Trip to Hundred Islands, Alaminos City, Pangasinan

to celebrate ann's birthday, we went to the hundred islands in alaminos city, pangasinan. i used to read about this place in books when i was younger. it's time for me to see it in person. =)

we left the victory liner station in cubao at 11.30am. after 6 hours, we arrived in alaminos city. since accommodation is quite expensive in the town proper, we opted to visit bolo beach, which also serves as the backdoor to the hundred islands. we took a tricycle for 150 pesos to the beach and were able to get an air-conditioned room for only 350 pesos (we brought it down from 500 pesos, original price). it's a very basic accommodation, but for a 350 pesos a night, it's definitely a steal! they also have non-airconditioned rooms for only 200 pesos per night. the boat we rented was only 1 thousand pesos (and it can accommodate up to 20 people), from morning 'til 5pm. wasn't it a good deal?

the recorded number of islands is 123 during high tide and 124 when in low tide. of these islands, only a few are developed. most are like rock formations.

view from the governor's island

our first stop was the governor's island, where the pinoy big brother house is found. although the water is clean, it has a lot of seaweeds. it has a view deck where you can have a wonderful look at the nearby islands. the other side has a cave and some tables for picnics.

old scout island

we passed by the children's island, but didn't have a chance to test the waters there. our next stop was the old scout island. it's a small beach, waters also has seaweeds. there's nothing much to see in this island.

bridge connecting to another small island

then we went to quezon island, named after the late president, manuel quezon, whose statue is in the highest point of the island. a wooden bridge is connecting this island to a nearby small island. this is the most commercialized of all.

quezon island

our last stop was the marcos island. the beach line looks ordinary. but when you explore the island, you will discover it has a cave with clear waters that you can dive into. it has another opening on the other side of the beach.

cave in marcos island

all in all, it was a fun experience. at last i can say, "i've been to hundred islands!"

Philippine Places to Visit

i've been reading some online blogs about some beautiful, yet not so popular places in the Philippines, and my feet are already itching to visit them one-by-one. i could only wish i have the financial resources to do what i love to do - travel and discover places: beaches, falls, mountains, hidden natural treasures.

good thing i already have a scheduled trip to caramoan in june. i pray the circumstances would allow. here's a list of the places i'm hoping to visit someday:

- beaches in pangasinan (maybe one travel to each town)
- ilocos sur and ilocos norte
- falls in laguna
- bantayan and malapascua islands
- dapitan and camiguin
- samal in davao
- glan, sarangani
- puerto princesa and el nido, palawan

it might take a lifetime before i visit all the places above and others i haven't heard of yet. but i will make it a point to go out of town even at least once a year. (pity me!)

La Mesa Ecopark, Quezon City

i have been wanting to visit the la mesa ecopark from the day i saw it on tv. i've seen pictures online and was more convinced that a visit is a must. last sunday, that desire came true.

and to be honest, i was a bit disappointed. i was expecting green fields, blooming flowers, cool air and shelters everywhere. or maybe, i was just expecting too much. i can probably explain my reaction with the fact that i did not grow up in a very industrialized city like metro manila. that means, green fields and flowers are normal in our place. so i was expecting more.

the tall trees in the park

but i wouldn't blame the city people for loving the place too much. it is indeed an easy escape from the busy and polluted metro life. the towering buildings and busy streets are replaced with tall trees, children playing and families having a simple yet relaxing picnic.

my friend posing for me

all members of the family would surely enjoy this place. playgrounds, bikes and horseback riding for the children, boating and ziplines for the adults and pure rest for the elderly. as for me, i enjoyed boating in the man-made lagoon.

the man-made boating lagoon

Trip to Coron, Palawan - Day 4

this was our last day in coron, but we could not leave without climbing the 700+ steps of mt. tapyas. we woke up early, around 4am, to watch the sunrise on the mountain top. from our lodge, coron village lodge, we walked for about 30 minutes to the base of the mt. and excitedly started our journey.

unfortunately, ann, whose birthday was that day, forgot to bring her water and was already very exhausted and coughing hard after almost 50 steps. she was forced to go down, accompanied by ernest. so i and ozzie were tasked to continue the climb for our dear friends.

reaching the top of the mt. wasn't easy. we had to stop after every 50 or 100 steps to take a rest and breathe. we could feel our feet tiring and getting heavier. but we had the courage that we could reach the top. alas! it was around 5.30am when we reached the top!

the large cross on top of mt. tapyas

overlooking the whole town

it was indeed a relief! it was still dark, lighted by the large cross erected on top of the mountain. we could see the whole coron town and neighboring islands from there. unfortunately again, the sun rose on the other side. our anticipation of witnessing a beautiful sunrise was not met with satisfaction. nevertheless, the experience was great! although i don't know if i would climb mt. tapyas again, if i were to go back to coron.

Trip to Coron, Palawan - Day 3

this is the 3rd day of our trip to coron, palawan. the first 2 days were awesome! when we thought we have seen it all, we're wrong! i think the places we visited this day were the best!

our first stop - the twin lagoon. from the name itself, expect 2 adjacent lagoons. we were supposed to go to this place the other day, but the high tide stopped us. one can see the 2nd lagoon by passing through a small door (under a rock), which would be covered by water when the tide is high.

entrance to the 2nd lagoon

the water was cold and very refreshing. we enjoyed swimming into the 2nd lagoon, where the place was very quiet and peaceful. one would enjoy his goggles and see the corals and fishes. unfortunately for us, we didn't have any underwater camera. we didn't get to take any picture in the 2nd lagoon.

welcome to the banana island

it was around 10am when we started going to the banana island. they said the island's shape resembles a banana leaf (though i couldn't see it). upon stepping into the place, the owners would ask for an entrance fee of 200 pesos. the island has some cottages that tourists could rent. the waters were shallow and very good for snorkeling. the sand were white and fine. the beach didn't have much shade, so you would really feel the sun's heat if you decide to take a dip.

the other side of banana island

after eating our lunch and taking a rest in banana island, we went to its neiboring island - the malcapuya island. the banca docked at the back of the island, where it would be safer. we then walked some meters to reach the other end, where the white and fine sand were. as usual, the place was very quiet, very nature.

welcome to the malcapuya island

we rested in the tree house found in the beachfront. you would also fall asleep in the comfort of abaca-made wings. since it looked like we had nothing to do in the island but to enjoy its beauty, i and ozzie decided to explore the place, which proved to be a good idea. we went to the island's view deck and had a perfect view of the island - the turquoise blue and green water, the sand, the trees, just PERFECT! i could sit on the bench and wait for the sunset - the moment i love!

view from the view deck of malcapuya

we left the island around 6pm with the memories and pictures of the islands in coron saved in our camera.

Trip to Coron, Palawan - Day 2

we began our 2nd day with full stomach. we ordered "dangsilog" and had a cup of coffee. we asked our boatmen to buy us fresh fish so we could grill them for lunch. it was 9am when we hopped on to our small banca for our 2nd day.

our first stop was the calomboyan island. it was farther than the places we visited the first day (i think it took us more or less an hour to get to the island) we even went out to the open sea. ann and i were a bit shocked at the big waves. we didn't expect them that day. good thing, we had lifevests on.

as usual, the place was peaceful. aside from us, there was a group of divers in the island, who were also having lunch. while our boatmen were busy preparing the food, we had a dip on the clear waters of the beach, under the scorching heat of the sun. and we didn't mind. it was very uncommon to be out in the beach for city people like us.

a part of the calomboyan island

after eating our lunch and taking some rest, we went on to our 2nd site - the sunken japanese ship. although the spot was in the middle of the sea, the remains were visible if one looks below from the banca. since the waves were still strong that time, i didn't muster to jump into the waters (even with lifevests on). the current was also strong, i was afraid i would be taken farther from the banca.

welcome to the sangat island

around 3pm, we continued to our 3rd stop - the sangat island. the island was privately owned. there were some cottages and tennants, most were foreigners. the island has a "cave-like" structure where you can climb up to and see the island from above. the view from there was breath-taking - visible green-blue waters, the neighboring islands.

sangat island viewed from above

after taking a lot of pictures, we called it a day and headed back to the lodge.

Trip to Coron, Palawan - Day 1

coron is a 2nd class municipality in the province of palawan. the municipality covers part of the busuanga island and all of the coron island. both islands are part of the calamian group of islands in northern palawan. its main industries are fishing and tourism. it's also a popular location for diving. one of the most popular diving site is the sunken japanese ship. their waters also boast of live corals and colorful fishes. (source)

i had a chance to visit coron, palawan in february 2009. i was with some friends - ann, ernest and ozie. we took the 9am cebu pacific flight and landed in busuanga airport after almost an hour. then we ride a van going to the coron town proper and checked in to the coron village lodge. we ordered their bulalo (which is very delicious, we recommend this) for lunch. after lunch, around 1 pm, we were on to our first set of island hopping.

the first spot that we visited was the siete pecados (seven small islands). the name suggests it's a collection of seven small rocky islands. the waters were very clear and there were live corals. unfortunately for us, the area is well protected, and we're not allowed to deck into one of the islands (the corals might get destroyed). so we just stayed in the motor boat and looked at the waters.

welcome sign at the kayangan lake

our 2nd stop was the kayangan lake. after docking the banca, we climbed several steps of the hills to go to the secluded lake, and it did not disappoint. the place was quiet, very serene. the water was deep, and had some "caves" under it. it was actually scary to look at the bottom of the lake.

breath-taking view of the entrance to the lake

the peaceful kayangan lake

 

fishes in the kayangan lake

our next stop was the mawoway beach. it's a small beach with white sand. so small that i don't think any structure could be built in that place. the water as usual was clean and clear. it was also shallow that we enjoyed swimming in the beach.

our last stop for the day was the maquinit hot spring. it's like a tub of hot spring water. there were a lot of visitors when we visited the place. even if it's a little crowded, the pool was big enough to accommodate all of us. the water was very relaxing and soothing to the body. i really enjoyed soaking myself into the warm water. it was as if i was having a body massage. hehe...

it was already 6pm when we left maquinit hot spring and went home. we were tired, yet happy. we ended the day with an anticipation of the other islands and beaches that we were about to visit the following day.