18o 34 979N 120o 47 144E

PS... This is an incomplete blog but since its only staring at me every time i view my desktop might as well post it. As you may notice that there are no direct mention of the Beach or the resort itself, i was planning for it be a teaser-like approach and as you are guessing what the effin' hell this location is in the end you will know.. ;-)






18o 34 979N 120o 47 144E


The Preparations...

Who would know that this November 27-29 2010 would be Destination out of busy Manila. The long weekend (Sat-Mon) is credited to a  Philippine Holiday which Nov.30 Bonifacio Day a Tuesday was moved to Monday by P-NOY. Now that's the Gloria Spirit (Holiday Economics). Resort-Hotels were fully booked if not the best spots in the 18o 34 979N 120o 47 144E location or that we should have inquired and booked as early as two weeks before than what we did in less than a week.

Good thing the Bus that would take us there was not yet full not to mention that they have a direct route to that splendid 18o 34 979N 120o 47 144E location. At last a resort-hotel has vacancy, payment was made through bank and thus the room that is good for four was finally ours for the long weekend. Reservations via buying tickets at the Bus Station for the Friday night departure was made on a Wednesday night.

The Supplies and Equipment Involved *lols

A trip to the grocery was to be next agenda...

Landmark at TriNoma, we don't have the list, we don't have a serious plan but what we do have is the target to buy whatever we will need so that we can have a "tipid" but maximized stay at 18o 34 979N 120o 47 144E.

Noodles, check! junkfoods, check! Spanish style sardines, bottled check! The Bar and many more...

The gears are Cookset Check! Stove check! Nalgene, one with water and the other one with da bar! check! Not to mention our SLR's, chargers and the TX5.

Then all these stuffed with our clothes, sandals and many more into the Deuter 45+10L Pack and one jansport bag for the good stuff (insert: Foodies and Drinks! LOLS) plus our camera bags. May Climb?

The 12 Hour Trip...

After packing the clothes of Love, we headed to the Bus station which is practically a howl away from our present location. 930pm is our ETD for the long ride, good thing there are a some pit stops for us to stretch  our legs and have some snacks. Good thing Love has this gourmet sandwiches at Php75 each bought near her office in Makati, daig mo pa ang isang ulam meal sa isang food court sa sarap at busog, full filling ika nga hehehe

The bus trip was not that bad and it didn't take that long since there was no traffic nor any road constructions in the national hi-way and because we choose to depart at night. Much better than day trips, the sun and the bustling traffic on every major provincial city that we have to pass before we reach our destination. Hindi lahat eh may NLEX at SCTEX (and SLEX for the south trips)

Inside the BUS.....

Yes the trip is to 18o 34 979N 120o 47 144E, thus we have a couple of tourist so to speak. This are people like us who were escaping the City Life for a couple of days in Paradise...

During my slumber of deep sleep, i was suddenly awaken by a disturbance ahead, a couple of rows (seats) or maybe 2-3 only. It was the beep of a SLR camera (Canon to be precise hahahaha Canon=Tourist dang!), beeps and the flashes! Do they know that its in the middle of the night and people are sleeping? They should be mindful of the other passengers, hindi ito chartered bus na sila lang pasahero. The guy was taking pictures of his gurl companions and when it was the gurls turn, she even stand up while the bus was moving and took a picture of her friends. Wishing the bus suddenly came to a stop, imagine her flying.... its her fault.

Then another one was a 2 rows at the other side, in our back. They were chatting so loud, maybe sleep has not yet taken over their bodies, but please! mind the volume. Well that's the ''tourist'' bus.... And yes, we commented that they are talking load plus a loud shhhhsh and comment also to the amateur "photographers" kaya we have digicams so that we can use it besides the bulky SLR's

The Beach… Designation Zero-One


            The beach is paradise although not as perfect as Boracay but it do has its golden fine sand and clean waters. Located almost in the tip of this island, its is often times subject to extreme weather coming from the open sea. This beach is lined with resort hotels that offers good accommodations and a few that are simply the best this stretch of sand has to offer, there are also resorts who have swimming pools, restaurants and bars and good thing there is an ordinance (I believe) that limits karaoke and loud music up to 12mn only, now that’s a relief!
            Visiting this place needs the right weather, early in the season and you may find yourself stuck indoors with the rains pouring or that the seas are as fierce as the one seen in the perfect storm lols! But if you are lucky, then you will be blessed with good sunlight, a warm hug during the day and a cool  breeze during those simple quite nights.
            We were fortunate to arrive there after the rains and we were welcomed by the cool (a bit strong) windy wind but with a touch of that warm hug over your face, as I would say… Perfect. During at night the wind was strong and you can hear the trees outside swaying and as if dancing the night away and as like a symphony of music cradles you to sleep.
            The water itself during that time is cold not to mention the wind but still calm enough for you to swim and relax, the sea bed is not complete sandy but has a combination if powdery sand and rocks, but some parts are completely free from these. Good thing also is that there are no sea urchins stuck in the rocks or in the sand but a few fishes that swims near you and perhaps “cleans” up dead skins in our feet.

The Beach… Designation Zero-Two


            Zero-One was paradise but there was another one this place boost of and its location in a cove and much much better and that you can actually compared this head on with Boracay’s beach. You can take a dip in this whitish powdery sand and clearly see the sea bed with no rocks whatsoever and that the establishment, only a few are situated more than 20meters away from the beach itself, you can even go further in the water and still its still waist deep.
            But that ‘paradise’ was not present this season, sorry to say. The beach was littered with drift wood washed but some angry god of the sea and come to think of it, free firewood for the locals! We saw people who are cleaning the beaches and putting these drift woods into the inner part of the beach and saw a small truck, being loaded with drift wood.

The People


            The people were nice and accommodating and the trike drivers who charge stiff fares are nowhere to be found, that’s a good sign given that since I travel a lot I always encounter drivers who would charge you above minimum and say its far then just circle around only because they know you are a tourist or sometimes because they think you are rich hehehe. From the unloading/loading station f the bus, they usually charge Php20 each going to your accommodations near the beach which in my opinion is okay enough.
            Didn’t have the opportunity to interact much with the locals only with The Main Cast:

·        The kind receptionist slash waitress slash karaoke technician slash bellgirl slash all around (poor her, she should have a raise! Calling the owners!) and her sidekick.

·        The hot pandesal seller which we met during our supposedly early morning wake-up to catch the sunrise but we later found out its in the other side of our location hahaha lols!

·        The English speaking waiter, trying hard but clearly understandable albeit a little funny and I credit his lakas ng loob about it, di naman completely nakakatawa, after repeating our orders, he said ‘’unfortunately’’ we will have to wait 15-20 minutes for our orders to be saved, the word ‘’unfortunately’’ is such a big word for just a simple ‘’waiting time’’ *snickers ( Thank You to Ma’am Basa and Family for the treats!)

·        Manong Greg Castillo, our trike driver slash tourist guide. This is one of the good part of the trikes here is that they part time and are legal , not your usapang tourist to a driver for a tour thing, I believe this is supported by the local government since they have these laminated pictures of the tourist hotspots there and the rates and what locations you get in return hung inside their trikes, visibly seen by everbody. He was the one who make hated to us to our resort hotel and asked if we want to available of the tour, we said yes and told him what time for the pick-up and what part of the tour we would like to avail.

·        Manang tourist guide, literally as seen in her shirt and the fee that we have paid for her to accompany us to our destination, I forgot to ask for her name. She was kind enough to aid during river crossings and waited for us. For a minimal fee, the tourist guides will accompany you back and forth so to speak hehehe.

Generally the locals are friendly and would surely help a lost tourist searching for the great spot to visit…

 This is Pagudpud. Spelled with a "u" not with a "o" :-)

 This is what photographers do to get awesome shots, Maj

(Taken at Maira-ira Beach aka Blue Lagoon)

  This is what photographers do to get awesome shots, Khaye

(Taken at Agua Grande, Near San Anton spring and just after Patapat Viaduct)

Patapat Viaduct, to your left is the raging South China Sea 

and to your left, the might mountain ranges.

(If you continue on, you will now enter the town of Claveria, Cagayan if memory serves me right)

A view outside of our hotel, talk about having your camera

at the right moment 

Taken at Saud Beach, a few steps near our hotel

(Do remember that  Saud and Maira-ira Beach are a bit far from each other,

you will need a trike to take you there, around 20mins travel time, 

so plan your itinerary before hand)

Timmantang Rock, situated near Maira-ira (aka Blue Lagoon) Beach

Budget 3D/2N *incomplete

    We spent around Php3500 each (Hotel/Transpo/Food~Supplies)

Php750/pax/1way                    Florida Bus Manila-Pagudpud

Php600/trike tour/2-4pax         For either North or South Tour (Php1200 for both)

                                                Allot ½ day for each tour package

Php800-1500/day                    Off-peak rates / Hotel/Resort Room

                                                (we got ours w/free breakfast)

Php100                                    Guide Fee for Kabigan Waterfalls

Php                                          Green Fee for Kabigan Waterfalls

*Sorry if its incomplete, i will update it asap after asking my Love for the other details :-)
 and if you noticed why there are no expenditures for dinner its because we brought our own pre-cooked food and just heated it up with my butane stove hehehe