Calaguas 2013

Yes! I came back. After two years, and its still the captivating place I came to know the first time I set foot on this island. The much awaited "huling hirit sa tag-init" finally came last May 25. And when we finally arrived at the island, all the long land trip-bored-are we there yet moments just went away, literally.

Calaguas is one of the remote islands with the most pristine beach that the Bicol Region has to offer. It's located in Camarines Norte. No phone and mobile signal. So you really feel disconnected to the rest of civilization it you can say that. I have been to several places in the region, being half Bicolana myself and just because I love travelling in the region as I always believe that there's so much to see. But this island, has its own charm that makes you fall in love with it, all over again. :)

                         

The long land and sea travel going to Calaguas is all worth it. That's what we're telling our friends prior to booking this trip with Byahe Adventours. Princess, my officemate who's also a Calaguas addict (she's been going there for 2 consecutive years already, with different set of friends everytime), was the one who arranged our trip with the organizer. Thanks Cess! :) She need not insist on the activities and inclusions that this trip organizer has, I was sold when I saw her past photos. Plus, I really wanted to go back. With us is my long time friend from gradeschool, now turned travel buddy, Jean. My teammates Ghelai and Fin, then Princess' friends, Jhoms and Ace.

So you ask, what to do in Calaguas? Chill. Drink. Swim. Get a tan. Be merry and make new friends. Yes, network and make new friends. At this beach, you do whatever you want and meet whoever you want too. Talk to everyone if you wish. That's Calaguas for you, that is why I think a lot of people love to come back here.

Usual suspects on all my beach trips -- booze, tanning lotion, sunblock lotion, after sun lotion and junk food. Swimming, drinking, sunbathing and taking photos right after lunch until sundown was the main order of the day. So it's not really surprising how tan I am now. :p

New friends! Mountaineer and adventure seekers! Group Marco! hehe Thanks for the red wine guys!

We literally started drinking after lunch. Cess and Fin bought 2 bottles of Captain Morgan, me and Jean bought a bottle of Jack Daniels. After a bottle of Captain Morgan and a lot of swimming, napping and underwater shots, we decided to get henna tattooed.

And there we met other people from other companies, shared some booze and got acquainted. Others went on to try poi dancing. I like talking to people. It just not expands my network, it also gives me different perspectives on a lot of things, be it with work or not, plus giving me a chance to polish my interpersonal skills.

 

Photos above: underwater kulitan/selfie shots

Joining group tours like this, I discovered is a good way to meet new friends. The beach is the perfect way  for conversations, I also realized. It's unassuming and easy. People are very loose and outgoing. Conversations has so much energy. I love that vibe.

After swimming, drinking and tanning the whole day, Byahe Adventours prepared a very good meal for dinner. Plus, Star, and Aaron, the facilitators showcased their fire dancing skills to the group.

After dinner, we swam some more, drank some more under the moonlight. I haven't done night swimming since Boracay last year. I forgot how different the water feels at night. It's refreshing.. Plus, with the full moon above us.. Hmm you get the picture.

 

It was an early lights out for me, Jean and Cess. I guess we were pretty much hammered and tired from all the travelling, booze, wine, food and swimming we did. Ghelai and the others went on exploring the other activites for the night. I really don't like sleeping in tents. It's hot. Haha, but, who am I to complain. That's just one of the things to experience with this trip, plus atleast going back to the basics of the basic bathroom. :)

Early to rise the next day! Before sunrise. So that we can maximize the remaining time we have in the island. Took some photos of sunrise.. Then I decided to go for a run. It was so much fun to run on the beach. That was my first time. Barefoot, fine sand, cool breeze and water, a slight overcast. Perfect! It was a perfect run. So perfect that I ripped the side of my boardshorts. :p

Our stay was extended! Because of the low tide situation, we were forced to stay until 2pm. Which means, more time for swimming and lounging. And finally we will get to open the bottle of Jack, after breakfast, at 9 in the morning. Haha! That was a first! But enjoyable. :) We shared the drink with our new friends as well. Who thought we were crazy drinking very early in the morning. But what to do? Haha!

Well, I can go on and on and on about all the things we did in Calaguas and how much fun we all had and how much we want to go back immediately after leaving, but I think I will stop now. This has been a very long post already.

Let me just say, just like any other things that gives me most comfort in this world, the beach gives me the rest, healing and good perspective that I need at some low points in my life. As one quote I saw somewhere, "Salt water heals anything". That's true, well atleast for me. Calaguas is one of those places that is very familiar yet still excites the hell out of me. Haha! Just thinking about it, makes me so giddy. 

And, I am now more excited to have more memories at this beach. :) I will definitely come back again and again. 

Photo credits to Cess, Jhoms, and Ace. Thanks to Byahe Adventours for this organized trip. Till next time!

Camotes Island, Cebu Trip - March 2013

Another beach trip was crossed out in my list of "To Go" this year. Cebu, always felt like a second home to me. I don't know why. I have been in Cebu several times but always for work, not for leaisure. But even then, it still feels like home to me. Having said that, I must say, it feels good to be back home. :)

This trip was all about catching up and girl bonding. Who would've thought that Teng and I would be spending the long weekend with a friend and former colleague from Accenture? I didn't. :)

Our flight with Cebu Pac going to Cebu was delayed for an hour, but with Candy Crush, Instagram, FB and our endless stories, Teng and I managed to just stay put and enjoy the waiting time.

Finally landing in Cebu, we went straight to Crown Regency, because we will be crashing with Armand and Raffy. Thanks guys for the hospitality! :) Hahaha! We're so hungry, so we met with Jang at the IT Park and had dinner at Ila Puti. Food was good or we're just hungry. :) No, but kidding aside, food was good. Jang had to leave since she still has work that night and we agreed to meet tomorrow early morning to leave for Camotes.

An hour land trip going to the port of Danao, then an hour and a half waiting time for boarding and 2 hours sailing the waters of Cebu going to the port of Consuelo. Talk about a very long trip! There were a lot of "Are we there yet?", Candy Crush, junk food eating and dozing off moments. It was all worth it, when we reach Consuelo Wharf, which greeted us with its clear and aquamarine waters. What a beautiful sight! Jap was giving us a preview already via IG and Twitter of what to expect in the island, so we're pretty excited to soak in the sun and water.

We were initally booked at the Coco Grove Resort at Mangodlong, which is at the other side of Santiago Bay. We're booked to just camp out and just walk to the beach. But fortunately Jap, who is already staying in one of the resorts at Santiago Bay called and told us that there's a room available at their resort. So we immediately asked for our money back and rode the multicab going to Aizawa Resort.

The sun is at it's peak when we got to the resort and its high tide, which apparently is a good thing, since we learned from Jap, that the water literally recedes from around 3pm and comes back up around 10am the next day. So skip eating, we immediately changed into our swimming clothes and dove in! Refreshing! After almost half a day of traveling in the sweltering heat, the water is a welcome refreshment. We're so amazed how clean the water is, and how fine the sand is.

After a hearty lunch at one of the restaurants in Santiago, we all went back and just chilled at the beach front. Drank beer, slept, played Candy Crush, took photos of what have you, surfed the web, in short, idle time! I forgot to mention that we met new friends there too - Nica and Rhiane. They traveled with Jap and Ken, not first timers in Camotes.

The next day Jap and his friends went on exploring the island with a tour guide, while me, Teng and Jang chilled at the beach and well, what to do if you have the beach all to yourself? Photo shoot mode! Hahaha!

We're obviously sad to leave the place. But who knows, we might be back soon! Just not on Holy Week again. Why not? Because we almost didn't make it home to the big city of Cebu that Saturday night because there's so many passengers lined up, that tickets until the last trip were sold out. We're readying ourselves to camp out and just wait till the next day for the 4am trip.

Thank God, Cebuanos are really kind, they let us ride the RoRo! But of course, we're not on the passenger list, so if anything bad happened, we're doomed! But again, thank God, we all got to Danao safe and sound. Answered prayers, thank you St. Jude!

The trip back to the city was also a memorable one. Rode a jeep for more than an hour with BSB songs blasting loudly. Patok! Dinner at AA's Barbecue, then sleep! Kapuy! The next day, we all went to hear the Easter Sunday mass at the Basilica de Sto. Niño. Took some photos of Magellan's Cross, bought pasalubong at Tabo-an Market and Zubu Chon ,then ate lunch at Sunburst. Perfect way to celebrate Easter Sunday!

 More kulitan photos at the hotel while waiting for our time to leave. While chilling with our Starbucks drinks in hand and of course the sweet pastries.

This trip was one for the books! Ultimate girl bonding with Teng and Jang. We spent our time just relaxing, talking about a lot if different things. No pressure to do anything out of the ordinary or to go out on a limb just to have fun. Like what I told them, first time that I stayed put, no drinking (well I had a bottle of beer).. It's just pure, unadulterated fun with old and new friends. We all can have fun without the booze. Hahahaha!

Thanks to Jang, Teng, Armand, Raffy, Jap, Ken, Rhiane and Nica for making this trip so fun and memorable. Hope to spend more beach and food trips with you!

Photo credit: Thanks to Teng, Jap, Jangy - I grabbed some of your photos. I will add more photos when I see more from your walls. :)