The first time I’ve been to Naga City was way back in 1980 when I attended a Rotaract convention there. I wasn’t much of a tourist then as I was now. Opportunity beckoned again when I was invited by the Department of Tourism to cover its May 25 to 28 Kaogma Festival. I was to join a media group consisting of Mr. Rick Alberto of What’s On/Expat, Mr. Jess Escaros of Philippine News Agency and Mr. Alex de los Santos of Pilipino Reporter. Also accompanying us were Mr. Boyet Escueta and Ms. Susan Codotco, media coordinator and in-house writer, respectively, of the DOT’s Office of Tourism Information. We left the DOT by 11 AM on an airconditioned tourist van.
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| Quezon National Park |
All of us were in for a long haul as the trip to Naga City took all of 9 hours, passing 6 towns and 1 city in Laguna, 11 towns and 1 city in Quezon, the whole length of Camarines Norte and 5 towns of Camarines Sur before reaching our destination. Places of interest along the way include the scenic seacoast highway along Atimonan, Plaridel and Gumaca and the Quezon National Park with its winding zigzag road (locally called bitukang manok).
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| The Miss Camarines Sur beauty contest |
We arrived at the city by 8:30 PM and checked in at the Villa Caceres Hotel. After a hearty supper, it was off to work as we covered the Ms. Camarines Sur beauty pageant held at the Government Center in Pili. Special guest there was former Miss International Melanie Marquez. After a courtesy call on Gov. Luis Villafuerte, we called it a day and returned to our hotel for a fitful sleep.
Villa Caceres Hotel: Magsaysay Ave., Naga City, Camarines Sur. Tel: (054) 473-6530 to 33 and 811-6083 to 89. Fax: (054) 473-9327. E-mail: info@villacacereshotel.com. Website www.villacacereshotel.com.