Sweet Samal trip!

Our second day stay in Davao was really a great deal! We spent our second day in the beautiful island of Samal! We stayed in Blue Jaz with my family due to the time constrain. We stayed there for daytour only.

Receiving Area of Blue Jazz

Look! A pirate boat! This the boat who brought us to BlueJaz in Samal Island.  I got dizzy after i rode on this boat due to the current.

Pirate Boat!

Glad to see my family happy as well, its priceless whenever i see them smiling.  The reason why i went  also to Davao was to visit my brother and his family who moved there two years ago and since then i haven't seen them.  Of course spend time with someone special and tour him around.  My Samal experience was great and memorable indeed!  Thanks for the wonderful memories!!! :)

Those priceless smiles <3

First Davao Experience!

My first Davao experience was a mix of emotions coz i experienced bad service in Tiger airways (Airasia) airline. I supposed to fly to Davao with my family to visit my brother and his family who now live there but unfortunately it didn't happened and  I booked for another flight on the same day which cost me a lot! I flew to Davao with full of disappointment because i expected that it will be a happy travel with my family.

I arrived Davao International Airport around 2pm the weather was cloudy with a bit rain showers.  I was inside the airport and i knew that i was really in Davao because of the smell of their famous Durian fruit.

Davao International Airport

I went outside and looked for my brother and his wife and i saw them immediately.  I was really amazed on what i noticed in Davao.  People there are well disciplined.  Kudos to the government officials of Davao because of their strict policy of Smoke Free City and they maintain a very clean city!

China Town Davao City

I really enjoyed my stay in Davao together with my beau. Your travel in Davao is not complete without experiencing the beautiful and scenic island of Samal!

Glimpse of Borawan Island

Our weekend madness starts here!!

If you are in Coastal Grill (formerly Vista Playa) you can see on the other side the island of  Borawan.

This is the most accessible island coming from Coastral Grill in Brgy. Marao.  Only 10 to 15 minutes travel time and viola! :)

Locals here called this island "Borawan" because it has a mix of a beautiful rock formation like the limestone  in Palawan plus the crystal clear water and white sand of Boracay that's why its called BORAWAN! :)

Photo credit to Kris Eusebio

We paid P80.00 for entrance fee here in Borawan but we didn't rent a cottage because we stayed here for only an hour.  After here we head to Dampalitan Island and it takes 15 to 20 mins. travel time before you reach the island.

**Remember if you are planning to stay overnight bear in mind that there is no electricity here but there is mobile signal.  So don't forget to bring extra battery for your phone and Flash light that you're going to use at night.**

Dampalitan From Dusk till Dawn

Our last stop! Dampalitan Island, after dipping our body in the island of Borawan we headed here and stayed overnight.

Photo credit to Krisoffer Eusebio :)

Since we don't have a tent we asked our boatman mang Orong if we could rent a cottage in Dampalitan then
he was the one who looked for our cottage were we stayed.  The first cottage that the caretaker offered to us was P800.00 good for 6 to 10 persons.  Then we also looked the other which is smaller than the first cottage that we checked.  We decided to get the smaller one since were only five and its worth P600.00.

Photo credit to Kristoffer Eusebio
Early morning Chitchat!
This is where we spent our night in Dampalitan Island

Dampalitan at Dusk

Photo credit to Kris Eusebio

Happy us! =)

The Dawn! 
Welcoming the Sun to rise at Dampalitan Island

We decided to leave the island early to arrive early in Manila as well so we have time to rest because we have to go to work the following day.

At 9:00 am we fetched by our boatman and left the island with full of smiles on our faces, another unexpected journey and memorable experience and at the same time thankful for having a good weather in Quezon Province while heavy rains poured around different parts of Metro Manila.

We look forward for another adventure in the future..Till then....... :)

thanks also to our new found friends thanks for the great weekend madness :) 

Weekend Madness.......

Three days before the PAGASA announced that summer is officially started me and my colleagues planned to go to somewhere in Quezon Province and aside from that we only have 2 weeks left before our Saturday work start on April.   Since we've been to some places in north we choose Quezon province in the South Luzon for a change.

From Manila an estimated more than 3 hours before you reach the town of Padre Burgos, Quezon.

From the entrance of Padre Burgos it takes another more than 30 minutes before you reach the Brgy. Marao.

We stopped at Coastal Gill (formerly Vista Playa)  in Padre Burgos before heading our way to Borawan and Dampalitan Island.  Since it we came around 1pm in coastal grill and haven't eaten our lunch we decided to take our lunch here. 

Coastal Grill formerly Vista Playa

Before you go island hopping you also have to pay for the environmental fee worth P20.00. Then

We visited two islands. Our first stop was Borawan Island, and followed by Dampalitan Island.

Kuya Orong "bangkero"

Meet our very accommodating boatman Kuya "Orong" he's our contact in Brgy. Marao when we went there. He's the one who brought us in the two islands. You can contact him @ +639206274107.  You can also ask him to cook food for you but you have to pay him extra for his cooking service :)

Oh Wow! Bolinao!

When we went in Bolinao for a day trip one of the place we visited was the Cape Bolinao Lighthouse, this was located in Abac, Patar and one of the famous lighthouse in the town of Bolinao, Pangasinan, this is approximately 18 kilometers away from the town proper and a 30 to 45 minutes travel from the town.  This is the second tallest lighthouse in the Philippines after the Cape Bojeador which is located in Ilocos Norte.  351 feet tall above sea level but the lighthouse itself  is 101 feet high.  The place was awesome, the scenic view of the lighthouse overlooks the South China Sea, and aside from that you will also see the other resort like Treasures of Bolinao.  After took some pictures in the lighthouse we went down and started to scout for a new resort and we end up staying in one of the high end resort in Bolinao.

photo credit to day grace :)

We stayed in Puerto Del Sol resort  which is located at Brgy. Ilog Malino, a 12.5 kilometers away from the town proper and almost 30 minutes travel time from the town. This is the best place to chill and relax when you want to go outside the metro, this place was really cozy, the facilities and the amenities are very nice, and they have a very approachable service staff.  This is one of the exclusive resorts in the heart of a vivid Pangasinan, you’ll be amazed by the golden white sand and a crystal clear water of the South China sea plus the breakwater and a knee high deep of the sea which is perfect for kids and for those people who don’t know how to swim.  Aside from that the resort has also a Children’s and adult pool good for those people who don’t want to stay in the beach.  Since they didn’t allow their client/guess to bring food inside they have their own dining area and these are La Playa, Al Fresco and Café del sol. You may visit their website for other info at puerto del sol.

Lastly we didn’t forget to visit the St. James church which is located in the Bolinao town proper a few meter away from Five star bus station and Victory Liner this is one of the oldest churches in Bolinao, and you’ll see also that there are some parts of the church renovated coz I noticed that most part of it has cracked and the cross at the top of it has bend toward the left side maybe because the structure was too old and other past calamities.

Before we ride a bus back to manila we ate our early dinner in one of the restaurant in the town located in front of the Victory Bus station, all of us ordered their Boneless bangus for only 50 pesos/meal and additional 50 if you want an unlimited rice. The restaurant was nice and cozy their staff was very approachable and their boneless bangus taste good..:)

This were the place we visited during our stay in Bolinao, visit Bolinao to witness the real beauty of the town they also have a very nice and approachable people and there were lots of caves to explore..

Enjoy your trip!!:)

Kidnapped! Trip to Lingayen with the Dagupan Artist

The supposedly trip to Zambales became Lingayen trip with the Dagupan Artist.

Two years had been past but still can't forget my first visit in Lingayen Pangasinan, the visit was not in the plan but thanks to our friend Kaye Oyek for inviting me and malou. 

Me and my friends stayed in the house of kaye's friend named Patz he live in Binmaley Pangasinan, the next day we woke up early in the morning to start our Lingayen exploration, Patz cooked breakfast for us, he served their specialty which is Boneless Bangus! *drooling* best bangus ever.  After we ate we went to his drawing room and saw his painting inside which is really beautiful. Patz is one of the member of the Dagupan Artist in Pangasinan, aside from him there are two other artist accompanied us, they are Boni and Jojit.

Our first destination Lingayen Capitol! This  is one of the best Capitol in the Philippines, they allowed tourist to get inside  and witness the beauty inside of it, its also open during weekends.

View from the top of Lingayen Capitol, Pangasinan

                                           

outside the capitol few walks and you will see the Veterans Memorial Park

 And of course the entrance free resort  was here in Lingayen! We didn't let the day past without dipping our body in this sea water.  We seen only few people in this area, no cottages along the shore but you can set a tent if you want to.