When I set out to do this solo Cebu trip, my aim was to actually experience Cebu as a adventure-seeking, water-loving tourist. Did I achieve that goal? For the most part, yeah, which is why despite my unfortunate Kalanggaman experience, I did feel wistful when the trip had to come to an end. Thanks for sticking around for this last of the series.
Continue reading Cebu, Part 7: Mission accomplished (sort of)
So… I don’t really know how to begin this post other than to say sorry about the loooong wait between installments. As 2019 is finally upon us, I’m going to do something different. I’m not going to promise anything to avoid disappointing you. Instead, I’m just going to try harder to be more prompt with my posts. I hope that hasn’t turned you off yet. If it hasn’t, let’s get on with the next part of my little Cebu escapade.
Continue reading Cebu, Part 6: Troubled waters to Kalanggaman Island
Three times. Three times I’ve been to Cebu. You know how many of those trips were spent at the beach? One, and for just a couple of hours. This is why I wanted to go back, to rectify this mistake, especially since Cebu’s beaches are pretty famous. For a person who enjoys swishing her toes in white sand and cool salt water, this little time spent along a shore—any shore—is unacceptable, so this time around, I was dead-set on beaching the shit out of this trip.
I woke up about 5:30 that morning oddly enough with the feeling of relief that I get to go home today. I say ‘odd’ because I normally feel wistful when my vacations come to an end. Then again, more than a couple of things about this outing did not exactly work out for me, so that’s probably why I was looking forward to leaving.
Continue reading Caramoan, Day 3: Just another mad, mad day on the road
I woke up at 5AM to get myself ready for the day’s adventure (we weren’t due to be picked up until 7, but I hate feeling rushed). Good thing my headache from yesterday had finally eased; it got so bad, I was seriously considering the night before to skip today’s tour. Fingers crossed, today would be better than the less-than-stellar activities of yesterday.
(So it seems I’ve fallen into my old habit of not updating my blog again. I know at this point you won’t be buying whatever excuse I make so I’m just going to get right to it.)
Caramoan has never really been in my list of must-visit places, to be perfectly honest. To me, Caramoan is what fries are are to an ice cream place: you don’t really go there for it because the place is known for better options, but it’s nice to know you have it around in case you ever want it. But this French fry gained popularity when Survivor filmed a season there, and I have to admit, it’s what piqued my interest in the first place. I’m a sucker for nice beaches, so this seemed like a good place for my last hurrah for the summer.
It’s been four months since I took my trip to La Union with a friend, and I haven’t felt up to writing about it until now, so I hope you won’t mind a little bit of prattling. I’ll try to keep the chatter to a minimum, especially since the photos are a lot more interesting.
I’ve actually been to La Union years ago (with my sister and her friends), but we did nothing but eat and get beat up by the waves as we foolishly tried to swim at the beach. This isn’t my first time surfing too; I went to Siargao a few years ago where I got my first taste of it. I wiped out more times than I got to stand, but, as any surfer will tell you, it’s pretty addicting. So when the opportunity came to pay the province a visit again, I took it. This time, I went with fellow Motley Crew-er Dani (for reference, consult our group’s Alkan and Palawan trips), who has also been raring to go back to La Union for some surfing.
I recently went to Aurora with a friend and I decided, instead of falling in line at the bus station for tickets on the day of our departure, to book tickets online for two reasons: I wanted to make sure we’d actually leave at the time we wanted (past experiences have proven this can be tricky when leaving for the weekend to go to a popular destination), and I wanted to see what’s got people raving about JoyBus.
A couple of weeks ago, a friend and I went to the Aurora province, and I mentioned in my post about the vacation (click here if you haven’t read my blow-by-blow of the experience) that I stayed at AMCO Beach Resort and that I’d tell you about it in a different post. Well, that time has come, so I hope I get the word out soon enough about the place to those who are considering going to Baler and staying at this hotel.
Continue reading Why AMCO-ing somewhere else next time (hotel review)
After yesterday’s island-hopping tour, Day Two in Pangasinan was spent hopping across Bolinao to a few of the city’s main attractions. I set my alarm for 5:30 for the obligatory sunrise photo, and went back to Vista De Las Islas Hotel at 7 for a complimentary breakfast of Alaminos longganisa (which I found tasty enough, but made me long for Lucban longganisa even more). By 8AM, the other tour joiners and I were at the lobby to check out (so we could head straight back to Manila after the day’s tour), and Paul the tour van driver came to whisk us away to our first stop: the Cape Bolinao lighthouse.
Eat. Play. Log. 