The river near my place was also a place where the neighborhood ‘labanderas’ would wash their clothes every weekend. There was not much talk then about how detergents would poison the rivers. Going to the river to wash was something that was done for generations. I do not see these labanderas now when I go back to the province but the bridge which used to shade this labanderas and which people used to cross from the main town to a little barrio was still there.

It was this bridge where I learned how to fish. Back then, the only fishing rod I know was the bamboo kind. You tie one end of string to the end of the bamboo, put a hook a the end of the string, skewer a little worm with the hook and you’re good to go. I only caught little ibis then but with volume this little ibis fishes were something that can actually provide a meal for a small family.

Years have passed and though I am living in a big bad city now, memories of me fishing on that river has remained fresh as if it’s only a weekend ago when I last cast my bamboo rod and felt the tugging of those little ibis fishes. So when my friend invited me to go fishing with him one Saturday night in a bar, all those fond memories came flooding back in. My friend, along with his wife has become quite enamored with fishing and every chance they get, they fish.

Now the problem with being in the big bad city is that opportunities for a good fishing experience is few and far between. I thought the only way that I could do some respectable fishing was to get out of Manila and go to the neighboring provinces where the rivers or the lakes has not gone the way of the Pasig river. I do know that Subic could be a good fishing spot having seen a few folks casting their rods there whenever I pass by the place.

After my friend’s fishing invitation, the subject has been coming up regularly overtime we and some other friends with us meet up. I even went so far as to propose to my own circle of friends that we go on a fishing trip. I didn’t have any idea yet as to where to go but it seems the idea has hit a receptive audience. I guess in their case fishing evokes of Ernest Hemingway and his Old Man and the Sea, although truth be told I don’t have any fantasies of doing battle against a huge sea monster. If I can get my hands on a little fish that would look appetizing on a grill, then I would be happy.

My first fishing trip in Manila came a few weeks after my good friend’s invite. We were supposed to go to Pulilan as recommended by another friend but as that other friend could not make it to our impromptu trip, we followed another friend’s advice and went to Lakeshore instead. Lakeshore, if you haven’t gone up North in your life, is in Mexico. The one in Pampanga, not North America.

I think it’s one of the few privileges in life when you are able to live in a subdivision, or a community, if you will, that has a fishing spot. Some subdivisions might offer a tennis court or a basketball court, but rare is a subdivision that has its own lake for fishing. Of course we’re talking about Mexico here and not Mandaluyong (though you’re very much welcome to fish in the Pasig River if you must).

We arrived at Lakeshore shortly before 5 in the afternoon. The lake, which is the subdivisions fishing spot is pretty, scenic even. And with a few tents by the lake, I am inclined to believe that it is a very popular spot for weddings. When we went there, there was in fact a wedding going on. I assumed that it was a rich couples wedding judging by the three helicopters parked beside the tent.

Unfortunately for us however, we arrived too late for our fishing plans. Lakeshore does not allow night fishing and they close at 6 pm, which made our three hour drive from Manila futile. But nevertheless, after seeing the lake, I knew that it would only be a matter of time before we make a comeback. If only we didn’t have to drive that far.

Next up! Good fishing spot in Manila, Philippines.

So after work last Friday, we were pumped to give her a good time, drinking, a little crash course on Filipino humor and of course, Filipino hospitality. We were determined to make her drink until the sun comes up. As nightshift folks, our drinking started at around 1:00AM and by the time it was around 7AM, after a whole lot of talk and more beer, some drunken guy asked our visitor point blank if she’d rather spend her last Saturday in the Philippines shopping or sprawled in a tropical beach. She said beach. A show of hands ensued and it was agreed that four drunken colleagues will be heading out to Zambales to take her to Anawangin. Unfortunately, one of those who raised their hands was me. I didn’t really wanna go but seeing that most folks were raising their hands, I decided what the hell, might as well go crazy for once.

We didn’t pack for anything. We just followed the road and took turns driving. We reached Subic around 12 noon and bought our swimming outfit there. We then proceeded to drive to Pundaquit where the usual bancas are rented to go to Anawangin. We parked our car in Canoe Beach Resort and arrived at Anawangin Cove around 2PM.

Without even putting on a beach towel (I had none), I crashed on the sand and started snoring right away. My colleagues were happily swimming while I passed out under the shade. I woke up an hour later and saw them drinking some more. A lot of looks were thrown our way not because of my unbelievably good looks but because our colleague from distant shores was in a string bikini and she looked absolutely like those models you only see in glossy swimsuit magazines. I couldn’t really care less as to how she looked (rrright), I was too concerned about my hangover and where I could score some aspirins to cure it.

It seemed to me that Anawangin is no longer the secret spot that it used to be. There’s a store selling stuff there now. The creek and the pine trees are still there, but there are more tents pitched unlike the last time I visited it. I’m not really crazy about its beach, but for a quick getaway, it’s still pretty much acceptable.

After three hours in Anawangin we went back to Canoe Beach Resort to retrieve our stuff and go back to Manila. By some inspired move, we decided to stop by the new Marquee Mall near the Clark Exit in NLEX so our colleague was still able to do a little shopping.

We arrived in Manila around 12midnight. The other guys still wanted to go to Fiamma and Embassy but I was literally bombed so I begged off. Not that I enjoy going to those places anyway.

Going to Anawangin in a drunken stupor was really irresponsible and stupid though fun and enjoyable in a painful way. But I guess it’s alright to do these kinds of things every once in a while if only to confirm that we are still in charge of our individual lives.
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I was in Caramoan for a total of 24 hours but within that period of time, I’ve already experienced a gamut of emotions that you’d think I was living life in steroids. I was:
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- sleepless, having driven to the airport straight from my nightshift work,
- drunk, had a couple of beers before the airport drive (kids don’t do this or you’ll end up giggling like a hyena most of the time, cool, but for all intents and purposes, stupid)
- fatigued, my travel buddies said I snored through the 45-minute plane ride
- soaked, yep after donning on copious amounts of sunblock, the heavens opened up. But what the heck, we decided to island hop anyway.
- deathly frightened, did an impromptu rock climb just to spot a wild mother bangus (see story below)
- amazed, the caramoan peninsula’s water is like liquid copper you’d think you can scoop them up and they’d be like jelly in your hands
- touched, our homestay hosts were so accommodating that I wished my mother is still alive
- victorious, after conquering that rock and taking a glimpse of the mother b, I felt like I stared death in the eyes and made him blink
- voracious, after all those adventures I was raving hungry and thanks to those awesome folks at Rex’s Tourist Inn, I consumed food like you won’t believe
- and of course drunk again, one of the super cool kids concocted a drink called Boracay out of emperador, condensed milk, coffee, and crushed eyes. I think he missed his calling.

I think I've seen these hills in my dreams. No kidding.

Now about Caramoan. I wasn’t really expecting anything much. I’ve been to El Nido and have righteously assumed all beaches to be inferior. I think I’m not alone in that perception. Caramoan however has a few aces up its sleeves. For one, there’s the survivor shoots, during the time that I was there, Survivor Hungary was holed up in Bag-ing island. There were not so subtle signs admonishing island hoppers not to take photographs. Are you frigging kidding me? This is our turf! And you’re telling us not to take pictures? Of course I took pictures! But only after I was safely ensconced in our little banca and driving away. Teehehehe.

So I'm a wuss. The survivors are behind those clumps of vegetation.

Because of the very limited time we have (only a half day’s worth of island hopping) our island hopping guide decided to just bring us to the three awesomest islands within striking distance. The first was in Bag-ing (see above), then in Lajos, and lastly in Matukad.

Weird rock formations in Lajos

Like I said this is not ideal for swimming.

Though you certainly can find some wonderful swimming spots.

Kal El was here. Remnants of the planet Krypton

Lajos, well I thought this is a Cebuano term and probably it is. This island is like a bald man’s head. You know some cluster of hairs on both sides while the center is totally smooth. Lajos has rock formations on both sides and white sand in between. Thus you have two beaches to choose from, one in front and one in the back. There is ample space for a little swimming but I think it’s best snorkelled than swam. Still the water is crystal clear and my cam whore friends had a blast taking photos and showing a little skin. I’d have preferred for them to remain clothed though.

Better swimming spots here.

Matukad is by far the most varied of the islands that we went to. It has its secret lake as well. This is the lake that I risked life and limb for just so I can see that mother bangus. Bangus = Milkfish (just in case you’re not familiar with the local name).

Just to see this motherf.. err.. bangus. I'm telling you it's one big mother.

Ok a little trivia why this particular bangus is called Mother. Bangus fry, in case you don’t know, is usually caught in the open sea. You might think that because bangus comes in a fish pond, it was born and raised there. Au contraire, they may have been raised there but they certainly were not born there. This is where the bangus fry fishermen come in. These fishermen are those who wake up very early in the morning, bring out their fine-meshed nets and trawl the waters near the beach. They are after bangus fry. Now where do you think those little bangus fry came from? Yep it’s the mother bangus’ doing. They’re usually big assed fishes who live in the wild. It’s going to be a very sad day when these mother bangus (banguses, bangii?) are included in fishermen’s catch. They should throw them back in the water or worship it even for all the good that it’s doing.

This is the natural barrier that we had to climb to get to the lake.

The rock that we had to climb is not actually a rock. They’re limestone formations that have been forged by father time over hundreds if not thousands of years. So their edges are really sharp. In our case, these formations sort of served as a very high wall (I think around 40 ft high give or take) to protect the lake. There’s no way around it. If you want to go near the lake or even just to try and get a glimpse, you have to get over that wall. And nope there are no set footings prepared for city boys like myself. However when our tour guide asked if we want to see the mother bangus I immediately said yes. I only realized my folly when I was almost at the top about to clamber down. It suddenly dawned on me that were I to slip just even once, I will not be able to see future generations of me. Anyway I pushed all those nasty thoughts aside and concentrated on being careful to save my ass (again, literally). True enough there was the secret lake but from where we were standing (almost 50 meters away) we couldn’t see a bloody thing. Only the murky brownish green water. After a while our guide said ‘Here she comes!’. And there she was, shaped like a shark, streaking through the water like a hot knife on butter. It was a glorious sight. Even made glorious because of what we had to go through to see it. Of course there were pictures for posterity with the lake as the background. But since my butt crack(kidding. or not) was showing (I insisted on being photographed from the back), I’m showing here my friend’s picture instead.

This is the secret lake. And no that's not me.

Surprisingly, going down was by far easier than going up. I thought it would be the reverse. But thank God for that. It took us half the time to climb down that rock. With only a few scrapes on our hands, no broken bones, and our bodies glistening with sweat. I think we looked awesomely manly (bilbil and all) to our lady companions. Of course we had to exaggerate to the max when we recounted our climb. But there was general great feeling all around. Coming out of a death-threatening situation can do that to you.

Clear aquamarine waters

By far, Matukad was the awesomest island we went to. There was a good spot for swimming and again the water was very clear. I think we could have gone on exploring other islands but alas, darkness was fast approaching.

I thought about all the island hopping tours I’ve gone on and so far this one comes a close second. El Nido will always be number one.  Although in terms of convenience and proximity from Manila, Caramoan is a very able substitute. If you haven’t been there, there’s really no excuse not to go. Fare is low, accommodation is cheap, and you can totally enjoy it over the weekend.

Our itinerary:

Saturday 6:30 AM – Flight To Naga
7:30 AM – Arrival
7:45 AM – Van to Guijalo Port (for the boat to Sabang, Caramoan)
8:45 AM – Arrive in Guijalo
9:00 AM – Depart for Sabang
11:30 AM – Arrival
Sat aft. 1:30 PM – Island Hopping
5:30 PM – Back from IH

Sunday 9:45 AM – Depart for Sabang
10:15 AM – Depart for Guijalo
12:15 PM – Arrival

Note:

While we were in Caramoan, we were supposed to stay in Rex Tourist Inn, but because they were fully booked, they assigned us to one of the homes there who offer homestay. I think it turned out pretty alright. Our hosts, Engr. & Mrs. Elvin Sacil were very accommodating and their house was very nice. We occupied two rooms (both fully airconditioned) with a private sala to boot! Something you wouldn’t get at Rex (hehehe). There were two bathrooms which was really cool. Theres a garden outside the house, plus a few caskets. Kidding about the caskets. Lol. Actually, I’m not kidding. There’s a shop just outside selling caskets. But don’t be put-off by that. There’s no wake there. It’s just a business after all so none of that weird stuff.

The important thing is you get to have a very homy atmosphere and some very cool hosts. In fact had we contacted them directly, I’m sure we could have saved a lot of money instead of going through one of those tour organizers. If you want to talk to the Sacils directly, here’s their number (09084633101).

So what did we do Sunday Afternoon in Naga? Why, we had to go wakeboarding in CWC of course!  But that’s another story.
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Enough with the envy.

Here’s a couple of pictures I took of the Muelle Port in Puerto Galera. If somebody showed this to me minus the bancas, I wouldn’t have believed that this is actually in Luzon. Pretty darn pretty I think.

Here’s a trivia; in this far off place, do you think people here follow English Football?
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Hint: Look at the name of the banca. Lol.

Almost but not quite.

I really believed I could stay away from the computer throughout my holiday but I was given too many opportunities to be in front of one. Anyway, since I’m already here (while the SO rearranges her store here in Lim Ket Kai), I might as well write a few sentences about my vacation so far. I will be writing the details at a later date.
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Anawangin Cove

I started the weekend in Anawangin. It’s an island somewhere in Zambales. So far, it placed second in my best-visited-beaches-so-far list. The first will always be the Pink Lagoon in Surigao. I’m not even sure if I can still go back to that place as my friends and I can no longer agree on the exact name or location. Perhaps it’s one of those enchantment things. I just hope that that place is not lost to me forever.

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The joy of Anawangin is its back river. It has a river just a few steps from the beach. And there are woods there too. A colleague even commented that the place sort of resembled Lake Tahoe. I wouldn’t know though. I’ve never been there. Because the place is not yet developed, it makes for a very good camping spot.

White Water Rafting In Cagayan De Oro

After Anawangin, I flew to CDO to participate in an all-expense-paid vacation involving white water rafting and a 3 day stay in Caminguin. I didn’t care much for Camiguin as I’ve been there a few times already. It was the rafting I was most interested in. I must admit to raising a skeptical eyebrow everytime I read all the praises about this different kind of adventure from folks who’ve been there. What’s so special about a river, a few rapids, some raft? I’ve been burned by clickthecity’s review on Putipot Island before that I’ve been doubly wary about other people’s reviews.

But I was pleasantly mistaken.

White Water Rafting In CDO is indeed an adventure worth taking. There– I’ve already joined the bandwagon. The clincher really was the number of HOURS I spent aboard the inflatable raft. Yes, you read that right. You will be aboard the raft for at least two hours and man, you get to really appreciate the CDO river. It is absolutely amazing. I didn’t realize that we have a river like that in the Philippines and I’ve seen my share of rivers. I can’t begin to express the exhilaration I felt surrounded by all those cliffs and the vegetation and the still waters.

If there’s one adventure that you must do this summer, do this one. I guarantee that you would have one hell of a great time.



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I learned a very important lesson about light in my recent Palawan trip. And it had something to do with some of my pictures showing up horrendously dark. I still don’t have a DSLR camera, something that bugs me until now, although I have something that’s pretty decent. But still it’s no excuse for taking pretty lousy pictures.
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El Nido is a pain in the butt. You’ll know what I’m talking about when you get there after 7 hours of pot-holed roads. Ok, to be fair, there are stretches of nicely paved roads, but you kinda take those things for granted considering the hefty chunk of money the government bites off of your payday. What should get every local tourist’s goat is that of all those pork barrel funds given every year, why not pave the roads properly, all of it? You kinda wonder whether this is a punishment to local tourists who take the more scenic route instead of patronize Asean Spirit (at around P12K roundtrip, who would?).

But there is a silver lining to all of this. And somehow I am torn between wanting a nicely paved road and keeping it as such, so that the place remains not-so-accessible thereby slowing the march of commercialization.

To those who have never been to El Nido, you need to go there– it’s PERFECT. And it’s not only for the rich. You just have to weather the 7-hour ride to get there (like I did). There are a lot of dirt-cheap pension houses if you’re in a tight budget. If you can gather enough number of travelmates, it becomes very affordable.

Pictures after the jump.

Oh well.. Pictures.

If these pictures won’t tempt you to save up and visit the place, nothing else will.

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Puerto Princesa City Tour
What can I say about the City Tour?  Well it’s pretty normal.  If you have time to kill, then might as well explore Puerto Princesa.  There’s the butterfly garden, the crocodile farm, the Mitra house, Bakers Hill.  Nothing really out of the extraordinary.

When I first visited Puerto Princesa, I took the city tour for one delicious purpose– Vietnamese food.  For those who don’t know this, Puerto Princesa was once the refugee camp for the boat people– as the Vietnamese, who took to the sea following troubles in their homeland, were known then.

I am a sucker for Vietnamese cuisine so I was under the impression that the city should still have a lot of Vietnamese influences in the gastronomical area.  Unfortunately all the little restos I went to in search of traces of Vietnamese food were a disappointment.  The French bread that I was served near the Vietnamese village was alright, but nothing worth jumping up and down about.  Pho Hoa can kick anyone’s ass there.

Honda Bay Tour
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The Honda Bay tour was/is fun.  Island hopping and snorkeling.  The beaches were normal but the depth is ideal for snorkeling.  One of the guides led us to where a school of Talakitok fish were just circling around.  I think each one of those fishes weighed at least 2 kilos and there were lots and lots of them.  They were like a twister full of fish.

I’m pretty confident of my snorkeling skills but seeing the purplish blue see of Honda Bay had me donning a life-jacket just to be sure.  It was crazy deep in some of the islands.  Just a couple of steps from the beach and you’re like jumping off a cliff.  Pretty incredible.

Underground River
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Now this river is a sight to behold.  When everything is fine, meaning the weather is holding up, no rains or typhoons in the horizon, the river is jade blue.  Really, really inviting.  A lot of folks have their pictures taken at the mouth of the underground cave because of this beautiful site.

The underground river is dark, too dark for my taste.  And very enclosed too, enclosed enough that my closet claustrophobia came roaring out of the surface.  I think the underground tour lasted at least 30 minutes with the guides showing the various sculptures and rock formations done by nature.

Honestly, I never really liked that underground river.  Sure it was awesome, but I was about to scream my claustrophobic head off.  So if you’re suffering from the same disorder, better skip this one and content yourself to just taking pictures from the outside.  Besides, there are a lot of monitor lizards outside (near the beach) to catch your attention.

City Food

Now this is worth talking about.  Alright, so the Vietnamese hunt was a tad disappointing.  However the rest of the restaurants offered sumptuous seafood cuisines at ridiculously low prices, relative to Manila of course.  Heading the restaurant group is Ka Lui’s.  I’m not sure what it is with eating barefooted that has people really enjoing their food.  Oh well.  Then there’s Lotus Garden– what can I say?

But my really good experience came from a more masa restaurant the name of which I unbelievably forgot.  But it’s near Paradise Pension/Hotel and it has two branches in the city.  The seafood is really fresh and very, very cheap that everytime we have a meal there, we order a feast!

Like I said, Puerto Princesa is good for starters, but when you want some really awesome eye candy, be prepared to have your butt whacked, for the budget traveller there’s no other way when you want to go to –  El Nido.
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Going to Amanpulo is not that difficult, because there’s only one way to go there, that is via a chartered plane. The plane ferries Amanpulo customers from Manila to the resort.

The Amanpulo Experience

I wish I’ve been to Amanpulo, but I haven’t. Not yet anyway. But from what reviews I’ve read of visitor’s Amanpulo experience, not 100% was thrilled. As the saying goes, you can’t please everybody. And even Amanpulo has it’s own set of detractors, mostly folks who felt that they should be treated a little better or have gotten something for the price they were paying. For that amount of money, I expect to be able to eat the sand of this resort.

The beach and the view however got 100%. Everyone was really impressed with the tropical paradise that it really is (at least from what picture I saw). I think the beach and the view should weight a lot more than whatever service or food that the resort offers. Any deficiency that the resort may have should be 110% compensated by that heavenly beach.

I do not pity those who had terrible experience with the service or the food, rather I envy these folks, at least they’ve stared at paradise straight in the face, walked on it, bathed in it. That should be worth crowing about.
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June 2009 Nursing Board Exam Results