What am I doing in Bulacan?

We were in Bulacan lately for 3 weeks for our immersion. At first, I thought, what am I doing here? This place is so boring. There's nothing to see here. I'll die of boredom. But I was proven wrong. In that remote area in Bulacan, you'd find several interesting places. For one, there were the centuries old spanish houses that belong to prominent people, some even turned into mini museums that show case the glory of those days. It amused me to see hundreds of moth-gnawed medical books written in spanish, the wooden floors made of slabs that were so large and thick that you could hardly hear anyone walk on it. There were also houses that gave me this eerie feeling that someone was looking and staring at you peeking through a small opening on the humongous mahogany door that had intricate carvings. There were other places like the Biak-na-Bato National park which we weren't able to see.

A small place means hospitable people - those who had fixed smiles on their faces at any given time of the day, ready to help and even solicitating to take you anywhere. And ahh, the food. It was muy delicioso! The sinampalukang manok was my favorite and I had not eaten so much of that dish as I had there. It was probably because of the fact that only the really young tamarind leaves were used that made this chicken soup so great. Or perhaps because it was made from native chicken, though lacking in meat, which was more delectable and flavorful.

They had the best chicharon and pastillas de yema I have ever tasted. I can never forget Nene's store at Tigpalas where the pastillas de yema was cooked with some local lemon rind for flavoring. And the Tilapia that's broiled just as it is harvested out of the water with pleasant smell of freshly steamed rice and a dip made from calamansi, soy sauce and red peppers.

What more can you ask for? Is immersion great or greater? Haha!

Best Places to Visit in the Philippines According to Moi: Luzon

I have always loved to go places. During my younger years my mom used to bring us everywhere possible. We went to the beach, the mountains, to some hotel, to the provinces, - everywhere! Now, I'm fortunate to be able to go to different places both in the country and internationally with my own family. As I have visited them, here are the places in Luzon I highly recommend that a foreigner or a local tourist should see:


1. Palawan - is a separated, elongated island which partly faces the South China Sea. It is famous for its underground River and Tubataha Reef which are both declared as World Heritage Sites. If you want to see tortoises in the wild greeting you and the manta rays "fly in", you must go there.

2. Baguio, Province of Benguet - may be reached via Victory Bus Liner, or by plane (Asian Spirit). The city is set in the mountains and has a very cool weather because of this. Particularly recommended are Tam-awan Village and Camp John Hay. Fancy a home with a fireplace? They're available here.

3. Subic - a former american base but converted into a complex that has a host of activities to choose from. An interesting place to see here is the Ocean Adventure. There are forested areas here and expect some animals especially macaques to be around when you are. There's also a jungle survival course available but I can't tell you about it because I've not done that yet. Oh, and they do have bungee jumping if you are interested in extreme sports. Try the Ocean Adventure which is a mini "Sea World".

4. Clark - also a former American base. This place has several villas one of which is the holiday inn villa which happens to be our favorite because it is spacious and homely. Clark has a beautiful golf course, go kart track, casinos, etc. You can stay at the Holiday Inn and work your way around.

5. Tagaytay - Only about an hour away from Pasig, this place has a cool climate but not as cold as Baguio. There are several roadside huts for rent to eat or have a picnic with a view of the famous Taal Lake for a backdrop. Vegetable, fruit and flower Farms abound in this city. There are several delicacies that can be bought from the Colettes Pasalubong Store (don't worry, there are about 13 stores all over tagaytay alone). Sonya's Garden is a favorite place to go for organic food. It's set in a huge garden.

6. Cavite - This is a historical place. One site to see is the Aguinaldo shrine which is the former home of the late president, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, turned into a museum. Also of note is the Caylabne Bay Resort in Ternate, Cavite. A little expensive but all worth each cent. The cheaper resort I would recommend is the Island Cove. Aside from the pools, this place has a zoo, a butterfly farm and some other amenities. There's also Puerto Azul.

7. Batangas - known for its beaches. A new favorite which we have recently discovered is the Laiya Coco Grove where one can camp, cook food, go fishing, boating, etc. Another commendable resort is that of the Punta Baluarte. I love their salt water pool which they keep warm for their guests so it is comfortable to swim in even during the rainy season when the water becomes terrifyingly cold.

8. Davao - This is a garden city. The flowers and plants abound in every turn you make. It is also famous for its beaches most notably the Pearl Farm Resort which hs been award a AAA rating. The Eden Nature Park and the Mt. Apo where Pag-asa, the philippine eagle, are remarkable too.

9. Bohol - The chocolate hills, the Tarsier, Bohol beach club, the caves... these make Bohol truly special.

10. Sagada - A community in the mountains. It has numerous caves, some falls, a variety of activites to choose from, great food and a very cool climate.

I would recommend Batanes, Donsol and Caramoan too but I have not been there so let's wait until I've visited the places and I'll tell you about them.

For further information, please check out my travel pages at http://members.virtualtourist.com/JaneCajuguiran or search this site. Just don't forget to rate my VT tips please.

Watch out for my Places to visit in the Visayas

Palawan Day 3: Fishing at Port Barton

Port Barton is a bay on the west coast of Palawan facing the China Sea. It was nighttime when we got to Port Barton and although we could hardly see the path we were taking (there was no light along the beach), the sky was lit up by the millions of stars that twinkled. It was agreed that we'd go fishing the following morning. But of course noone thought any of us was serious about waking up so early as daddy wanted to leave at 4:30 a.m. It was really hard for ikee and boyet to get up because we were tired from yesterday's activities (as usual). But dad and I had not been able to sleep very well since there was not electricity from 12 MN to 5 am. Of course I didn't know that Port Barton would only have electricity at certain hours of the day. But even if I did, would I have a choice? The option is not to go to Port Barton. But that is a very remote option for my family. We'd much rather endure the heat than miss out on the opportunity to discover this place. And quite frankly, you'd hardly need the fan anyway.

Fishing has always been one of the favorite things that my family likes doing. In the past, we only got to fish in aquariums or fish ponds and never a large waterform such as this bay. The fishing activity was pre-arranged and our guides with their speedboat were at the beach to pick us up at 4:30 a.m. sharp. But then daddy didn't want to leave the resort until there was light on the path so we had to wait for it to be switched on. As we sped off on our speed boat and were just scouting for a place to fish, my daughter and I took the time to look into the heavens. I had never in my whole life been able to see a shooting star. But there, that early morning, we saw two of them!

Soon after our guides were able to choose a spot and our reels had baits on them. My daughter who had originally wanted to do this activity became worried because daddy had told her about how she should hold the nylon string but that she had to release the string as it would be able to cut her finger off if she held on to it when she catches a big fish! Poor girl. She merely helped us with the things to prepare for our line but no longer cast one down for herself. We did what we're off to do anyway and she helped out in reeling the lines in and choosing a spot for each one of us to let our lines down. The first catch of the day was mine. it took just about 5 or 10 minutes to do it. It was a half kilo grouper (lapu-lapu) and wasn't as hard as I had imagined the "fight" to be. But daddy said I was just lucky that I didn't catch a talakitok instead. Half a kilo talakitok would be 5 minutes pulling. The other members of the "fishing team" (just nice to read that is all) caught their own fish. If we had made a rule to eat what we caught, I would be able to eat 4 meals with my catch while they'd have to watch out for what I'd have left. hehehe

We had breakfast (fish and rice with some coffee and papaya) at a nearby farm. After that we proceeded to the snorkelling site. My daughter had not approved of this route because she wasn't wearing her swimsuit and had her jogging pants on when we left the resort in the early morning. But we could not afford to lose an hour or so just to get our things from the resort and head back to the snorkelling site. I offered for her to wear my shorts since I wore my swimsuit anyway - a practice that I had since my teen years. My swimsuit serves as second skin to me whenever I'm anywhere near a beach. Of course she agreed. That was the best option we had.

We got to see several islands. Port Barton seems to have marine life even in shallow waters, unlike the other beaches we had gone to before where you'd only be able to appreciate the sea creatures when you go to the deeper parts of the beach. We had the time of our lives when we first saw a tortoise, a real live one, swimming quickly away from our boat just like a thief would when caught in the act of stealing. But of course this creature was not stealing anything, it was running for its own life. Did it think we meant it harm?

Just as soon as we saw the tortoise, we saw a manta ray swim past the other side of our boat. I was very eager to jump into the water equipped with just my fins and dive mask but then again I was scared of what else there was there in that sea. the water was so clear even at 30 feet deep and the corals were all too inviting. Jeff, our guide, is a dive expert and had encouraged me to jump in as he had done. Yeah right, I do snorkelling but not diving... yet that is. Now I'm really determined to learn to dive. I can swim, but not dive. How hard can that be?

The islands were spectacular! There is one which they call the german island (only because it is owned by a German National) where one side of it looks like a place taken out of a comic book! It's so beautiful, that it looks like how you'd picture an island where a damsel gets lost in and is there for a few days without food and water, and all but clear sea water and some coconuts all around her. Only this time, instead of a damsel, there's a dog in the island.

The islands we went to were almost uninhabited. What is sad is that some people do not have the drive to help in preserving nature. One island had a few used bottles in it. while on the main beach of port barton, a few plastic bags were seen swept on land by the waves.

We had lunch at the Greenviews Resort. Daddy had ordered some shrimp and crabs and some seaweed salad. We were all hungry of course and had devoured our meal like prisoners. It rained while we were at sea and this probably contributed to why we had to eat a lot - we had to warm ourselves up. Some excuse...

It rained again after lunch. But noone could stop both my husband and my daughter from having a good time. Greenviews has a garden and some hammocks where one can stay. It also has a gazebo right in the middle of the garden and I thought it was a good place to hold a garden wedding. All over the place were coconut trees, some shrubs and ornamental plants. There were no other guests but us. The father-daughter guests went around playing under the rain getting themselves really soaked under some downspout. After all getting wet didn't have to mean getting back into the water.

Palawan Day 2: St. Paul Underground River

This day we woke up late. We agreed with dad that we'd leave the pension house by 7 am. But dad texted that he was still having breakfast with a former Mayor-friend of his and we were all too tired to get up anyway. At least I got a little time left to charge my cam which I forgot to do the night before.

It was almost 10 am when we checked out of Lola Itang's. On our way to Sabang where the underground river was, we found this view deck and asked the driver to stop for some photo op. Little did we know that there would be several viewdecks before sabang. Of course we were running late so we just had one more stop for a photo op.

The road to Sabang is made up of 40% very good road and 60% really rough and brain-joggling, bone-breaking, muddy trail. But these were all worth the trip since the underground river is a beautiful, beautiful place. It is 1 of the 5 world heritage sites in the Philippines as declared by the UNESCO, along with the Banaue Rice Terraces, Vigan, Tubataha Reef (at the southern tip of Palawan), and some Churches.

It was almost 12 NN when we got to Sabang. There's a port in Sabang from where we bought tickets and took the boat ride to reach the other side of the coast. We could have reached it by land but we would need to walk for 2.5 hours through the jungle going there and another 2.5 hours coming back. Besides I don't think any of us were really fit to walk that far.

We ate lunch first. The Pier is full of small cafeteria that serve local fare most of which are seafood. There are several souvenir shops that sell mostly shirts, and shorts, and other beach items. Somehow I think these guys are more tame than their counterparts in the other beaches in the country. They just greet you with a smile but ask you what item you are looking for. I hate it so much when vendors practically drag you into their store just like they would drag their goods in after a delivery.

It took us 30 minutes to get to the beach just a few hundred meters away from the entrance of the underground river. From, there we were met by the regular inhabitants of the area - the monkeys and the monitor lizards. The people who were running the place didn't seem to mind them and in fact tried to warn us to keep our things and not to bring food with us because the monkeys would steal those anyway.

There was another 5-minute walk to get to another port where a smaller, non-motorized boat was waiting for us. Our boatman, Chris, welcomed us and gave us a brief orientation on our do's and don'ts, what we would see and expect to learn from the trip. We were told that the boats used to have engines. but the fumes would discolor the rock formations so these were discontinued. The river is subterranean and for a while I thought our "banca" (filipino for a mall boat) wouldn't fit and our heads would hit the ceiling. But I was proven wrong. there was enough room for 2 bancas at the entrance and even 3 or four could fit inside. The trip took us about 1.5 hours to finish. The stalactites and stalagmites took on different shapes that resembled several "everyday" things that we see - mushroom, candle, lrt, dog, corn, a sexy lady. It was very dark in the river you wouldn't see a single thing when the rechargeable light is put out. It was also surprisingly cool.

What added to the pleasure of seeing the beauty of the underground river was the fact that our boatman was really a humorous guy. At one point I asked him whether the water in the river was salty. He answered promptly and said that it was not so salty. Just to satisfy my curiosity, and since I knew noone would be seeing me in the dark anyway, I tasted the water. Of course I reported about what I had learned about it. Just as though he didn't quite hear what I said, he announced that the bats used the cave as it "batroom" to relieve themselves when nature called! Yuck! But of course we all laughed at my experience.

When we were on our way back, we saw a macaque. and another macaque. and more macaques... that the whole troop was there! The boatmen who had gathered to leave the place with us pointed at a particular one and said that it was the leader and the bossy one of all. Not that we didn't like seeing them (macaques) but we didn't want to lose any of our stuff. So we left them alone as they did us.

We went back to our service vehicle and proceeded to Port Barton where we would be staying on our third and last day since the fourth day would be the trip back home. It was nighttime when we reached our destination. There was hardly any light on the path to the Greenviews Resort. But I had not seen so many stars in all my life as I had in Port Barton that night. Awesome!

Palawan Day 1: City Tour at Puerto Princesa

The PAL plane that my husband, my daughter and I took left the Manila centennial airport at exactly 8 am and got to the Puerto Princesa airport at about 9:05 am. Daddy was there waiting for us and so were the staff from Lola Itang's Pension house. First stop was at the pension house where we checked in and unloaded our stuff. After this, we were off to the Iwahig Penal Colony.

Iwahig is a big place which is a prison but is basically the residence of the inmates and their families too. There we went around and purchased some souvenir items from the gift shop. I learned that when purchasing goods from this shop would mean helping the inmates earn. I suppose that if you have to buy something to remember anyone by, it might as well be something to help them. So, I bought some keychains, an arnis (mahogany wood) and some pens. From the way the goods have bee made, you'd deduce that the people who made them have been trained well. I just hope that there be some effort to market these goods to alleviate the living conditions of the families there. Some inmates recommended that we go check out the Balsahan natural pools which is just about 3 minutes away from the shop. So, off we went.

We were hungry when we got to Balsahan. At the gate, we were told that we'd have to rent a hut which cost 100 php. Also we had to order lunch right there. There was only 1 dish that they serve - broiled native chicken. Of course we didn't have a choice so we ordered two chickens and rice. They only had coconuts for beverages so we ordered these too. The chicken tasted really great despite the fact that it didn't have anything on it - not even salt! Why won't it be when these are killed and dressed only when there is an order. We asked for some soy sauce and red peppers to dip them in. It's funny how the lowly "tutong" turned out to be my daughter's favorite calling it "chips" which made it sound a little "sosyal".

While waiting for our orders, we proceeded to the hut assigned to us. This was the chance to go around the area. Balsahan is part of Iwahig and therefore proceeds from the use of this area would go to the inmates. It has several huts and gazillion trees that provided the cool and shady atmosphere to the resort. We were told that some inmates maintained the place. I should say they have done a pretty good job at maintaining it. The nice thing about Iwahig is that you can bring your own food to eat there or you can also bring raw food and have the inmates cook these at the resort for a fee. Such are the filipinos - ever so resilient and resourceful.

Our next stop was the Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center (formerly known as the Crocodile Farm). We got there at 1 pm. However we were told that there was a guided tour scheduled at 2 pm so we decided to stay. There was a fee of 50 pesos each (i'm not sure about the price really, could be more). The highlight of this activity was the opportunity to pet a crocodile but none of us wanted to do that. We left just after a few minutes of staying since we had to go to other places and there were plenty of mosquitoes there anyway.

Next we went to Mitra's ranch but this had been closed because there was an on-going renovation. On our way back we stopped for some water at the Baker's hill. I had heard from a friend that this bakeshop/bakery is originally from manila. The area had a small kiddie playground but the kid with us (my daughter) who is almost 12 years old was no longer interested in it so we went on our exploration of puerto.

Next stop was VietVille, the vietnamese village where the "boat people" were accomodated. Here you'd be proud to be a filipino because you know that we are indeed hospitable and warm having given these people a modest place to live in. There were but a few people left in the village though because most of them had migrated elsewhere. There is a restaurant that serves french-influenced-vietnamese food. But we were too full to try their fare. apart from the restaurant, there's a buddhist temple and a catholic church in the area. I heard there was a lagoon somewhere but did not get to see it.

After Vietville, as we were on our way back to the city, we noticed a hot spring resort and restaurant called Kim's. We checked it out and found that this place had about 6 or 7 huts with a small pool to dip in, kinda like a jacuzzi. The water gets really hot when the water is allowed to flow from the faucet sticking out from behind the pool. Apparently the owner had built a piping system from the hot spring to each cottage. There's a pool at the middle of the common area for those people who do not want to get their own cottage. The place is owned and run by a korean national so the restaurant serves both filipino and korean fare.

We had dinner at the Badjao Seafront Restaurant. My dad said that during the first few times he had gone to the restaurant, the mangroves that lined the entrance weren't there. Obviously these were planted in by the owners so now it looks like a restaurant amidst a mangrove plantation. This is very good for the marine life in the area and also contributes a lot to the ambiance of the place. You should try the steamed talakitok with the seaweed (lato) salad. But do dip the salad in some vinegar and onions so they don't smell like the sea.

A trip to La Mesa Ecopark

Several negative things have been written about Metromanila - pollution, traffic, garbage concerns, bombings, etc. Well, despite all these, something good has happened in Metromanila - the La Mesa Nature Reserve and Ecopark.

I had recently been to Puerto Princesa City in Palawan and had been so envious about how it has so far been maintained and kept clean despite the fact that it has become one of the major tourist attractions in the Philippines. Mayor Hagedorn has his right foot on the accelerator and the people has responded well to him.

During my younger years, mom had brought me and my siblings to the La Mesa dam. It has not since been maintained well and reports were that the watershed had continually regressed. but, like the forests of Palawan, the watershed had been reforested and restored to more than how I remember it to be. Now there are plenty of tall trees, the grass is greener, there's a proliferation of different animals including butterflies which you rarely see in manila these days, camping ground, swimming pool, and other recreational facilities.

We had a visit at the La Mesa Watershed today. I had previously watched advertisements and shows where the dam had been featured and to my surprise and satisfaction, the dam is more than what has been publicized about it. Bantay Kalikasan must have really done a lot to restore the place. I take my hat off to them. But somehow they should also be able to really reach out to the people in terms of really educating them during their visits. It's a pity to see how some people take their time, money, effort and other resources to build and help something that takes practically years(!!!) to accomplish while yet others who are mere bystanders try to watch what the poor guys do and even contribute to the detriment of the activity. I refer to the trash in La Mesa. Sure there are numerous (and I mean numerous!) garbage bins that are even color coded for the segregation of trash. There's even a fine on littering. But do the people use them? Some do while others - many of them - don't. It is a good thing that the bantay kalikasan has stationed some volunteers/employees to watch over the place.

Perhaps a better option is to have some volunteers give an orientation of the place, how it was before and how it is and should be. The place must be protected and the environmentalists (I consider myself as one) should enjoin everyone especially the guests who go to La Mesa to contribute at least by trying to promote the park and maintain the place as they had found it. I'm sure even the boy scouts and girl scouts would be able to do this. Perhaps the DepEd (and CHED perhaps) should require that the protection of La Mesa be part of the curriculum? How can we contribute to the cause? Can we attain the same success as the people of Palawan? I wonder...

A place called Avilon

Well who would have thought that in a sleepy area like San Isidro, Rodriguez a world class zoo can be found? I first heard of the soft opening of the Avilon Zoo in 2003 from my co-teacher. At that time, the zoo could only be visited when joining a group tour. The comment I got was that it was not yet complete and there were few animals. That had stuck to me and I had not attempted to go there until I had read a blog in another site.

We had other plans for that day. We had wanted to check out a place in Tagaytay to have a camp-out. Somehow we figured that there'd be a lot of people in Tagaytay because it was a Holy Saturday and agreed to go where the other people would probably not go to avoid the traffic and thought of the Avilon Zoo.

It took us only 40 minutes to get from my place to the zoo. It was 11 am when we got there and had lunch before we started to go around. As is my daughter's habit, we went to see the toilet first which we found to be very clean and even had an oil diffuser which made it smell of flowers. Impressive for a zoo. I have yet to see as clean a powder room in a zoo as this.

The food in the zoo is surprisingly cheap - it costs only 90 pesos for 1 cup of rice, 2 viands (1 meat dish and 1 vegetable dish) and a bottle of water or can of softdrink. Tea could be had for an additional 5 pesos. Aside from being cheap, it also tasted pretty well, I should say.

After lunch it was time to go. I had wanted to wait for the guided tour which was scheduled at 2 pm (since we didn't catch the 1st one at 9 am) but we thought that we would just go ahead on our own and catch up with them soon after. This proved to be a wise decision since we were there late and had to leave early too. The sun was high up and the heat was burning our skin so we opted to go to the shady area first. The funny thing with the Avilon Zoo is that despite its 3-year existence, they still have not produced at least a sketch of the places to see when you want to go on your own instead. although the first animals that we saw were some mallards, the area was not part of the "zoo proper" because these were not in cages and were sort of "sent out to fend for themselves", so to speak. In the vernacular, "sariling-kayod".

So, like I said, we went where it was shady, moist and a little damp so we would feel cool. and what creatures did we first meet? ones that thrived in these areas - the nasty, cranky crocs! Well, not exactly nasty. But of course for starters you'd want to see some creatures that are endearing and charming. Not their fault anyway. So, yup, we saw 'em crocs. Ikee had made up a game of spot the animal with us and was so surprised that I was fast at it. Nah, I'm just probably scared of them so I have to see them before they see me! hehehe

We saw several creatures. there were the capybarra, the raccoon, the puma, cockatoo, toucan, emu, ostrich, tapir, sheep (yes, with thick wool even! poor guys...), the arapaima, civets, leopard (or something that looks like it anyway), the lovable ape, some owls, a porcupine (would you believe!), etc. etc. et. the list goes on and on. There are several hundreds of bird species (which is why the place is named avilon in the first place) and a few hundred other animals. the one that we loved the most were the myna that we went to see those creatures 3 times. Andy why won't we enjoy when we were able to teach them to snore and to say bird flu! and with great success I tell you. The usual things that they said were, "kumain ka na ba" (have you eaten already?), hello, goodbye. they particularly liked to meow and whisper things that you couldn't even understand. copycats! hehehe

The place is unexpectedly larger than I had expected. But since there were several benches in shady areas to rest at and a snacking station right in the middle of the zoo, it wasn't so difficult to go around. The toilet here is even better than the one we had seen at the entrance! A nice treat for the visitors is how the owners of the place have arranged to have some interaction between animals and humans. For a 50-peso fee, pictures could be taken with them. There was also a part where you get to feed the arapaimas which are large carnivorous fish from Africa. We were told that the ones that were there we still young. and already they were the size of my leg!

We got really tired after 4.5 hours of walking so we decided to go home. Although we only got to join the tour for a very short while, we saw practically the whole place. And yet, Avilon is such a wonderful place that we have all intentions of going back. Sooner than later I hope.

December - the perfect time to be in Baguio

Despite the seemingly rapid environmental degradation and the switch from a beautiful and clean city to a polluted, cramped, chaotic metropolis, Baguio has, for some reason, retained an old charm and rustic beauty about it. Somehow my family has developed a love for the city that we have been going there almost annually for the past 8 years now. Always in December.

Why December you may ask? Well, for one, Baguio is known to have a cool climate but it is in its coldest during this time of the year. Living in a tropical country like the Philippines, the place I reside in gets its share of rains and thunderstorms about 6 months each year and horrendous heat for 3 months during the summer. Although it is rather cool here in the months of November to February, it does not get as cold as it does in Baguio where the temperature reaches to as low as 10 degrees celsius. Ok, that's not so cold you say. That may be true - to you, that is. Remember what is true to someone else may not be true to another. And like I said, I live in the tropics and anything lower than 20 degrees is cool to me. Cold but not rainy with just some overcast is perfect.

Because it is cool, it is during this time that we get to wear some winter clothes of wool. Ikee even likes donning those knitted berets and gloves! There is NO WAY that you can wear those in the Philippines but in Baguio. and only in the cold months as the city's climate, although still cool, is not suitable for winter clothes in the summer or other time of the year.

Another reason for the choice are the activities available to us. December is perfect. It is cold in Baguio then and the strawberries are ripe for the picking. The family loves strawberries and not just ones that you buy from the supermarket but those that have just been harvested from the fields when you can feel warm and cool all at once - the sunand cool wind on your skin. Although picking the strawberries comes out more expensive for us not just because we have to go all the way to the strawberry field in La Trinidad Valley to pick them but because we get to choose the biggest and juiciest ones that they are priced higher. If I remember right, we got them at 300 pesos per kilo last december, 2005 when we could have purchased them in the market for 250 pesos - and the market is just in the middle of the city while la Trinidad is 30 minutes away from the city.

This time of the year is also perfect for having a picnic and strolling in Camp John Hay, the former US Base in Baguio City. We have discovered that having a picnic in this area is such a wonderful family activity in that every one of us agrees that we should never leave Baguio without doing it. Well, not to mention that it is an inexpensive activity as well. As this is done during breakfasttime of the last day of our stay, I merely have to bring salted eggs with tomatoes, cook some Vigan Longganisa, and fried rice, hot chocolate, and bring some fruit, strawberries and cream or some salad to complete the meal. The morning breeze is a delight to be had on a december morning. Add to the expense is the rental for the table that we use (about 150 pesos or so). along with our breakfast, we bring some board/card game that we can do to while away our time. Other than these, we also get to do other activities that are available in Camp John Hay. One of our favorites - actually my husband's and daughter's - is the nature trail which is about a 2 km hike amongst the pine trees. I particularly love to go shopping and look at the flowers. When we are not able to bring our meal, the choice would normally be coffee and pastries from the Figaro Coffeeshop which is a stone's throw away from the butterfly sanctuary or the Brothers burger at the Mile Hi.

During december there is a huge sale at the Export processing zone. I love going there because there are goods that are unusual and which are sold at very low prices. As I do not normally finish all my christmas shopping before we go to Baguio, there are things I buy to give to my friends and relatives for christmas.

December is also the time when most people would rather stay in their homes to prepare for the holidays so it is not as crowded in Baguio as it would normally be during the summer. How much of Baguio will you enjoy when all you see are people's heads and backs?

I don't like going to a place over and over again. But Baguio is different - it is a place where you discover something new each trip. The only places that we go to every time are the Wright Park for the horseback riding, the Mansion House because it is just across the wright park anway, Camp John Hay for the stroll and breakfast and shopping, Good Shepherd Convent for the ube and other delicacies. We normally skip the trips to Mines View Park, Bontanical garden, Burnham Park, Cathedral, Grotto, etc because they are either too crowded or the view is better some other place.

Last December we discovered a place called the Tam-awan Village. This is an ifugao village constructed by the artists of Baguio. What's nice is that you get to be immersed if you stay in one of their huts for a few days. The village takes pride in creating an authentic Ifugao experience for its guests. There are several activities that one could do there. I had wanted to do the hike to the top of the mountain but it had drizzled a bit which made the road slippery. Instead, we had a charcoal painting done by the artists around. there's no fee for it but you do have to give a small amount for donation to the village.

Also last december we discovered the Eco trail at the Maryknoll Convent. This features the different major religions in the world and the stations of the cross in a forest setting. There's this suspension bridge that leads to a burial cave which gave us a really eerie feel because it was deafeningly silent. Actually, we didn't know it was a burial cave until we read it. hehe...

There are several places we have yet to discover. I have been to the Asin Spring in my younger years and so desire to have my family explore its beauty. The Bataloc Mines and the old crystal cave are also among the list of places that I would like to visit the next time around. So, really, December is just perfect for us. In December, my family are all on vacation. In December the pine trees are green and makes the air smell of it and perhaps creates a "Little House on the Prairie" kind of atmosphere. Just trying to avoid the mess and clutter that abound in the city is one of the continuous challenge we have to face in our yearly pilgrimage to this place.

A Camp Out at Laiya Coco Grove: Day 2

It was hard for me to sleep last night. First, because I was not feeling so secure about sleeping by the shore. Next, because the sand was not flat and there were bumps on where I was sleeping on. Another thing is that the people singing did not stop until it was about 2 or 3 am. But as I told my companions about this, Me-an commented that I had actually snored slept soundly when she heard me. To their credit though, Laiya has its guards roaming the place every so often that it was a shame that I still did not feel safe.

I was up at 6:45 am and prepared breakfast. I boiled some water over my "burner" and made some serena starbucks coffee (it was soooo good to drink it there!) using the portable coffee maker. Breakfast included the French bread and some liver spread, hazel nut spread, soy milk and buko (young coconuts) which we had ordered from the resort harvested that same morning. Later on we decided to do some snorkeling and hired a boat to go to the snorkeling area. It cost us 800 pesos for 1 hour but we had a grand time. Me-an who originally didn't want to swim, joined us and held on to the "katig" of the boat while snorkelling.

It was Ikee's first time to really snorkel. While in Palawan, she tried it once but was too scared so she opted to stay in the boat. This time, with her dad and myself, she swam and snorkelled and really enjoyed it. The water was cool and clear. We first fed the fish while we were on the boat and then fed them again when we were on the water. Boyet held a piece of bread close to his mouth and ikee said she saw the fish swarm near him and had passed by her mask so close that she felt comically frightened by it. The area we were at had corals. We were told it was about 10 feet deep but it didn't seem like it because the corals were so high that we could reach them with our feet. It's a wonder that the fish are still there since the corals we saw had been damaged.

The fishing gears that I asked the boatmen to bring were prepared when I went up the boat so I tried my hand at it. My first catch was a grouper but it was so small that I had to let it go. The buko that I ordered at the resort were brought with us so we got to drink them while we were there. I had seen the boatmen throw the husks in the water so I lectured them about keeping the sea clean so that the marine life would thrive and they'd ultimately have continuous income from it. Not sure if that sinked in though. Perhaps next time I should be armed with some pictures and stuff like those for teaching aide.

We had our last meal at the beach again. This time I had asked one of the staff to buy pork and some other veggies for us to cook over the grill. As we didn't consume all of the buko that I ordered earlier, these were added to our salad (to become an instant buko salad which, mind you, was a great hit. You have to check my janecajuguiran.blogspot.com for the recipe). The coconut water was used in place of drinking water, since we had but a few more hours to stay anyway, and to rinse off the pork. That my friends was one of the most sumptuous meals we have ever had. Sand flavored of course (everything fell on the sand even before they went over the coals. hehehe) Then it was time for us to leave.

On our way home, we stopped by at a Colettes' store near the SLEX. It was almost 7:30 and we were still at the SLEX so I suggested we stop for dinner at the bonjour - a gasoline station and complex. We ate at the Grace and Rose Restaurant (or was it Rose and Grace?) where we had some bulalo. It was ok but not as good as I had imagined it to be. Anyway, this complex had some other establishments. One of them is the Seattle's Best. They also have a chowking store and we did want to get some halo-halo but were too stuffed that we decided to go home. Would we go back to Laiya? Of course!

A Camp out at Laiya Coco Grove

We've always wanted to go camping. The time we went to the La Mesa Ecopark we were determined to camp out there. But they have this policy of having a minimum10 paying campers to a group to hold one. There are only three members in my family - myself, my husband and my daughter - and we could hardly find 3 other persons to go camping with us. Also, our car is only a sedan and could accomodate only 2 more persons aside from the family because when going camping we'd need to bring our own stuff and would necessarily require a lot of space in the car. In other words, disappointingly, we were not able to camp in La Mesa - yet. But the choice of a place to camp was only one of the factors that were being considered. The determination to go through the activity weighed heavier than all other factors. So, we did camp. Not in La Mesa, though, but in the picnic area of the Laiya Coco Grove.

I found the website of Coco Grove while searching for a campsite. Desperate to find a place to pitch our tent and do some barbecue, I called several resorts to try to check if they could accomodate us. Coco grove was the only one available and I had to grab the opportunity. So, ater two days, we were on our way to our camp out.

The trip was tiresome. We left the house at 9 am and reached the place at 2:30 pm on April 22, 2006. This travel time was a surprise to us since we knew that Laiya is just in Batangas and that it said that the travel time was 2.5 hrs plus in their website. It turned out that the plus meant 2.5 hours more. hehehe To their credit though, the road to the resort is very good having passed two highways (the South Luzon Expressway and the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road). Except for a mere 1 km of rough road, the Batangas stretch is well paved and properly maintained.

Coco Grove is divided into 3 sections - the main resort, the picnic area and the white beach. Although all three places had beachfronts, the white beach had the best shoreline. It was disappointing at first because I thought that if we checked in at the white beach, we'd have access to all three. It was when we got there that I learned that only when you check in at the main resort would you be able to go to the other beaches. But this would cost us 2,100 pesos each and we didn't expect to spend that much. Besides, we were set to camp out and not to stay there in luxury. Although I had a reservation for the white beach, we settled for the picnic area which incidentally is the cheapest - only cost us 330 per person while it costs 650 pesos to stay in the white beach. The Picnic area served our purpose. It had some trees along the coast which had a shady area beneath it where we pitched our tent. We didn't want to spend so much so we opted to use the tent we brought. There's an additional 330 pesos to rent a tent. Besides, that's part of the thrill of the experience anyway.

Getting there was the first challenge. The next was our stomachs. We were all starving as we did not get any lunch along the way. There was a buffet in the main resort but it costs 300 pesos per person. There were five of us (my mother in law and cousin in law were with us) and that would make an additional 1,500 pesos to our expense on just one meal! Luckily and with some charm, I managed to ask from the staff where to get food. So another discovery was made - there is a small marketplace by the beach about 5 minutes away from the resort and there's even an water refilling station and a convenience store just about 50 meters outside the gate. So, off we went to get some chow while my daughter, Nanay and Me An stayed behind to have the tent pitched. It was funny at first when were trying to figure out how to get the food. Ikee volunteered to stay and pitch the tent and was boasting that she really knew how. Of course, I did not want her to stay. Hey, what can I say? I'm her mother! I wanted her by my side all the time. hehehe But with a ton of persuasion from her dad and Ikee herself, I agreed under one condition - that she'd keep her mobile phone within hearing range. There was no way I'd let anything wrong happen to her.

So, off we trotted to the market. nah, actualy we rode the car. We found several things to eat at the marketplace (it's called "talipapa"). There were some stalls where raw (not necessarily fresh but raw just the same) seafood, meat and vegetables were sold. There were also some stores that sold cooked food. While choosing a dish from one store, Boyet noticed a vendor selling some ginataan hipon (shrimp in coconut milk) and other viand cooked in coconut milk (ginataan). We bought some of those too and amazingly spent only 165 pesos for our first main meal which consisted of ginataan hipon, ginataan isda (fish), laing (yam leaves in coco milk), chicken afritada and 5 servings of rice. We also had some raw mangoes for appetizer and some ambrosia salad for dessert. Not bad for an overdue lunch eh? We "devoured" our meal like hungry lions! Perhaps piranhas would be a better comparison.

Ikee and Boyet managed to spend some time in the water. But I didn't. It was time to rest. We spread our mat on the sand and laid down by the shore. Ah... what a life. The a warm breeze caressing your skin, the sound of the waves on your ear, the smell of... naaah... it was time to cook dinner! We didn't have a lamp so we could only rely on the sunlight and our trusty flashlights. We were not that prepared for a camp out because that was technically our first. The first time we tried, it had rained and we had to sleep in the lobby of the multi-purpose hall of th ayala greenfield subdivision. So, armed with just some charcoal, handy grill bar, newspaper and a match that I had bought from the talipapa, I started to cook dinner. I had built a 3-burner cooking stove, mind you, with the rocks I found around. Talk about being a girl scout. Ikee tried to help so I let her. She fanned the charcoal till the ember spread out. It was a grilled lambchops and chicken dinner for us along with some charbroiled mussels and some broiled sweet peppers and tomatoes - sand flavored! Some pieces had fallen off the grill and I just rinsed them a bit and put them right back on to the grill. That's part of the thrill, isn't it? hehehe

Of course, we can't do away with dessert. Boyet and Ikee went on an errand to fetch some drinking water. they were giggling when they came back. I knew right there that they had bought some ice cream. Ikee was surprised at how I knew. I merely shrugged my shoulders and laughed.

After dinner, Boyet and Ikee started the bonfire while I went with nanay and Me an who were assigned to do the dishes. We had been hearing other guests at the karaoke and I had asked both Me an and Ikee to go with me so we could belt out some tunes. Ikee was willing to go on the condition that she would not be asked to sing because she had some allergic cough and might lose her voice. When we got there however, we were told that they had rented the machine for the whole day! which explains why they had been there forever. Soon after, it was time to call it a night. And the Sandman cometh.