Tres Marias aka Calabanig aka Poro in Libmanan, Camarines Sur

Travel! Ahhhhhhhh! There was a long weekend a few weeks ago and every time there’s a long weekend, I always make sure to grab the opportunity to travel somewhere. So where was my destination last undas? Well, sa malapit na lugar lang naman. For the past months, most of my travels are within Bicol Region only. Madalas nga sa CamSur na lang ako naglalakwatsa.  Right now, I don’t have the luxury of time to go to places outside of the Bicol Region, kasi medjo madami dami din ang aking mga pinagkakaablahan sa buhay, mga bagay na pwedeng pagkakitaan.hehehe!

The view of the 3 islands

Anyway, so one fine morning a few weeks ago, me and my friends travelled to Libmanan to explore the 3 islands located in Ragay Gulf. The place in Libmanan that we’ve visited have several names. The locals called it as Tres Marias, Calabanig and Poro. They call it as Tres Marias because of the three islands located there. They also called it as Poro because it is at the northeastern tip of Camarines Sur province and it is one of the most far-plunged places in Libmanan town. I’ve been wanting to visit the place but due to time constraints and weather and financial constraints na din, hindi ko agad sya mapuntahan.

the river flowing to the sea

Last month, me and one of my friends attempted to visit the place but since there was a typhoon in the northern part of the Philippines, the sea was kinda rough so we weren’t able to proceed to the island. However, last long weekend after undas, since there was a beautiful weather, we were then able to visit the islands. It was a Saturday morning and our day started out so early. Medjo malayo kasi ang bahay ko sa place so I woke up early in the morning, which is at around 5am. Nagmeet kami ng friend ko sa van terminal sa Iriga City and then we boarded a van bound for Naga City. We arrived at Naga City at around 7:30am and then we waited for my 2 other friends who would join us in the adventure. My 2 other friends arrived at around 8am and then we proceeded to the jeepney terminal near the LCC Mall in Barangay Sabang, Naga City. We boarded a jeepney bound for Sipocot. We arrived at Sipocot town at 10am and then we decided to take an early lunch kasi wala kaming dalang mga lutuan. Ang dala dala ko lang ay dalawang tent for our accommodation. Kung pwede nga lang na kumain na din kami ng dinner and breakfast ay gagawin na namin para isahan na lang ang pagkain.hahaha!

ang bangka

Anyway, after we had our lunch, we then bought some bread para maging breakfast namin kinabukasan. After buying bread, we proceeded to the jeepney terminal bound for Barangay Caima. When we arrived at the terminal, the jeepney only had just about 5 passengers and it would take an hour bago mapuno ang jeep kasi konti ang pasahero during weekend. So we decided to look for a habal habal or motorcycle na pwede namin marent going to Caima. We were able to negotiate for 350 pesos for 2 motorcycles and that’s for one way trip only. The usual rate is 100 per person and since we were four, and the motorcycle can only accommodate up to two persons, we then hired two motorcycle. Nakadiscount din ng 50 pesos at okay na din yun na natipid namin na 50 pesos kasi pwede na din yun pambili ng alak at yelo.hahaha!

So we rode the motorcycle and travelled to Caima. It was a one hour ride. Some portions of the road are paved and some are not, and some are, well, you won’t even consider it as roads but you’d rather call it as a trail. May part nga na wala talagang road at sa palayan kami dumaan. Sobra kasing sira sira yung daan especially those part na nasa malapit na ng Caima. After we arrived at Caima, we looked for a boat and just our luck, wala kaming mahanap na marerentahan na bangka. There were boats docked at the small port but the captains or boat operators are nowhere to be found. According to the locals, karamihan daw kasi ng mga may-ari ng bangka ay nagaani sa palayan nuong araw na yun. And the locals also told us that the boat owners will come back later in the afternoon. At dahil wala naman kaming magagawa dahil walang bangka, we just decided to wait until someone or any boat operators returns from the rice harvest. Kaya ayun, we waited and waited and waited and waited. At para naman hindi kami mabored while waiting, we bought a few ice, a brandy and a soft drinks at naginuman na lang kami sa may malapit na tindahan. Nagmukha nga kaming mga tambay sa kanto na tanghaling tapat ay nagiinuman lang malapit sa waiting shed. Some locals were even amused when they saw us drinking and they were somewhat curious kung sino kami. Some asked us a few questions and nakipagkwentuhan din.

One weird thing about the Barangay Caima is that the people in the barangay speaks tagalog. Even though they are still in Camarines Sur province, most of the people there came from Quezon province and Batangas and that’s the reason they really don’t speak the Bikol language. As far as I know, it is the only barangay in Camarines Sur where the people speaks tagalog instead of Bikol language. By the way, the barangay is just a mere 3 hours boat ride going to the nearby Bondoc Peninsula of the Quezon Province.

the first island

So going back to my story tungkol sa inuman at sa paghihintay namin ng mga boat operator na bumalik galing sa pagaani ng palay, we waited for at least 3 hours before someone arrived and decided to let us rent his boat for an island hopping trip. We rented the boat for a price of 1,350 pesos and it was kinda expensive but we have no other choice. There are no other boats that we could rent. So ayun na, we then boarded the boat and the boat slowly snaked through the river going out to the sea. We travelled for about 45 minutes before we reached the first island. Actually, magkakalapit lang naman ang tatlong isla. On the first island, there were 3 cast away cats who greeted us. Iniwan ata sila ng amo nila. Kawawa nga sila and I don’t know kung paano sila nakakasurvive sa isla. Maybe they know how to catch fish and birds and other animals, but they looked domesticated pa naman.hehehe! We just strolled in the island for a few minutes and then after that we then proceeded to the third island. Yung second island is a rocky island or it’s rather a rock formation lang na sumulpot sa dagat so we didn’t bother na lumapit pa sa isla. From the first island, mga 5 minutes lang ang distance going to the second island and just about 10 minutes going to the third island.

three castaway cats welcoming us in the first island

One of the three island-dwelling cats

The two large islands doesn’t have a fine white sand beaches but what they have is a coral beach. Mga nawashed out na mga dead corals and meron din pala na few pockets of light brown coarse sand. The two islands were big islands but there are no resorts, a community, a caretaker or a source of fresh water. The islands don’t even have its own name. They just call the three islands as Calabanig or Tres Marias. We stayed at the third island because it has a much longer stretch of coral beach. We weren’t able to enjoy the underwater sceneries or kahit nga lumangoy ng malayo-layo because there were a lot of sea urchins. Ayaw namin umuwi ng mainland na may mga nakatusok sa paa.hahaha! So after we pitched our tents, we decided to swim for a few minutes. Dun lang kami nagswim sa mababaw na walang sea urchin at wala din ngang mga corals. The coral reef is a bit farther from the beach. Kailangan mo munang daanan ang makapal at kumpol kumpol na sea urchin bago ka makapunta sa coral garden. Its too bad we weren’t able to enjoy the magnificent underwater world. Nakita lang namin ang coral garden when we were in the boat.

the second island

the second and the third island

the third island. it is an unnamed island

So after namin magswim, kumain na din kami ng dinner and then nagkwentuhan and we also waited for the moon rise. Ang ganda ng moon rise kasi maganda din ang panahon. We enjoyed the stars and the moon and madami dami din ang nakita kong mga shooting stars kaso I wasn’t able to make even a single wish. Badtrip! Nagugulat at naeexcite kasi ako kapag nakikita ko ang shooting stars kaya ayun, by the time na magwiwish na ko wala na ang shooting stars.hahaha! I slept at around 3am dahil sa sobrang pagstar watching ko at pakikipagkwentuhan sa friend ko.

The next day, I woke up at past 7am already. Hindi na nga ako naligo sa dagat during the morning. Kumain na lang ako ng tinapay for breakfast. By the way, since there were no source of fresh water in the island, hindi na rin kami nakapagbanlaw after namin magswim nuong gabi. Actually natuyo na lang ang damit ko dahil sa hangin. Nakaipon ako ng asin sa balat.hahaha!

third island. an unnamed island

third island. an unnamed island

After we had our breakfast, iniligpit na din namin ang mga tent and then we rode the boat going to Barangay Tagbak, Ragay town. We weren’t able to go back to Caima because it was low tide and the boat could not maneuver and docked at the small port in that barangay. The trip from Tres Marias to Tagbak is 45 minutes. Actually, we should have rented a boat in Tagbak instead of Caima kaso hindi ko pa alam nuon yung Tagbak that’s why sa Caima kami pumunta. According to some locals, there are 3 ways to go to Tres Marias. One is via Barangay Bahao, Libmanan which is about 2.5 hours jeepney ride from Naga City but it is just a 15 minutes boat ride to Tres Marias from Bahao. The other option is via Barangay Caima, which is 2 hours ride from Naga City plus 45 minutes boat ride to Tres Marias. The other option is via Barangay Tagbak of Ragay town, which is 2 hours ride from Naga City and then another 45 minutes boat ride from Tagbak Port to Tres Marias. I think the route via Tagbak is much better since there are a lot of boats there which you could rent for an island hopping trip to Tres Marias.

Anyway, after a 45 minutes boat ride, we arrived at Tagbak port and then boarded a tricycle going to the Quirino Highway. It was a 30 minutes ride and we paid the driver 100 pesos for the trip. And then at the Quirino Highway, we then rode a bus bound for Legazpi City and after 1.5 hours, we arrived at Naga City. Me and my friends then transferred to another bus bound for Iriga City and after an hour and a half ride, we finally arrived at Iriga City.

third island. an unnamed island

So far medjo nakakapagod din yung trip na yun at madami din mga kapalpakan. But isn’t it more fun and exciting kung may mga unexpected things na nangyayari sa pagtravel, right? Para sa akin mas enjoy yung travel na you’re enjoying the journey to your destination and at the same time you also enjoyed staying at the destination. Enjoy yung travel na sa pagpunta palang sa destination nyo ay nagienjoy ka na tapos pagdating mo sa pupuntahan nyong lugar ay magienjoy ka pa. And the best thing about that travel was that the friends na kasama ko sa travel na yun ay mga klase ng tao na mga masayahin at marunong harapin ang mga hamon sa pagtravel, mga taong marunong mag-adapt sa ibat ibang situation. Sila din ang klase ng mga taong masayang kakwentuhan at travel companion. So hanggang sa muli. I think this blog entry is kinda long and I’m pretty sure you’re kinda sleepy now after reaching this part of the story. Sooooooooooo, hey!!! Wake up!!! Hahahaha! That’s it pusit!

My own version of sushi roll!

Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of things for the first time. I am now calling the year 2012 as a year for a lot of first time. This is the year where I baked bread for the first time, baked cookies for the first time, cooked a carbonara for the first time, created some experimental dish, cooked a lechon paksiw for the time and a lot of other things. Most of these first times are connected to cooking, baking, or in short, lahat sila connected sa pagkain, katakawan lang.hahaha! And a few days ago, it was my first time to make a sushi roll. Enjoy pala gumawa ng sushi.hehehe!

the final product

I love eating sushi roll. I love eating different kind of sushi roll. Kakainis nga wala pang Teriyaki Boy dito sa Bicol so that means hindi ko makain yung mga gusto kong sushi roll sa menu nila. So one fine morning during the long holiday, me and my sister decided to create a sushi roll. My sister is kind of my kunwari chef assistant and my guinea pig because she helps me in cooking different kinds of experimental dish. She always ends up being the person who will test or eat the final product ng napagexperimentuhan kong dish kaya sya ang tinatawag kong guinea pig.hahaha! And she is also my harsh, worst and huge food critic or analyst.hahaha! We started our kunwari-cooking show by preparing all the ingredients for our sushi roll. I already purchased several ingredients from SM a few days ago so I have them all stored in the fridge.

the final product

Nagsimula kami sa paghiwa ng mga ingredients. Our sushi roll is a different sushi roll. It’s a different version. It’s an experimental version, as I would call it.hehehe! Our sushi roll is composed of Japanese rice, cucumber, carrots, cheese, crab sticks, nori and spam. It’s an ingredients-overload sushi.hahaha! We cooked about a ¼ kilo of Japanese rice and then after cooking the rice, hinaluan din namin ito ng vinegar na may sugar, salt and pepper. After mixing the rice with the vinegar and other spices, I then started rolling the sushi. I was able to create about 4 rolls using a ¼ kilo of Japanese rice. Medjo madami nga din ang nagawa kong sushi roll. Umabot din ng 32 pieces yung nagawa kong sushi because I divided each roll into 8 pieces. As usual, my sister tested my new product at okay din naman yung result. Medjo naovercooked nga lang yung rice kaya medjo sticky na talaga. So far, maliban sa overcooked rice, okay naman yung itsura ng sushi roll.hehehe!

In a few days, I might create a different sushi rolls. I still have several nori sheets left which I can use for making another version of sushi roll and I also have a wide imagination when it comes to experimenting with foods.hahaha! Kaya malamang madami na naman akong magagawang different version ng sushi roll because of my wide imagination. Anyway, I am encouraging you to also make your own version of sushi roll. It’s fun doing some experimenting when it comes to food and it’s fun when you’re doing something for the first time.

You can also check this website if you want to learn more on how to make a sushi roll. http://makemysushi.com/ Or you can just search in Google or Yahoo.