There
are four B’s on top of my list of places to see – Baguio, Bohol, Batanes and the
Bicol region. I’ve done Baguio in 2011,
Batanes and Bohol must wait until I hit the lotto jackpot kasi kailangan ng
malaking budget lalo ang Batanes na airfare pa lang eh talo mo pa ang nag-Asian
tour. But Bicol, thank heavens I finally
did it!
Tatlong
boarders ko (Ronnie, Yen and Mark) na taga-Albay ang umuwi nong last week of
April. Kaya nakisabay na kami ni Kuya
Eddie, seizing the opportunity to enjoy a long trip with a group na syempre,
mas masaya. Bukod pa doon, Ronnie invited
us to be their house guests which, of course, is an offer I won’t resist. Budget vacation eh!
With
nearly 400 pics and 40++ videos, I thought I’d share my Bicol blast with you
via pics na lang. So here it is, in two parts kasi alam naman ng DS followers
kung pano ako magkwento… daig pa ang police blotter sa pagka-detalyado hahaha!
I
always wanted to do a long land trip where I can see as many places kahit man
lang from the window of a bus. And boy,
did I get the long trip I wanted! It started in Turbina 11pm of Wednesday (28
Apr). The bus was typical of a provincial liner na puno ng pasahero at bagahe, with
no airconditioning and the seat was uncomfortable but I didn’t mind coz I was grinning
from ear to ear from excitement. Kaya
lang, wala akong makita sa dinadaanan namin dahil nga middle of the night na.
So nangulit na lang ako ng mga kasama ko, tawanan kami ng tawanan until
everyone around me started dropping one by one. Nag-lagay na lang ako ng
earphones and tried to catch a nap myself.
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| munching on our baon... with Mark |
Just
a bit over 3 hours, we had our first stop somewhere in the Quezon area (not
sure if it was Sariaya) where we devoured (gutom eh hehehe) yong baon naming
sandwich at nakapag-kape. A couple of yosi and CR break pa and back to byahe na
naman kami. I was trying to get some
sleep like the people around me pero nagigising ako sa paminsan-minsang pagsama
ng simoy ng hangin. Deym piggeries! How
can they stink that bad! We had our second stop somewhere in the middle of
nowhere na parang CR break lang dahil nag-dedecide pa lang ako kung ano ang
kakainin eh pinaakyat na kami ng kundoktor.
Tawa ako ng tawa kay Kuya Eddie who had to eat his hot cup noodles
habang kinakaldag sya ng bako-bakong daan!
 |
| stop over in CamSur with Kuya Eddie |
As
the dawn breaks, and while we were in Camarines Norte, I was woken up by a cock
crowing like hell! Kala ko nasa
probinsya na kami pero yon pala may kasakay talaga kaming manok at nandon lang
sya sa ilalim ng isang upuan all the time.
Then pumasok na kami ng Camarines Sur where we had our last stop at
around 7 am. Kinulit ko na ang kundoktor
kung malayo pa. Malapit na raw. Yeah right. Alas-nuwebe na at tirik na ang
init ng araw e humaharurot pa rin ang bus at parang walang balak huminto
anytime soon. But this time the excitement was back dahil malinaw ko nang
nakikita ang breathtaking landscape ng Bicol region. Miles and miles of greens and gold sa mga
palayan na dinadaanan namin. Ganda
talaga ng countryside natin.
Finally! After 12 hours of makaldag na bus ride, we
reached Guinobatan at around 11 am. And boy was it worth all the pagod at hikab
na inabot ko sa long trip. The town has
a charm that welcomes you like you’re no stranger. Well, maybe I got that feeling because of the
people who welcomed us with wide and warm smiles.
Meet
the Paverecio family – our hosts in Guinobatan who made our vacation so
wonderful. Thanks to Ronnie aka Junjun who introduced us to his family - Mommy Cel who was so maasikaso and Daddy Ronnie who must be the Anthony
Bourdain of Bicol. Ansarapppp ng mga luto nya! I also have to thank the rest of
the Paverecio clan including Junjun’s Lolo and Lola, Tito and Tita who all
welcomed us like family. Pinoy hospitality really rocks!
Back
to Master Chef Daddy Ronnie who gave us a feast on our first lunch in
Bicolandia. Syempre di mawawala ang laing na hanggang ngayon di ko makalimutan
ang creamy gata, smooth as silk taro leaves with the perfect sting of chili!
And that ginisang alamang with minced tinapa again with sili? Yummm! This guy made me love sili na dati ay
hate na hate ko. Tapos may meryenda pang pancit lapad. Sarappp!
Heavy
ang lunch kaya nakataluog ako matapos kumain.
Woke up at around 3pm at niyaya ko si Kuya Eddie na mag-ikot sa bayan to
get ourselves acquainted with our host town.
But the dark overcast soon turned into a pouring rain. Nagkataong nandoon kami sa LCC mall kaya
bumili kami ng payong. But of course, Guinobatan
may just be welcoming us with a joke dahil paglabas namin bitbit ang payong,
wala na si ulan.! Hahahhaha!
Second
day at maaga kaming nagising, excited na mag-explore at makita ang mga lugar na
nasa listahan ko. Naka-schedule ang
Legazpi City pero uunahin ko syempre ang Daraga where the famous Cagsawa Ruins
is. Doon ko rin daw makikita ang Mayon volcano up close. Pero paalis pa lang kami ng bahay, paglingon
namin, nandon lang pala ang Daragang Magayon at naka-tingin sa amin all the
while. Hindi namin nakita nong first day
dahil nga maulap at maulan.
And
here she is, the famous perfect cone na nasira lang ang view dahil sa posing ko
hahaha! Kahit nakakatuyo ng lalamunan
ang init, kahit nakaka-distract ang ingay ng mga turista, I still can’t help
myself but get lost in her beauty. I've seen her a thousand times in pictures and news footages pero iba ang feeling na makita sya ng personal. Iba talaga si Mother Nature pag gumawa ng creation.
It’s
a weird feeling standing on this ground dahil alam mong right under your feet
is an entire church - and town for that matter - buried exactly 200 years ago. Thanks to our lovely guide Liezel and Kuya
Junjun I finally get to experience Cagsawa and it’s charm.
 |
| it's Gaisano Mall daw sabi nila... |
By
mid-day nasa Legazpi City na kami and had our lunch at the food court of this
mall. Nag-stay pa kami sa amusement center at nag-videoke habang naghihintay
bumaba ang araw coz the heat seem to be a few degrees higher here than in Sta
Rosa.
By
3pm nasa Embarcadero na kami. A mall
right beside the seaport, ito raw ang sentro ng gimik sa gabi dahil sa mga bars
and restos na naka-kalat sa kalakihan ng mall.
 |
| a boat in the middle of a mall.. cool |
And
this is where I finally got a shot of her summit na hindi nagpakita all the
time na nasa Cagsawa kami dahil natatakpan ng ulap.
At
about 5pm, we started our climb on Lignon Hill (say Linyon). Hinahabol namin ang sunset pero hindi ganon
kadali yong pag-akyat dahil isang libong hingal at isang drum na pawis yata ang
inabot ko. Thank God my knees didn’t fail me hehehe!
And
there I was, soaking wet and gasping like crazy, pero sulit ang pagod dahil sa
panoramic view ng Legazpi City. The
strip that looks like a road is actually the runway of the airport.
Refresh-refresh
muna with buko juice habang nag-iisip kung itutuloy ang susunod na gagawin…
 |
| gearing up... |
 |
| and faking a smile kahit medyo kinakabahan... hahaha |
At
madilim na bago nakapag-decide na gawin ito – zipline! In fact, ako na pala
ang pinaka-last at pagtapos ko ay nagmamadali nang magligpit ang mga crew. Hirap siguro ng rescue efforts kung nahulog ako kasi malalim yong ravine at madilim na! hahaha... at least another item on my bucket list checked!
What a way to end the day! Nakauwi na kami ng
Guinobatan past 9 pm na.
(part tu comin up... )
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