Travel Blog 2: Pagsanjan falls, Laguna

Last week when I fetched my sister from her last hospital duty as an intern, her first words to me were "Ate, labas tayo!" I thought it was a simple gimmick or malling, but she meant it as an "out of town" trip somewhere we'd never been to before. And she wanted it within that week or the following week. I immediately thought that the timing of the trip could be a hindrance because it was short notice and plane tickets could be expensive then.

2 days after, a trip was set for Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Yehey! Underground river here I come. But it was also cancelled because my sister chose to prioritise her clearance from the hospital where she had her internship. I had mixed reactions about it. Instead, my parents planned to go to Pagsanjan Falls & Kamay ni Hesus as Mother's Day celebration. Never mind it was also the fight of Manny Pacquiao but it was the opportunity and the only time we could all go out.

It was cloudy when we left home at past 6am. While cruising along South Luzon Expressway, that was when it started to rain. We first arrived at Kamay Ni Hesus at Lucban, Quezon at past 9am. It was raining and windy. The uphill garden was closed to the public because the steps were so slippery. I just took shots of the statues from our spot below outside of the church. Parts of the Garden of Eden were open but it was small compared to what could be seen in the garden. We also didn't get to see the interior of Noah's Ark because a retreat was being conducted. Because of the unfriendly weather, we all decided to skip and re-schedule the Pagsanjan Falls trip at a later date. In exchange, we all craved for a hot delicious bulalo as lunch. By 11:30, we were on the road back north and listened to a live broadcast of the Pacquiao-Mosley bout.

Pagsanjan Falls

We had lunch at Pagsanjan, Laguna by past 12. Surprisingly, it stopped raining, the sky became clear and the sun seemed to shine. The river became busy with swarms of korean tourists riding small boats heading upstream towards the falls. Since we were already there, we decided to go for it. After inquiring around, we settled to get two boats (max of 3 persons per boat + 2 boatmen each) to take us to the falls. The trip upstream was longer because we were riding against the current and the boatmen had to literally push the boat against the rocks. We passed by 3 smaller falls before we saw the main attraction. We left all of our things (bags, watches, glasses, cameras & even my slippers) at the rocks with 1 of the boatmen as the "watcher" before we rode a bamboo raft & went underneath the falls. The bamboo raft was strongly & tightly secured to big ropes & was navigated by a very muscled native. I had the coldest, hardest, & most unique shower of my life & definitely got drenched from head to toe! After 5 minutes, we were heading back to the rocks. It was so "bitin". I really wished to go back for round two. Haha! Unfortunately, the muscled man said one round lang. Awww.. After staying at the rocks for another 5 minutes, we decided to go back. It was faster going downstream, less effort for our boatmen because we were going with the flow. It also poured hard on our way back. I was careful with my DSLR because I don't want it to get wet. We got back at the river banks past 4 pm and hurriedly changed out of our wet clothes. We were all happy and we enjoyed the trip. It was worth it!        

Travel Blog 1: Boracay 2011

[This is a re-post from my soon-to-be deleted (?) account in Multiply]

It was my first time to visit Boracay Island, Aklan. I was with my parents and Arthur, our american cousin who is visiting the country for the first time (actually, he came here with his dad/my uncle in order to search for a wife). We stayed in the island for 3 days and 2 nights.

Day 1, January 17, 2011
We were dropped at NAIA 3 (another first for me because it was my first time to see the controversial airport). Our plane was airphilexpress.com. We patiently queued to check-in our baggage and have our boarding passes. After the security check, we headed to the waiting area near our boarding gate. While waiting, we learned that our flight was delayed because our turn-around plane was also late (made sense). For how long? It wasn't mentioned. Great! There goes my remaining afternoon in Bora. I thought it will be already dark when we get there. We flew at past 3pm and arrived in Caticlan airport at 4pm. The climate was cold and the skies were cloudy. 

From there, we were picked up by our hotel personnel to the shores of Caticlan, then rode a boat for 20 minutes to Boracay Island. Then, it was another 30 minutes ride to the hotel. At the hotel (La Carmela de Boracay), we had welcome drinks and were briefed on House Rules. We settled our things down in the room and explored the shores. Mom, Dad & Arthur decided to walk on further but I decided to be left behind. After taking few shots of the sunset, I wadded through the waters. It was cool, the white sands were powdery, the waves were strong. I got drenched from waist-down. I ran back into the hotel, changed my clothes with swimsuit underneath. When I got out, it was already dark. Darn! Dad was looking for me, inviting me for dinner. We had buffet dinner then walked the shore line until the area of D'Mall. My companions were tired thus we headed back. I was determined to wake-up early the following day for an early morning swim and photoshoots. 

Day 2, January 18, 2011

Shores of Boracay.. In a Cloudy Morning

I eagerly got up at quarter to 6am, put on my swimwear, shorts and spaghetti top and hit the beach with mom and Arthur. Again, I took some shots of the beach & what seems like to be the sunrise. The water was freezing cold but I got the hang of it. Not surprising, there were also few locals and foreign tourists on the beach - swimming, just hanging around on the lounge chairs, jogging, walking around. I should say there was also a parade of different DSLR cameras & lens hanging around people's necks (pa-bonggahan ba ito?). Dad was the last person to join us in the water. By 7am, we got out and had breakfast for almost 1 hour. By 8, I again went back in the water and was there for a long time (probably 2 hours or more?).

I was intrigued by the different activities available in the island - particularly, banana boat. Arthur and I were eager to ride and experience it. The rule was that a minimum of 5 persons may ride the banana boat for Php250 each head. Well, we were 3 persons short. We asked around if we could join another group who is also short of people. There was a group of korean tourists but they were scuba-diving then. We had to wait for them for more than 1 hour. While waiting, I decided to have my hair braided just for fun and to see if it suits me. Well, it did however it was awfully painful. Coincidentally, the group hanging beside us in the shore was also 2 people short for the banana ride. I bravely approached them and asked if we could join them. They immediately agreed & were friendly to us. Within 30 minutes, we were all in the banana boat being pulled by a jet ski & definitely having a blast! Too bad the ride only less than 15 minutes. I was so hungry afterwards and we had lunch in Andok's. I thought I had done what I came for in Bora. After lunch I showered and put on fresh clothes. I stayed again in the lounge area just people-watching. I was sleepy but I couldn't sleep because of the braids in my hair.

Station 1, grotto of the Our Lady of Balabag

By four in the afternoon, we were headed to Station 1 to look at the grotto of our Lady of Balabag.  We rode the tricycle going to and fro, for the benefit of my cousin because it was his first time. Back at station 2, we decided to hang-out in the patio of our hotel having snacks and beer then followed by dinner at Andok's again (Mom and Dad were craving for chopsuey). Since it was our last night, I decided to shop and buy pasalubongs. I went back to the hotel at past 10. I had to remove my braids because I couldn't sleep with them.

Day 3, January 19, 2011

A shot of Boracay Island from another point

I awoke at 6:30 am. We had breakfast again in the hotel and decided to go for Island Hopping for 2 1/2 hours. It was worthwile and we got to see the other islands in Aklan. When we returned, Dad and I decided to swim -- our last -- for 20 minutes. Then we prepared for things for our flight back home. We had lunch at Yellow Cab Pizza and to kill time, I did my last-minute shopping while mom had her hair braided like mine (gaya gaya!) and Arthur had 2 henna tattoos (one in each arm).

We left the hotel at 2pm. At Caticlan airport, we checked-in our bags and waited patiently for our flight. Our flight wasn't delayed and we arrived in Manila 8 minutes earlier than our estimated time of arrival. In one day, we crossed the sky, water and land. How great!

I had lots of fun. I bet it will be more fun if I had a different set of company. Though expenses are more expensive (a P10 taho here in Manila is equal to P50 there, and a 1hour wi-fi is worth P100), I wonder when I'll be going back.