Calaguas Island, Bicol - Day 1

Hear ye hear ye! *cue music*

I'm back! It's been exactly a month since my last post and please forgive me if I'm here again blabbering about how it went. Classes at Cervantes are still ongoing and we are 1 week away from finishing Level 2 and we will start Level 3 on October 6.

So for my birthday last September 18, I organized a trip to Calaguas (after a lot of stress and head ache from people backing out after prior commitment). If you remember from my post here, we were supposed to go there but it got cancelled on the day itself. So after 4 failed attempts, it finally pushed through. We availed of Melvic Briñas' package which is inclusive of the following for just P3700/pax.

• round trip bus tickets (Amihan Bus)
• boat transfers
• tent accommodation at Calaguas Island
• 6 camp meals
• life jackets
• environmental fees

We were a group of 8 and being just worry-free about the tent, boat and food sealed the deal. So if you want to go to Calaguas and just have a lazy vacation, just hop on to his Facebook and Blogspot account. His contact details are there for your perusal.

Our trip to Daet was at 8:30 PM and I don't know if it's just luck or what, but we had the bus literally to ourselves that we occupied the whole back area. I will advise you to bring a thick jacket/blanket and socks if you don't want to turn blue for the entire 9 - hour freezing trip. Upon arriving at 4:30AM, we waited for another 30 minutes before our van showed up and proceeded to have breakfast at Jollibee in the town proper. We had a lot of time to freshen up because we were 1 hour ahead of schedule so we left Daet at around 7:00 AM to go to Vinzons, for our boat ride to the island. Mind you, I was too impatient and cannot wait to sink my feet into the soft sand of Calaguas.

 

inside our huge van, there was WiFi but not working

our yatch (naks!)

So after almost 2 hours, we finally arrived. Please forgive the too - happy faces in the pictures below. We had the island all  to ourselves!

 

 

 

 

So we pitched our tents (we helped the staff because we wanted to learn how to haha!) and had lunch after. One thing that you should consider when booking a tour is the food. I am telling your right now that our food was always over portioned. Later at the end of our trip, we met the chef, Peter who was a Culinary Arts professor in a college in Daet. So expect your food to be D-E-L-I-S-H!

 

Lunch: Tanigue with Veggies, Bean Sprouts and Chicken Adobo

  

laughing because of KC below

 

 

 

One Piece's Sanji and Nami - the Boss' gift to me! <3

Swimming in the waters of the island was relaxing because the waves are just right, the sand is fine and it was seaweed - free. Too bad it was cloudy so we didn't get to see the sunset. There are no faucets in the island and there is just one big container in the restroom. You can pump the water yourself but you can also help the locals to get water for you for just P10 per container. So after rinsing, we had dinner and you know the drill after that. Yes, booze time!

 

Chicken BBQ, Santol dish (i don't know what its called), Dinakdakan (their version of Sisig) and Melon with Milk for dessert

Happy birthday to me! :)

  

If you want some me-time in a paradise without pollution (literally and physically), go to Calaguas! It is a must-see and a must-added tourist destination in our country. I just hope that it stays that way for the next generation to see it's true beauty.

Wait for my Day 2 and 3 posts. I needed to divide it because of the many pictures I want to share to you. :) Here's a teaser from Reuel, who's responsible for almost all the pictures in this post. Make sure to visit his blog too! Watch out for my Kid of the Trip, Margie. :)

Other pictures courtesy of : Jepay, Kc, Vans and Shiek.

Hasta luego!