BICOL '10: A taste of Bicolandia

Challenge: Php 5,000 in Four Top Destinations in Bicol in four days. Mission. Accomplished.

And that’s exactly what I did. Less than a month of planning and googling almost about anything about Bicol, I came up with the Itinerary covering Caramoan, CWC, Donsol and Legaspi in four days with a budget of php5, 000.

Armed with the perfect company, I was more than confident not to do reservations or contact anyone for tour packages or anything. Backpacking through Bicol, that was the idea.

Day 01: Caramoan. We left Manila at 6:45pm by Cagsawa Lines. Tickets were purchased ahead of time. We decided to try their Royal Elite, curious of their lazy boy seats. The bus however did not meet our expectations. So no, we won’t be trying their Royal Elite again.

We had an early dinner at Mc Donald’s Ali-Mall and boarded the bus. Slept the whole trip and woke up at Naga Terminal. The bus just dropped us at a dark waiting shed and pointed that we still need to walk a few meters to reach the terminal. So there we were, still groggy from our sleep, walking towards the terminal at three o’clock in the morning with the moon still in the sky. *Emily Rose moment*.

Fortunately, we found the terminal. Though there was no sign (except for SM Naga) of the place saying it was the terminal, it was easy to guess because of the amount of vehicles in the lot. We decided to eat first and ask around where the van for Sabang is located. By 4am we were bound to Sabang Port.

Sabang Port

We were not prepared when we saw Sabang Port. The port was more like a beach shore. And the only way to get to the boats was to be carried by “human-porters”. I wondered why the authorities can’t build a decent port considering the amount of tourists Caramoan draws in. “Ride” costs php 10.  We were the first to board the boat and with the boat’s capacity of 66 passengers, it was quite a while for the boat to be filled. Nearing Guijalo port, we were awoken by huge waves. I tell you if not for the “mind over matter” mantra; I was ready to throw up right there and then. Finally, we saw the port.  And this was another of the many “firsts” on our trip. Instead of tricycles hovering over passengers, there were small boats about to park beside the boats. These boats would take us to the Port proper.

One tricycle ride and we were in Caramoan Town or Centro as locals call it. One unfortunate event leads us to Kuya Roger who became our official driver. He introduced us to Kuya --, our will-be boatman. Checked in at Villa Julianna, had our lunch and after one long boat ride, we finally found Busad island.

Busad Island was disappointing.  Aside from there were already people in the place, the sand was hot and ants were everywhere. We didn’t stay that long. Kuya --- told us that there is a beach with one kilometer white sand called Manlawi. Like kids, we were impatient to get there. We have no idea we were in the place until the boat stopped. The whole place was submerged in water! We can see small huts immersed in water. This is what the place looks like in the afternoon when the tide is high. And in the morning, when the tide is low, the whole stretch of white sand can be seen. It was agreed. Perfect place for inuman sessions! Instant cool relief when one starts feeling intoxicated.

Cotivas Island was next. There was nothing remarkable about the place except that the Survivor Israel had their shooting in the island. Still, the place was incredible.

Sabitang Laya.  The rock formation can be comparable to that of Palawan. But, of course, I bet everyone agrees, nothing beats Palawan’s diverse marine life.

We can’t go further in the beach because Survivor Israel was shooting.

The moon was already up when we got back.

Dinner that night was superb. 

It was already eight in the evening when we were done eating. I was craving for ice cream so we went out. Expectedly, the whole town was already closed except for one or two stores which serve liquor to the locals. Sadly, no ice cream for us. We tried to go to the church but it was closed too. We just walked around the town until we got home.

Day 02: Caramoan-CWC

Alarm was set at 4:30 in the morning. The other leg of our island hopping needs to be done in less than four hours. We need to catch the last trip of the boat going to Sabang Port at 11:00 am. More islands. Less time.

Bichara Island. We had our breakfast here. It was said before that there were no sand in the island. In time, sand piled up between the two rock formations forming a beach. Kuya – said that every island in the place is owned by the Villafuertes and that the Bicharas were renting some (thus Bichara Island). I can’t remember who owns or who rents but it was just between the two. Villafuertes and Bicharas.

Tinagos Island reminded me of Kayangan Lake of Coron wherein one has to get inside a cove. Instead of a lake waiting for us, there was a beach. We saw a lot of starfish underneath the water. We can’t resist taking a photo.

It was already 9:30am when we arrived at Villa julianna. Time was crucial. The five of us has to be ready in 30 minutes. Good thing we were already packed the night before so all we have to do is clean up. Two minutes shower per person! Wohoo! Few minutes past 10:00am, we were on board Kuya Roger’s trike. We were nearing the port when we saw the boat already out in the sea! Good thing the boat stopped when they saw there were still passengers. That was close.

Ride back was smooth. No big waves and the boat was not that packed. There were a lot of vacant seats; we were able to stretch our legs. Siesta time.

Past noon, we were on board to Naga. We asked the driver to drop us off to CWC, which costs us additional php30 to the regular rate of php90. Not bad since the van will drop us inside CWC. We were at CWC at three in the afternoon. Clueless on what to do, we asked the desk. We decided to have one hour of wake boarding and rented two lockers. Starving, we all ate first. Burger only for me. Baka hindi ako lumutang. We were talking if wakeboarding will be hard. Mac2 was bragging that he knows at least the basic of skateboarding which gives, according to him, the edge. Let’s see…

So there I was, knees shaking, heart pounding and stomach in knots. Last time I felt that was in Sagada. Safety helmet and vest; check. Board on foot; check.  Cable handle; check. Wait for the signal. Whoops! My face was first on water. I didn’t even get that far!

It was Mac2’s turn. With all his bragging during lunch, I was convinced he will cross the lake. But right after the signal, whoosh!, he was under water. So much for the bragging Mac2! I was pretty sure we went far the same.

My next attempt took me to almost-half of the lake. It was awesome! The whole time I was thinking, “Don’t fall”, “Don’t fall”. I finally am getting the hang of it. And like a kid, I wanted more. I was grinning from ear to ear when I went back the line. 

We cleaned up and left CWC at six in the evening. After two hours of bus ride, we were finally in Legaspi. Tinay met us at the Central Terminal.

Dinner plates got cleaned up fast that night. After dinner, we did some laundry while the boys had their inuman sessions, which we later joined in. But because we need to wake up early, we called it a night.

Day 03: Donsol-Legaspi

It was surprising that we managed to get up early that morning. Though the supposed ETA was 6am, we left Legaspi past seven in the morning. We were en route to Donsol around 7:30 am. Two hours later, we were awoken by cymbals and lyres. It was the town’s fiesta. We took a trike ride and signed up for the Butanding encounter.

The whole boat costs php3,500.  So there we were, out in the sea waiting for the butandings to come out. We saw a few boats already. We decided to separate and search other butandings on our own. A few minutes later, we saw something. The mouth of the fish was coming towards us. Suddenly, it was crossing between my legs! Oh god, no time to swim back or avoid the huge fish. I was just there motionless, dumbstruck upon seeing the creature. What a feeling it was to see the butanding crossing underneath you.

You can imagine what my face looks like when we encountered the gentle giant. Six times! I definitely recommend that you get yourself in Donsol and do the whale shark encounter.

Happy faces after seeing the butandings

It was too early to go back to Legaspi so we took a sidetrip and went to Donsol’s grotto. Steps. Endless steps.

Because we were not able to catch the last van going back to Legaspi, we have to take the jeep going to Daraga and another jeep ride to Legaspi.  Taking the public transportation became a city tour for us. The jeep’s route took us to Bicol university, some commercial establishments and churches. Basically, where the locals frequented.

Back to Legaspi, Tinay brought us to Embarcadero, the newest place in Legaspi. We went up in their lighthouse and killed time taking pictures, videos and just having fun.

Day 04: Legaspi Tour

It was Tinay’s turn to tour us in her hometown. She took us first to Albay Wildlife Park. Walking around in this park reminded me when I was young. Bike rides. Sweaty shirts. Ice creams. Swings. We could have gotten to other places but it was so much fun spending time in the park so we stayed a bit longer.

Lignon Hill was just a few steps from the park and as it was the best place to view Mt. Mayon. We took a motorcycle ride up the hill.

Mt. Mayon was hiding behind the clouds when we got up there.  We can’t even have a decent photo op with the mountain. We waited, hoping its tip would show up. Nonetheless, this is the best shot I got.

Of course, it was time for the obligatory pasalubong shopping. I think Marga bought almost everything one can think of in a house. From placemats to tissue holders, she bought it.

Natapos na naman ang bakasyon...haayyy..