Birthday Bash in Boracay

[Aug.24-26, 2014]

Boracay Trip

August is the birthday month for both my parents. This year is my dad's graduation to the splendid world of being 60! As a treat, my sister thought it would be great to take them on a trip to Boracay. The best part of it was that I get to tag along. Woohooo!

We traveled during the monsoon season but Boracay was still packed with local and foreign tourists. It's indeed summer all year round in this captivating paradise. To get the birthday party started, we first made "the walk" from station 1-2-3. I mean, hey! it's a 'must' for first-timers. 

 The weather was very forgiving and it even gave us the coolest sea breeze to enjoy the afternoon stroll.

My folks did not complain but enjoyed every single minute of it.

To reward their tired feet and hungry tummies, we got ourselves some fresh fruit shakes from the best in the island: Jonah's Fruit Shakes. Oh how we loved it here! My avocado shake was perfect! 

After our scrumptious snacks, we headed to Willy's Rock and waited for our turn to climb up..

the grotto. Good thing it was low tide and we were able to manage our way through the rock without much difficulty what with our full tummies.

 My folks were also facinated by the hotel designs and did not miss a photo op.

 Here's the Mandarin tree.

We also found the 'ambassador' of Paradise resort.

And of course..who wouldn't want to take this photo of the famous sandcastles in Boracay. Apart from 'the walk' one's visit to this magical getaway would not be complete without the watersports and other adventures. So my parents also tried helmet diving:

 We're hopping on  a speedboat to get to the drop off.

 The Bulabog side of the island is a beauty as well.

 Oh and there they are! The almost 30kgs-weighing helmets.

 Very attentive during briefing. Good job!

Looks real fun down there! This is a must try for everybody heading out to Boracay. And just a tip, it's a tad cheaper here. I'm so happy they enjoyed this one so much! A memorable experience to share with the grand kids and friends their age. Next adventure:

 The climb to Mt. Luho

Tougher & steeper than it looks. We had at least two breaks before reaching..

the view deck--breathtaking!

 I believe that is the Shangrila 

This one's the other side of the island, somewhere near Puka beach I think. So amazingly gorgeous! We stayed here for several  minutes and simply appreciated the incredible view. The last adventure I asked my parents to try was Paraw Sailing. But that deserves a separate post. Read it here.

We didn't get to have pictures while we were swimming because we didn't have the waterproof cam but nonetheless, my parents loved swimming so much. They kept saying it's very different here--in a very beautiful way.  During the late afternoons of our 3-day stay, we always make it a priory to get the lounge chairs at the beachfront so we can have the best seats to witness the best sunset in the world. 

 Right about this time, all of a sudden the crowd thickens and the shores become more alive as everyone awaits for the sun's farewell. At the same time, restaurants also bring out their long tables for their dinner buffet and cocktails.

How this moment makes you feel is indescribable. There's nothing quite like it. 

The real party is just warming up.

 All smiles after our super delish seafood buffet dinner. 

 The rest was a blur of excitement and lasting experience of Boracay's night life.

You can always find one of the best nights of your life here. Promise.

We then had our good night's sleep at our lovely home away from home:

La Carmela De Boracay!

Ilocos Norte: Takes You Wonder By Wonder

[April 11-15, 2014]

Vigan-Laoag-Pagudpud Trip

Pagudpud is the last leg of our Ilocos trip. It's about 500 kms from Manila and it's a good 12 hours drive.

We woke up early and headed to this terminal. The bus has not arrived yet so my friend and I discussed how in the world we are going to make it in a Pagudpud. Minutes later, while we were patiently waiting for the bus to arrive, one of the 'manongs' hanging out by the terminal, talked to us. He asked us where we were going and because he looked harmless, we chatted with him. It was a great decision because we learned a lot of things from him. He even made sure that we were seated behind the driver so he can tell us if it's time to alight. He even contacted his friend in Pagudpud to fetch us at the drop-off so he can be the one who can tour us. Thank goodness for these people!

After an hour or two: Hello Pagudpud! We have arrived!

Here are the contact details of our tour guide in case you want to hire him too.

First stop was our accommodation, he brought us to a great place near Saud beach.

It was a big room good for 4 persons with 2 beds, own bathroom and air-conditioning system. 
We couldn't ask for more! We immediately settled in and grabbed a quick breakfast. 

With no other minute to waste, we headed straight to our first destination: Kabigan Falls

What a picturesque view! We had to stop during out trek and get a photo of this.

It was quite a long walk but we didn't mind because....

we were rewarded with this cascading waterfalls and a cool dip that soothed our bodies from the heat.
It was so refreshing and was indeed a perfect starting point for this exciting tour!

Next stop: Patapat Viaduct

This is a highway constructed on the mountain side of the coastal town of Pagudpud.

 Believed to have been built by Marcos, this stretches for several kilometers and offers a spectacular view of Pasaleng Bay.

We stopped here for several minutes and looked beyond the horizon.  Quite perfect for 'muni-muni'. 

We just can't help it. It was so beautiful.

Our guide can't help it either. He had his moment too!
Then we realized it was way too hot already. So made our way to:
Agua Grande/ Paraiso ni Anton

The water flowing from the mountains is believed to be miraculous. That's why perhaps they have a grotto beside it. Several tourists come here and bring a souvenir of the water. 

We left immediately after a few snaps to get to:

Bantay Abot Cave

Turns out it's not really a cave but a hole in the wall of an enormous rock.

If you look closely, you can see the water-markers at the side of the rock which indicates that water reached this level, perhaps several years ago. It is not an easy path going here. 

But once you get to the top, you get to appreciate the amazing view of the Blue Lagoon (Boracay of the North some say). We'll get to that later. In the meantime, the next wonder we visited was:
Dos Hermanos Islands

'Dos' means two and 'Hermanos' means brother. Legend has it that there were once two brothers who promised to stay together no matter what. When they were left by their parents at an early age, they worked hard side by side as fishermen. However, when a violent storm hit their hometown, the two brothers got lost while fishing and were never to be found again. Years later, the townspeople discovered two islets emerged from the sea that looked the same. They claimed that these were the two brothers that once disappeared. After hearing this very interesting story, our guide took us to:

Blue Lagoon/ Maira-ira Beach

Before actually reaching the beach, we stopped by a nearby shop and got ourselves some icecream. It was quite a surprise because we were able to view the stunning beach from afar.

And when we got there, we were greeting by the long stretch of white powdery sand. It was so majestic and the water was glistening in the heat of the mid-noon sun.

We would've loved to take a dip but it was just too hot and we had several other places to go to. Bye for now blue lagoon! We'll surely come back for you!

It took us several minutes to reach our next destination: 

Cape Bojeador also know us Burgos Lighthouse.

Established during the Spanish colonial period, this lighthouse is now a cultural heritage of Ilocos. Like most lighthouses, it situated on top of a hill and you have to climb several steep steps to get there.

We were not allowed to climb the lighthouse itself because of how fragile it is at this time. There are also some ongoing restorations that resulted in some parts of the structure being closed. However, we were able to go around the quarters of the pavilion that provided information on how the whole structure was built and used before. We didn't spend much time here because we were excited to head to:
Kapurpurawan Rock Formation

When I was still preparing our itinerary for Ilocos, I already read about this place and how majestic it looks in person. Kapurpurawan from the Ilocano word 'puraw' means white.

To get there, we had to walk a good 15 minutes under the heat of the sun. Others took the option of riding a horse to enjoy the scenery in style. Amazing!

They say these unique limestone formations were a product of strong wind and waves from the West Philippine Sea. During the monsoon season when typhoons are prevalent, it could get really rough out here. Waves could get really tall and could easily wash away any nearby structures.

Overtime, the effects of such natural calamity turned out to be masterpieces.

We chose to stay here a little longer because we enjoyed the serenity of the waves hitting the rocks and the cool breeze. This was a perfect place to spend our afternoon. We chatted away several minutes until it was finally time to leave for the highlight (at least for me) of the tour:
Bangui Windmills

This wind farm was established in 2005 but was conceptualized way earlier. Through the years, several turbines have been erected to generate and supply electricity in this part of the country. I've always dreamed of coming here. Everytime I saw any feature of these windmills on tv, it makes me want to go there more.

Now that we finally had a chance, my friend and I were ecstatic and we wanted to make sure we had enough photo memories. Thanks to our guide (refer to shadow) who patiently took photos of us and the windmills. Visiting this place is another tick off our bucketlists. Thank you God for your wonders!

On the day that we'll be going back to Manila, i decided to wake up early and spent some quiet time walking along the shores of Saud Beach. With heartfelt gratitude, we bid goodbye to Ilocos.