Higatangan Island

This was the next stop of our Naval trip leg. Higatangan Island is famous for its moving sand bar which stretches up to 200 meters to the sea. 

We stayed at Higatangan Island Beach Resort, where we booked two rooms. One room (I think it's a Family Room) can fit up to 6 persons. Here's a little trivia: they only have electricity from 7pm-10pm. BUT, the powerful and mighty friend of ours, aka Honey Ang, was able to ask the resort staff to extend our electricity beyond 3 hours! 

There were more than 15 of us in this particular trip, yet we booked only two rooms. The others set up tents on the resort's spacious garden. I actually envy them. The last time I slept inside a tent was more than 10 years ago.

Remember my love-hate relationship with ROCKS here? Well, this is the culminating part. We walked for God-knows-how-long-in-kilometers to see some interesting rock formations located on the other side of the island. We left the resort shortly a little after lunch.

The path was mostly deserted save for a very few huts or houses. We passed by this cute little bahay kubo.

Then there's light, este beach, at the end of the tunnel. Lol. I thought the walking would somehow end there. Boy, I was wrong. Good thing I am with my equally camwhore friends that we snapped pictures along the way to make the journey (to nowhere Haha) worthwhile.

This is the point where my feet raised the white flag. What we initially came out for was behind this huge rock formation. Sadly, I could no longer go on. But our camera did. Haha.

There's a little cove behind the rock formation. It's very secluded and private-- a good place to have some serious life reflections. Haha.

Since we were undoubtedly tired from our little adventure, we skipped the swimming part and just had some good conversation with friends until wee hours. We woke up the next morning to this beautiful sight.

We can't leave the island without having a good swim. We headed out to the sand bar and took a dip before packing our things. Again, I am not a beach person. But I'm not a fool either to let this experience slip my hand. 

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you Honey and to your lovely family for welcoming us and giving us a trip to remember. Now the question is, WHERE TO next year? Do I hear Palawan?

Baguio (according to my galaxy)

Baguio from SM's point of view

Sunset deck

Boat ride

Burnham Park

Real farmville at La Trinidad

Freshly-picked berries

Tam-awan Village

Al fresco lunch with the Mr.

The Mansion

Wright Park

Horse-back riding

My mickey mouse @50's diner

A dose of sunlight

Ginger lemon tea with a sprinkle of cinnamon

Dec. 10-12, 2011

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Navigating Naval (October 2011)

Where are we off to?

After 48 years of friendship, finally, Honey brought all of us to her hometown-- Naval.

Naval is the capital municipality of Biliran. And Biliran is located north of Leyte.

First order of the day upon reaching Honey's place...

Individual photo op with Honey's OML!
One of the best tasting liempo I've tried. And I'm saying this not because Honey's my friend.

I noticed a few establishments in Naval with this poster. Talk about save-mother-earth movement.

There are two words I can think of from our Naval adventure--

FOOD and ROCKS.

Honey's dad is a food enthusiast and a certified coffee-lover. He finds joy in experimenting a new recipe.
Hunger obviously has no room in their place.
Despite our short stay, I think I gained a few pounds from all the eating. Haha.

Naval's master chef!

Was this the Farmer's sandwich? Don't be deceived. It's really ginormous in actual. 

Binging on Selecta ice cream!

Enough with the food. Now to the rocks. Haha.

Andrei on emo mode. lol.

First stop of our adventure: Mainit Falls.
We had the place all to ourselves. Behind those huge boulders is a tiny natural pool-- actually,
it was more like a whirlpool because we were up against strong currents.
The climb was a bit slippery but very manageable.

While a few were already enjoying the natural pool, my husband and I opted to 'document' this scenic spot.

We then proceeded to the nearby hot spring called---{drumroll please}---Mainit hot spring.
How fitting, isn't it?

It was my first time to experience a hot spring. Most of the springs I've been to are cold springs.
How's my first time?

Well, we had some unexpected guests (and I'm not referring to the paranormal kind)

A herd of carabaos (water buffalo) which camouflaged with the rocks
I wouldn't have realized that those were carabaos, had they not moved
their heads. I was about to dip my feet in the water. Haha. 

The water was not only hot, but literally boiling hot that we can even see the smoke emitted.

This was the start of my love-hate relationship with the rocks.

My first (challenging) encounter with the rocks came about when the eager beaver in me accidentally stepped into a puddle of hot spring water. There was no definite delineation (yes, delineation jud) between the cold water and the hot water. I had one foot in cold water, and the other unfortunate foot stepped into the hot water. Ergo, to save me from going though the same dilemma, I had to climb (or cling) on to these rocks just so I can avoid any puddle of water.

En route to our next stop, we passed by these beautiful sceneries.

Next stop: Tinago Falls.

Why Tinago? Because you can't see the entirety of its beauty unless you climb massive blocks of rocks.
My (challenging) encounter with rocks Part Two.

One brave (& crazy) soul. Kids please do not follow.

My dearest MALA

Finally, we have the falls to ourselves!

Obviously, enjoying the ride.

Incidentally, our trip to Naval had two birthday celebrants on board: Andrei (Oct. 29) and Jerome (Oct. 30). Notice their improvised birthday candles? Hehe.

Next post: Higatangan Island.

Breathtaking Boracay Part II (October 2011)

The are PLENTY of activities you can do in Boracay. Your choices are boundless. Parasailing, Zorb, APV, Scuba diving, Flyfish, Banana boat to name a few. If you are tight with the budget, you can get yourself a henna tattoo and for the ladies, have your hair braided. Of course, watching Boracay sunset is priceless and it'll bring out your romantic side as well.

Here's a summary of the activities we did in Boracay:

1. ISLAND HOPPING.

Our trip was on a tight budget but lady luck was on our side (Read more on that HERE). And she did it AGAIN! We got to join the other Toastmasters for island-hopping for FREE (since some of those who availed of the early bird promo sadly have to fly back to Cebu right away).

Banca-racing with fellow TMs. I think 3 bancas were hired, all for Toastmasters.

(1) Passed by blue sails. (2) Rock formations in the island. (3) A private & exclusive cove. (4) Stop-over at Puka Beach.

We obviously didn't mind the scorching heat of the sun.

It was here in Puka Beach that I mimicked Anne Curtis' opening scene in  the movie "No Other Woman". But for the protection of my legal profession, I'd rather not post the pictures. Haha. I'll leave you with this instead.

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2. NIGHT-LIFE.

Believe me when I say that the island is filled with interesting people/things. When you are in Boracay, staying in your hotel/resort room at night is a big no-no. You'll be missing a lot, swear.

See what I mean? Lol.

3. FOOD TRIP.

Food stalls and restos sprout like mushrooms in Boracay. You'll go crazy on which restos to try out. From fine dining, to fastfood, to street food. Name it, they got it.

Pizza. Seafoods.

Two scoops of Gelato for Php 100 only!

Potato skins & The Ultimate Belly @ I love  Backyard BBQ (D'Mall).

4. SHOPPING.

Boracay is accessories heaven! I went loca with the very affordable accessories. I bought a statement necklace at Php 200+, more or less of the same kind with the one I bought in Cebu at Php 400+!! Hhmm... Feather earrings are being sold at less than Php 100. Chunky bangles also less than Php 100. Wooven floppy hats less than Php 200. Fedora hats less than Php 400.

5. HELMET-DIVING.

How much? Only Php 400-500 for locals but for foreigners, they charged as high as Php 3,500! Talk about overpricing!!!

Where to avail? You don't need to look far because there are persistent-close-to-annoying "agents" who offer you a wide array of activities to do in practically every nook and corner of Boracay. You won't miss them, believe me. Be careful though and inquire if they are licensed by the operator or not. Then you make haggle to the max on the price. They can go really low especially if you are booking by group.

6. CHASING SUNSETS.

Never miss the Boracay sunset. It's a sight to behold.

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7. SWIM.

I have to admit, I am not a beach person for the sole reason that I don't want to get tan lines. But how can I say no to this?

8. NONSTOP CAM-WHORING.

Need I say more? Haha.

Needless to say, I FELL IN LOVE with Boracay. I certainly won't mind going back there, if time and money permits.