Nagsasa Cove, Zambales

(photo by AllanBarredo, NIKON D50, May 16, 2009)

Nagsasa Cove (pronounced as NAG-SASA) is located further south of Anawangin Cove in Zambales. To date, this beautiful corner of Zambales is what Anawangin used to look like before they setup flags there and before the hoards of multitude invaded it resulting in bumper to bumper tents and overcrowded shores.

(photos: below left, google rendition, below right:NagsasaCove by AllanBarredo May 16, 2009)

This cove has a visible aeta community of around 7 families or roughly 30 people. Their leader or spokesman is who we refer to as Mang Ador, a wirey fellow in his late 30s who is married to an aeta woman. Mang Ador, with the help of good hearted visitors such as Mr.Ryan Guzman, has taken it upon himself to improve his corner of this cove so as to make it camper friendly. He lives on the NORTH side of the cove while the rest of the aeta community lives on the SOUTH side. Mang Ador is not an aeta himself but hails from La Union.





THE CAMPSITE:
One of Nagsasa's features is this lake with a superb view of the mountain range. One can enjoy this scenery while cooling off in the clear waters of the lake.

(photo below:NagsasaLake by AllanBarredo May 16, 2009)

Mang Ador has already setup 5 long tables along the shoreline for campers to use. He also setup a small bahay kubo with papag for visitors. There is a handpump at the back of the campsite as well as two toilets similar in construction to those in Anawangin. Mang Ador always sees to it that all toilets have water so since we were a group of about 40(the largest he has entertained so far), he never stopped fetching water from the pumps! (poor guy!) He does not charge any fees for these facilities (yet) so we took it upon ourselves to give 100pesos per head nalang. Other groups such as that of Ryan Guzman's make it a point to bring 2 extra canned food each to leave with Mang Ador.

(CAMPSITE photos by AllanBarredo May 16, 2009)

There was an abundance of fishcatch, mainly bangus(milkfish), while we were there (due to the recent storm) so they were selling it at 40pesos per fish. These fishes weighed approximately 1.5 kilos and were really FAT and delicious. You can ask Mang Ador if he or the others have any fresh fish, they usually do, and buy them to add to your meal. Nakatulong ka na, fresh at masarap pa yung kakainin mo.

(photo below:NagsasaLake by AllanBarredo May 16, 2009)

There are many pine trees where you can tie your hammock and/or clotheslines. Since there is absolutely NO CELLPHONE SIGNAL anywhere on this cove, I suggest you turn your cellphone OFF, lie down on your hammock and let the wind rock you to sleep while you listen to the soothing sound of the birds and the waves.

(photo below:HAMMOCK central by KitLava May 17, 2009)

THE BEACH:
The beach is composed of the same volcanic sand that covers the whole zambales shoreline stretch. It gets VERY HOT during noontime so take caution to don your footwear pls.

(photo below:NagsasaCove at 6AM, by AllanBarredo May 16, 2009)

Unlike in Anawangin, the waters are very calm since the cove is very big. Also, there is a very nice snorkling area about 100meters off the campsite shore with a depth of about 20feet. I noticed a lot of coral formations as well as abundant and colorful fishes there. I do hope dynamite fishers do not touch that area.

If you happen to witness dynamite fishing then don't be afraid to speak up! Get their attention and let them know that what they are doing is wrong. Take out that nice digicam and snap away! Report them and their vessel to the local barangay. Enough damage has been done by both these people and those who condone them by their silence! After all, we deserve the environment we help create diba.


THE FALLS:
One of Nagsasa Cove's special features is this beautiful cascading waterfalls that can be reached via a 30minute leasurely hike to the south of the campsite. You can ask Mang Ador or one of his fellows to guide you to the falls. Just give the guide a small tip (50pesos or so) afterwards. The waters are clean and clear due to the fact that settlers are forbidden to take residence upstream.














(photos courtesy of KitLava, May 16, 2009)
TIP: Go up just a bit higher along the cascading falls and sit in one of the larger crevices. You get to view the mountain range while cooling down as if you were in your own private INFINITY POOL.





HOW TO GET THERE:

(photo by Allan Barredo, May 16, 2009)

Its pretty much the same as going to Anawangin. Only the boat fare and distance from Pundaquit to Nagsasa cove is greater. We used our usual boatman Mang Vic. His boat is quite big so 10 of us were able to fit in it. Our gear, however, had to be loaded on a smaller boat. The big boat charge was 3k and the smaller boat charge was 1.2k so thats about 420pesos per head.
Mang Vic will soon be using his new boat which is big enough to hold 25 passengers so please call him if you have a large group. His number is still +639297170739. He can also buy mineral water for you and lend you containers for them.
We arrived in Pundaquit in the wee hours of Saturday morning, at 2AM, and were able to leave for Nagsasa at 3AM. Since it was such an ungodly hour, I'm really grateful that Mang Vic was so accomodating. I didn't hear a word of complaint from him!
You can apply the Anawangin sample itinerary and costings found in my old blogs for Nagsasa.





PARKING:
Numerous parking areas have sprung up in Pundaquit so parking should not be a problem. The normal parking fee charge there is 100pesos per night. Make sure your vehicles are secure and all parking lights are off when you leave it.


CAUTION1: SANDFLY ALERT!
The (rocky area)northern tip of Nagsasa beach has sandflies. If possible, avoid this area during sunrise and sunset. If you need to go to this rocky area during these time periods consider taking VitaminB first or putting some Citronella Oil as suggested in this site.


CAUTION2: CROWN OF THORNS
The coral area in Nagsasa has a number of C.O.T. starfishes. DO NOT TOUCH the thorns! It releases a neurotoxin that can cause a sharp stinging pain lasting hours, as well as nausea and vomiting. For more information on COTs please click here.
Divers who plan to go to Nagsasa please bring large thongs and sacks(or sodium bisulfate injections) and volunteer some of your time to remove a few of these and bury in the sand. During low tide, the COT locations are shallow enough to reach and extract safely without dive gear. DO NOT CUT OR DAMAGE them during extraction as this will (supposedly) cause them to release eggs thereby aggravating the situation even further. Thanks




Visit my friend's blog by clicking this link (AllanBarredo's LANTAW blog) to see more of his exemplary photographs of Nagsasa Cove and read his writeups.

Mt.Famy (really Mt.Romelo in Siniloan, not Famy), Laguna

Aling Esther is dead. She has been dead for over 2 years now so you cannot register with her anymore. Registration is done at the shack accross the river. There is a 20peso fee per head and what used to be a "donation" is now a mandatory fee. The registration shack GPS COORDINATES are N 14°27'17.82" E121°28'09.36" Altitude 33.8meters. Campsite GPS LOCATION is N 14°27' 15.9 by E121°29' 24.3 Altitude 237.8meters. Most of the materials on the net indicate to hikers favoring late evening or early morning hikes. That way one gets more time to enjoy the river at the campsite and have time visiting the various waterfalls up and down the river.

What hikers refer to as Mt.Famy is actually Mt.Romelo and its in Siniloan and not in Famy. We decided to go on a friday evening but most of us had to work late so we ended up leaving UP Diliman at about 10:30pm. We reached the parking area at about 2am and started our hike at 2:30am. Even at this late hour we came accross a group of guys making their way to the campsite as well. The path is very muddy! Some areas have knee-high mud so wear the right hiking shoes or you will be sorry.


CAMP:Besides being an easy climb, there are 4 or 5 sarisari stores at the campsite selling food and drinks. There were about 20 tents propped up ,/approx 100people, when we went but during the summer months this number goes into the thousands of people so be warned. I heard the numbers exceed 2000 campers and so barangay tanods and police camp up here as well to keep the peace. Even with just this hundred or so campers we were not able to sleep because a group was singing and talking loudly the whole night so it felt like we were beside the market. If you want peace and quiet then you should establish camp well away from the stores and tables.


STORES:Canned goods, liquor, softdrink and bottled water prices are sold at almost 200% of the original price. (1.5liter coke is 50pesos, eggs are 7.50 each ) Most of the campers bring raw or half cooked meats and cooking utensils. That way there is less garbage generated. Remember that what you bring up, you MUST bring down with you.
(photo right: sari sari store, above: camp site with sari sari stores at the far end taken by FrancisAtendido on Panasonic FZ-20, Jan.20, 2007)


RIVER:There is little algae blooming on the rocks at the river beside the campsite. This is the top of buruwisan falls. The bottom of the falls, however, is a different story. Sobrang lumot sa mga bato. I guess the water is not as clean as it used to be. Buruwisan falls and Lansones falls are located downstream while BatyaBatya falls and Sampaloc falls lies upstream.

COOKING: Humidity is very high and it frequently rains. Thus its hard to gather dry wood. You'd best bring a portable burner or some charcoal to cook your food.

PEOPLE: Campers are very friendly. I think this is one of the attractions of the climb. I really enjoyed striking up conversation with the campers. Of course one must avoid the rowdy ones but those are scarce.
(photo right: friendly campers, taken by AllanBarredo on NikonD50, above: buruwisan falls taken by FrancisAtendido on Panasonic FZ-20, Jan.20, 2007)

HORSES: For those too lazy to climb, horses can be rented at 200pesos for one way trip. Another 200 pesos when you are fetched for your trip home
(photo left:boy on horse atop buruwisan falls, taken by AllanBarredo on NikonD50, below: Laguna lake at 5pm taken by FrancisAtendido on Panasonic FZ-20, Jan.21, 2007)

To get to Mt.Romelo BY CAR:you have to drive through Antipolo and around Laguna Lake towards Famy. At the Famy intersection (landmark: CALTEX) turn left towards Infanta, Quezon. You will pass by 2 check points. About 2kilometers from the intersection you will see a sign for "BURUWISAN FALLS" going to the right, and downwards. At the bottom you must turn left and actually drive over that small stream of water. Don't worry, its shallow. Further up the stream is a cemented road, take that road and drive straight. You will eventually intersect a bigger river. There is a good parkingspace just in front of that river at your left. You have to go inside through this makeshift gate and the area is pretty wide. There is space enough for about 20 cars. Its a community establishment that provides seedlings for treeplanting and its run by a Mr.Rodel De Guzman (cell# 0910-687-2617) . Wake someone up so they know who's parking there. You can ask for a guide there too if you need one. They charge 200pesos/guide so just get one guide.
PUBLIC TRANSPO: take the LRT2 to Legarda Station, When you go down Legarda St., walk 30meters or so towards the flyover. (opposite the side of the Arellano school) Board the RAYMUND BUS going to (Siniloan) FAMY, INFANTA RD. INTERSECTION. Buses leave every hour, 24hrs/day (alternate aircon and non-aircon) and the fee is PhP 96 pesos for non-aircon and a few pesos higher for aircon. When you reach the Famy/Infanta Intersecion (CALTEX), go down and ride one of the tricycles just beside the Caltex gas station. Just tell them you wish to go to "buruwisan falls" and they will take you to the jump-off point beside the wider river. The tricycle fee is 15pesos per head and they operate 24hrs a day too. Cross the river (there are stepping stones if you don't wish to get your feet wet), and walk along the path to the bamboo shed (you'll cross a tiny bridge). There is a house just in front of the shack, wake someone up and ask to be registered. Going back home: walk to the main road from the river and get a tricycle back to the Famy/Infanta Intersection (CALTEX). You can easily get a ride to Manila from there.

take two, all together now!

One would think I'd be wise enough NOT to attempt a second shot at going to the beach during the rainy season... well, attempt I did and I'm glad I went through with it. I wanted my family to feel and see, even for a few hours, what I experience when I go out on one of my trips. Experience it they did albeit a very "toned down" version. One cannot really expect my mom, creator of heaven and earth (and me on the side), to sleep in an room without airconditioning. After emailing everyone a very detailed agenda of activities and nagging all concerend to go view my previous blogs on the place, every family member turns to me on that day and blames me for "not telling them what to expect"... err... okay, maybe I should have made them kneel on rock salt or put a candle under their hands until they read every last word of both the agenda and the writeups. Short of that, I don't know how else to make them read what they should have. Anyway, the day started at 4am for everyone. I had a quick breakfast of tocino, eggs and rice. Of course, after insisting that my brother eat breakfast because of the long trip ahead, he refuses for some reason and blamed me later for not giving him breakfast.... 'hirap talaga maging kuya ha...
5am, all the essentials are packed into the two cars and we go fetch mom, dad, k.mel and sarah. On the way , turning right to get some ice in 7-11 my big fat brother obstructs all view of the right-side side-mirror as well as blocks out ALL view of the right windows (what can I say? he's titanic!). I motion him to give me a clear line of sight and he shouts something like "eh di mag ingat ka tanga!" and then goes into a hissifit complete with tears and a litany of woes... as I said, 'hirap talaga maging kuya ha... The things I put up with eh? We finally stop for ice so mel goes to the back to continue his bitching there while my youngest sister goes up front to be my co-pilot. (remaining 99.999% censored out)
So finally, with ice in the cooler, we convoy to Tignoan beach in Real, Quezon. Red and family ,had a nice little last-minute complication and could not convoy with us to the place. They decided to go find it by themselves and , of course, I then get blamed again for not warning them of the zigzag road that cuts through the sierra madre hills. Even though that detail was mentioned in my blog along with the name of the resort, contact numbers, contact person, DETAILED directions on how to get there and even time estimates and distances, I get the blame because, apparently, everyone suffers a lack of reading ability. One may conclude that reading instructions are strictly only for engineers. The rest of the world just looks at the pictures. My parents and siblings will probably view this blog and look at all the nice pictures without reading any of this. Thats why I think its safe to write anything and everything here, don't you worry (wink-wink). So, okay, I get blamed because my brother fails to read and follow instructions - everybody say it with me... once again with feeling ... 'HIRAP MAGING KUYA HA... amen, ramen, somen.
(photo, above: Balagbag falls after typhoon milenyo, below: Paul, mom and dad at the OceanBlueResort , all photos taken by FrancisAtendido with a Panasonic Lumix FZ20)

We arrived at the Ocean Blue Resort and settled into our respective rooms. They still did not have power in Quezon so Mrs.Celia, the manager, apologized and said the most they can do is run the generator at night to power some electric fans. Of course mom was in distress over this news but theres nothing we could do about it. Dad, Paul and I wen to the nearby talipapa to get a look at what was available. Unlike the last time I was here, fish was plentiful and much cheaper. We bought kilo after kilo of LapuLapu, Shrimps, Prawns, gigantic BlueCrabs, Blue Marlin, kitang or spade fish, fresh galunggong or round scad. The spade fish was particularly delicious. I didn't know about this fish until my father introduced me to it that day. Kitang, or "spade fish" is otherwise known to divers as "bat fish" because of their wide shape. I recall seeing a school of giants in one of my wreck dives with Gunter in Coron.


After putting everything on ice, we head back to the resort and unload all the stuff we bought. This time we brought cooking materials so I instruct the cook to make hilabos from the live prawns, spicy ginataan alimango out of the 5kilos of crabs, fry the kitang and cook some rice. I haul mom, dad, paul, k.mel and sarah into the car and we proceed to balagbag waterfalls.


(photo, above: yellowfin tuna at nearby talipapa, below right: Paul at Balagbag falls , all photos taken by FrancisAtendido with a Panasonic Lumix FZ20)

Now, I was impressed with this waterfall during my first visit but it was even more beautiful now! I force my mom to walk the 300+ meters or so to the falls (she's so lazy and abhors walking) because I knew she needed the exercise. She complained every inch of the way but actually thanked me later because she felt stronger and lighter from all that walking. Paul went bonkers and immediately explored the different parts of the falls. The water was much more abundant now oweing to the recent deluge from Typhoon Milenyo. This abundance of water made the falls look more majestic and certainly more fun. Its too bad we could only stay a short while as it was nearing noon and we had to start heading back to the resort (mom walks really slow).


Back at the resort, dad was so famished that he was incoherent. I had to constantly assure him we were eating in a few minutes so he'd settle down and keep still again. As usual he started his "tikim rounds" and was soon happily settled in one of the bamboo huts munching away at all that food. The huts are located close to the beach so we hear the waves pounding and feel the slight moist breeze from the ocean as we eat. I was surprised and very happy when my brother Red actually arrived at about 12:30pm and joined us for lunch. It was a good thing we cooked so much food! Mom was elated to see her grandchildren and was soon fussing over them. We all had a great time slowly eating the rest of the food while catching up and swapping stories on the trip to this place. (photo, above: mom in a hut beside the falls, below: Sancho and Chino enjoying the water , all photos taken by FrancisAtendido with a Panasonic Lumix FZ20)


After lunch, I again haul Red and his family into the car and the driver took them to the waterfalls where I joined them later. Me, mom and my brother went the opposite way to Real town proper. My mom wanted to sleep but, since there was no aircon in the rooms, went with us so she can stay cool in the car. I bought some more fish, some sasa lambanog and freshly baked spanish bread before going back to the falls to meet Red. This was my third time to go to the falls, twice this day na, but I am again awed and enticed by its beauty. I join my brother and his kids swimming in the lower pond while we eat all the delicious spanish bread. It was a very precious moment.

We head back to the resort at around 5:30pm as it was quickly becoming dark. Me and my brothers were just drinking some beer, fooling around while dinner was being prepared. The kids never tired of running around the pools and screaming their heads off - ah, to be young....

The only thing I didn't like about this trip was the sleeping arrangement. Everyone was afraid of getting dengue so they wanted the doors closed. It was freaking HOT in that room. I tried sleeping but finally could not stand it so at around 2am I opened all the doors and windows. Cool air at last! Unfortunately the occupants of the other two rooms thought it wise to keep their rooms closed and so had to endure the sauna-like sleeping conditions until morning.


On the way home we stopped at the newly constructed statue in honor of the brave soldiers who rebuild the city after the great mudslide of 2004. We left at about 10am and was in Valley Golf at noon for lunch. Its been a long time since I tasted garlic chicken and sizzling gambas! Delicious!

This has been another very successful trip. I truly hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. To Ate Beth and Liezl, lets plan something similar very soon okay?
(photo, right: Mel, Paul, Mom, Dad and Sarah pose infront of the statue commemorating the soldiers that helped rebuild the city , all photos taken by FrancisAtendido with a Panasonic Lumix FZ20)

Real, Quezon

Going to the beach during the rainy season is risky because you go through all the planning and spending but end up indoors afterall. Pa swerte swerte lang diba? As it turned out, the gods smiled on our little adventure and we ended up getting a nice tan. "Fortune favors the brave..." and all that. I had second thoughts but then I read one of the blogs of suntoksabwan and made up my mind to go. He posted some really good pictures as well. If you'd like to read, please click on this half-life (photo: Left: New statue in honor of brave soldiers that rebuilt the city after the great landslide tragedy of 2004 photo by AllanBarredo Olympus Camedia C4040Z 2006/08/19)




Real, Quezon is only 65 kilometers from Quezon City as the bird flies but its actually a good 150 kilometers away because you have to go through a lot of mountains to get there. Of course I neither knew that nor how to get there at first so I had to fish out the old GPS and bring up the google earth map again. We all got up at 4:30am to start the journey because we had no idea how long it would take. I surmised that we had to pass through Antipolo, then Tanay and then find a way towards the shorelines from there. (photo: Above Right: Early morning breakfast, Below Right: Road to Tanay, Below Left: Allan in good spirits FrancisAtendido Panasonic Lumix FZ20 2006/08/19)


It seemed a good idea to go to Antipolo by way of Taytay so thats what we did. Once in Antipolo, we were surprised to see the locals motioning us to go a certain way. Everyone was doing it, man, woman, child, matanda, bata - just everyone! It was creepy, like some kind of conspiracy. We ended up in the church so we just took the narrow street in front of it to get to the road that would take us to Tanay. It was only later that I realized we did not have license plates yet as the car was new and this was probably why everyone thought we were going to Church at 6:30am -- to have the car blessed. When you reach Tanay, turn left at Jollibee, then an immediate right when you see the sign pointing to Laguna. Keep going until you reach Fami. Fami is the accessgate to Quezon so you must make a left in Fami. Keep left (there's a fork along the way, just keep left).

If you have any kids that get dizzy in the car, I suggest you put them up front as you will have to pass some very heavy zigzag roads. The scenery is beautiful though as you will see vast hectars of rice on the flatlands and beautiful trees and greens in the mountains.

We arrived in Tignoan Beach at a little before 9am. That means that it took us about 3.5hrs to travel the 150km at a very leasurely pace. We decided to stay at the Ocean Blue Resort because they had a good sized swimming pool in case we could not swim in the ocean. (as luck turns out, we were able to swim in a river, the sea and the pool later on) An airconditioned room costs 1,500 only and if your on a tight budget, you can fit 6 to 8 people there. No charge for the extra beds. There is an additional charge of 100 per head for the entrance fee but that includes use of the pool and the dining huts as well. The caretaker, Celia, is very accomodating and kind. Reservations can me made by calling her at 0921-363-4337(for updating) or their manila office at 725-1783(resort owner's name is DELY DELA CUESTA). They can offer to cook for you but it would cost an arm, a leg, and your next grandchild so I suggest you bring a portable cooking stove and cook your own meals. Being the stupid tourists that we were, we had our meals cooked by them and suffered the consequences later. (photo: Above Left: OceanBlueResort pool,rooms and hall , FrancisAtendido Olympus Camedia C4040Z 2006/08/19)


We went to the nearby talipapa after checking in and bought enough for lunch and dinner. I had the presence of mind to bring a couple of coolers, one full of ice and the other empty, so we stuffed all the fare in the empty cooler and filled it with ice. As expected, the price of fish here was really cheap and everything was FRESH! At the market, I was surprised, and saddened by the sight of two dead sharks. They were selling the fins at 9000pesos per kilo - and the meat at 80pesos per kilo. (photo: Above Right: Dead Sharks, AllanBarredo Olympus Camedia C4040Z 2006/08/19)




I turn around and examine the alimango and sugpo and when I look back, on of my friends was already carrying part of the shark. Well, at least this shark was consumed and not left to drown without its fins at the bottom of the ocean. (photo: left: talipapa, right:sugpo, AllanBarredo Olympus Camedia C4040Z 2006/08/19)






We left our cooler at the resort with instructions of how to cook them and headed towards the famous Balagbag falls. To get there, we had to backtrack the way we came for about 10 minutes then head left after the first bridge. The road is not paved so it was a bumpy ride to the falls. You must pay an entrance fee of 10pesos per head. I heard one of the local kids snicker when the lady said "10pesos per head". Apparently, the 10peso fee is only for tourists. (photo, left: heading to the falls, FrancisAtendido Panasonic Lumix FZ20, LowerRight: Balagbag falls, AllanBarredo Olympus Camedia C4040Z , LowerLeft: Dapitan brothers roleplay, FrancisAtendido Panasonic Lumix FZ20 all pictures taken on 2006/08/19)




Its a very short walk from there to the falls. This multilayered falls is really beautiful and the most intricate I've seen in the Philippines so far. Amazing. We took turns staying under the waterfall. Its a great feeling, like some strong hand massaging your back endlessly. some of the kids clambered up higher and just simply had a great time fooling around with all that water. After more than an hour of this it was time to head back and eat lunch at the resort. Everybody wanted just 5 minutes more, then 10 minutes more until I had to put my foot down and say we had to go.

Back at the resort, chose one of the dining huts and waited for the food to arrive. Some , including me, walked on the beach while we waited. The sand is very fine but brown. I find it curious that there are a lot of multicolored pebbles along the shore. Probably from some mineral rock formations nearby.

Lunch was great, but the peaceful slumber after that was even better. I wake up at 1:30pm and find everyone sleeping all over the place. Some at the homemade hammocks, some at the bamboo chairs near the beach and others still at the empty huts. I roused everyone at about 2pm so we could all go to Balute island and see whats there.

Balute island is about 10 kilometers from Tignoan Beach, again, as the bird flies. We had to head up north for about 12 kilometers and find a port that would take passengers to the Island. Its not actually an island as its really connected to the mainland. However, since its inaccessible by car, one must take the local boats or banka to get there. The boat ride starts from the shores of Real town proper and lasts for about 10minutes(2.5kilometers). The beach property on Balute island is supposedly owned by a Dr.Aranda. It has the same fine brown sand but no rocks or sea urchins. Whats more is that the water is much cleaner than that of the shores on the mainland. The boatride will set you back 250pesos and then you have to rent a table near the beach to avail of the facilities like shower and toilet. Apparently, all the fresh water used on the island is painstakingly lugged from the mainland. Thus, renting a table will cost you another 250pesos inclusive of the entrance fee. There were six of us so the prices I mentioned may be because of our number. If your party has more members then be prepared to shell out more. We stayed on the island for about 2 hours. Walking up along the shore, I noticed a portion with a lot of pebbles. This time the rocks were multicolored and very beautiful. There were so many shapes and colors that we spent most of our time picking them up and examining them. We chose the most notable ones for souvenirs. (photo: Above Left: 250peso boat ride for 6 to Balute Island, Above Right: Trees on Aranda estate and resort, Left: colorful pebbles along Balute island, all pics by AllanBarredo Olympus Camedia C4040Z 2006/08/19)


Back at the resort, we start to drown the crabs in beer so their meat would turn out softer after they are cooked. We call on the local cooks again and hand over the fares for that evening. Meanwhile we enjoy the pool and the nearby beach while dinner is readied. Owen even tried walking on water but he tripped and fell. Maybe he should concentrate more.... hehe. (photo: Right: Owen walks on water, AllanBarredo Olympus Camedia C4040Z 2006/08/19)


They had a karaoke room which we rented that evening. We had the food brought over and ate while we sang some old tunes. I wanted to taste some of the local lambanog we bought on the way home from Balute island. It was freaking STRONG ! I don't know how the local folk manage to drink glass after glass of this stuff. I was wasted after 3 pitifully small shots. Next thing I knew, it was morning.

We ate a hasty breakfast of eggs, bread and coffee from the local panideria. Incidentally, this panideria in front of the fish market is open 24hrs - galing no? After another round of "5mins more", "10mins more", I had gather everyone from the pool and the beach and all started getting ready for the trip home. Our fish supply was depleted so before we head home, we stop by the talipapa by the roadside again and buy more fish. My father loves fresh fish so I get all the fresh fish the coolers can hold. (photo: Right: Lazy morning on his GameBoy, FrancisAtendido Olympus Camedia C4040Z 2006/08/20)



On the way home I chanced upon some locals harvesting santol. I'm not sure if they could sell me some but we stopped anyway so I could get a taste. It turns out the santol was small but REALLY sweet so I somehow convince the harvesters to sell me some bags of the stuff. 22kilos for 100pesos - wow. I got two - 22kilo bags. The harvesters were so kind and chatty with stories about harvests and markets. They even gave us a few more kilos of santol for the road.


All in all I'd say this was another very successful adventure. There are so many thoughts and observations left unsaid but that can be done later. For now, just the facts. Cheers. (photo: Above Left: Santol, last harvest, Above Right: Slippery road home, AllanBarredo Olympus Camedia C4040Z 2006/08/20)