Michi Photostory: cave

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January 19, 2017

Day 2: Echo Valley Walking Tour and Sumaguing Cave

No matter how you plan your travel, there are things that you cannot control. You should learn how to accept, adjust, and deal with it. There are so many things in Sagada that we did not expect but it happened.

First thing is the weather, I was not expecting that it would rain in Sagada but unfortunately, it rained. So we were not able to witness the sunrise in Mt. Kiltepan.

Second, when we woke up, we had no electricity except for the light that was run by the generator. According to the owner of the lodge, it is not always the case, may problem lang talaga. We cannot take a bath without hot water, ayaw namin mag-ice bucket challenge.

We did not want to waste our time waiting for the electricity, so we went to the town proper. We’re just waiting in the car while eating our breakfast. We are hoping that the rain will stop so we can start our tour, but two hours have passed and we still can’t see the sun. So my husband bought raincoats for us so we can start our Echo Valley Walking Tour. Rain or shine, go sa walking tour.

Echo Valley Walking Tour

There are three types of Echo Valley Walking Tour and since we have a kid in tow, we chose the short hike which is Echo Valley Hanging Coffins.

Guide fee is P200 + P10/person access fee.

You can finish this tour in less than an hour because you will only visit the St Mary the Virgin Church, St Mary the Virgin Cemetery, Echo Valley and Hanging Coffins. I have very limited pictures on this tour because of the rain but you can check the Sagada Echo Valley Tour video here.

We skipped the church and went straight to the Sagada Anglican cemetery. I was looking for William Henry Scott coffin but I was not able to locate it. I asked the guide but he was not aware of it. Well, William Henry Scott is a famous historian who was settled in Sagada in the year 1954 and was buried in this cemetery on October 10, 1993.

Then we continued our journey to Echo Valley, remember the movie of “That Thing Called Tadhana”, so this is the valley where you can shout your feelings. I tried it, kaso nakakahiya din pala sumigaw pag madami tao. Hehehe!

We can already see the Hanging Coffin from where we stand, but if you want to see the coffin up close and personal, be prepared for a challenging and slippery walk. I don’t want to take the risk of going down with my so,n so we just stayed. My husband and the guide went down to see the coffins. This will be added tothe unique cemeteries that we have visited in the Philippines.

Read: Unique Cemeteries in the Philippines

After the tour, we went to Salt & Pepper Diner for our early lunch, but it took them so long to serve the food, so just in time for lunchtime na. Hehehe!

We went back to our lodge and finally, we can already take a bath. Taking a bath is a new luxury. hehehe!

Sumaguing Cave

Aside from the Echo Valley Tour, the famous attraction here is Spelunking. We asked the guide if he thinks my 8-year-old son can do the cave tour and he said yes, “kaya naman daw”. I believed him but I don’t want to take the risk so again, babysitter na naman ang peg ko. Huhuhu!

Our lodge is just a few minutes away from the Sumaguing Cave so my husband just met the guide at the cave. You can also do the Cave Connection but my husband just chose the short course cave which is more or less two hours.

Read: Sagada Bilza Lodge

My husband brought waterproof bag, waterproof phone casing, lamp and bottle of water. Since I was not there, I will just share his pictures. Guide fee is P500.

Waah! I don't have pictures inside the cave. I'm pretty sure that we won't visit Sagada in the near future, but I hope that when we go back, I can still do spelunking. Baka di na kaya ng powers ko, lol. #signsofaging.

Read: Day 1 in Sagada
Day 3 Sagada Pottery and Lake Danum
Day 4 Goodbye Sagada
Sagada Bilza Lodge
Where to Eat in Sagada

January 15, 2017

3 Days in Puerto Princesa Palawan with Kids

A few days ago, I posted our 4 Days Adventures in Coron, Palawan. Now, I decided to share our 3 Days Puerto Princesa Palawan trip with the fambam. Almost seven years ago we went to Puerto Princesa, Palawan for our family outing. This was a much-awaited trip because this will be the first family out of town of via plane. Four generations kami, from my grandmother up to our own kids.

Read: 4 Days Adventure in Coron Palawan

Ysabelle Mansion

We’re group of 13 people so a month before the trip I already booked our accommodation at Ysabelle Mansion and rented a van for our three days tour. We stayed in Ysabelle Mansion for our 3 days and 2 nights trip. It is a hostel that offers basic accommodation. The rooms and bathrooms are clean. The service staffs are all friendly and nice. It is very near in seaport, airport, market and restaurant so transportation is not difficult.

Day 1: Honda Bay Island Hopping

Our rented van picked us up at the airport and we dropped by at the hostel to leave our baggage and off we went to sea port for our Honday Bay Island Hopping. Since our flight was delayed for almost an hour, we only have limited time for island hopping.

On our way to sea port, we went to 7 Plates Building to book our Underground River Tour, we bought mineral water and picked up our food. I ordered BBQ liempo, Grilled Pusit, Spicy Garlic Shrimp, Ensaladang Talong, Lato Rice, Grilled Baby back ribs, Buttered lobster, Kangkong w/oyster sauce and Atchara. The food were placed in a bilao and plastic container. I also brought disposables just in case magkulang. Good thing that I already ordered our food in advance because we were all hungry before we reach Snake Island. Sa sobrang gutom, walang pictures ang mga food.

Boat rental is P1500 good for 6 person, additional pax is P250 including kids. There are different islands in Honda Bay that you could visit such as Cowrie Island, Bat Island, Lu-Li Island (lulubog-lilitaw), Dos Palmas Island, Pambato Reef, Pandan Island, Starfish Island and Snake Island. Each island has its own entrance fee except for Snake Island but you have to pay for cottage.

Pandan island entrance fee P 50/head
Starfish island entrance fee P 50/head
Pambato reef entrance fee P 50/head
Pandan island cottage P 400/cottage

Snake Island

We only choose Snake Island, Star fish Island and Pandan Island. First stop is Snake Island, where we ate our lunch. The place is quite crowded maybe because there is no entrance fee. You will enjoy swimming and snorkeling even you are not a good swimmer because you can see school of fishes at knee deep of water.

Starfish Island

Next stop is Starfish Island but we just dropped by and moved to Pandan Island.

Pandan Island

Pandan Island has the best facilities and amenities among the three islands. They have their own comfort room, restaurant and massage place. So we already stayed in this Island till 5PM.

Bilao at Palayok

After Honda Bay Island Hopping, we went to Bilao at Palayok for our dinner. It is one of the most recommended restaurants in Puerto Princesa so we want to try it. The place has native ambiance and look.

We ordered Boodle Feast, Lengua Estofado, Buttered Garlic Crab and Ginataang Seafood. Among the food, my favorite is Lengua Estofado. For 13 persons, our bill is less than P2000 so price is very reasonable. Don't forget to bring your insect repellent. We took tricycle on our way back to Ysabelle Mansion.

Day 2: Underground River Tour

It’s been raining the whole night because there was LPA. I am bit worried that our Underground tour will be canceled but thank God for giving us good weather in Sabang. The travel time going to Undeground River is almost two hours and expect that is very long and winding road. It is not a smooth ride because some roads are not cemented.

Fortunately, we had stopover at Viewdeck because some of us are really dizzy and about to vomit. So don not forget to take bonamine to prevent biyahilo moments. This road is the same road that I will need to travel if I want to go to El Nido so I am really thinking twice about El Nido.

Underground River Expense

Van Rental P3000
Permit P150/head local, 200/head foreigner, 13-17 yrs old P50, 6-12yrs old P30 and 5yrs old below free
Boat (good for 6pax) P 700/boat

Tip: Do not forget to bring ID because they will look for it. I forgot the cost of terminal fee. For toddlers, bring your own life vest.

You need to ride boat to get to Underground River, it is just 15 minutes travel time. Upon arrival, you have to wait for your turn, yes pila ulit sa boart for Underground River Tour, it is about 45 minutes tour inside the cave. You will not get bored because the tour guide is really good, he will explain everything to you. I am proud that I have been here.

We availed the buffet lunch at the beach for P200 per head. The food is just ok so it is not worth the price especially for the kids because they have the same rate.

Puerto Princesa City Tour

After lunch, we decided to proceed with City Tour since we still have time. Itinerary for the day: Iwahig Penal Colony, Cathedral, Crocodile farm, Mitra’s house -Sta. Monica Ranch and Baker’s Hill.

Crocodile Farm and Nature Park

First stop is Crocodile Farm, there is a souvenir shop where you can buy pasalubong while waiting for your turn. I bought crocodile stuffed toy here. Between Crocodile Park of Davao and Crocodile Farm, I like Crocodile Park because there is so much to see in their park. But in Crocodile Farm, we were able to hold baby crocodile.

Then we visited Iwahig Penal Colony, Mitra’s house -Sta. Monica Ranch and Baker’s Hill. At this point, my grandmother was already complaining bakit hinto daw ng hinto, hehehe! City Tour nga e! So we did not stay long in each spot because our grandmother was just staying inside the van.

You will enjoy the Baker’s Hill because there is a playground for the kids. The place is big and it is not just a bakery. You can also buy food pasalubong here, the famous here is hopia.

Last stop is Cathedral na ako na lang ang bumaba just to take pictures because pagod na ang lahat. They did not want to go out anymore for dinner so we just ate at Ysabelle Mansion.

By the way, there is Vietville, Plaza Cuartel and Butterfly garden too but we did not include them in our itinerary.

Day 3: Palawan Museum

This was our last day in Puerto Princesa, since our flight was still 2PM, we decided to go to Palawan Museum. We just took a tricycle to get there. P10 for entrance fee.

We checked-out at 12 noon and naiinip pa kami na ihatid sa airport. Yun pala sarado ang airport, hindi man lang kami ininform na nagsasara pala yun. So we waited more or less an hour bago nag-open ulit ang airport.

Ysabelle Mansion
214 Abad Santos Extension
Puerto Princesa City Palawan, Philippines 5300
Contact Nos.: Landline (63)(48) 723-0992
Mobile No. (63)918-4089377 / (63)929-2417797
Email: info@ysabellemansion.com
Website: www.ysabellemansion.com

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May 20, 2015

Enchanted Cave

As promised, I will share with you our cave experience in Bolinao, Pangasinan. There are three caves that you can visit in Bolinao, such as Cindy’s Cave, Wonderful Cave and Enchanted Cave. But because we have very limited time, we can only visit one cave. We chose the latter because it is the popular cave.

So far, Enchanted Cave is the third cave that I’ve visited in the Philippines. I’ve been to Cambagat Cave, which is located inside the Panglao Island Nature and Resort Spa and of course, the famous Underground River in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

It was a long weekend, so the place was really crowded, a good thing that we were able to park immediately.

Effective March 2, 2015, the entrance fee is P150 per person. I was thankful that they did not charge my 6-year-old son.

Upon entering the resort, you will notice the coral rocks and fossils clams. I’ve read in one sign, this is proof that the place was part of the sea 10 million years ago.

There are cottages that you can use inside.

We immediately looked for the cave, and as expected, the place was packed. My son was scared at first, it was his first time to swim in a cave. If you are not a good swimmer, you can rent a life jacket.

The cave is not that big, I guess it is similar to Cambagat Cave in Bohol.

After several minutes inside the cave, we went to the kiddie pool so my son could enjoy.

This is the shower area. You need to get water from the deep well pump. The dressing area is beside that shower area, too.

As much as we want to stay long, we need to go home early. I think we only stayed for 1 hour. Di namin nasulit ang P150 entrance. Hehehe!

May 07, 2015

Day Trip in Bolinao, Pangasinan

My husband was born and raised in Pangasinan, so we always have reasons to visit this province. Most of our visits to Pangasinan involved staying in their house or visiting Lingayen Beach. You can check it here.

It’s been three years since our last visit to their province, so we took advantage of the long weekend (May 1 - 3) to visit my grandmother-in-law in Bugallon, Pangasinan, and at the same time visit Bolinao, Pangasinan.

We’ve never been to Bolinao, Pangasinan, so a few days before our trip, I checked possible places that we could visit for a day. After breakfast (May 2), off we went to Bolinao, Pangasinan. We used Google Maps and Waze for directions.

1. Our first stop was St James the Great Parish located in Don Alonzo Ponce Street, Poblacion, Bolinao, Pangasinan. The church was made out of black coral stones. Its church tower is seventy-five feet, which is the tallest in the whole of Pangasinan, but the earthquake toppled about half of it in 1788. After that, the church was accidentally burned in 1819 and suffered in Typhoon Emong in 2009.

2. UP Marine Science Institute - my husband suggested this, so I searched if this is open to the public. We’ve been in Giant Clam Culture in Camiguin, but I had no idea that the Bolinao Marine Laboratory (BML) is the main office.

According to their website, BML is the official marine station of the Marine Science Institute (MSI), University of the Philippines, Diliman. BML serves as a research base for the scientific activities of MSI’s senior staff, visiting scientists, graduate students, and other collaborating institutions.

The clams that I’ve seen in Camiguin came from Bolinao, Pangasinan. There is no doubt that this is the main office because their outdoor hatchery is bigger compared to Giant Clam Culture. The entrance fee is P20.

3. Sungayan Grill at Balingasay River

We had lunch in Sungayan Grill, it is a floating restaurant in Balingasay river. This river is one of the cleanest rivers in the country. I will share more of our experience in my next post.

4. Cape Bolinao Lighthouse

I’ve first seen this lighthouse in the “The Promise” movie starring Angel Locsin and Richard Gutierrez.

I’ve been to Cape Bojeador Lighthouse in Pagudpud and Guisi Lighthouse in Guimaras so this is the third lighthouse I’ve seen in the Philippines but unlike the two lighthouses, we can’t go up to the top.

5. Enchanted Cave

There are three caves that you can visit in Bolinao, Pangasinan such as Cindy’s Cave, Wonderful Cave and Enchanted Cave. We chose the latter because it is more popular. I will create another post for this cave. Entrance fee P150.

The cave was our last stop because we have to drop by at the Bani market to buy seafood for our dinner.

Places that you can visit in Bolinao, Pangasinan.

Falls - Bolinao Falls 1 & 2 and Tara Falls
Resort - Puerto Del Sol Resort, Punta Riviera Resort and Treasures of Bolinao Resort.
Beach - Patar White Beach and Rock View Beach Resort

May 08, 2012

Day Trip at Panglao Island Nature Resort and Spa

I never thought that we would be busy this summer season and it is already the start of May and we still do not have any summer outings. Hmmm…so I will just reminisce about our past trip, hehe!

I’ll be sharing our Panglao Island Nature Resort and Spa (now Mithi Resort and Spa) experience last December 2007, yay! five years ago already. Well, I was supposed to be here last August 2007 but my Supervisor just gave me one day leave, I already filed my leave five months before but still, she did not approve my 2 days' leave. I have no choice but to rebook our flight. (so expensive).

Fast forward to December 2007, we were able to pursue our trip, it was almost canceled because my husband still had no vacation leave, two weeks pa lang siya that time sa present company niya. Hehe!

I have no itinerary at that time so we just go with the flow. After our countryside tour we decided to have a day tour at Panglao Island Nature Resort and Spa. It is one of the best resorts in Panglao Island so this was our first choice to experience Panglao Beach. We just took a cab to get there; the cost of the fare is double so if it is P150 you need to pay the taxi driver P300.

We didn’t know that there was a cave (Cambagat Cave) inside PINR so we were lucky to personally see it. The service in PINR is just okay for me and the taste of the food is just okay, there is nothing special about it considering the price. Sana hindi na lang kami nag-upgrade to buffet dinner and ala carte meal is fine.

Anyway, the trip is still memorable, how I wish I can go back to Bohol and experience Island Hopping.

Read: Bohol Countryside Tour
Damaged Heritage Site

March 02, 2012

Day 3: Day Trip in Guimaras

I have WOW (Wealth of Wonders) Philippines book, my mom gave it to me year 2005 and from that moment I wanted to visit Guimaras, according to the book, Guimaras is a dazzling island of sweet mangoes. I love mangoes, either unripe or ripe so it is really one of my goals to taste the sweetest mangoes in the world when I saw the PHP1 sale of Airphil Express last June, I didn’t think twice because it’s now my chance to visit Guimaras. It is the 1^st P1 sale that I booked.

We were supposed to stay in La Puerta Al Paraizo, one of the new resorts in Guimaras but I changed my mind so we just had one sweet day in Guimaras. I had a difficult time in deciding whether to contact a driver/tour guide or I will just go to the tourism kiosk when we get there but to avoid the hassle, a week before our trip, I contacted one driver/tour guide.

Ortiz Wharf

At exactly 7AM we left One Lourdes Dormitel and took La Paz Jeep (P7.50) to Ortiz Wharf. Then I bought the ticket (P14). Travel time from Ortiz Wharf to Jordan Wharf is around 15 to 20 minutes. Our driver/tour guide was already there waiting for us, I just informed him of the name of our boat. The first stop is Raymen Beach Resort for our Island Hopping; boat rental is P400 for the first hour and P150 for succeeding hours.

Raymen Beach Resort

Exactly 8:30AM we started our island hopping; first stop is Turtle Island, P5 entrance fee. We only saw one turtle, napakawalan na daw yung iba and this turtle just went back home.

Then we move to Baras Cave

Next is Natago Beach, (donations) this is where we stayed longer. Natago Beach is a private resort owned by German and Filipino but the sad part is they are both dead. German died year 2007 and Filipino died year 2009. They were supposed to stay here after their retirement but they never enjoy the place, Sayang!

Lucky for us, we’re the only people on the island but unfortunate for me because I can’t swim, red flag. So here I am, watching and taking pictures. Anyway, I’m happy when my two boys are happy because I know they love to swim.

Solong-solo

I was a little bit sad because we can’t go to SEAFDEC and Ave Maria Islets because it was low tide. Waahh! I didn’t know that I should also check the tide if only I know this information I would schedule our island hopping after our land tour. So we went back to Raymen Beach Resort, we paid P20 for the shower room.

I’m not expecting any fancy food and fast food in Guimaras so we had our lunch in carinderia.

Then we went to Guisi Lighthouse, expect for a rough road and bumpy ride. You can see the old lighthouse and the new one.

This is the Kenyama Guimaras Resort; you can see this resort before you reach Guisi Lighthouse.

After Guisi Lighthouse, we went to Trappist Monastery and bought some pasalubong.

Of course, we won’t leave Guimaras Island without tasting Guimaras mango, P75 per kilo.

Then we had a quick snack at Pitstop, don’t miss this mango pizza. I love the combination of cheese, cashew nuts, mango and bell pepper.

P308 pizza + drinks

We skipped Roca Encantada because we might miss the boat going back to Iloilo. There is one unfortunate incident during our tour, we had a flat tire and it took more or less 1 hour and 30 minutes before it was fixed. So naubos oras namin dun. But anyway, we still enjoy our day trip to Guimaras.

I will not recommend our driver/tour guide because I learned after our trip that you can hire a tricycle for P1,000 to P1,200 (standard rate) and I paid PHP1500 excluding the tip. In fairness, he is nice naman but of course, if you want to save some money, go for a cheaper rate.

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