Anilao Getaway

Anilao is dubbed as the divers' haven because it is where the best dive spots can be found.  I am not a diver though I am dreaming to experience how to dive to see what lies below the ocean….but it remains only in my dream because I cannot afford it.  I have a cheaper option though - snorkeling! 

Since I've had experienced snorkeling in Coron, it becomes one of my favorite water activities since then.  I bought a cheap snorkeling gear and I always brought it with me whenever I go to the beach.  Anyway, it was my birthday and wanted to celebrate it at the beach so I, together with my sister in law, Ate Rose, my two nieces, Lani and Jeng, my granddaughter, Ayah and Lani's niece, Mimi went to Anilao.  We had no advanced booking with any of the resorts.  What we wanted was to see the place first before deciding to check in.  I've read about one resort, Vista Aplaya and based on the pictures on the blog I've read, it looked inviting.  We arrived in Anilao before lunch and we were asking for direction along the way on how to get to Vista Aplaya.  We found it at last.  It has a small sign on the side of the road that if you are not paying attention, you'll miss it.  The road access going to the resort was quite a challenge.  You have to navigate a very very steep, nearly perpendicular, very narrow and winding road to the resort.   I don't know what will happen if there's another vehicle going up.  It's going to be a hell of a challenge  to give way either both ways.  Anyway, we were able to check in right away when we arrived.

The resort is small yet the view is nice. It has a small infinity pool.. Before checking in, we confirmed from the staff that there's no corkage fee for the food that we brought in. I've chosen this resort because they don't charge corkage fee according to articles written by bloggers who stayed in this resort before. When we checked out, I was disappointed though because we were charged additional P700 for corkage fee because according to the staff, the management had already changed the policy. It was really disappointing because we had chosen this resort solely for the reason that they don't charge corkage fee which we made sure from the staff before checking in. They could have told us right away so that we could have looked for another place to stay. Anyway, the room is small for the 6 of us (5 adults and 1 baby). The pool is small but good enough to dip. It was on a weekday so only few guests were there so we had the pool by ourselves.


The beach in front of the resort is not suitable for swimming because there are plenty of corals. I cannot recommend it for snorkeling either because there's nothing interesting to see.  Anilao, I realized is solely for divers only and not for snorkelers like me because all interesting things can be found few meters below the sea. I realized too that Anilao is quite an expensive place and for a non-diver like me, spending your hard earned money in this very expensive place is,sorry to say this, not all worth it.

Snorkeling in Canyon Cove

This is quite a late post for my blog since we travelled to Nasugbo first week of January this year.  But since I want to document all my travels in my blog, I tried to recall all my previous travels so expect to read plenty of late entries on this blog soon.

Since last year, we were traveling around Batangas to explore its beaches but only now that we thought of going to Nasugbo.  I've read some blogs about day tour to Canyon Cove so I, together with my niece, Lani, my granddaughter, Ayah and Lani's niece, Mimi went to Nasugbo for a day tour.  We left early so as not to be caught in a traffic jam in Manila and so as the sun started to rise, we were already in Batangas.  We were glad we used the Cavitex and Ternate-Nasugbo route because the sceneries along the way were beautiful.  It's a less taken path I guess because we chanced upon only few vehicles along the way.  Though you have to traverse mostly on zigzagged road, it's relatively a stress-free roadtrip because the road is in tip-top condition.  

As we were nearing Canyon Cove, we passed by a scenic side of the road overlooking an ocean so we decided to have a stop over to eat our packed breakfast ( ang walang kamatayang rice and adobo at arroz valenciana :-) ).  There was a makeshift bamboo table and bench on that side of the road used maybe by vendors during day time but since it was too early, they haven't arrived yet.  There, we unpacked our food and enjoyed our breakfast with an amazing view below.

After having our breakfast, we continued our trip and arrived at Canyon Cove as early as 8am. The place was nice with a large, scenic pool.  We didn't tried the pool though because we were enjoying the beach.  The cove has a scenic view and the beach has white sand.  It was a sunny day and the water was clear and calm.  I tried snorkeling and I was not disappointed.  Just near the shoreline, there were corals and colorful fishes.  I spent the whole morning snorkeling from end to end of the cove.  For those who want to snorkel too, the more beautiful corals and colorful fishes can be found on the rightmost side of the cove if you are facing the beach.

Can't Get Enough of Puerto Galera

Just the other week, I was in Puerto Galera with my niece and brother on a side trip only after almost a week of roadtrip in the Visayas.  Since we will be passing Mindoro on our way back to Manila, we decided to do a side trip to Puerto Galera.  It was our first time and we were glad we did that side trip.  We had a great time snorkeling in the coral garden and we promised, it's not going to be our last.  The place is now one of my favorite places which I look forward to come back to…or settle to for good.  Seriously, I am planning to sell my house in Rizal and buy a small lot to build my Bahay Kubo by the beach in Puerto Galera.   So after a week, I, together with Lani, my niece, Ayah, my granddaughter and Mimi, Lani's niece went back to Puerto Galera to look for a potential residential lot.  I found a 130 sqm lot in Galera Grand Bay Subdivision near Balatero Port.  The subdivision is facing the sea and near the national highway.  The view was beautiful and I was already daydreaming of waking up in the morning, looking out from my window and will be greeted with the beautiful view of the sea.  The only downside is it's near a small creek that during rainy season, there's a risk of flood.  I still have a week to decide if I'm going to push through with it.  I still have to look for potential buyer  of my house too in Rizal.  

Since we were in Puerto Galera again, I decided to do snorkeling again and this time, I know where to hire a cheaper boat.  Lani was not able to join with us so only me and Mimi went for snorkeling.  First, we went to Sandbar Beach Resort where small boats dock. They only charged P200/per head/activity.  We chose the snorkeling and clam garden package and we were charged P600 for the two of us. I realized later on that we could not have availed the clam garden package. We were not able to see the clam garden the first time we were in Galera so we included it in our package this time.  We were disappointed though.  The clams were few and small.  I've only seen two and the other one is dead. I've seen giant clams in Hundred Islands in Pangasinan and they were plenty and really huge. 

We then proceeded to the coral garden for snorkeling and it felt like my first time.  Galera's coral garden is the best snorkeling site I've ever seen.  I was able to record the underwater scenes using my outdated Samsung mobile phone placed inside a waterproof plastic casing.  I wish I can afford to buy a waterproof camera.  Anyway, after almost 20 minutes of documenting the underwater sceneries, I stopped recording afraid of getting my antique Samsung wet when the two pawikan showed up.  I was so disappointed I was not able to capture them in my recordings.  Those two sea turtles did not show up the first time I snorkeled with my brother and niece the other week.  Mimi and I were so happy seeing those two creatures.   

I can't get enough of snorkeling in the coral garden of Puerto Galera.  I can do it everyday and not getting tired of it.  I hope that my wish to stay in Galera for good will be granted. I wish someone will buy my house in Rizal so that I can build my dream house by the beach in Galera.

Anyone wants a house in a hilly location with a breathtaking view of the Sierra Madre mountains in Rizal? Just contact me. 

Ultimate roadtrip to Gigantes Islands, Bulubadiangan Island, Boracay and Puerto Galera

I've seen photos taken from Islas de Gigantes in Iloilo and since then, I can't wait to see the place by myself.  I was planning to do a roadtrip from Manila all the way to Carles Iloilo, the jump off point going to Islas de Gigantes - a group of islands in the Northern part of Iloilo which boast a picturesque view and turquoise crystal clear and white sand beaches.  So after doing research on the net on how to get there, I, together with my niece and brother had our first ever road trip to Visayas region last week.  

We left San Mateo Rizal at around 7pm last Friday, 5 Feb to catch the 0130H Roro FastCat ferry to Calapan, Mindoro.  We arrived Batangas Port at around 2300H and  a lot of vehicles were already on queue.  We chose Fast Cat Roro because it's new and with state of the art vessels that passed international standard, or so they say.   It also boasts a faster journey because its vessels have 2-hulls.  We left Batangas 20 minutes earlier as scheduled and arrived Calapan a few minutes before 0300H.  It was indeed faster by almost 50 percent than regular Roro like Montenegro, Starlite, etc..which traverse the same route for 3 hours.  Anyway, we started our roadtrip as soon as I unloaded the car from the Roro.  We proceeded to Bulalacao, which is located in the northernmost part of Mindoro where the next Fast Cat Roro was scheduled to leave for Caticlan (Fast Cat has no port in Roxas which is the normal jump off point for most of the Roro.)  We arrived Bulalacao Port at around 0700H, too early for the 1000H schedule of the Roro.  We ate our packed meals (arroz valenciana which I cooked myself) and had plenty of time for sightseeing.  Bulalacao is a laid-back town but in my opinion, it has a potential to be the next tourist destination in a few years or so.  With the opening of the Bulalacao Port and beautiful beaches (though we were not able to explore the entire place, the beach near the Port was beautiful and inviting enough that if not for our scheduled trip to Caticlan, we could have took a dip in the crystal clear water) I am pretty sure that this place will be the next big thing as far as tourism is concerned in the near future.  If the beach near the port was beautiful enough, how much more the other islands surrounding the area?  We left Bulalacao Port as scheduled and arrived Caticlan Port after almost 3hours.  For me, it's more convenient to use Bulalacao Port than Roxas Port because you'll spend only 3hours on board a Roro than 5-6 hours if you're coming from Roxas especially during Amihan season where you will be bombarded with big waves.

As we set foot Caticlan Port, we were looking for a place to eat our packed lunch but we could not find a place which we could park our car and eat so we decided to just continue driving until we reached a public beach near the airport.  We parked our car and eat our packed lunch (rice and adobo which I also cooked :-) ).  While we were feasting our simple yet delicious lunch, our eyes were feasting too of the beautiful view that surround us. This is the advantage of having your own transportation, you can bring food and drinks all you want and stop anytime at anyplace to eat.   

We arrived Carles at around 1900H and we decided to spend the night there since we cannot go directly to Gigantes Islands.  We checked out early and went to Bankal Port to catch the 1000H boat schedule to Gigantes.  A lot of local tourists were already in the Tourism Center waiting for their chartered boat for the island hopping.  Initially, our plan was to wait for the public boat to Gigantes at 1000H and just look for a boat there to take us for island hopping but since we wanted to stay overnight in Cabugao Gamay, one of the tourism center staff suggested us to take a chartered boat which could take us for island hopping and will take us to Cabugao Gamay and will come back for us the next day to fetch us from there and back to Bankal Port.  He said that we can save a lot because public boat will only take us to Gigantes Norte and from there, we need to charter a boat to take us to Cabugao Gamay which charge to and fro separately so it will costs us more than taking a charter boat from Bankal Port.  It includes island hopping tour for 5 islands ( Cabugao Gamay, Antonia's Island, Tangke, Pulupandan and Bantigue Sandbar), dropping us in Cabugao Gamay for overnight stay and fetching us the next day going back to Bankal Port.  Not bad.   So after getting all the things that we need to take to the island, we parked our car in the public parking area in the Port hoping that it's safe enough to leave our car there.  

Bantigue Sandbar was our first stop for our lunch.  As we approached the island, we can't help but be amazed of the beautiful view that greeted us.  Several boats were lined up along the stretch of white sandbar slightly visible from the crystal turquoise water.  People were enjoying walking on the sandbar and the three of us were so excited too to take a dip.  My niece, Ann and I alighted from the boat and went to the small store manned by a couple who serve as the caretaker of the island.  We ordered scallops for P150 and P100 for Wasay-wasay and P60 for rice for the three of us.  It was my first time to eat scallops and wasay wasay and for me, I like scallops more than the latter.  Since scallops and wasay-wasay were P1/piece, we were not able to finish them all, so we removed the flesh from the shell and put it in our cooler and brought it to Cabugao Gamay which we cooked in the evening (we brought a portable stove with a small canister of butane as gas so we were able to cook our own meals - great savings from food!) We brought rice, canned goods, fresh eggs, coffee, choco drink mineral water, softdrinks, bread fruits, pots and pans etc…(we had 2 coolers full of cold drinks and we brought the other one to the island so we had no problem with cold drinks which were priced as gold if we bought it in the island).  Tip in ordering scallops and wasay wasay in Bantigue Island:  Order it as soon as you arrived in the island to avoid waiting too long for your order to arrive.  Only Aling Hene and her husband were cooking the food and most of the time, Aling Hene was left alone preparing it because her husband were busy getting wasay-wasay and scallops straight from the sea.  

Antonia's Island was our second stop.  It's a small island with a small white sand beach.  It's beautiful too and a lot of tourists, local and foreign were already there when we arrived.  We didn't stay there for long though, we just took a few pictures and off we go to our final destination for the day - Cabugao Gamay where we stayed overnight.  Our boatman, Mang Albert suggested that we just complete our island hopping tour the next day because we cannot do it all at the same day which we agreed.  Paradise is an understatement to describe Cabugao Gamay.  It was indeed a grand feast for the eyes.  Since smaller nipa huts were already occupied, we were given bigger nipa hut that can accommodate 6-7 persons.  It's a bit pricey considering the condition of the nipa hut.  But  we were paying for staying in a paradise and not for the nipa hut, I guess.  For P25/container, water is gold in the island.  One should learn how to take a bath with half pail of water!  Saltwater was used for toilet flush.  

We were fetched by Mang Albert the next day.  Since it's Amihan season, the waves were a bit bigger when were sailing.  We dropped by at Tangke, it's a saltwater lagoon surrounded by limestone formation.  As we approached the place, I cannot help but compare it with some of the rock formations  in Palawan.  After navigating our way to the lagoon, we just took some pictures and off we go to our next destination - Pulupandan Island.  It's a small island with one nipa hut and with one coconut tree that was left after the typhoon Yolanda.  We were not able to set foot on the island because the waves were big and it's too difficult for the boatman to maneuver the boat so we just decided to go back to Bankal port.  The waves were big and rough and I felt a bit nervous about our safety.  I am not a very religious person but I was praying the whole time, not for my safety but for the safety of my brother and niece because if anything bad happen, I will be held responsible for them since I asked them to go with me on this trip.  Anyway, Mang Albert reminded us not to panic and assured us that it's just normal during Amihan season to have big and rough waves and he's used to it. After almost 2 hours of grueling journey in the rough seas,  thank God, we finally arrived at the port in one piece! 

During my research about Gigantes Islands, I chanced upon one blog regarding Sandbar Beach Resort in Bulubadiangan Island in Concepcion Iloilo so we included it our itinerary since it's just an hour or so away from Carles.  So after taking a bath in a public toilet in Bankal Port, we hit the road again to Concepcion Iloilo.  We dropped by at Tourism Center in Conceplcion as soon as we arrived the town.  They were the one who contacted the boatman that brought us to Bulubadiangan Island. The boat trip to Bulubadiangan island was smooth and took us almost 30 minutes.  True to its name, the resort boasts a long sandbar that stretches almost up to the adjacent island and according to some, it changes formation according to the direction of the wind.  With the towering Mt, Manaphag on the background, the view was breathtaking!  The resort was simple with 3 nipa huts and a house which I believed belongs to the owner of the island.  There were 5 guests in the resort when we arrived.  They were occupying the nipa hut adjacent to ours.  The owner charged P1500 for the nipa hut but we made a bargain and it was given to us for P1000.  It has no toilet so we had to use the common toliet a few steps away.  For P1000, it's a bit pricey with just the nipa hut without anything provided but a mat to sleep on, pillows and very thin blanket to protect us from the chilling wind.  But like in Cabugao Gamay, we paid not for the nipa hut but for the privilege of staying in a beautiful paradise.  The ambiance was so serene and tranquil. There was this makeshift bamboo table and bench built under a tree near the shore that during high tide, the water reaches underneath, that was my favorite place.  I love to sit there and just stare at  the ocean, the mountain, and the long stretch of sandbar.

Ann collected some scallop shells when we were in Cabugao Gamay and she was planning to bring them home but because we were not going home for a few days yet, there's a slim chance of taking this poor shells home alive so what we did was cooked them for dinner.  After asking permission from the owner, Ann picked some malunggay leaves in the backyard of the resort's owner's house. With ginger, onion and garlic, I sauteed the scallops together with the Malunggay leaves.  I also cooked corned beef with egg and rice. We enjoyed our dinner under the stars afterwards.  The next morning, we had our breakfast in the makeshift bamboo table and bench near the shore.  I brought our stove outside and placed it on the bamboo table.  I boiled water for our coffee and cup noodles. I put the bread on top of the pot to heat it too.  Then as the sun started to rise, we were enjoying our breakfast with a great view.  

After having breakfast, we strolled on the other side of the sandbar because it was lowtide.  we were excited upon seeing small corals sprouting everywhere, there were starfishes and sea cucumbers too.  We were saying that in a few years or so, it could be a potential snorkeling area when all those corals get bigger.  After almost an hour of strolling, we decided to go to the other side of the sandbar and we got a pleasant surprise when we were greeted with a vast coral and clam garden.  I cannot contained my happiness and excitement when I saw the long stretch of corals exposed because of lowtide,  It's like snorkeling without swimming.  You just have to walk and you will be greeted with all the beautiful variety of corals.  I can't believed that I am walking in the middle of a vast coral garden. It was a sight to behold! 

The water slowly came back and the coral garden was already covered by water.  We then enjoyed swimming the whole morning.  We had the beach by ourselves because the other guests left earlier.  We had our early lunch.  We had freshly picked shellfish bought from a local resident we chanced upon when we were strolling in the coral garden.  We just boiled it and with calamansi, chili and soy sauce as dip, we had a hearty lunch.  Our boat arrived before 1pm.  Our heart broke as we bade goodbye to Bulubadiangan Island.  We sailed back to Concepcion Port and prepared to continue our long journey from Concepcion Iloilo to Caticlan.  It was a grueling 8-9 hours drive!  We left Concepcion past 3pm and arrived at Caticlan Port before midnight.  It was a long drive and we were so tired . We decided to drop by at Boracay Island and spend overnight.  The Jetty port to Boracay were crowded with tourists from all over the world and it took us more than an hour before we could board a boat to take us to Boracay.   If not for my brother and niece who've never been to Boracay yet, we could have skipped it and continue our journey back to Mindoro.  Anyway, we arrived at Boracay around midnight and we had a hard time looking for accommodation,  After scouring for possible place to retire for the night in station 3, we finally found a decent place to sleep for P1K, it's a fan room big enough for the three of us.  It has 2 queen size beds.  The next morning, we were so excited to go to the beach but we were disappointed to see the water full of green algae.  I was lucky the first time I visited the place in 2013, the water was "clean" with the absence of green algae.  We strolled along the beach up to station1  where the water was a bit clearer compared to the water at station 3 and 2 where thick green algae covered the shore.  It was really disappointing thinking the stress we've gone through just to get there.  

We left Boracay before lunchtime to catch the Fast Cat Roro scheduled at 3pm to Bulalacao Port in Mindoro.  The Roro was delayed for more than an hour so we left Caticlan Port at around 4pm.  We arrived Bulalacao Port at around 7pm.  We continued our roadtrip to Calapan and to Puerto Galera. Originally, Puerto Galera was not included in our itinerary but since we were already in Mindoro, we decided to do a side trip since we haven't seen the place yet.   It was really a very long drive and I was the lone driver for the entire trip.  I was so sleepy that we had to stop in the middle of nowhere just to boil water to have some coffee. At one time, we had to stop infront of the Police Station just to get a short nap. We slightly opened the car window just for some air but there's a lot of mosquitoes in the area that getting a nap was impossible.  We continued driving and we reached Puerto Galera around 2am.  We just parked our car in a vacant lot and just slept inside the car.  We were so tired that we slept like log until morning.  We checked in in the first Inn we saw that morning only to find out later that there's a lot of accommodations to choose from in the nearby areas better than what we got and a hell lot cheaper too. Anyway, that was charged to experience.  After boiling water for coffee and cup noodles for breakfast, we took a bath and prepared to explore the beach.  

I've heard of Puerto Galera long time ago and for some reasons, it gave me an impression that it's not a place worthy to explore.  I've heard that the place is synonymous with bars, beach parties,pollution and I've heard about proliferation of prostitution or so they say. It made me skip this place whenever I planned a beach  getaway.   But I was wrong.  Puerto Galera is paradise!  I love the coral garden,  I love the beach, it's a hell lot cleaner compared to Boracay's.  Too bad, we only had a short time left to explore the place.  We were able to see the Tamaraw Falls just beside the national Hiway. The next morning, we trekked to see the Aninuan Falls but we were a bit disappointed because it's small and not as majestic as Tamaraw.

After our trekking in Aninuan, we dropped by at Luca Italiana at Talipanan Beach to taste their famous pizza.  Since our scheduled ferry trip to Batangas was at 3pm, we still had ample time to explore the place, so we went to Sandbar Beach Resort and that's where we found out that we could have saved a lot if we got the snorkeling package there instead of getting it from agent in White Beach.  They only charge P200/pax for the snorkeling. Now, we know where to go the next time we are in Puerto.

We didn't go back to Calapan for the Roro trip to Batangas.  There was a newly opened Roro port in Balatero just a few minutes away from White Beach.

Our roadtrip to Gigantes Islands in Carles, Bulubadiangan Island in Concepcion, Boracay in Caticlan, Puerto Galera in Mindoro was indeed an enjoyable one and the experiences we had during our trip will be treasured in our hearts for a lifetime.  I wish I could do the ultimate roadtrip from Luzon Visayas up to Mindanao once in my lifetime.  

List of expenses that include gas consumed for the entire trip, Roro fares for passengers and car, accommodation and boat fares will be included in this blog as soon as I arranged all the receipts so that others who want to do the same roadtrip as we did will have a rough estimate as far as expenses are concerned.