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We went to Marinduque some five years back, but the good memories still stay with me. I have never heard of Marinduque until we were planning for a vacation there, but I am so glad that one of my friends knew about the place. So off we went for a vacation that was not so planned, yet turned to be magnificent.

This was a time when digital and old school cameras ruled the scene, so you’ll have to forgive me if the photos here are not of the same quality as those in the other blogs (I’m sure my husband would want to have that disclaimer). In fact, many of the pictures you see here are scanned. One thing I remember most from this trip is the fact that it was my first time to taste C2 iced tea.

You can reach Marinduque by taking a bus to Dalahican Port in Lucena (3 hours) then riding one of the fast ferries (less than 2 hours). You need to take a jeepney ride from the Marinduque pier to the town (30mins).

Marinduque is a very simple town, and in fact it will be hard to find establishments still open after 8pm. It may have changed since we were there last, but there were no bars, no restaurants, and no malls in town. We had a great time, though, talking about ghost stories, as there were rumors of extraordinary incidents in town.

We stayed at Boac Hotel, the one hotel that we were able to book. It was nice, clean, and most of all, affordable. Though one of our friends swears that he heard people talking in the hallway at 2am, only to find none when he looked out. Creepy!!!

There are gems of places to unwind and relax in Marinduque. Though food was quite hard to find, their beaches were perfect for rest and relaxation.

We went to Tres Reyes Islands, a virgin island that boasts of perfect white sand.

We went spelunking in Bathala Caves, and saw some big snakes in the process (notice I am not jumping with glee).

Anyway, here are some traveling tips for you if you ever plan to go to Marinduque:

• Bring cash! Perhaps it’s progressed now, but back then we cannot find an ATM in sight! For the ladies, bring extra cash! You can buy a lot of good handwoven abaca bags, for very reasonable prices.

• Get a friendly driver with his own jeepney to act as your escort service. There are not much public transportation in town, and you would want to be sure that someone is there to bring you back to land.

• Make reservations in the Boac Hotel. Although it is not the Shangri La, it is quite hard to get rooms if you just walk in. The Boac Hotel is DOT certified, and many workshops and seminars are held there.

• When you start traveling, bring plenty of food and water to last you through the day. Food is very cheap, but it is not so easy to find.

Most of all, respect the culture of the town. Don’t wander around town late at night making noises. You never know what you might find!

Lyn Almario is my older sister and travel buddy. A freelance writer and an Engineer, in no particular order.

Previous article: Playa Papagayo Beach Inn and Restaurant

The items in the menu were a bit expensive, especially when our waiter told us that the servings were only good for one person. But when we got our food, i must say that it’s actually worth it, and the orders are ok for two people.

We were very satisfied with our food, and so with our waiter — John, a trainee who was doing a great job serving us and apologizing for delays, since the kitchen is far from where we ate. They have an air-conditioned restaurant in front but we chose to ate at the Playa Seaside Restaurant, fronting the beach. I give John, the trainee a high passing grade!

Photos by Amrei Dizon

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Subic Trip
Playa Papagayo Beach Inn and Restaurant
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Related article: Subic Trip

Playa Papagayo Beach Inn and Restaurant is just beside 7-11 at Olongapo’s National Highway and there’s a signage at the facade for Playa Papagayo and Cantina Mexicana. Pass by a couple of resorts first, including Arizona Beach Resort, before getting there. Arizona, just like Blue Rock Resort was almost full and Palm Tree Resort would not accommodate four people in a room even if we pay the extra bed and person so we’re left with no choice that to get two separate rooms which would cost Php 2,500 (54.50 USD) per room. And that made me wonder if Subic Bay resorts do not have rooms with two beds on it. Lucky for us, we found Playa Papagayo. After checking out its neighboring resorts, we found it to be the best in terms of ambiance and affordability.

When we checked in, the receptionist was polite and accommodating. We got a 20% discount upon checking in, so our Superior Deluxe Room, which had two beds, priced at Php 4,032.00 was cut down to P3225.60. We had the choice of getting the Standard Room that is good for two persons at a discounted price of Php 1,200.00, which would be cheaper for us, but we preferred the Deluxe room because it’s more spacious and was on the second floor.

The place reminded me so much of Bamboo Beach Resort in Boracay.

We ordered our dinner from the resort, Cantina Mexicana’s menu, before 6PM then had some fun time at the beach.

After eating, we prepared for a night out. We went out to have a couple of beers. We tried Oriental Rose Tavern, a red-light bar. The girls said that shows are not allowed in Barretto, girls only dance. I don’t know what kind of “shows” are prohibited there, but I’ve been to Fields Avenue for a trip of student journalists and I don’t remember any remarkable shows. I was in Fields Avenue to interview girls about their job, and about the whole system in Fields as well. Also, I’ve been Venus in Puerto Galera and the shows the dancers/showgirls did were actually entertaining. There were star dancers who do acrobatic and sometimes almost athletic pole dancing and all the girls in the dance floor were very energetic. So anyway, we played five rounds of billiards at Php 10.00 per game. San Miguel Light is Php 60.00 and Rhum Coke is Php 65.00.

Before finally going home, we bought Ice Cream on Stick and some snacks from 7-11.

In the morning, we had our continental breakfast at Nina’s Margarita Bar. A breakfast includes three freshly baked pan de sal (salted bread), a slice of butter, a spoon of jam, small a small serving of juice and a cup of coffee. You can ask for more butter and/or jam anytime. But we ordered for additional food.

Bacon – Php 110 — menu says there are five (5) slices, rather it was weighed according to grams

Egg – Php 20 — menu says it could be cooked any style, but you can only ask for scrambled and sunny side up. I asked for ’scrambled and curry’ style (meaning with tomatoes and spices, and I’ll just pay for the additional ingredients) but they could not accommodate it.

The waiter in the morning was not as good as John. He’s not very lively, which was actually, not bad, as long as he’s attentive. But he was not able to get our orders correctly for a couple of times, and I would always ask him to repeat our orders, because it so seemed that he’s getting a little confused. So it would’ve been perfect if not for the minor restaurant hassle in the morning. So my advise: revise the menu and say that the side order of bacon is served according to grams, and eggs could only be scrambled or sunny side up. Breakfast is served until 10:30 AM.

After breakfast, we enjoyed more of the silver-white sand beach. The water was cold when we first dipped at around 5PM the day before, and it was also a bit cold at 10 AM. But it’s fairly clear and the shore is clean. The sand turns dark gray when wet, and the sand below gets easily disturbed and the water becomes “dusty” so taking pictures underwater was a bit hard for us.

We checked out at 1PM and had lunch at Rizal Highway then off to Zoobic Safari! Read more about our tour in the Zoobic Safari.

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Subic Trip
Cantina Mexicana, Playa Papagayo Beach Inn and Restaurant
Zoobic Safari – The Only Tiger Safari in the Philippines

On January 01, my family went to White Cove, Laiya Batangas to jump start a year of lakwatsa. You’ve heard the saying — whatever you have in the first day of the year, you’ll have the whole year round. That’s why we always welcome the New Year with a feast, hope that no one’s sick or broken hearted at the time, and the family is celebrating together. I was not able to come with them because I was not prepared, and I never go to the beach unprepared. I was not informed that we were going out of town that day, and the only clothes I had on my bag were overnight clothes, and this was because I do not live with my parents, so all my gears are in my apartment, far away.

At night, with Laiya on my mind, I thought of a place that I would want to go to. I thought of Subic because Amrei, my travel buddy and designated driver, has been saying that she wanted to drive to Subic and experience the beautiful Subic Clark Tarlac Express Way (SCTEx). We also wanted to go to the zoo and shake hands with some monkeys on the way.

So off we go at 11 AM of the second day of the year. We stopped by at a convenience store in Timog Avenue to pick up chips and water while we fill the gas of the car. At around 1PM, we’re in North Luzon Expressway (NLEx). The first stop over is a Shell Station but we opted to stop at the Petron Station in Balagtas.

This is our favorite stop over, last time I was here was last November when we drove off to Dagupan.

We entered the Subic Bay Freeport Zone at around 2:30 PM, we followed the signs that said “BEACHES” which was also the same way as Zoobic Safari. We took a left turn after exiting SCTEx and drove until there were signs that said “Beaches”. We  realized that we’re on the wrong route when all we can see was the way to Camayan Cove and Ocean Adventure, after passing by the Zoobic Safari road and meeting some monkeys on the way, and since we’re already there, we went ahead and checked out Camayan Cove. The place was fully booked. We turned back and checked out two other beaches at the other end of the road — Bungaree Beach, at Php150 (3.27 USD) entrance fee, without overnight rooms. Then All Hands Resort, P150 entrance and only one type of room available for overnight stay at Php 4,500 (98.09 USD). Since it seems that this was not going to work, we headed back to where we should’ve come to in the first place — Olongapo’s National Road where most of the Subic Bay beaches are. We checked out several other resorts, where the look, feel and rates vary wildly, before we finally found a nice place. Playa Papagayo. Read more about our fun stay at Playa Papagayo.

We were able to catch the last minutes of sun, had a wonderful dinner at Playa Papagayo, rested for a while and went out at night to have a few round of beer and billiards. In the morning, we got our free continental breakfast, enjoyed some more morning beach, and checked out at 1 PM to go to the Zoobic Safari. Read more about our tour in the Zoobic Safari.

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Playa Papagayo Beach Inn and Restaurant
Cantina Mexicana, Playa Papagayo Beach Inn and Restaurant, Subic Bay
Zoobic Safari – The Only Tiger Safari in the Philippines

This year at Puerto Galera, instead of the usual Coral Garden – Bukete – Bayanan island hopping, we only went to Coral Garden and Bayanan. We were supposed to go back to White Beach, where we were checked in, but the boatman was nice enough to wait for us while we have lunch at the nearby Aninuan Island. So instead of going to Bukete, we went to Tamaraw Beach Resort to have lunch.

We went to the small dining area and ordered for food.  think it took about an hour before our food was served. While waiting, I took photos around and surveyed the place. They offer different water rides: banana boat, glass bottom boat and wakeboarding, even. But a little pricey for half an hour’s worth.

There are lounge chairs in the shore, and ping pong table beside the coffee shop. The place is full of plants and flowers too.

I asked for their rates becuase Tamaraw Beach Resort seemed a nice place for families and honeymooners. The rooms look nice and clean too. They even have weekly and monthly rates for the units that have kitchennette.

It’s peaceful and quiet, with its quaint own shoreline. I wish to get away to Tamaraw Beach Resort soon!

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AMCI Anniversary Weekend

Though the sun setting and fading out from the horizon is not visible from Anawangin Cove, you will surely appreciate the sky at dawn. As I have mentioned in previous articles about the cove, the sky that one sees from Brgy. Pundaquit to Anawangin Cove has a naturally beautiful blue gradation, fading to white as it touches the horizon.

As there is no electricity in the cove, no one will miss the vibrant colors of the sky as it changes from blue to warm colors, while the water catches and reflects the hues.

Related Posts:

Getting to Anawangin Cove, Zambales
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 1) – The Beach
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 2) – The River
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 3) – The Open Field
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 4) – The View Deck

Continued from Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 3) – The Open Field

I wondered why the photos of Anawangin Cove that I see online are shots from the top. I did not know that there’s actually a view deck. No one mentioned it in blogs that I’ve read. It always seemed like an areal shot from hiking Mt. Pundaquit. Truth is, the view deck is only about 5-10 minutes of trekking. Easy, breezy and really pretty. :)

These are what you see on the way to the top:

The view deck has two levels, the one steeper than the other. We settled for the lower deck. Enough to see the whole cove.

We would have waited for the sunset but we did not bring flashlights with us, and the group’s mainly composed of inexperienced hikers, so going down the hill would be difficult in the dark. Sunrise and sunsets cannot be seen on the cove because mountains and rock formations would obstruct the view. But the blue sky turning red was a wonderful scene.

Thanks to Reden, Redentor and Dave, our tour guides from Adventure Road Trip for the fun weekend!

Related Posts:

Getting to Anawangin Cove, Zambales
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 1) – The Beach
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 2) – The River
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 3) – The Open Field
Anawangin Cove, Zambales – The Dawn

From Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 2) – The River / Swamp

Dave took us to the Anawangin Cove’s open field at the back of the island. It’s a nice place to play frisbee! He said wild tamaraws roam freely there. Too bad they were not around when we came. But there were a lot of dungs and mud baths. Since there’s no electricity in Anawangin, and the open field reminded me of the UP Sunken Garden, but much wider, and Jma said it’s like a “party place”, I named the area as “The Anawangin Concert Grounds”. We would have a blast mosh pitting in the mud baths! Haha.

The open field is like a challenge in Tomb Raider, you can see a vast open field, and the trees that surrounded it. You can run towards the trees, but some are dead ends, some are opening up to unknown forests.

The golden Mt. Pundaquit more visible in the open field.

After taking photos, Dave led us back to the beach. Crossing the shallow river once more, I did not pass the chance to experience it more than dipping my feet on it. I laid down the shallow flowing water. It was soothing. I did not want to leave, but we need to go to the view deck to see the whole island.

Related Posts:

Getting to Anawangin Cove, Zambales
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 1) – The Beach
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 2) – The River
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 4) – The View Deck
Anawangin Cove, Zambales – The Dawn

From Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 1) – The Beach

There were barb wires fencing off the river or swamp of Anawangin Cove from visitors. Red2 said there used to be no fence there. The fence is probably because of the Frank incident where the river rose and produced massive flash floods.

Red2 checked the river, it was only ankle deep, sometimes knee deep in some parts. One member of our group went in, I did too. A little later, everyone was in the river, taking photos of each other. The setting was like the in the movies where you see a fairy in the wild, nearby a beautiful river.

The river was calm, clear and glistening. From afar, green plants and shrubs, sun rays penetrating the leaves of the taller trees. We walked a little farther, in the mini forest, then met another river. We followed the river’s current. And it led us to a wider opening, to a white sand area at the end. A river with white sand, yes. It turned out that this area is connecting to the beach, and to the first river that we crossed. Anawangin’s layout is really amazing.

If I had more time, and if I had my life vest with me, I would have explored that area with the wider river more. I was taking precautions because I don’t really know how deep the water ahead could be.

Of course the river is shaded by the Agoho trees that dwell well in Anawangin Cove.

We came back to camp for lunch. We had a feast, of course. We took our time eating and digesting our food. It seemed that Anawangin has this calming breeze that made us slow down. I wasn’t even in a hurry to go the water, I even took a nap at around 3-4 PM. Ktin woke me up and it’s time to explore the island, again. Next destinations: the open field, and the view deck.

Related Posts:

Getting to Anawangin Cove, Zambales
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 1) – The Beach
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 3) – The Open Field
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 4) – The View Deck
Anawangin Cove, Zambales – The Dawn

It is really beautiful. I’ve been to a lot of beaches before, and this, by far, is one of my favorites. Imagine the layers of Anawangin Cove: alighting the boat, the water touches your feet – it is really calm and clean. Then walk towards the sand that is white at high sunlight. After the clear shoreline, rows and columns of tall Agoho trees (which look like pine trees), behind them, a river, only ankle deep, with brown flat stones. Surrounding the sand, Agoho trees and river, as if embracing them, are green and yellow gold mountains.

We arrived at the beautiful cove at around 7:30 AM, there were only about three groups that were already there. We chose a table nearest Aling Ligaya’s kubo (nipa hut). Aling Ligaya is the caretaker of the island. We then set up our tents, in the sands. I helped set up two tents :)

There are no resorts or lodges in the cove and the only way to stay overnight is by tent camping. There’s also no electricity. It’s a good thing the cove is not infested by mosquito and other insects or bugs. You have to bring your own drinking water, or arrange for delivery from the barangay/mainland. If it’s peak season or weekend, the locals may have a few gallons to sell.  I only saw one make shift store there and they sell beer at double the price, so better bring everything you need. If you’ll hike and would camp overnight, you can send your stuff (tent, gears, food, water) via pump boat, make sure someone comes along with your stuff to prepare/unpack because the pumpboat ride is only 30 minutes and the hike is about 6 hours, you do not want to spoil your food.

After setting up the tent, some of us started to prepare the our stocked foods in the table, some surveyed the place, some looked for a spot to set up our grill and cookwares. I walked away from the sands to be under the canopy of the Agoho trees, picked a table in the middle of a wide human trail, and lied down on it to relax. This was my view above:

Tall Agoho trees that are probably in the family as the pine trees:

A few minutes later, I went back to our camp to check on the group. Some were already grilling pokchop and chicken wings. Our tour guide Dave was preparing his SuperKalan (a small stove). Our two other tour guides namely Red1 and Red2, were also busy preparing other stuff. Before lunch, Red2 invited the group to walk deeper into the woods to see the river.

Getting to Anawangin Cove, Zambales
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 2) – The River
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 3) – The Open Field
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 4) – The View Deck
Anawangin Cove, Zambales – The Dawn