Karangahan Falls: A not-so-familiar waterfalls in Legazpi City.

There are a lot of beautiful places to visit in Legazpi City, however, there is one waterfalls that is often not included in the list of tourist destination in the city. The waterfalls is called as Karangahan Falls and it is located in Barangay Banquerohan, Legazpi City. It is about 30 to 45 minutes jeepney ride from the city center, plus a 15 minute trek going to the waterfalls. From my estimate, Karangahan Falls is about 25 to 30 feet in  height.

Whenever tourists go to Legazpi City, most of them just visit the famous Ligñon Hill Nature Park or Embarcadero or the famous Cagsawa Ruins in nearby Daraga City. Few tourists know Karangahan Falls, and in fact it is not even included in the tourism website of Legazpi City. Konti lang talaga ang pumupunta ng Karangahan Falls, but for adventure-seekers, maganda din puntahan ang lugar na to lalo na kapag madaming tubig na umaagos sa waterfalls.

Karangahan Falls, Brgy. Banquerohan, Legazpi City

Now, how do you go to Karangahan Falls? Medjo mahirap hanapin ang waterfalls na to, there are no road signs going to that waterfalls and if you’re going to ask the Legazpi City locals, most of them doesn’t even know that this waterfalls exist in their city.

Here’s the direction on how to reach Karangahan Falls:

First, if you’re coming from Manila, ride a bus bound for Legazpi City. It is about a 10 to 12 hours bus ride. If you don’t want to ride a bus, then you can ride a plane bound for Legazpi City. It is about an hour plane ride from Manila to Legazpi City. If you’re travelling by bus, get off at Bañag in Daraga City and ride a jeepney bound for Legazpi City via Daraga City. Dadaan sa city proper ng Daraga City ang jeepney via Rizal Street and then get off at Saint Gregory the Great Cathedral. It is about 10 to 15 minutes travel from Bañag and the fare is 10 pesos. And then from the cathedral, just walk to the jeepney stop near the church. It is just a 5 minutes walk. The jeepney stop is where the jeepneys bound for San Francisco, Manito and Banquerohan waits for more passengers. And then you can either ride the jeepney bound for San Francisco or Banquerohan or Manito because all of them will be passing the same road going to Karangahan Falls.

From the jeepney stop near the St. Gregory the Great Cathedral, it is about 30 to 45 minutes ride to the jump-off point to Karangahan Falls. The jeepney fare is 25 pesos. There are no signages or landmarks going to Karangahan Falls from the main road so you really need to tell the driver or conductor that you’re going to Karangahan Falls. The nearest landmark that you should remember in order for you to know that you’re already near Karangahan Falls is Banquerohan National High School, and then after another 5 minutes jeepney travel, you’ll be passing by Don Bosco Agro-Mechanical School. Kapag nakita mo na ang Don Bosco Agro-Mechanical School, mga 5 minutes travel na lang makikita mo na ang isang rough road sa left side ng main road. From that rough road or jump-off point, maglakad ka na going to Karangahan Falls.

Karangahan Falls, Brgy. Banquerohan, Legazpi City

Now, going there from the main road is a little bit tricky since there is no way you’re going to know that there is a waterfalls there. Wala man lang sign. You really need to ask the locals to guide you. Medjo malapit na din sya from the main road. From the main road, lakarin mo na ang rough road going to Karangahan Falls, after I guess 5 minutes walk, may makikita ka na small trail sa right side mo, follow that trail na dadaan sa isang coconut plantation, and then after that makikita mo na ang Karangahan Falls, but you still need to walk down the hill trail for about 5 minutes to reach Karangahan Falls.

Here’s the direction on how to reach Karangahan Falls if you’ll be travelling via plane from Manila:

From Legazpi Airport, ride a tricycle and tell the driver to bring you to Legazpi Grand Central Terminal. The travel time is 5 to 10 minutes. From Grand Central Terminal, look for the jeepney that is bound for Banquerohan, San Francisco or Manito.  From the Grand Central Terminal, it is about 30 to 45 minutes ride to the jump-off point to Karangahan Falls.

So there, now you know how to reach Karangahan Falls. Medjo mahirap nga lang syang hanapin but if you like the feeling of getting lost or you’re an adventure-seeker, then I think magienjoy kayo sa paghahanap sa waterfalls na to.hehehe! By the way, medjo magkakalayo ang mga bahay papunta sa Karangahan Falls so you need to ask the locals or magtanong kayo sa unang bahay na makikita nyo from the main road. I hope magenjoy din kayo sa paghanap ng waterfalls na ito kagaya ng pagenjoy kong hanapin ang Karangahan Falls.hehehe! Have an adventure-filled vacation in Legazpi City! Byes!

Mayon ATV Adventure and Matnog trip: My 2012 Year-ender.

It has been more than two months since my last post. Grabe, ang tagal ko na palang nawala at mukhang tinubuan na ng mga lumot ang blog ko.hahaha! Anyway, I’ve been doing a lot of things for the last few months and kunwari busy busyhan din ako so I wasn’t able to post anything here, and also I’ve encountered a few depressing moments sa buhay ko kaya ayun, tinamad magkwento at magsulat ng kung ano ano.hehehe!

So how are you guys? How’s the weather there? Is there anything else I can help you with? Pang call center na mga tanong lang.hahaha! So heto na nga, magkukwento na ko ng adventure ko. I want to share this adventure story in Mayon and Matnog.

 

the river trail

Last December, me and my friends did a very awesome adventure (opo, ganyan na katagal na nangyari ang adventure na ‘to, December pa. hahaha!) Our adventure was an ATV adventure at Mayon’s lava trail in Legazpi City. A friend of mine invited me to try this ATV ride and then I also invited some of my friends in Manila. We met at Legazpi Grand Central Terminal. Me, our tour guide and one of my friend was at the terminal as early as 8am, and we waited for 3 of our friends to arrive and we ended up waiting for them for almost 3 hours. Our initial plan was to start our ATV ride early in the morning so that we will not be very much exposed to the heat of the sun, however, due to the late arrivals of some of my friends that were coming from Manila, we ended up starting our ATV ride at around 11am. Luckily, it was somewhat a cloudy day kaya hindi naman kami masyadong nasunog sa araw at nagmukhang roasted beef.hahaha!

After my 3 friends arrived from Manila, we ate our brunch at an eatery in Grand Central Terminal. After our brunch, we then proceeded to the ATV ride drop off point, which is also where the ATV tour operator site is located. The rate for the ATV ride is 1,500 pesos per person which is good for almost 3 hour ride. It also includes the transfer from the Legazpi Grand Central Terminal to the drop off point or the ATV site. The tour operator can also pick you up at any location within Legazpi City and  then bring you to the ATV site.

you'll end up wet, muddy and sandy and happy

At the ATV briefing area, our guides informed us about the basics of ATV ride. They also informed us about the rules and what to expect in the adventure. After we paid the fee of 1,500 pesos per head, we then waited for a few minutes and then we finally rode the ATV. The Mayon's ATV adventure is different compared to the ATV ride in other location in the Philippines. The ATV ride in Mayon is actually somewhat a little bit extreme or let me say really off-road-ish. The trail is a river trail and a lava trail so most of the time you’ll end up wet, muddy and dusty.  You’ll cross a river, some large stones, a dusty road, a bumpy trail, a mud pool, a sandy trail, a coconut grove, a pine tree-lined trail, a community, et cetera. There are a lot of different sceneries that you’ll pass by while doing the ATV ride. It is really an adventure. It is an adrenaline ride. The ride ends up at the 2006 lava wall, and you can hike the rocky wall and you’ll be rewarded with the magnificent view of Mayon Volcano, downtown Legazpi and the Albay Gulf. Unluckily, we weren’t able to view the magnificent beauty of Mayon since it was a cloudy day and Mayon was hiding behind the clouds. There is also a zipline at the lava wall so if you don’t want to walk again back to the end point of the ATV trail, you can just ride the zipline, and of course there’s a fee for that zipline, I think it was 300 pesos for the zipline ride.

time out muna. nakakapagod magdrive

We just spend around 1 hour at the lava wall because it was already late in the afternoon and we were already hungry after riding the ATV for almost 2 hours. We then decided to go back to the drop off point and we then rode the ATV for another one hour. We use a different trail to go back to the drop off point and it was a short trail and part of the trail was already a paved road. Pagdating namin sa drop off point, nagbihis na kami at nagpahatid na kami sa tour operator papunta sa First Colonial Grill in Daraga City para makakain na kami at matry ng ibang kaibigan ko ang sili ice cream. At Colonial Grill, we ordered our meal and several flavour of ice creams but the sili ice cream wasn’t available at that time because the waiter informed us na tunaw pa daw yung ice cream. Masyado kaming mapilit kaya kahit tunaw pa yung ice cream sinabi namin na magoorder pa rin kami kahit one scoop lang in order for us to taste the sili ice cream but it was a bad move, hindi pala masarap ang sili ice cream kapag tunaw dahil masyado mong malalasahan ang anghang ng sili. Ayun, hindi nga namin naubos yung one scoop kahit 5 pa kaming tumikim.hehehe!

lava wall

view of Legazpi City and the Albay Gulf

After having our early dinner at First Colonial Grill, we then hurriedly travelled to Grand Central Teminal in Legazpi to catch a bus going to Sorsogon City. We were going to spend the night at Rizal Beach located in Gubat, Sorsogon, which is about 3 hours travel by bus from Legazpi City. We arrived at around 8pm at Sorsogon City and we rode a jeepney bound for Gubat town. From Gubat town proper, we then rented a tricycle to bring us to Rizal Beach Resort. We were so tired from the long travel and from the ATV ride that we just decided to drink a few bottles of beer and then off we went to sleep.

Bailey's ice cream, malunggay, tinutong na bigas and lemon flavor

On the second day of our adventure, we were greeted by a cloudy sky and I was somewhat saddened by the sight of the Rizal Beach. Sobrang iba na ang itsura ng Rizal Beach compared to ten years ago. Kinain na ng dagat ang beach. Wala na yung dating ganda ng Rizal Beach. So hindi na kami nagtagal sa resort kaya we just decided na pumunta na lang sa ibang lugar. We were discussing amongst ourselves on where to go next. We really don’t have a fixed itinerary and that’s why we have a flexible schedule. We can go to any place that we want to go. Pinagpipilian namin ang magwaterfalls hopping, cold spring hopping and going to a beach. And after a careful and thorough reviews and some intellectual debate (parang mga judges lang sa contest.hahaha!) we then decided na pumunta na lang sa Subic Beach na located sa Calintaan Island.

subic beach at Calintaan Island, Matnog

After checking out from the hotel, we then rode a jeepney bound for Sorsogon City and then from Sorsogon City, we then rode a jeepney bound for Matnog. It took us about 1.5 hours before we reach the town of Matnog. After eating our lunch, we then searched for a boat that we could rent going to Calintaan Island. However, the rate was too expensive kaya ang ginawa namin, we just look for a tricycle going to Barangay Poropandan, which is the nearest barangay to Calintaan Island. We rented a tricycle for 150 pesos for a one way trip and the travel time from the town proper to Barangay Poropandan was 30 minutes. From Poropandan, the Calintaan Island is just a 15 minutes boat trip. We rented a boat for 350 pesos for a round trip boat ride. We just stayed in Subic beach at Calintaan Island for 2 hours and after exhausting ourselves from swimming, we then decided to call it a day. Bumalik na kami sa Poropandan and while in the boat, my friend texted the tricycle driver to wait for us at Poropandan. From Poropandan, we then travelled back to Matnog town proper and then we rode a bus to Daraga City. From Daraga City, we rode another bus bound for Naga City. Our travel adventure ended there. Nakauwi na kami sa kanya kanyang bahay at magsisimula na naman na magipon para sa sunod na gala.hehehe!

All in all, it was really an awesome adventure, especially the ATV adventure at Mayon’s lava trail in Legazpi City. Even though it was expensive (I consider 1,500 ATV rental fee as expensive lalo na kuripot ako.hehe!) the ATV ride was really worth it. Sobrang worth it kahit mahal kasi nagenjoy talaga kami. Gusto ko nga ulit ulitin ang pag ATV ride sa Legazpi kung sakaling may manlilibre saken.hehehe! Eh ang kaso, wala naman ata gustong manlibre. But anyway, you guys should try visiting Legazpi City and try the Mayon’s ATV adventure, and then after the ATV ride, visit the pink sand beach of Subic located at Calintaan Island in Matnog town, Sorsogon Province. Masasabi ko na in the Bicol Region, you will never run out of adventure. By the way, here’s the link to the ATV operator in Legazpi City.. http://mayonatvtour.com/  Sya nga pala, hindi po nila ako binayaran para ipromote sila. Kusang loob po ang pagpromote ko sa kanila dahil okay naman ang service nila. Yun lang po. Hehehe! That’s it pansit! Byes!

Guinobatan, Albay. The side trip.

Well, my trip to Guinobatan was just a side trip. This was actually not part of my travel itinerary because the main destination for the long weekend trip was Jovellar town in Albay. However, since going to Jovellar, one needs to travel to Guinobatan and from there you ride a jeepney to Jovellar, nagsidetrip na din ako sa Guinobatan. Actually, noong nakaraang long weekend, ang plano namin ng mga kaibigan ko is to go to Jovellar, and then Castilla and then Sorsogon City. Pero nagchange of plan kami when I learned that the last trip of the jeepney from Jovellar to Guinobatan is at 3pm. At dahil 10am na and I’m still waiting for my friend to arrive in Guinobatan from Manila, I just then told her na sa Sorsogon na lang muna kami mauunang pupunta but we’ll just meet first in Guinobatan town.

guinobatan public plaza

municipal hall of guinobatan

So while waiting for her to arrive in Guinobatan, nagikot ikot muna ako sa downtown. I took some pictures of their town plaza, church, town hall and monuments. Nakakaboring din kasi kung wala akong gagawin habang nagaantay. Guinonabatan is actually a simple town. There are no big business establishments there. Pwede mo nga din maikot ang buong downtown in just an hour.  By the way, a famous delicacy in Guinobatan is the rice puto or rice cake. Madami din rice puto or putong bigas sa ibang lugar but in Guinobatan, their putong bigas has a sweet macapuno filling. Marami ang nagtitinda ng delicacy na ito sa may Maharlika Highway malapit sa welcome arch ng Guinobatan. Anyway, that’s my story about Guinobatan. Side trip lang talaga ang town na to kaya wala naman ako masyadong maikwento.hehehe!

Our Lady of Assumption Church

st. benedict academy

Putong Bigas stall

putong bigas with macapuno filling

Searching for the Naglaus Underground River in Jovellar town, Albay.

When I found out a few months ago that there is an underground river in Albay, I got so curious about it. I searched the Internet for information regarding Naglaus Underground River but I only found a handful of information. So a few weeks ago, I invited my friends if they wanted to go with me to Naglaus but only few replied because they already have plans for the long weekend. Kaya ayun, 3 lang kami ng mga kaibigan ko na pumuntaa sa Naglaus, but 3 is a crowd naman di ba?hehehe!

The previous 2 days, we had an adventure in Sorsogon Province. We visited Paguriran Island in Sorsogon City and Malawmawan Island in Castilla. Gagawa na lang ako ng kwento tungkol sa travel ko sa Sorsogon City and Castilla kasi mas excited ako to write this story about Naglaus.hehehe!

entrance to Naglaus Underground River

So on our last day for our Sorsogon and Albay Province adventure, sa Jovellar ang target namin, specifically sa Naglaus Underground River and yung ibang falls. Ayon sa nakuha kong info sa internet, pwede daw pasukin ng banca ang Naglaus and that made me think na baka kagaya nga sya ng sa Palawan.

After namin na magovernight stay sa Malawmawan Island in Castilla, we then travelled to Daraga City to have our breakfast, and then from Daraga we then travelled to Guinobatan town to look for the jeepneys bound for Jovellar.

The town of Jovellar is less than 20 kilometers from Guinobatan town, so after 30 minutes of travel, narating na din namin ang downtown Jovellar. We asked for information from the locals about the tourist destination in Jovellar and they informed us na magkalayo ang Naglaus sa ibang waterfalls and since it was already past 12 when we arrived at Jovellar, we then decided na sa Naglaus na lang pumunta.

After namin bumaba sa jeep, we crossed a river to go to the habal habal or motorcycle terminal bound for Barangay Del Rosario but only to found out na iisa lang yung motor na nakapark at ayaw nila bumyahe dahil maputik daw yung daan at di kakayanin ng motor. They discouraged us not to proceed with our plans because it would take us several hours if we're going to walk to Naglaus, which they said, it is about 8 to 10 kilometers of walk. Sabi nila masyado daw maulan nung gabi bago kami dumating  kaya sobrang maputik ang daan. However, dahil andun na lang din kami, we just then decided to proceed with our plan and go to Naglaus.

We then started walking and true enough, sobrang maputik nga yung daan that we ended up walking barefoot at bitbit ang mga tsinelas namin dahil masyadong madulas at bumabaon sa putik ang aming mga tsinelas. There were some paved roads but most of the roads are unpaved and muddy and some are grassy. You won't even think na may kalsada pala kasi mukha syang palayan or napabayaang lupa lang na puno ng putik at damo. There were also some concrete pathways which are about a meter wide, and I think it is the main road being used by motorcycles since the “actual road” is muddy and non-existent. Sobrang napabayaan nga talaga ng gobyerno ang lugar na yun.

We started walking at around 1 pm and after 2 hours, we reached the forked road going to Naglaus. The road going to the left is the one that we took. That is the road going to Barangay San Isidro and Barangay Del Rosario. The road to the right is for Barangay San Roque and if you go further along that road, you'll be able to reach Donsol, Sorsogon.

From that forked road, we walked for another 45 minutes and then we finally arrived at Barangay San Isidro. We rested for a few minutes and then we walked again for another 15 to 20 minutes before we finally arrived at Barangay Del Rosario. We asked for directions from the barangay and they told us to just continue following the concrete pathways in order for us to reach Naglaus. So we just continued walking until the paved road ended again and we just found ourselves trekking on a dense bush and vegetation. May nakasalubong kaming lalaki na kakatapos lang maglaba and we asked him for direction. Sabi nya ifollow na lang daw namin yung trail at mararating na namin ang Naglaus.

So after walking for almost 20 to 30 minutes from Barangay Del Rosario community area, we finally reached Naglaus. Sobrang layo pala ng lugar. We were exhausted but excited but also disappointed kasi nung dumating kami sa entrance ng Naglaus, wala naman palang banca or guide na pwede na magguide sa amin sa loob. At hindi ko rin mahanap ang flashlight ko kaya we ended up na nagphoto shoot na lang sa harap ng cave. Malaki ang entrance ng cave and I think kasya nga ang mga bangka na katulad ng mga bangka na ginagamit sa Palawan Underground River.

Etrance to Naglaus Underground River

We stayed there for about 15 minutes and then we decided na umuwi na because it was getting late na din and for sure aabutan na kami ng gabi sa paglalakad pauwi. We arrived at Naglaus at around past 4 in the afternoon so that means we walked for more than 3 hours from downtown Jovellar to Naglaus.

Naglakad na kami pabalik  but we dropped by again sa Barangay Del Rosario. We asked some locals if they know someone who owns a motorcycle that we could rent. Pero wala daw at wala daw makakabyahe kasi nga putikan. We were hoping na okay na ang daan kasi uminit na din nung hapon na yun.

After walking back to Barangay San Isidro, we again asked the locals there if they knew someone who owns a motorcycle and luckily, may nagmagandang loob na ihanap kami ng motor. And luckily again, may mga dumating ng motor. Nakakadaan na daw kasi yung mga motor from downtown Jovellar kasi medjo tumigas na daw yung yung putik doon sa mga maputik na daan. We were so happy because it would mean na hindi na kami maglalakad for another 3 hours.

Nagpasalamat kami sa naghanap ng masasakyan namin and then off we go to downtown Jovellar. May mga times na we need to get off sa motorcycle kasi may mga part pa din na maputik but okay lang kasi mas mabilis na yung travel namin pabalik. It only took us 30 minutes of travel from Barangay San Isidro. We paid 75 pesos for each motorcycle kasi 2 motorcycle ang nirentahan namin and 75 pesos naman talaga yung usual fare kaya nagdagdag na din ng tip yung isa kong friend.

Jovellar Public Market

It was already past 5 when we arrived at downtown Jovellar. Pumunta muna kami sa simbahan at nagikot ikot na din ng konti sa Jovellar at nakita na din namin yung park nila at dun na din kami naghanap ng tricycle na marerent namin going back to Guinobatan town. The last trip of jeepneys going back to Guinobatan is 2 pm or sometimes 3 pm kaya ang magrent ng sasakyan na lang ang option namin. We found a tricycle driver who agreed for 220 pesos para ihatid kami sa Guinobatan town. After 30 minutes of travel nakarating na din kami sa Guinobatan and from Guinobatan we rode a jeepney to Ligao City. It was already 7pm when we arrived at Ligao and we decided to go to Ligao City because we have a good chance of catching a bus bound for Manila compared kung sa Guinobatan kami magaabang. Nakasakay agad kami ng bus and me and one of my friend got off at Nabua town and my other friend got off at Naga City. So that's my story about our Jovellar experience. Sobrang nakakapagod but exciting din.

Jovellar Church

Here's a guide on how to go to Naglaus Underground River:

If you're coming from Manila, ride a plane bound for Legazpi City (1hour travel) and from Legazpi City Airport ride a tricycle to central terminal (10minutes travel) and then ride a jeepney bound for Guinobatan town.(30minutes travel)

From Guinobatan, ride a jeepney to Jovellar.(30 minutes travel) The jeepney terminal is located near the Guinobatan public market. From downtown Jovellar, near the public market, cross the river to reach the habal habal or motorcycle terminal bound for Barangay Del Rosario.(5 to 10 minutes’ walk) From there, ride a motorcycle and tell the driver that you're going to Naglaus Underground River so that he will drop you off near the trail going to Naglaus.(30 minutes travel)

If you're coming from Manila, you can also ride a bus to Guinobatan. The travel time is 9 to 12 hours.

You can also ride a plane to Naga Airport, and then from Naga Airport, ride a pedicab going to the highway and then ride a bus bound for Guinobatan.You can also ride a train from Manila to Ligao City. From Ligao City, ride a jeepney or a bus bound for Guinobatan.

My Top 10 Philippine Roman Catholic Churches

I am a great admirer of different beautiful architecture, and the Philippine churches are one of the few architecture that I admire. Whenever I go to different municipalities and cities around the country, I find ways to visit its town church and make some photo shoot. Aside from the different tourist destination on a certain municipality or city, I also visit its city/town hall, park and its town church.

So here are my top 10 favorites:

1. Calbayog Cathedral, Calbayog City, Samar Province
2. Holy Cross Church, Nabua, Camarines Sur
3. Naga City Metropolitan Cathedral. Naga City, Camarines Sur
4. St. John the Baptist Parish Church, Tabaco City, Albay
5. Taal Cathedral de San Sebastian, Taal, Batangas
6. Basilica Minore. Naga City, Camarines Sur
7. Caleruega Church, Nasugbu, Batangas
8. Paoay Church, Paoay, Ilocos Norte
9. St. Williams Cathedral, Laoag, Ilocos Norte
10. Vigan Cathedral, Vigan City, Ilocos Sur

Calbayog Cathedral, Calbayog City, Samar Province

Holy Cross Church, Nabua, Camarines Sur

Naga City Metropolitan Cathedral. Naga City, Camarines Sur

St. John the Baptist Parish Church, Tabaco City, Albay

Taal Cathedral de San Sebastian, Taal, Batangas

Basilica Minore. Naga City, Camarines Sur

Caleruega Church, Nasugbu, Batangas

Paoay Church, Paoay, Ilocos Norte

St. Williams Cathedral, Laoag, Ilocos Norte

Vigan Cathedral, Vigan City, Ilocos Sur

Claveria, Masbate. The beautiful town in Burias Island.

The province of Masbate is one of the least known tourist destination in Bicol. Usually, the name Bicol is synonymous to Camarines Sur, Albay and Sorsogon. To many people, Masbate is just a cattle land or a cattle-producing province. They also feared Masbate because of the news regarding the political killings and other crimes that happens in Masbate.  But this province has a lot to offer when it comes to tourism at sana mapalitan ang mga negative views ng province into something positive. One of the least known tourist destination in Masbate province is in the town of Claveria, located at Burias Island. The Burias Island is one of the big islands that comprise the Masbate province. The other island is Ticao Island. Burias Island is composed of two towns. This island is just an hour boat ride from Pio Duran Port.

The semi-white sand beach of Brgy San Isidro, Claveria, Burias island, Masbate

A few weeks ago, me and my friends were planning for a getaway and our original plan was to go to Caramoan, Camarines Sur. But a few days before the day that we were supposed to go to Caramoan, a lot of my friends backed out from the said travel and since it would be expensive to go to Caramoan and island hop, some of us just then decided to travel to other destination that is much cheaper for a small group. Me, my cousin and one of my friend decided that we will just go to Claveria, Burias Island. I’ve been to Caramoan twice already and I’ve never been to Claveria in Burias Island, so going to Claveria makes me feel more excited since this would be my first time and also for my friend and my cousin, this would also be their first time to travel to Burias. I had also been to Masbate province but only at the main island.

So our plan was to spend in Burias for 2 days and 1 night. My cousin and I travelled from our house to Ligao City. That was about an hour bus travel. At Ligao City, we waited for my friend who was coming from Tabaco City, which is also about an hour jeepney ride to Ligao City. We met at around 7 in the morning and then from Ligao City, we rode a jeepney bound for Pio Duran. The town of Pio Duran is the nearest jumpoff point to Burias Island. The jeepney ride from Ligao City to Pio Duran is 1 hour and the fare is 55 pesos per person. Punuan ang jeep going to Pio Duran and my cousin insisted na sa bubong ng jeep na lang kami sumakay. So since it was her request at game naman ako at ng kaibigan ko sa idea nya, sa bubong ng jeep na lang kami umupo. She said she wants to enjoy the view, kya kahit alam kong masusunog kami sa sikat ng araw, game pa din ako kasi mas enjoy nga naman talaga sumakay sa bubong ng jeep, maliban na lang kung sa jeep na Cubao-Quiapo na route ang sasakyan mo, hindi masaya ang nasa bubong, lalo na bawal yan sa Metro Manila.hehehe!

Anyway, we arrived at Pio Duran at around 9am and we weren’t able to make it to the last boat trip going to Claveria. There are daily trips going to Claveria. Two boats leave Pio Duran at around 7:30am and 8 am. There are also other boats that goes to the other barangays of Claveria but these boats doesn’t have a fixed schedule. They will leave Pio Duran only if there are a good number of passengers. These boats are bound for Barangay Buyo, Sampinitan and Taguilid, all in the town of Claveria.

The Pio Duran port for Burias-bound boats

Since it was already 9 in the morning and the last boat bound for Claveria already left, we have no choice but to take our chances sa ibang bangka papunta ng ibang barangay. When we arrive in Pio Duran, there was another boat bound for Buyo but the boat crew said that they can’t guarantee what time they will be leaving. They said that their original schedule is to leave in the afternoon but if there are a good number of passengers, they will leave earlier. While chitchatting with the boat crew, they asked me where in Claveria are we heading and I replied that we are heading to Barangay San Isidro. The crew said that it was good that we didn’t took the boat that is bound for Claveria port since it is way too far from San Isidro, they said it is about more than 2 hours of motorcycle ride. They said that we are in the right boat since their boat is bound for Barangay Buyo, which is just a 30 minutes to an hour motorcycle ride to Barangay San Isidro. Nagtanong pa ako ng ibang information tungkol sa Claveria and Burias and they gave me a lot of information. And they offered their motorcycle in Buyo at sila na lang din daw maghahatid sa amin papuntang San Isidro.

Well, since it was a weekend, there are only few passengers arriving at the port. The pump boat can accommodate at least 40 to 50 passengers and we were only 10 in the boat. We waited for almost 3 hours and we thought that the boat will actually leave at their original schedule. By around 12 noon, after the crew ate their lunch, they informed us that we will now leave for Claveria town but we will not go straight to Buyo but we will also be dropping by at Claveria port. Our travel time from Pio Duran to Buyo took about 4hours since there was a lot of stopover at some other barangay in Claveria. The usual travel time from Pio Duran to Buyo is only about an hour. The fare from Pio Duran to Buyo is 120 pesos. For Pio Duran to Claveria port, the fare is 100 pesos.

Claveria Port, Masbate Province

There is no port in Buyo. The boat will just docked at the beach and during low tide you’ll have to wade on knee-deep water. From Buyo, we rented 3 motorcycle para ihatid kami sa San Isidro Beach. The road to San Isidro to Buyo are not 100% paved. I think only a few portions are cemented. Most are potholed roads, some are not even considered as road but rather as a trail. Sobrang rough road talaga na hindi kakayanin kung 3 kayo sa isang motor. Dapat isang pasahero lang. May part pa ng kalsada na kailangan mo bumaba kasi baka matumba ang motor sa sobrang tarik ng daan. After 30 minutes, we arrived at Barangay San Isidro beach, and there is only one resort in San Isidro. The resort has no name and the caretaker informed us that it is a resthouse owned by a French guy. When we arrived at the resort, there were 4 French who were having a vacation. Sabi nga nung caretaker hindi daw kami pwede dun since andun yung anak ng resort owner pero nakiusap na lang kami na magtetent lang naman kami. Buti na lang pumayag yung caretaker and he also informed us that the 4 French will also be leaving on Sunday and if we want pwede na kami sumabay sa bangka. Our plan was to spend just 2 days in Burias but when our boatmen from Buyo informed us that there is only one trip going back to Pio Duran from Buyo, which is at 6 am only, nagdecide kami na Monday morning na lang bumalik ng Pio Duran pero nung sinabi ng caretaker ng resort sa San Isidro na pwede kami sumabay sa bangka ng mga French guests nya, we then informed the driver of the motorcycle na sabihan na lang yung boatmen na huwag na kami antayin sa Buyo kasi hindi na kami sasakay sa Buyo. We paid the motorcycle driver 175 pesos for the one-way trip.

crab at the beach

San Isidro beach, Claveria, Masbate Province

semi-white sand beach of San Isidro Beach, Claveria

Our lighting effect

Sobrang mabait din yung caretaker, they even offered us na magstay sa isang room nila but we insisted na magtetent na lang kami at gagamit ng isang open cottage na malayo sa mga French guests nya. At dahil wala din kaming lutuan, the caretaker gave us sinangag for our dinner. Hindi na kami nagluto kasi may mga ulam din kaming dala. The beach in San Isidro is cream sand, not really a white sand but on a sunny day, it appears as a white sand. Maganda ang beach nila. Masyadong mababaw but marami din mga sea urchin sa ibang part ng beach. It reminds me of Dumaluan beach in Panglao, Bohol na sobrang madami din ang sea urchin. Naligo at naligo kami sa dagat but we didn’t bother na magnight swimming kasi baka makaapak pa kami ng sea urchin. On a Sunday morning, lumangoy at lumangoy pa din kami. The caretaker informed us that they will be leaving at around 1pm and we should be ready by that time. The boat will docked at Pilar port instead of Pio Duran but it really doesn’t matter since we can also travel from Pilar to Daraga, Albay and then from Daraga we can then ride another bus to Nabua town.  And besides, it is only about an hour jeepney ride from Pilar to Daraga City. At around 2pm we then left San Isidro and started our boat ride to Pilar. It is a much longer route but it gave us the opportunity to view the other part of Burias coastline. The travel time was around 2.5 hours and we just gave the boatmen 700 pesos as a fare para sa aming tatlo.

Claveria, Masbate

Our route

Our route. 

We arrived at Pilar port at around past 4pm and we boarded the jeepney bound for Daraga. The travel time is 1 hour and the fare is 50 pesos. My cousin and I were supposed to drop by at Guinobatan to buy a rice puto with macapuno fillings but since it was already dark when we arrived at Daraga, we just then rode another bus bound for Manila, but we just got off at the town of Nabua and then rode a multicab bound for Iriga City. Our adventure in Burias was awesome. We were all first-timer. It was our first time to go to that island and to Claveria town. The island of Burias has a lot to offer. The Claveria town has a long coastline of cream sand beach na pwedeng ipagmalaki at maging tourist destination. But in order for that to happen, kailangan muna na ayusin ang kalsada kasi napakadelikado ng kalsada papunta ng San Isidro. It is much safer to ride a boat to San Isidro than riding a motorcycle but it would also mean na mas mahabang byahe ang kailangan kasi iikot pa ang bangka sa isla. If you’re a traveller looking for an exciting and adventurous travel, then I would recommend that you visit the town of Claveria or San Pascual in Burias Island, Masbate Province. Oh, byahe na!

Albay Province. The Quest for Sili Ice Cream

My cousin and I have been doing some travelling for the past few days. My cousin just went home from the US and she missed a lot of things here in the Philippines, from foods, the beaches, friends, et cetera. She wanted to eat a lot of Pinoy foods, yung mga foods na madalas nyang kainin dito sa Pilipinas and she wants to visit those places na madalas nyang puntuhan nung nasa Pilipinas pa sya nakatira. So one lazy morning, we decided to hit the road at nagjoyride papuntang Albay. One of our plans for the day is to try the Sili Ice Cream at 1^st Colonial Grill in Daraga and to swim at Busay Falls.

So off we go to Albay. We are using our uncle’s old car and we are hoping that it can go for a long distance drive. We are crossing our fingers. Mahirap kasi magtulak ng sasakyan.heheh! We left our house at around 10 in the morning and we did a running tour or should I call it a moving tour of some of the towns that we were passing by. Our first stop was in Guinobatan. This town is famous for putong bigas with macapuno fillings. Masarap sya and we bought several puto and ate it. We plan to buy several more but we decided that we will buy later na lang na paguwi namin para medyo mainit pa at bagong luto.

Guinobatan's specialty, the putong bigas with macapuno

the rice puto with macapuno fillings

After eating several puto, we then continued our trip. Our next stop was Camalig. We visited the old church of Camalig and took some pictures, nagpictorial muna kami ng konti lang, mga adik kasi kami sa pagpapapicture.hehehe! So after doing some photoshoot, we then hit the road again. Palitan kami ng pinsan ko sa pagdrive ng kotse kya hindi naman masyado nakakapagod sa pagdadrive.

St. John the Baptist Church, Camalig, Albay

Our next stop is in the town of Daraga. We visited the Cagsawa ruins and of course, we also have our photoshoot. Malas namin natabunan ng ulap ang Mt. Mayon so we weren’t able to admire its beauty and we don’t have a shot with the Mt. Mayon and the Cagsawa Ruins as a backdrop. After doing some photoshoot, my cousin did some shopping for souvenirs. I think she spent around more than an hour just doing some shopping for shirts and other items. At ng nasatisfy na ang pinsan ko sa pagbili ng mga souvenirs, we then left the place and proceeded to 1^st Colonial Grill in Daraga to have a taste of the Sili Ice Cream and also to take our lunch. Upon arrival at the restaurant, we immediately ordered the Sili Ice Cream but according to the waiter, tunaw pa daw ang Sili Ice Cream nila and not yet available. We travelled for several kilometers for that ice cream tapos wala palang available. So we just ordered the Malunggay Ice Cream and the Tinutong na Bigas Ice Cream (roasted rice flavoured ice cream) and informed the waiter that we will be drop by later in the evening to check kung matigas na yung Sili Ice Cream at pwede ng maiserve.

Cagsawa Ruins, Daraga, Albay

1st Colonial Grill, Daraga City Branch, Rizal St. 

We ordered our lunch, and since we were craving for the dessert and not for the main meal, we just ordered simple lunch, and after eating our main meal, we informed the waiter to serve the ice cream. They brought the Tinutong na Bigas Ice Cream and the Malunggay Ice Cream at siempre, before eating those ice cream, nagkaroon ulit kami ng pictorial, at ang bida sa pictorial na yun ay ang ice cream. Inabot din siguro ng 10 minutes yung pictorial namin, buti na lang hindi pa naman natunaw agad yung ice cream at hindi pa naman naging soup.hahaha! The Malunggay Ice Cream tasted like an avocado ice cream and I think it was something leafy in taste. I really don’t like the taste of it. The Tinutong na Bigas ice cream tasted better. It tasted like a coffee or a coffee mocha ice cream. It has a tinutong na bigas toppings but I would suggest na huwag nyo ng kainin yung toppings kasi mapait yun.

Grilled Liempo and Tinapa Rice

the colonial ice cream

Tinutong na Bigas Ice Cream

After na masatisfy na ang curiosity naming sa mga kakaibang flavour, we then left the restaurant and travelled to Malilipot town of Albay. This town is famous for the multi-tiered waterfalls called the Busay Falls. Malilipot town is about 20 to 30 minutes travel from Daraga City, that is via a private car. But if you will be using the public transport, it could take you about 45 minutes to an hour travel.

We arrived at Busay Falls at around 5 in the afternoon, and since it was already late in the afternoon, we then agreed that we will just spend an hour swimming in the waterfalls. It was my second time to be at Busay Falls and I’ve been to several of its other falls too. Gusto ko sana ipagmalaki sa pinsan ko kung gaano kadami ang falls sa Busay pero kulang na ang oras namin para mapuntahan pa ang ibang mga falls kya sa main waterfalls na lang kami nagenjoy sa paglangoy. We enjoyed the cool water of Busay and even though we still want to stay much longer at that place, kailangan na din namin magbyahe na papunta ng Legazpi City. So by around 6pm, we then left Busay Falls and went to Legazpi City.

Busay Falls, Malilipot, Albay

I have been to Legazpi City for several times but I’ve never been to one of its new attraction, which is the Embarcadero. Actually hindi na nga sya new attraction kasi medjo matagal na din sya nageexist. Mga more than a year na din ata but I’ve never been there so icoconsider ko na lang sya as new.hehehe! So we arrived at Embarcadero a few minutes before 7pm. Nawala kasi kami because I don’t know the street going to that place. Nagtanong tanong na lang kami para makarating sa Embarcadero.

When we arrived at Embarcadero, we toured the area, naglakad lakad at siempre, nagpictorial ulet. Buti na lang digital na ang mga camera dahil kung kailangan pa ng film ng camera namin, malamang ilang roll ng film na ang naubos namin.hehehe! After we toured the mall, we then travelled back again to 1^st Colonial Grill to check if the Sili Ice Cream is now available. Binalikan talaga namin yung restaurant kasi yun naman talaga ang gusto namin na matry. Buti na lang sa pagbalik namin medjo matigas na ng konti yung ice cream so we were able to ordered one. We also ordered a meal for our dinner and since our main reason for going back to that restaurant is the Sili ice cream, konti lang yung kinain namin for dinner. After namin makain yung main meal, pinaserve na namin yung sili ice cream plus we also ordered the pili nut ice cream. At dahil first time namin kakain ng kakaibang food, hindi mawawala ang picture taking. We again spent about several minutes taking pictures of the ice cream and of course kasama na din ang mga mukha namin sa pagpicture taking. When we tasted the sili ice cream, my cousin was somewhat disappointed because she was expecting that the ice cream has that kind of taste where you will have the chili effect in your throat. Hindi namin nalasahan ang anghang ng sili, or maybe because we were Bicolanos and Bicolanas at sanay na ang mga dila namin sa anghang kaya parang walang wala lang yung sili flavour. But the sili ice cream still has that sili effect but just a so very much slight anghang effect.  Anyway, it still fulfilled our curiosity and we were still a happy traveller. Mas maisusuggest ko pa din na tikman nyo na lang yung tinutong na bigas ice cream because it tasted much better.

Sili Ice Cream of 1st Colonial Grill

And because it’s getting late in the evening already, we then decided to start driving back home because it would be difficult if masiraan ang kotse na gamit namin. We weren’t able to buy the putong bigas in Guinobatan on our way back because the putong bigas stalls are already closed when we passed by the Guinobatan town. We arrived at our house at around past 11 in the evening. It was such an awesome travel. Both I and my cousin had so much fun doing the joy ride and dropping by on the same restaurant twice on a single day just to taste the Sili Ice cream. We did a lot for a day. Ang layo ng natravel namin. But we didn’t spend that much kasi minimal lang naman yung gastos namin sa mga lugar na pinuntahan namin. I hope you would also travel sa probinsya nyo or sa ibang katabing probinsya para naman madiscover nyo ang mga ganda at mga kakaibang bagay sa lugar nyo. Happy travelling! Woooot!