DIY: Puerto Princesa

062013

This was the Php 3000 all in (Puerto Princesa city tour for 2) trip. Haha.

We got a piso fare ticket from Tiger airways, our ticket costs Php 400 rt/person. I wasnt able to save money for this trip and I booked the wrong dates. We only have Php3000 pesos in our pockets and yet we managed to survive! Awwwyeah!

The morning before our trip, i was struggling to find a cheap accomodation, then I came across OMG House, a newly built space for dormers and backpackers which is strategically located on the airport road near food establishments. We were supposed to stay in a shared bathroom accomodation but the owner gave us the room with own bathroom for 450php for 2 nights. Lucky us! 

For our first day, we decided to walk towards the Immaculate Concepcion Church and the Plaza Cuartel - it was just 3 blocks away from our inn.

After taking pictures, tricycle drivers approached us for a city tour worth Php600 (this is the real price of the tryk city tour for 4 persons based on the the province's tourism dept) - we managed to haggle it for Php400 and off we go.

We went to Crocodile Farm, Baker's Hill and Mitra's Ranch.

You can also opt to go to Irawan Ecopark.

We weren't able to go to the Butterfly farm as it was under construction then. I highly suggest that you take the tryk tour since it is cheap and you do not need wait and change puvs from every tourist spot.

The tryk driver also brought us to the Souvenir Shop were we bought souvenir shirts for just Php100-180.

In the afternoon, we went to their baywalk to rest and eat mirienda, and people watch. 

It was a 3nights2days trip so we did not

 take the underwater cave and honda bay tour. But we'll definitely be back. :)

TTFN.

DIY: Laoag, Ilocos Norte

Our Lampitao (from Calayan, Cagayan) docked at Claveria, Cagayan

From here, we went to the national highway to catch a bus ride to Laoag, Ilocos Norte. Fare is roughly around Php200.

Travel time is around 2 hours and we passed by Pagudpud. I was so awesome-struck with the wind mills that I almost forgot to take a picture. Haha

We arrived a little late after lunch and the bus terminal is just a block away from Museo Ilocos Norte and from the provincial capitol.

Of course, we ate bagnet and the infamous Ilocos Empanada in dap - ayan, the food stalls complex infront of the capitol.

After getting high blood pressure with the  bagnet and everything, we checked in at our hotel for an overnight stay.

We rested a bit before going out to explore the old churches within the area.

We went back to the plaza and took pictures before heading back to the hotel.

We also went to the public market to buy ilocos longganisa. :)

A quick dinner and we called it a night.

I was supposed to go alone to Paoay Church the next day because my friend already went back to Manila but laziness took over and just packed my things and went straight to the airport for my flight back to Manila.

I shall return to Ilocos for their 4x4 and sand dunes, and have a side trip in Vigan as well.

TTFN.

DIY: Calayan Island, Babuyan Islands

It was a chance of a lifetime. 

It was the closest thing to Batanes that I conquered so far! (Batanes, just wait, i will get to you sooner or later!!!)

We woke up early to get ready for our ferry ride to the Babuyanes. 

From our accomodation in Aparri, we took a tricycle to get to the wharf; but we somehow got lost. Haha. And this is where our Misadventure begun.

We were supposed to go to the ferry port but we were driven to the Lampitao wharf. 

There are two ways to go to Babuyanes: one is take the Lampitao - the fishermen's boat which locals take going to and from the island to Luzon or the Ferry.

We got to the ferry port and said hi to our acquaintances who were all waiting for us. Ferry fare is Php500/person/oneway. 

It was a five looooong hours ride, and for the first time in my life I wanted to jump off the boat (even if i dont know how to swim) to save myself from sea sickness - it was that "bumpy" of a ride. The size of the ferry is average, it cannot fit any vehicle like that of montenegro, and we were crossing the Babuyan Channel so expect a rather fierce body of water.

We saw some islands along the way. And we were practically looking at Calayan Island for an hour before finally docking.

Land!!! Finally!!!

We are to stay at our acquaintance's house in the island - yup, her mother's family lives there. (Emphasis on the present tense)

Anyway, a couple of their helpers fetched us and brought us to their humble abode. We settled and feasted on a seafood lunch. Awwyeah.

We were shown our room to unpack and rest. We explored the house a bit, there were big clam skeletons around the house - and when I say big, i mean BIG. It appears that the island was once below water and it materialized after an underwater volcanic eruption.

We were then told that we will go to Cibang Cove and spend the night there so we started packing for the night.

We hiked for an hour. We walked past a cow's "farm," heard birds chirping, saw wild carabaos roaming, walked up and down different terrains, then we finally heard the sound of waves kissing the shores - we felt so excited and literally run to where the sound is coming from. And then there was Cibang Cove. 

I was just sooo awesome-struck that I stood still for a few moments before moving. My explorer friend started walking towards the hill and is determined to climb it - so i joined in and went for that crazy idea.

When we reached the top, our crazy idea of climbing up the hill turned out to be the awesome-est thing we ever did. It was surreal. No words can describe the feeling. We were on top of the hill overlooking the pacific ocean and the sun is setting behind us. 

It was like we were in the famous Sabtang Island of Batanes. And we stood there, slowly taking in the beautiful view.

We started descent as the sun sets, and made our way to our makeshift camp. We helped in collecting wood for bonfire, ate a simple dinner, star-gazed and slept.

The next day is an entirely new experience. I woke up to a dark blue sky, and the colors started to change as the sun starts to rise infront of us. It was the perfect peaceful moment. I was just so thankful for the beauty of nature.

Then there was the herd of wild carabaos walking past us. Haha. We went for an early morning swim with the high waves. The water is so clear and warm that morning. 

We head back to the house to take a bath and eat. We are to go to the rock formations that afternoon riding their kind of tricycle. 

On the road, my friend is so determined in finding pigs - yeah babuyan island (island of pigs) and we found them! 

There is a little chapel facing the rock formation. And we explored everything. We went and climbed up the rather sharp cuts of the rock formation and took pictures.

On the way back, my friend and I decided that we wanted to go home already. It was May2013. Elections week. And it slipped our minds. Haha. 

No boat is to go out of the island because every possible vote is important for them, and our dilemma is we wont be able to go to Ilocos and we will miss out flight back to Manila.

We talked to our host's mother and she talked to some fishermen who can bring us back to luzon. Yes, we (my friend and I) hired a small lampitao to bring us back to luzon first thing the next morning. 

To kill time, it was just around 2 in the afternoon - and it just rained - we walked around the island and looked for Halo Halo. We end up in a small store just around the block and started chatting with the owner and she even lent us their bike! 

We haggled for the lampitao for Php5000, and it was the extreme-est ride of a lifetime. No life jacket, not a good swimmer, riding a small boat in the pacific ocean with flying fishes literally flying beside us, waves crashing on us, and i was wondering when it will stop haha (the seawater is burning our eyes but we mostly enjoyed the ride). 

After 3 hours, we reached Claveria Cagayan where kuya bankero's friends let us take a bath and change clothes. Afterwards, he took us to the mainroad where we rode a bus to Laoag. (See next post)

TTFN!