Gone for the weekend: The historic Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Bagac, Bataan

i have this terrible feeling that i’d be busy in the coming weeks. i’ll be taking on another role at work, leaving marketing behind and will start anew as data analyst/CRM officer. so i’m posting where i’m heading this summer as early as now! =))))

summer for me starts at around late march and for this year, i’ll mellow it down a bit. i’m usually up for adventure when traveling and loves to go to places that’s hard to reach like last year when we went road tripping to Padre Burgos, Quezon and camped out in an island there. for this year, i just wanted to chill, relax, and most importantly rest so i’m heading to Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Bagac, Bataan.

to be honest, this will be the one trip that i’ll be shedding a bit more money but i think its gonna be worth every cent (crossing fingers). i love how serene the place could be. its also a plus that its a historical tour too. i’m a history junkie, i love old stuff, stories from the past, et al. all the houses there in Las Casas has a bit of history and story in it so i really can’t wait to take a tour back in time! =)

here are some pics i’ve gathered while making a research about the place:

some of the houses in Las Casas. the owner, Mr. Acuzar, saved most of these houses from getting demolished and brought them all to Bagac, Bataan. How does he do it? well that’s what i want to find out when i get there!

this is the hotel where guests stay. i think its a replica of the buildings in Escolta, Manila (not sure though but i’ll let you know when i get the story behind this wonderful building). i’m thrilled coz i’m staying overnight here, i’m dying to know what it feels like to sleep in one of the rooms of this building. plus i heard from frequent guests of Las Casas that the hotel staff offers “old world” service to guests there. by old world i mean they’re serving the guests same as what the maids back in Rizal’s time were serving their masters. so that’s another experience i dont want to miss.

another great experience will be the cultural show happening in this plaza (on the picture) every night. heard it’s a night of bonfire, dance and music! =)

i’m simply thrilled taking a look at these photos! its an inside peek to what those historical houses have.. now i really can’t wait to get there! =)

this is one of the pools in Las Casas. it was built to imitate a lake/pond where children back those days used to take a bath or take their carabaos to have a drink. i heard there’s an infinity pool too! =)

and this is the beach front! ah, sunsets gonna be majestic here.. =)

with all the rugby & soccer trainings i’ve been to plus the stress i get from work, i definitely deserve a break in a place as lovely as Las Casas. So i’m marking my calendar, on March 11, 2012, i’ll see you in Bagac, Bataan! stoked and can’t wait!

there are still a lot of places to discover and its definitely more fun to do it here in the Philippines! Keep on moving your feet guys! =)

P.S: I promise to make another detailed blog entry of this trip to Las Casas for you guys! =)

gone for the weekend: the roadtrip to quezon province… Part 4!!! last na toh!!! :))

admittedly, it took me a while to wrap this Quezon Blog up but i’m immensely proud of it. much like traveling, blogging too is a journey that takes you to a thousand steps before you reach your destination and then looking at what you have achieved, you’ll be able to say to yourself that its all worth the wait. =)

Day 4 of our Padre Burgos Adventure! woohoo! last na toh! =)

Our 4th and last day was shall i say bittersweet… i remember thinking about how i miss manila, how i miss my dog & my mum & dad and how am i gonna make it in time for the Philippine Team Azkals match airing on studio 23. i just couldn’t wait to get home at that time. but deep in the recesses of my heart i am sad for leaving such a wonderful place like Padre Burgos and was secretly wishing i still have time to explore it coz i tell you there’s just a lot of places and beaches to go there, 4 days ain’t just enough.

i couldn’t quite remember if we had our breakfast coz my heart was just breaking because i’m about to leave padre burgos but i remember we managed to squeeze in another rounds of photowalk with Manager Peng, we headed to what I call the “Full House” also owned by the owners of the Tamarind Tree resort. then i remember after our photowalk, we head back to our hut, decided to swim our last on the pool. after swimmin’ we took our baths and packed our bags. now’s the time to go…

we checked out of tamarind tree resort at 1pm. actually, it was supposed to be at exact 12noon but Manager Peng and Ate Aireen were kind enough to let us extend so we can better wrap all our stuff up. Manager Peng even accompanied us till the bus stop and helped us carry our luggage around. before we depart, we had one last photo opt with the Tamarind Tree Resort staff. Good people full of good vibes! keep it up guys! =)

The Tamarind Tree Staff Peng and Ate Aireen! mabuhay po kayo!

and with the picture above, we say goodbye to our friends from the Tamarind Tree Resort!!! keep up the good work guys and until we meet again! =)

we head towards Lucena city in a van. sun was up with vengeance on our 4th day so its hot like hell that day. Van fare priced at Php50 from Padre Burgos to Lucena City. its one cool ride. We managed to nap a little as it took us 2 freakin’ hours before we reached Lucena. Van stopped at SM City Lucena so its really convenient, we don’t have to run around like headless chickens looking for something or some place to eat. To stay true with our Quezon Adventure, we opt to eat at Buddy’s! and boy i enjoyed that Pansit hab-hab after days of dieting in the island! haha!

Welcome to SM City Lucena! civilization leggo! haha!

welcome to SM City Lucena!!! haha! we missed civilization so much that we all accessed WI-FI, checked our emails, facebook, and twitter! tweet-tweet yowza! haha!

Buddy's!!! oooohhhh can't wait!

Since we haven’t eaten breakfast and lunch yet and its nearing 3pm already, we decided to dine in Buddy’s! We chowed down one whole plate of pansit hab-hab, porkchop, sisig, sizzling dishes that i can’t remember what, oh and there’s lumpiang sariwa! man, this is life! haha! i guess we’ve been into forced diet when we camped out in the islands!

Pansit hab-hab!!! or Pansit Lucban! ah basta masarap!

this is mah fave! Pansit Lucban!! woohoo!

 

we chowed this all down! haha! sorry naman! gutom lang ng bonggang-bongga! =P

ilaw sa Buddy's

last picture before departing Buddy’s! Photo credits goes to Bong!!! Galing talaga! =)

after eating, we headed to town’s local market to find some pasalubong for our family & manilenyo friends. we heard that there’s a store down town called “Villa Mater” that houses a lot of different pasalubongs so we went there.

from down town Lucena with love.. =)

i couldn’t quite remember the streets but Villa Mater is one tricycle away from SM City Lucena, you just have to tell the driver or ask the driver if he knows the place.

mabuhay ang kilusan!

this is one of the adventures that Quezon has to offer! haha! =)

lucena street full of stores

the place was a street full of pasalubong stores so buying is not a problem as long as you have the money! hehe.. its quite pricey too..

the ever famous longganisang lucban and pansit hab-hab noodles!!!

after hoarding pasalubong in Villa Mater, we went back to SM City Lucena just in time for our bus ride. we ended our day and our trip with a bus ride to Manila. its pretty emotional when we started our travel. we boarded the bus at exactly 5:30pm, just as the sun sets in Lucena. pretty dramatic and i remember i was a bit teary-eyed coz now its legit, we’re leaving Lucena already. I failed to snag photos on our manila bus ride, i was just exhausted that day & just slept all through out the journey. tired i may be, i was immensely satisfied with our Padre Burgos adventure. now i can have it checked on my bucket list. i was even proud that i am one of those who “first” set foot to the island of Borawan. even prouder with mah group! coz they survived days in wilderness! ahaha! good job guys! and i’m looking forward to our next adventure! say Mt. Pulag eh? Haha!

ok let’s sum all our expenses up for Day 4:

P50 – Van fare going to SM City Lucena

P120 – P150 – Budget for food at Buddy’s

P15 – tricycle fare (P60 divided to 4)

P218 – Bus fare (Lucena to Manila)

Total of Php433 for day 4!

And to sum everything up, let’s compute all our expenses starting from day 1 to day 4 (including accomodation).

day 1: P860

day 2: P187.50

day 3: P416

day 4: P433

accomodation: P1,575 (a total of P6,300 divided into 4)

with a grand total of Php3,471.50. 

We have a budget of P5,000 for this trip. The remaining P1,528.50 was used to buy pasalubong in Villa Mater. Sulit! haha!

i always say this whenever i wrap up my travel blogs. we only live once so might as well do whatever we want to do and go to wherever we want to go! we’ve got one chance in this life, so live it!

Now I wonder, where will be our next adventure? Keeping my fingers crossed that its gonna be the highs of Mt. Pulag or the the mighty Kota Kinabalu… hehe.. so till the next travel-adventure post and KEEP ON MOVING YOUR FEET GUYS!!! coz life is one hell of a trip! =)

gone for the weekend: the roadtrip to quezon province… prelude to Part 4!!!

lemme explain: i had to do this prelude to give way for Kuya Gewi’s birthday narrative & to tell a little bit about The Tamarind Tree Resort. This article was actually a promise to Manager Peng for a job well done when we were there. They’ve been so accomodating & friendly so in turn, we want to make an article about the resort.

on the evening of our Day 3 stay in Padre Burgos, we celebrated Kuya Gewi’s 25th birthday!!! wooohooo! funny that whenever we travel, it’ll always be scheduled on Gerry’s birthday so really, almost all our travels are extra special because of his birthday. =)  due to time constraints and scarcity of resources (too far from the city, hence no malls), we had to do improvisation. we bought little cupcakes from a nearby sari-sari store in Padre Burgos along with one small white candle, red horse, junk food for pulutan, and etc. the little cupcakes will be kuya gewi’s cake and to make it a little festive, we have to have beer & pulutan.

just after lunch, we went to a sari-sari store and bought all the things needed for Kuya Gewi’s celebration. 3 Red Horse mucho (well maybe 4, i couldn’t quite remember), tons of junkfood, cupcakes & candles, that’s all we need for tonight’s festivities. Guys you have to remember that there’s a corresponding corkage fee for the food & beverages you’ll take inside the Tamarind Tree Resort. Php200 that is. So limit the food & drinks that you may want to take inside (just a friendly reminder for everybody). Our original plan was to celebrate Kuya Gewi’s birthday in the beach front so we won’t have to pay for the corkage fee but it rained that night so we all decided to just hang out at the Dining hall. Manager Peng was even kind enough to let us stay till late in the evening using the hall and he even help us settin’ up the table for our little inuman, let us use the pitcher & glasses there.

our little birthday celebration was simple but memorable… =)

the birthday boy!

our improvised cake & the birthday boy! woot-woot! =)

see, there's manager Peng! hey there Mr. Manager!

Here’s manager Peng and the rest of the gang posing with the cake! =)

Boo!

that’s Kuya Gewi tryin’ to scare the shit out of me! haha! but it didn’t work. i’d say its an epic fail! hehe.. can’t help ourselves but to tell scary stories coz the night’s dark and its raining with a few thunder on the sides, really creepy night.

caught yah! haha!

this was how we ate & celebrated the night away! =)

oh shoot! lasheng na! haha!

i look like i’m sober but i’m not.. just pretty sleepy i guess, its BED WEATHER! haha!

kwento-kwentuhan...

so while killing the time, we started to chit-chat about life, all our plans and all the things that we want to do. being his chika self, Bong couldn’t quite help himself and ask Peng to share some stories with us as well.

Our manager Peng may look like a plain & just an ordinary guy working in a resort but wait till he tells you his story. He came from Lanao, a province rich in muslim culture in Mindanao. He shared how was his life like growing up and living in Lanao. i was just fascinated of his culture, of his birthplace, just full of history & culture. But more than that, I can definitely say that manager Peng was one of the most courteous & honest manager & people i met. really, the guy returned a ring that cost at staggering Php300,000 to its proper owners without expecting anything in return. that for me is the truest essence of honesty.

kudos to mr. honesty! =)

kudos to Rosifel Gregorio! hands-down to your honesty! =)

honesty is the best policy!

nothing beats honesty, respect, & courteousness! mabuhay ka manager Peng! ikaw ang aming IDOL! =)

sometimes the most interesting thing when you travel are the people you meet along the way. Not just the destination but also those you bump into. you hear so many stories and you also learn from them. =) this is one of the few things that kept my foot moving to wherever…

and as promised to our good manager, lemme tell you something about the Tamarind Tree Resort.

The resort was named as such because of the Tamarind Trees planted around and inside the resort parameters (there’s plenty i tell you). like the one in the picture!

the tamarind tree.. in literal sense..

when people go & visit Borawan, they prefer to stay here in The Tamarind Tree Resort. It may be a bit pricey but nothing can beat its proximity/closeness to the islands you want to see. Not to even mention that the kind of service you’ll get is worth every penny you’ll pay (i swear to God, it is!). Thinking about it, the only thing i can complain about this place will be the olympic-sized mosquitoes! but that’s it! other than that, the place is quiet, cozy, secure, and relaxing and it’s a major plus that the staff here are extra friendly, very hospitable, courteous, and respectful to all their visitors.

our crib!

our “kubo” or nipa hut is quite spacious, more than 4 people can actually fit inside the hut. it has a very traditional & very Pinoy feel in it.

swag frontyard!

and here’s the view from our hut: the swag frontyard! after the gate there, you’ll step into the resort’s beach front. =)

our quarters

here’s how it looks like inside our sweet quarters! the mattress are perfect for the summer, super presko! )

the swag mangyan dance!

oh & don’t mind kuya gewi and his mangyan dance! he’s just shooing the bad spirits away!

and this is our swag bathroom! after the dampalitan camp, i went straight for this bathroom for a much needed bath! haha!

kayak!!!

you can rent this kayak if you want to try your luck on it. i’m just not sure if there’ll be a guided kayak activity or something inside the resort.

pool!

presenting: the private swimming pool!!! woot-woot! =)

 

smaller hut

one of the smaller huts in the resort, perfect for honeymooners. =)

Full House

if you plan to go there and take the whole baranggay with you, you may opt to just rent this house. Priced at Php10,000 per day of stay, it can house a maximum of 40 to 50 people. now if you’re composed of 50 people, it’ll be just Php500 per day of stay per head. not bad eh. another perk of this house is that you can do & bring anything inside, without the hassle of paying the corkage fee. and that’s just swag! hehe…

see some of the view of this house;

front porch or veranda

 

room no. 1 of 50! hehe

one of the rooms inside the spacious house at the Tamarind Tree Resort…

dining area

the posh dining area and on the other side is the kitchen where you can cook anything you like.

kitchen

and this is the dainty kitchen!

veranda view

veranda view of the house. you can see the beach & lots of tamarind trees. quite serene actually.

for more info, price/rates, and reservations, you may visit http://www.thetamarindtreeresort.com/ and http://thetamarindtreeresort.wordpress.com/

and that’s about it for the prelude of our 4th adventure day in Padre Burgos. oh and by the way, our 3 days, 2 nights stay in the Tamarind Tree resort was priced at Php6,300, we just divided it into 4. All of the expenses in this trip was included in the pegged budget of Php5,000.

off to our Day 4!!! woohoo! but i have to get back to work again so it’ll have to wait a few more days. so until the next post & keep on movin’ your feet!!! =)

gone for the weekend: the roadtrip to quezon province… part 3!!!

Day 3 of our Quezon Escapade! =)

The weather in Quezon is a little bit erratic last march (what with the earthquake & tsunamis! its an ever-changing world!). Well, weather’s really tricky for tropical countries like the Philippines so our day 3 was a bit of a drag. It’s our BORAWAN day. The original plan was to head straight to Borawan after breakfast & spend whole day there but the weather got a bit crabby. It was foggy & rainy when we woke up & the temperature is quite freezing (even so when you’re in the water)! We decided not to push through the Borawan trip in the morning since its zero visibility when you’re in the sea, rescheduled it after lunch instead. so with nothing to do in the resort, we took our photog gears and went out to do a PHOTOSHOOT! hehe..

cameras, check! tripod, check! reflector, check! here are some of the photos we’ve got from that Photoshoot in The Tamarind Tree!

a cup in hand you know its worth your while.. =)

our prelude to breakfast, COFFEE! if you’ll look at it closely, Kopiko is our coffee of the day! hehe.. just 3 cups coz one kid is not a coffee addict. oh and its P15 bucks per cup at the tamarind tree resort!

mangyan na nagkukuko...

i love stolen shots like this. so there, caught gerry while trimming his toe nails! haha! that’s before we head out for breakfast (as if naman makikita ang kuko sa picture! hehe).

swag band cover!

i know right! epic photo courtesy of my good friend Bong Tamayo! woot-woot! =) i look ASTIG & feelin’ swag in this picture! taken at the Tamarind Tree Resort Grounds, in their posh garden overlooking the sea.. (so that explains where we’re lookin’).

i completely forgot about our time swimmin’ at the Tamarind Tree Resort’s beach front. Although again, I’m not recommending that you try swimming there as the water is a bit murky. But if you’re not squimish, by all means, go and have fun together with the talangka, snails, & fishes there.. hehe.. here are some of our pics; oh & see that two little island laying there in the backgound? They call it mag-asawang bato, two islands married to each other. these two islets used to be too close to each other but through time & by the power of tectonic movements of the earth, the two islets went farther from each other.

chel, gerry, & yours truly.. =)

chel, bong, & me.. =)

yeah that’s mah good friend Bong who owns some of the pictures here.. a great friend & a good photography teacher! madamo gid na salamat bong! everything i know in photography, i learned it from you! =)

diyosa ng dagat! kabowg!

and presenting mah good friend Chel: the Goddess of the sea!!! lookin’ fierce in ze middle of ze sea!

After the photo shoot, we head out to the sea again and the next destination is no other than the famous BORAWAN baby! After eating our lunch, we met with our master bangkero Kuya Oteh & headed out to Borawan. The term Borawan was coined to describe the island. The island is a combination of white sandy beaches of the famous Boracay & the mighty & beautiful limestone cliffs of Palawan, hence the term BORAWAN.  It’s a bit disappointing since Mr. Sun decided not to show himself on our Borawan day and the sea seems to be a little grumpy that day as huge waves kept coming in, but being resilient as we were, we pushed through and still managed to capture some decent pictures in the island. You can actually camp out in Borawan but of course there are fees that need to be settled. There are small huts there; some are small while others are big enough. 3 to 4 people can sleep inside the big ones. Rental fee ranges from P350 to P600 depending on the size of the hut you’re renting. It’s a surprise too that no entrance fee was collected from us, just the P350 rent for the nipa hut near the beach. And here are some of our Borawan pictures:

small hut

this hut cost around P350. too much??? well you can haggle the price, it’ll now depend on how good you’re haggling skills are.

ohhaiithurr Bong!!

the hut at the back cost around P600, again prices will depend on the size of the huts plus your haggling skills.

really relaxing...

look how blue the sea is..

limestones..

see the hut there on the side? walk a little further and you’ll see the make-shift comfort room & bathroom for guests. its really not much but at least you can do you’re thing in peace.

just another hut

i'm on the top of the world! taking pictures!

that’s kuya gewi tryin’ his luck on snapping good pics on top of one of the limestone boulders there..

chillin' out..

it rained a little while we’re in Borawan. We all went for cover.

this is Borawan!

and with the pictures above, we say goodbye to Borawan… until we meet again…

so for day 3 Padre Burgos escapade, we shell out a total of Php416. Here’s the break down;

p15 for the coffee (individual)

P50 for breakfast (individual)

P850 for the boat rental going to & from Borawan (divided by 4 so do the math)

P350 for the nipa hut rental (divided by 4 so do the math)

P50 for lunch (individual)

For a whopping total of Php416 over-all spend. Not bad actually for day 3… extremely satisfied with the turn-out. But i plan to go back since we weren’t able to explore the limestone cliffs, do some climbing & rappelling here and there & we weren’t able to visit the cave in the middle of the boulders there. For those who wanted to explore the cliffs, you have to bring your own climbing & rappelling equipment, flashlights, first aid kits (limestones have rough edges that can cut through skin), and all things needed for climbing as there were no equipments available in the island. even the resorts there do not offer climbing trips to Borawan.

think i have to pause here.. i need to get back to mah work & finish the reports.. so until next post! and keep on moving your feet!!! =)

gone for the weekend: the roadtrip to quezon province… part 2!!!

my apologies! it took me so long to work on padre burgos part 2! got caught up with work & my other love, football! got training sesh every weekend ergo got no time to update my quezon blog. but here’s part 2, day 2 of our Padre Burgos escapade!!! enjoy! =)

Day 2 at Dampalitan Island, Padre Burgos, Quezon…

day 2 was pretty much a very relaxed & “chill” day for the four of us. i woke up early, around 6am or 7am i guess and pretty much just stared out to the sea and the endless horizon. there’s nothing more special than being able to spend hours relaxing, doing nothing, and immensely enjoying the beach. everything it offers, the calm & tranquil waves, air rushing through your hair, and the smell of the sea. =)

look at my view from my make shift duyan i called top-top, bought him when i was in pundaquit, zambales last year for P300 bucks.. =)

duyan view.. i just feel swag.. =)

its also a sad day for us since we’ll be leaving our camp at Dampalitan Island & will head to our (extra posh and extra mahal) hotel resort in the mainlaind, the Tamarind Tree Resort. Mixed emotions actually. We’ll leave Dampalitan to head to another adventure so yeah part happy & part sad..  but before we head to the tamarind tree, we decided to take some time to get some good shots. the weather’s good & all sun-shiny on our 2nd day, great day for cam-whoring! hehe.. so after eating breakfast (more like left-over food from last night’s feast), we went out & snapped our cameras away!

dampalitan island in high noon! fierce! =)

while standing on the “islet” in the middle of dampalitan beach, couldn’t help myself but take a picture of this majestic view… =)

my camera Aly just loves Kuya Gewi!!! =)

kuya gewi & his abs.. pogi points for that! haha! )

ok, lemme explain.. got nothing else to take pictures at alright so here's mah foot! )

after our photo op, i went back to my “chillax” mode while sitting on top-top my duyan. got nothing to do but still wanna take some pictures so i took a snap of my left foot..

our SWAG camp!!! woot-woot! tent is huge! you can fit 8 to 10 people inside! hehe… on the words of mah good friend Bong when asked how to describe our ginormous tent: “Pwedeng magfootball ang Azkals sa loob!”

(uh-oh!) no, i'm not sleeping.. just takin' a break! )

eerrr… that’s me there! no, i’m not sleeping! just taking a break before we head out to the sea! =P

i borrowed some pictures from mah good friend Bong Tamayo so you’ll get to see the beauty of the place, really great place to take pictures! =)

balsa in the beach.. =)

lunch & dinner for us!! cheers!

adobo & magic sarap (magic sarap??? o____O) for lunch, dinner, & breakfast!!! hehe.. oh and we got purefoods hotdogs too!

tomatoes & onions as side dish.. sweet!

and match it with ensaladang kamatis!!! this should be ensaladang mangga but forgot to buy mangoes!! epic fail!! )

Bong's magic sinaing!!! cheers!

sinaing or cooked rice in english.. this is bong’s specialty. he cooked rice since lunch & dinner yesterday till the next day! mabuhay ka bong! )

you can see here that we didn’t bring any cooking utensils, not even a portable stove. one word baby.. IMPROVISE!!! hehe.. but you have to bring your own kaldero so that you can cook rice decently.. or if you’re too lazy to bring one, find a bamboo in the island & use it as an alternative for the kaldero..

sayin' our goodbyes to Dampalitan!

gerry, me, bong, & chel

and with pictures above, we say goodbye to Dampalitan Island! till we meet again… =)

Kuya Oteh fetched us at around 1pm, high noon but it was an easy boat ride! thank God for the unpredictable weather of Quezon, we’re spared from the scorching rays of the sun and was greeted by drizzle & lots of rain clouds arriving at The Tamarind Tree Resort. Tamarind Tree Resort is the only beach resort that has close proximity to beach & the islands, very accessible so even though the price is a bit high than normal, we booked our accomodations there so we can stay close to the beach. We arrived there late lunch time but still decided to take a bath, head out & look for something to eat for lunch.

here are some of my first pics during our stay in The Tamarind Tree Resort;

our kubo named "Eugenia"

This is our kubo, stashed near the beach, on its sides are plants & lots of Banana trees (so that explains the ginormous mosquitoes invading our hut!). I have to make a separate entry about the resort but i have to say that the place was wonderful, even the staff, they’re very accommodating & friendly. we even made new friends while we’re there! the place is safe & well-guarded, very relaxing & pretty quiet especially at night so if you wanna take a break from the hustle & bustle of manila, this is the place to be! oh and one thing i immensely enjoyed in the place is the private pool inside the resort. well we practically have the place to ourselves and because of that, i feel swag when i was there! hehe..

the road less traveled..

this pic was taken just outside the Tamarind Tree’s gate.. and manong walking down the road adds drama to the pic..

tamarind tree beach front

see the tamarind tree beach front.. although i don’t reco that you swim in the beach front, the water’s a bit murky as there are hordes of fishermen that go there everyday so there..

flowers galore outside the tamarind tree resort! =)

ok so for day 2 of the Quezon trip, we just paid for our lunch in a carinderia & our dinner courtesy of Tamarind Tree Resort. In the “Al Fresco” dining (a.k.a carinderia), P50 is enough for a good meal (provided di ka patay gutom when you eat), there are several carinderias in Padre Burgos so eating won’t be a problem. For our dinner, we shed a bit more (well maybe not a bit). Paid P550 for a full course meal of rice, sunny side up eggs, tocino, & longganisa, plus juice good for 4 to 6 people and we get to dine in the posh Dining Hall of the resort while watching the pilot episode of captain barbel in GMA 7. Ate Ayreen, the secretary or Peng the manager can assist you. the food they’ll serve may depend on what’s available that day.

A total of Php 187.50 spend for day 2 at Padre Burgos, Quezon! not bad.. hehe..

i still have to get back to work mah friends but i promise to complete the four-day entry of our Quezon trip A.S.A.P! so until next post! keep on moving your feet! =)

Gone for the Weekend: The Roadtrip to Quezon Province…

I make it a point that every year is a travel year for me. After all, life is too short to just stay at home and do nothing. It started back in 2009 when I decided to just abandon anything work-related (got burnt out so bad!); hit the road with a bunch of old air heads and off we went to Baguio, the city of pines. 2010 is just another good traveling year for me too and it was a bit new since for the first time I traveled with my friends from college. We went to Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales. It wasn’t my first time there. Last 2008 I was able to sample the beauty & mystic of the islands of Zambales with friends from the office. This year is extra special since our destination is one of my dream destinations. In fact, it was listed in my bucket list, to be able to see & experience Borawan, an island situated in Padre Burgos, Quezon. I first heard of the island about 2 years ago in a local travel TV show Trip na Trip of Bayan Productions and since then I fell in love with it and was dreaming to set my foot there. It took us a while before we were able to pull this trip off since the island is practically a virgin island. It was rarely visited by tourist and locals. Internet articles were scarce. There were just a few articles available and you can’t even call it as decent source of information. But it suits me just fine. I don’t mind the long travels and countless walks I should make and I take pride as one of the very first who set foot and visited islands such as Borawan. There’s a certain thrill in conquering unchartered terrains and undiscovered island and I guess that’s what draws me to Borawan, to be the very first to see the island. I’ll try to be as detailed as possible but if you guys know anything about the island and how to get there, I’ll gladly accept any additions and/or corrections. =) Day 1: March 26, Saturday at JAC Liner in Kamuning, Quezon City Our travel starts at JAC Liner in Kamuning (near GMA 7’s building). There are several liners that offer trips from Manila to Lucena Town Proper but we chose JAC Liner. Their buses are clean and spacious, fare is reasonable enough (at P218), and they offer free WI-FI to their passengers, not to even mention that their crew & the drivers are very courteous and always make it point to assist their passengers (especially those who carry heavy luggage). Trips start as early as 2 in the morning and the last trip is at 12 midnight (kindly take note of the time to avoid hassle). We boarded the bus at exactly 5:30 in the morning and the bus was on the roll at exactly 6 in the morning. It usually takes 3 to 4 hours before you reach Lucena. We opted for an early ride so we’d have time to scout the place, look for transportation to take us to Padre Burgos and of course to shop for our food. You’ll pass by several towns along the way to Lucena: Laguna, Sto. Tomas, Batangas, and then several towns in Quezon province. The bus will take you directly to Lucena City Grand Terminal. In the terminal you’ll find everything that you might need. It houses almost any transportation towards to any destination, fast food chains, pasalubong stores, and most importantly, clean comfort rooms. After a quick breakfast in Jollibee, we split the group into 2. Gerry & Rachelle took care of finding transportation to Padre Burgos while yours truly and Bong went to the local market of Lucena to buy food and supplies (You can find jeeps in the terminal that will take you to the local market for a fare of P8). Clock hits 1pm, we were able to find a jeep that will take us to Padre Burgos and we’ve completed our supplies list, then we’re off to hit the road. Travel time from Lucena to Padre Burgos was a bit long, we’re on the road for an hour and 45 minutes before we reach Padre Burgos town proper (you’ll know you’re there when you see the QCRB Bank in Padre Burgos). Then it’ll be a 15 minutes tricycle ride for P10 each to “aplaya” where we’ll take the boat ride to the islands. In aplaya, we met Kuya Ote the boatman who’ll take us to the very first island we’ll visit and where we plan to stay for the night, Dampalitan Beach. You can rent boats starting at P800 to P2,000 depending on how may island you want to visit or your haggling skills. We got our boat for P800 and Kuya Ote agreed to takes us to Dampalitan then pick us up the next day and will take us directly to our rented resort. It took us 30 minutes before we reached Dampalitan. In Dampalitan beach we met Ate Eileen, the island’s caretaker. Take note that there are several fees you have to settle: P30/head for the island entrance fee, P200 to P250 for the tent depending on the size of the tent that you’ll be pitching there, P200 for the rent of the table, and P40 for clean fresh water you can use for food preparation, etc. We have the island practically all to ourselves since it’s already Saturday and people who visited Quezon were off to Manila again. What I love the most in these undiscovered islands is the peace that it offers. Nothing’s more precious to me than having the quiet and peaceful time to think, rest, and meditate. Now if you’re the kind of person who digs peace and quiet then I definitely recommend Padre Burgos. Dampalitan also offers a good backdrop for the shutter bugs. It offers good view of the sunset (given that the weather’s good when you go there) and a picturesque view of the island in the afternoon. The island dwellers and their pets are also a good subject for your pictures.

Here are some of my works of art, taken from Dampalitan Beach… =)

dusk at the island

this photo was taken on our first day there in Dampalitan. it was a bit gloomy, no sun at all and it was drizzling a bit… but i couldn’t pass up the chance to take pictures..  =)

boat in the water

I was doing some test shots, I scanned ALY and I saw this.. reminds me of the super old Bench commercial, remember Richard Gomez??? In briefs, rowing on a boat in the middle of the sea… hehe.. it was near dusk here…

dampalitan shore

here’s a sample pic with adjusted exposure compensation (about 1.7 I guess, couldn’t quite remember)… it’s almost 6pm when i took this picture, did some adjustments then viola! it looks like its dawn not dusk.. hehe..

high noon at dampalitan beach

this was taken the 2nd day at the beach.. luckily, sun was up that time so we took the opportunity to take pictures..  it was low tide that time and when its low tide in Dampalitan, you can see foot bridge made out of sand, shells, & rock… follow that path and you’ll end up in a little island in the middle of the sea where you can actually take pictures of endless sea and horizon… =)

dampalitan in black & white

high noon but i turned it to black & white… =)

mah good friend gerry in the middle of the sea

did i already say that we practically have the island all to ourselves? yeah said it and its true! haha! see, i can’t find any subject worth taking a snap at so here’s gerry & euran.. =)

kamusta sa abs??? )

ala bench scene! haha!

i couldn’t just upload everything here since most of the files were as heavy as 18MB…

ok.. to sum it up, here’s the total cost of our first day in Padre Burgos (including fares, food, and all, computed per head, for a group composed of 4 people);

P218 – Bus Fare (Manila to Lucena)

P70 – Breakfast at Jollibee (in Lucena Grand Terminal)

P16 – Jeepney fare (Lucena Grand Terminal to Local market and back)

P35 – Jeepney fare (Lucena Grand Terminal to Padre Burgos Town Proper)

P15 – Tricycle fare (Padre Burgos Town Proper to Aplaya)

P200 – Boat Rent (to and from Dampalitan beach)

P30 – Entrance fee at Dampalitan Beach

P60 – Tent Pitching fee

P10 – Potable Fresh water

P50 – Table rent

P156 – food budget for overnight stay at the island

Total: P860

For the food, Ate Eileen can cook for you but the price will depend on what you want to eat and the food will depend on whatever’s available that day. =)

ok, got to get back on working on my reports so day2 of the Quezon trip will have to wait.. =) till the next post!!! keep on moving your feet!!! =)