the sky is clear, you will see Mayon and Isarog.

At 11:00AM, we reached Guijalo Port, we paid P25.00 individually, I forgot what was it for. Anyway, Gaspar took a trike for us and we paid P300.00 going to Paniman Beach, Caramoan. It was a fun ride in the mountain slopes.

Welcome to La Playa, Paniman, Caramoan!

Boat Gazebo

Cluster A Islands for island hopping activity is visible to our place.

This was our boat, we rented this for P1,200.00 the whole day.

First stop, Lahos Island, this is the farthest among all islands in this cluster. The white and powdery sands is perfectly great! The unrelenting summer heat wave scorching beneath my dermis ignited me more to take lots of photos! Well, it's summer so your skin has to match with the season, have the sun-kissed complexion plus bright colored outfit has to be worn.

Lahos Island is guarded with two ginormous rock mountains from the left to the right. Climbing isn't hard, so try and stike a pose.

Second stop, Matukad Island, the place of mysterious milk fish. Indeed, it was an arduous climb!

There you go, the small pond where the milk fish has been staying for 15 years! Locals said, there is only one bangus left as the other one was eaten by one family, consequently, all of them died. This fish is cursed probably. No one is allowed to disturb its habitat even dipping! Be quiet upon reaching the place. You may just take lots of photos but do not make too loud noises.

Top view of Matukad beach from the peak. The excruciating rays of the sun did not let me succumb to explore the mystery of this place. 

We took our lunch here in Minalahos Island.

This is our third stop,Minalahos Island. It was crowded by lots of tourists so we decided to proceed to the next island.

This is a private resort owned by a government official in Albay. This is located across Minalahos Island.

Lastly, Hunongan Island, we stayed here long as the place is shaded by big and wide rocks. I took the chance of using my friend's goggles to try seeing creatures below.

It was almost 05:00PM when we arrived from the activity. It was really awesome! We took a rest and took our dinner at a very affordable price. We slept early getting ready for our early trip going back to Naga.

Sunrise at 05:30AM

Our accommodation at P1,500.00

We departed the place at 06:15AM, took a trike and reached Guijalo Port at 06:50AM. We paid P5.00 at the port yet we were too late for the first trip. We waited at the second ferry boat until we left the place at 07:50AM.

Since it was a bit costly for us going to Caramoan due to our point of reference (Legazpi), I have prepared a cost effective itinerary for 5 pax with expenses breakdown. I advice you take Friday night flight from your place to Naga airport due to limited trips to Sabang port.

Alert! peso fare going to Naga!!!

NIGHT 1

P1,200.00 - Peso fare promo rtt

P200.00 - Terminal fee

DAY 1

In Naga:

P15.00 - Naga Airport to Sampaguita Inn

P140.00 - Accommodation with AC good for 4 but we were five (P700.00)

P8.00 - Trike fare going to van terminal near sm; time travel is only 3-5 minutes

P120.00 - Van fare going to Sabang Port (2 hours travel time)

In Sabang:

P120.00 - per pax ferry boat fare going to Guijalo Port

In Guijalo:

P60.00 - per pax trike fare going to Paniman at P300.00

P25.00

In Caramoan:

P240.00 - per pax fare for boat rental at P1,200.00

P150.00 - per pax expense for dinner

P300.00 - per pax expense for pasalubong

P300.00 - per pax expense for the accommodation at P1500.00

DAY 2

P60.00 - per pax trike fare going to Guijalo Port

P120.00 - per pax ferry boat fare going to Sabang Port

P120.00 - per pax van fare going to SM Naga

P15.00 - per pax jeppney fare going to the Airport

P20.00 - terminal fee

NOTE: 

Scheduled trip from Sabang to Guijalo:

06:00 AM - 09:00 AM; so be EARLY!

TOTAL BUDGET: P3,213.00

Travel and Leisure: Boracay Island

Travel and Leisure: Boracay Island: After that heart-throbbing and fast-click booking, "Bora vacay!" The competition is getting tough as local airline companies are ...

Travel and Leisure: Magnificent Mayon

Travel and Leisure: Magnificent Mayon: Every time I flick the pages of Region 5 contents in our Hekasi books, I always got amazed of its magnificence. Never had I thought that I ...

Magnificent Mayon

Every time I flick the pages of Region 5 contents in our Hekasi books, I always got amazed of its magnificence. Never had I thought that I will be here and see closer the epitome of beauty made by nature. I enjoyed the stay with friends who are too lovers of nature. Common interest brought us to an exciting adventure.

A kick for love and appreciation.

Our flight was last April 19-22, 2013 to Legazpi, Albay. As a backpacker, you get to muster information ahead to plan your trip well so as to have a tight grip of your wallet. I thought that staying in one area for four days would be more boring so I thought of a side trip  We'll go into that later, planning for a Legazpi trip is fun, two days is enough. You just have to book a peso-fare promo in a certain airline company. For people living in Cebu I prepared this preferred itinerary below:

Upon booking, choose the earliest flight 05:00AM on a Saturday to Legazpi and Sunday departure at 03:00PM.

Day 1:

06:00 - Arrival at Legazpi Airport; note that Cebu-Legazpi flight will only take 30-45 minutes.

06:05 - Go out of the airport gate and took a trike going to Cagsawa Ruins

06:30 - Cagsawa Ruins

09:30 - Leave Cagsawa Ruins

10:00 - Look for a Pension House

11:00 - Lunch

01:00 - Ligñon Hill

04:00 - Embarcadero

10:00 - Pension House

Day 2:

If you are a devote Catholic,

10:00 - Check out

10:30 - Leisure trip - Church Hopping 

02:00 - Boarding at the Airport

The earliest flight, the better as you have to run after the clouds of Mt. Mayon in Cagsawa. The best time to visit the area is 05:30AM to 09:00AM. The skies are clear and the triangular-shape of Mayon is apparent to your eyes. You can do exhibition of your poses, do camera tricks or you may hire a local to document your stay in the place. They do not require you to pay for a certain amount because all they need is your donation. we paid P50.00 each so the photographer had P250.00! 

Spicy halo-halo for P40.00 pesos! You gotta taste how it feels like to be a Magayon and Uragon! This is their signature, spicy!

Pili Nuts for sale! P130.00 per kilo!

A clear tableau of Mt. Mayon and the Ruins of Cagsawa Church.

Upon living the place, take a trike and you may just ask the driver for a pension house as they will recommend you some. Worry less of the budget as mostly, accommodation there is very cheap. I advice  that you stay in Daraga because it is very close to the airport.

Once you have rested, take a sumptuous local meal. Try their Laing, Bicol Express, Chicken Tinutungan and Halo-Halo.

Ligñon Hill must be visited after lunch. Entrance fee is P20.00 for locals. We did not opt to take a motorcycle for P50.00 instead, we just took a walk going up. Tiresome but it was for the spirit of adventure. It took us 15 minutes to reach the flat peak.

Breathtaking view of Mayon at Ligñon Hill.

Go down and wipe all your sweats. Time for Embaracadero! Legazpi's mall for sophisticated ones, they said. But not really as you might be thinking of something to wear just to fit the lifestyle of the people there! Honestly, it is just like an arcade you usually see beside the streets of Cebu City.  

This itinerary is good for adventurers who have less time to travel. This cost-friendly itinerary will help you explore the place. I suggest you go with 3 to 5 pax to save your time and money. Aside from the above places, Legazpi is rich in historical and old churches. If you're into pilgrims then visit those. 

For this Legazpi trip, the breakdown of expenses is noted below:

Ligñon Hill: 

P50 trike 

P20 entrance

Accommodation: Rose Inn

P120.00/pax

Cagsawa Ruins:

P20.00 trike going to Cagsawa

P50.00 photographer's donation

P40.00 spicy halo-halo

P15.00 pancit

P42.00 breakfast

P130.00 Pili Nuts/Kilo

P100.00 Pasalubong Tart 

P15.00 trike going to Rose Inn

Airport Fees:

P1,030.00 - peso fare rtt

P200.00 - terminal fee (Cebu)

P20.00 - terminal fee (Legazpi)

Budget: PHP 1,852.00

Travel and Leisure: Boracay Island

Travel and Leisure: Boracay Island: After that heart-throbbing and fast-click booking, "Bora vacay!" The competition is getting tough as local airline companies are bringing u...

Boracay Island

After that heart-throbbing and fast-click booking, "Bora vacay!" The competition is getting tough as local airline companies are bringing us middle class people to destinations visited by the elite group of society. 

Boracay, most traveled by Filipinos these days seems very accessible. For an archipelagic country, this paradise can be reached via air and sea. And who would be interested to travel by sea these days anyway? 

Well, you gotta be opening your browsers, and this link http://www.cebupacificair.com/Pages/default.aspx or  http://www.flyzest.com/ or http://www.airphilexpress.com/ going to Caticlan. Second option is via Ilo-ilo and take 6-hour van ride going to Boracay. So saved with your flight and pray for a sun-drenched day on your schedule. Once in Jetty port which is the easiest access (10 minutes from the port), you just need to pay less than 200.00 pesos to step on the sands of Boracay.

For budget conscious like me, intensive research first for promos has to be considered to ensure a frolic yet budget-friendly vacay in Boracay. 

This is Grand Prix Hotel situated at the back of Yellow Cab Pizza in Station 1. We availed their suite room on their rainy-season promo two months ahead. PHP 1,990.00/head for 3D and 2N with breakfast. By the way,this is actually my second time in Grand Prix. The place is simply awesome.

Relished ourselves on the enticing charm of the paradise, we got the whole time clicking our cameras in all angles of the island. We arrived at 12:00 noon and just forgot to take lunch as my newbie friends wanted to stroll the place.

Pricey lunch? Well, you can still enjoy and savour food as fast foods in the city are mushrooming in the island. To name some, there is McDonalds which was opened months ago, Mang Inasal, Andoks and many more! But if you have saved enough, why not try those lavish and classy restaurants.

I was with my two floaties (just in case of emergency, they could be of great help) and a friend whom we gratefully admired for being such a great photographer! Wading through the waters is more fun for us swimmers! Sand rubbing was extremely fun too. We never got tired of playing the waters of the paradise. It's less polluted as you go ashore for a couple minutes, you would not feel stickiness to your skin!

Fire dancers add lit to the festive mood at night. Spinning the fire balls and fire poi is an attraction as it creates light-shapes. Tourists take advantage of capturing the captivating panorama.

These girls hit up the nightlife while I was in deep slumber. 

You would probably wish to stop the click from ticking. Gone are the frisky days. Time for Cebu bound as we're booked in Ilo-ilo. Boracay is such a lovely paradise. The pictures in the web is truly as vivid as you reach the place. The grandiose island brings your dreams into reality. Full-packed of activities and surprises. A must place to recommend!