Images From Fort Ilocandia

The courtyard.
Hallway.
Bedroom with balcony overlooking the pool.
Ella.
Gea.
Jemuel on the ATV.
Bougainvilleas found throughout the resort.
See what I mean?
Near the lagoon.
Late afternoon lighting.
Fooling around. 
Waiting for the sun to set...
Breathtaking. 
Jemn's silhouette.

Idyllic Getaway In Samal Island

I dragged the boyfriend to go with me and check out Pearl Farm Beach Resort in Samal Island. Our Cebu Pacific flight to Davao was considerably delayed for a record time of 3 hours! In fairness to the long wait and inconvenience, we did get a free meal from the airline to compensate. Here's an aerial shot of Davao City before we landed.

We were met at the airport by the staff from Pearl Farm who were waiting for about 3 hours wondering why our flight was delayed. We had to take a boat to get to Samal Island but since it had already left we had to wait for the next one to come. Good thing their waiting area is really nice with a cafe and good facilities [kind of like the waiting area of Boracay Regency in Caticlan]. The boyfriend also brought his macbook so we entertained ourselves with that for a while.
These cogon huts are scattered around the resort too and lends a very beachy touch.
The reception area in Davao where we waited for the boat to take us to Samal Island.
First glimpse of Pearl Farm - the Samal Suites...
Reception area with banig covering the ceiling...
Maranao Restaurant dining area - buffet style.
Samal houses on stilts - awesome!
Gorgeous sunset on the horizon.
The Parola Bar is pretty much the main attraction here and steals the spotlight every time. 
Infinity pool!
Of course I had to take a dip :)
I want a vacation house like this in the future. It looks so presko.

And finally me and the boyfriend refreshed and relaxed.

Bohol Beach Bum

I really wanted to check out the beaches in Bohol and since the hotel we were staying at in Tagbilaran City was affiliated with Panglao Island Nature Resort & Spa, that's where we went. 

Of course some people still prefer the infinity pool even with a beach just steps away.

This is the reception area which connects to the dining area and shops.
There were a lot of leaves and twigs floating around the beach area, also I didn't get the weird color of the water - kind of a murky seafoam green beside the beach and then turning dark blue-green towards the sea. Maybe because the beach was shallow up until the [manmade?] island, I don't know. 
Here's an artsy shot of a wind surfer...
And me chillaxing and happy to finally get my beach fix. 

Another artsy shot.
And the view from the restaurant - nobody's swimming anymore...

Native Filipino decor is used throughout the resort and contributes to its calming ambiance, a perfect setting to unwind. All in all a pretty relaxing time spent in Panglao Island.

Rainy Adventure In Caramoan

Our Caramoan adventure started at 4 in the morning. We caught an early Cebu Pacific flight from Manila at 6 20 am and got to Naga Airport at around 7 15 am. The plane fare was only Php 1,085 per person. 

 It was quite gloomy when we arrived in Naga and the airport while fairly new was small, clean enough and had a provincial feel to it. As usual, there were a lot of porters swarming about waiting to assist us with our luggage but we didn't really need them since we only brought backpacks with us. 

We were planning to take the bus going to Sabang Port but ended up just hiring a van for the three of us. The ride was really comfortable and really fast thanks to our awesome driver, Chris. We found him outside the airport terminal waiting to take passengers and we paid about Php 1,200 for a one way ride to Sabang. Not bad since it only took us an hour to get there and it was really convenience we were after.

From Sabang Port we took a motorized boat to Guijalo Pier that cost Php 120 per head. The ride was really loud, uncomfortable and 2 hours long. While on the boat we were thinking to ourselves, "Caramoan better be worth it!" 

After we docked at Guijalo Pier we had to take a tricycle to got to the town center where our accommodations were. It took about 30 minutes and it was a bone-jarring experience for all of us. The roads in Caramoan are not paved with lots of stones and since it was rainy season it was also muddy. The tricycle driver kind of felt sorry for us since we obviously weren't used to this kind of thing but he tried to console us by telling us that it was worse in the summer because it gets really dusty.

We were the only ones staying in La Casa Roa at that time and we paid Php 1,950 for the whole room per night. Not bad, considering it includes breakfast for the three of us, air-conditioning and the place was clean and homey. Not to mention the staff and the owner, Ramon Perez, were very nice and accommodating. 

I would definitely recommend this hostel if someone were to go to Caramoan and I would stay here again. It's close to eating places and convenience stores as well as the paradahan ng tricycle. The town is pretty small and establishments close quite early, there's really not much to do here at night as people just stay home and sleep.

After we rested for a while we proceeded to Bikal Port where all the boats are docked for island hopping tours. The rate we paid for a half-day rental was Php 600 and Php 1, 500 for a full-day island hopping with tour guide excluding tip. Here's a pic of our boat driver, Mang Johnny and that's the boat we rode in.

Getting to the islands required a 30-minute or so boat ride from one island to the next so after a while we were so sick and tired of boats and the novelty wore off pretty quick. You really can't do much in the boat and since it was small, it was loud and it would just drown out any music you're listening to. You even need to yell out loud if you wanted to talk to somebody so we just tried to concentrated on the scenery to drown out the noise the boat made.We didn't get to as many islands as we wished because it was raining all the time and the seas were choppy. But I did get to soak up a few rays...

Here are a couple of pictures from Bikal Port. They have an abundance of mangroves there, I really liked it.

The sand in some of the Caramoan islands is not as white and as fine as Boracay, instead it has a yellowish tinge. The beaches are pretty clean though and quite clear when the weather's good.

Here's an obligatory feet shot. I miss my Teva sandals. I lost them on the way back to Manila.

Here are a couple of fisherman bringing in the day's catch. It was quite refreshing to see everyday life unfold in the province. This is definitely something I don't see everyday.

Probably the coolest thing we did was check out the cave in Tagbon. Instead of going up to the statue, which I heard is one of the major tourist attractions in the island, we went spelunking instead and it was definitely the highlight of our trip. I would go back to Caramoan just for this cave.

Getting to the cave is another story, we had to take a tricycle and then trek for 30 minutes in the rice paddies. It was a funny yet harrowing experience as I cut my foot and had to pass by the community hospital on the way back to our hostel.

We had to pass through this really small opening at one point and you have to kind of submerge yourself in the water in order to get through. Sorry, but if you're big you can't proceed to the rest of the cave.

All in all we were only charged Php 100 for entrance fee and Php 100 for the price of the gas used for the lamp. Here's a pic of Jemn and me with the local boys.

And finally some awesome jumping shots that we were just dying to make. Here's a couple with me and Jemn again.

And then funny ones I took of Jemn and Jemuel.

These turned out pretty cool. We definitely had fun in the process.

It rained again on the way back to Sabang Port and the ride was sea-sick inducing but I guess rain is good once in a while, otherwise these hills wouldn't be so lush and green...

I want to go back to Caramoan someday when the roads are paved and when it doesn't rain...