Category Archives: Sightseeing

Naidi Hills (Basco, Batanes)

Posted on by — Leave a reply

Come late afternoon, I decided to hike up the nearby Naidi Hills, northwest of Basco proper.  Here, I had a unique view of Baluarte Bay, Basco, mist-shrouded, 1,009-m. high  Mt. Iraya (Batanes’ highest mountain), the sunset and the rolling hills.  The hills used to be the site of the Philippine’s tallest wireless communications facility, bombed by the Japanese planes on December 8, 1941.  Only the base remains.  Also on the hill are the damaged buildings and bunkers that used to house the communications facilities. 

The bucolic Naidi Hills

The hill is now home to the new 6-storey, 66-ft. high conical Basco Lighthouse (also called Naidi Lighthouse), one of 3 lighthouses proposed by former Congressman Florencio “Butch” Abad.  Built in 2003, it is located a few meters away from Radyo ng Bayan station  and standing on the same site of Basco’s first lighthouse.  It has a view deck on the fifth floor.  Beside it is an Ivatan stone house constructed of native materials and essentially of vernacular architecture.  The hill is also home to grazing cattle.  On one occasion, one bull gently prodded me to vacate the grass I was sitting on. 

One of Naidi Hills resident cattle

Naidi Hills: Sitio Diajang, Brgy. San Antonio, Basco, Batanes.

Batanes: A Dream Fulfilled

Posted on by — Leave a reply
Postcard-pretty Basco

Even for a seasoned traveler like me, getting to remote Batanes has always remained a dream.  However, winning a round trip Asian Spirit plane ticket, via a raffle draw during my college’s Golden Anniversary celebration, made that dream a reality as I could choose from any of its destinations served.  I chose the farthest – Batanes.  After reserving and paying the other charges for the ticket (around PhP1,700), I wasted no time in making plans, summer having just ended and the rainy season just about to begin.  This would be my first local trip alone, without family or friends to accompany me.  I left Manila for Basco the morning (9:40 AM) of June 1, Thursday.  The trip took all of 2 hrs., Basco being 483 air kms. from Manila.  The plane also made a 30-min. stopover at Tuguegarao (Cagayan) Airport.  It was just about lunchtime when I arrived in Basco Airport, tired, hungry and with a queasy stomach, the result of a very bumpy flight (now I know why the stewardess gave us mint candies prior to the flight).   

Asian Spirit plane at Basco Airport

From the airport, I took a tricycle to the town center and checked in at one of Mama Lily Inn’s 3 fan-cooled rooms with common bath.  This was to be my home for the 5 days I was to stay in this beautiful province. Basco, the lovely provincial capital and the center of commerce, is the  biggest and most urbanized among the 6 towns of the province. It houses the provincial offices of most national government agencies as well as the larger business establishments and collegiate institutions.  Formerly called Vasay, the town was renamed after Spanish Gov.-Gen. Jose Basco y Vargas. 

Majestic Mayon Volcano (Albay)

Posted on by — Leave a reply
The Cagsawa Ruins and cloud-shrouded Mayon

Our Roll-On Roll Off (RORO) ferry from Allen (Northern Samar) finally arrived at Matnog (Sorsogon) by 12:15 PM and as soon as the ferry ramp was down, Charlie and I were soon on our way to Naga City (Camarines Sur), hoping to make it there by evening.  At Legaspi City, we had a late lunch at Waway Restaurant along Penaranda St., famous for its Bicolano fare such as laing, Bicol Express and chicharon bulaklak. This done, it was back to our Ford Explorer but, just out of the city, we just could resist making a stopover at the Cagsawa Ruins in nearby Daraga town, with its panoramic backdrop of Mayon Volcano, one of the Bicol Region’s 2 great landmarks (the other is Naga City’s Penafrancia Shrine, home of the Virgin of Penafrancia).

The swirling clouds around Mayon Volcano

Though we can not see its cloud-shrouded perfect cone, the view wasn’t quite disappointing as the swirling clouds covering the volcano halfway up the cone were a spectacle in itself.   Most pictures of Mayon Volcano (including ours) are taken with the Cagsawa Ruins in the foreground.  Many people doing so within the ruins do not know that they are standing on a mass grave.   

Ruin’s of priest’s house

During that dreadful morning (8 AM) of February 1, 1814, the volcano erupted, forming giant cauliflower-shaped gray clouds and spewing red-hot boulders and a river of boiling lava  from the volcano’s crater. It became dangerous for people living around the volcano to stay at home as the huge, hot rocks fell on their roofs and spread fires.   About 1,200 people fled their homes for the seeming safety of the church.  Here, they were buried alive when 40 m. of mud and ash engulfed them.  By 10 AM, the large stones had stop falling, raining sand instead, and by 1:30 PM, the skies began to clear and only clouds of smoke and ash spewed out of the volcano.  Mayon’s short-lived, 6-hr. eruption was over but so were the lives of the people trapped in the church.  

Today, only the blackened top section of the church steeple and some walls of the priests’ house and the municipal building remain.  Stores within the area are now doing brisk business selling souvenirs (T-shirts, postcards and actual photos of the latest eruption) and foodstuff (pili nuts, etc.).  Only the ruins and a historical marker installed in 1940 tell the story of that dreadful day nearly 2 centuries ago.

The Quiet Charm of Dumaguete City (Negros Oriental)

Posted on by — Leave a reply
Dumaguete City

After 2 nights in Bacolod City, it was now time to move on to our next destination (with a change in dialect) – the Cebuano-speaking Dumaguete City, the capital of neighboring Negros Oriental.  Like Bacolod City, this visit was a first for me.  We departed Bacolod City by 1 PM.  To get to Dumaguete, we had the choice of two routes.  Both entailed making an 86.9-km. drive to Kabankalan City.  From here, the first route entails making a further 140.2 km. drive, along the southern underbelly of the island, to the border plus and an additional 140.8 km. drive to Dumaguete (total of 367.9 kms.).  The second and shorter route entails a 25-km. drive from Kabankalan City, cutting through the mountainous spine, to the border and an additional 101.3-km. drive to Dumaguete (total of 213.2 kms.).  As time was the essence, we took the second route.  What a spectacular route it was!  Traveling through Kennon Road-like zigzag roads, we passed lush and spectacular mountain scenery all the way to the coast.   After a 4.5-hour drive, we arrived at Dumaguete by 5:30 PM and checked in our tired, travel-weary bodies into airconditioned rooms with bath and cable TV at Harold’s Mansion.

Rizal Blvd.

Negros Oriental has, in the past, been mistaken (by the national media as well as Pres. Gloria Arroyo) for its better known, and more prosperous, neighbor Negros Occidental, so much so that it is seriously considering a name change (i.e. Oriental Negros).  Even Dumaguete, its capital, is a relative unknown compared to its counterpart, Bacolod City.  However, both city and province are slow waking up to economic potentials domestic tourism brings.  More so with Dumaguete City, a city which, in my opinion, exudes a quaint and quiet charm plus a campus life quite similar to my alma mater, the University of the Philippines.

Bell Tower

Dumaguete, like Bacolod City, is a showcase of Spanish and American-era architecture.  The City Hall, along Sta. Catalina St., was built in 1907.  In front of it is Quezon Park, a flower market and a children’s playground.   The Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria, located across Perdices St. (formerly Alfonso XII St.), from Quezon Park, has a coral and brick Spanish bell tower built in 1811 to warn townsfolk against piratical raids.  The tower was restored in 1985. The Provincial Capitol, along North Road, was built in 1924 in the same Roman Neo-Classical style used by Daniel Burnham, the American city planner of Manila and Baguio City.  It has a park (Ninoy Aquino Freedom Park), 3 tennis courts and 2 schools nearby.

Provincial Capitol

The distinguishing landmark of Dumaguete, however, is the beachfront area along Rizal Blvd., much like Manila’s Roxas Blvd. (before reclamation).  Our National Hero, Jose Rizal, was said to have once strolled here during a stopover on his way to his 4-year (1892 to 1896) exile in Dapitan (Zamboanga del Norte).  Today, Rizal Blvd., a favorite area for picnics, play or retrospection, is also the favored address of a number of cozy places to eat, drink and be merry.  Our favorite watering hole here is Loco-Loco.

Iloilo City Tour: By Car

Posted on by — Leave a reply

After our museum visit, we tried, for lunch, one of Iloilo’s famous cuisine, La Paz batchoy at Ted’s at the Provincial Capitol. After lunch, we began the GPS mapping of the rest of the city proper in earnest, making short stopovers at a number of the city’s notable landmarks.

Church of St. Joseph

Fronting the City Hall is Plaza Libertad (formerly Plaza Alfonso XII), at the intersection of De la Rama, Gen. Hughes and Zamora Sts. It was the site where the first Philippine flag was raised, on  December 25, 1898, after Spain’s surrender to Gen. Martin Delgado.  Across the plaza is San Jose Parish Church, started in 1873 by Augustinian Fr. Mauricio Blanco, who also built the convent.  It was spared during World War II.  The main altar was gilded with 17,000 gold panels by Fr. Jesus Fernandez.  Renovated, from 1980 to 1982, by Fr. Gilbert Centina III, O.S.A.., Romblon marble was used to decorate the transept walls, presbytery, the main and side altar walls and the floors.  This 1-storey Byzantine church has 3 naves, a transept and 2 flanking, 3-storey, rectangular bell towers (one of which has a barometer and a clock).

Forts San Pedro

Fort San Pedro, near the mouth of the Iloilo River.  Built in 1616 as a defense against enemy raids, it was almost totally destroyed, by naval and air bombardment, during World War II.  The Iloilo-Negros Air Express Company (INAEC, founded by Don Eugenio Lopez, Sr. on 3 February 1933), pioneered the first commercial aircraft flight in the country, which took off from a grassy airfield near the fort.   Also nearby, at the river’s mouth, is a lighthouse and Rotary Park.   

Iloilo Port Terminal building

The city’s port, one of the country’s finest, is protected by Guimaras Island.  It handles a considerable volume of rice and sugar shipments. Muelle Loney, the riverfront, with its wharves and warehouses, is a popular promenade named after Nicholas Loney (1826 to 22 April 1859), British vice-consul in Iloilo in 1855 and Father of the Philippine Sugar Industry.  Loney established the first trading company in Iloilo and transformed and galvanized the local sugar industry in Negros and Panay by importing British machinery.  

Iloilo City Tour: On Foot

Posted on by — Leave a reply

After breakfast at the hotel, I made a walking tour of the city’s downtown area, with a dependable EZ map on hand.  From Delgado St., I walked along J.M. Basa St., the city’s busiest main thoroughfare which is lined with shops, handicraft stores, moviehouses and restaurants. 

Ker & Co. Building
Nineteenth century structures are located along this street and along Iznart St. (formerly Calle Real).  They include the Commission on Audit (COA) Bldg. and the Ker & Co. (K & C) Bldg..  The latter, with its West Indies ambiance, has a marvelous iron staircase cast in Scotland.

Return to Guimaras

Posted on by — Leave a reply

After breakfast at the Fine Rock Hotel, Charlie and I again boarded our Ford Explorer and drove to Muelle Loney (Iloilo River Wharf).  Here,  we loaded the car on the MV Felipe, another ancient RORO (Roll On Roll Off) ferry of F.F. Cruz Shipping Corp., bound for  Jordan, the provincial capital of Guimaras, where we plan to do GPS mapping.  This would be my second visit to this island province, having been there 10 years ago with my family.

RO-RO Port at Jordan

Our ship left Muelle Loney by 9:30 AM and the smooth crossing to the RO-RO port in Brgy. Hoskyn took just 30 mins..  Once docked, we drove off, with Charlie on the wheel, for Jordan town proper where we made a short stopover at the municipal hall and the town plaza, said to be the smallest in the country.

Jordan municipal hall
The town plaza, the country’s smallest

From thereon, we proceeded on our GPS mapping around the island.  At Nueva Valencia, we again made a short stopover at Raymen Beach Resort which was situated in a cove.  The narrow, beige sand beach was clean and the left side of the cove was a marine reserve with beautiful corals.

Raymen Beach

The resort itself, considered the most popular win the province, is about an hour’s drive away from Jordan Wharf.  It has a mix of airconditioned rooms with bath and TV and fan-cooled cottages with bath.  They also have a canteen, billiards and videoke. 

Raymen Beach Resort

Past Nueva Valencia, the road to Sibunag and San Lorenzo turned bad and I replaced Charlie at the wheel of the Ford Explorer for the second time in our 3-week GPS mapping expedition (the first time was from Kalibo to Iloilo City).  Once done with our mapping, we returned to Jordan port and left on the 5:30 PM ferry.  We were back in Fine Rock Hotel in time for dinner.
  
F.F. Cruz Shipping Corp.: Lapuz, Iloilo City, Iloilo.  Tel: (033) 337-1046, 336-9329 and 336-4195.  
F.F. Cruz Shipping Corp.: Jordan, Guimaras.  Tel: (033) 581-1701.
Raymen Beach Resort: Sitio Alubijod, Poblacion, Nueva Valencia, Guimaras.  Tel: (033) 396-0252.

On the Road From Caticlan to Iloilo City

Posted on by — Leave a reply

From our R&R stop at Caticlan and Boracay, Charlie Kemplin and I were slated to begin our first Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) mapping at Iloilo City.  Joining us was Charlie’s friend Ron Connell and his son Steve (owner of Frendz Resort in Boracay), both married to Filipinas.   We left Boracay, early in the morning, for Caticlan’s Ferry Port, got the 1994 Ford Explorer at my father-in-law’s house in Malay town proper and were soon on our way by 9 AM.

Passi City Hall

The non-stop 212-km. trip to Iloilo City normally takes just 6 hrs. but, in our case, took more than that.  Charlie drove the first 65 kms. to Kalibo where we stopped for lunch at Greenwich in Gaisano Mall.   From Kalibo, I took over the wheel of the Explorer and drove the remaining 147 kms. to Iloilo City, making a short stopover at Passi City Hall for some maps.  It was just about dusk and raining hard when we reached Iloilo City.  Here, we checked in at 3 airconditioned rooms with bath and cable TV at the Fine Rock Hotel.

Mindoro Trail: Puerto Galera (Mindoro Oriental)

Posted on by — Leave a reply
White Beach

After breakfast at Calapan Bay Resort, we left the city by 11 AM, April 10, for Puerto Galera.  Part of the 49-km. drive entailed negotiating dusty, Kennon-like zigzag roads (Puerta Galera is considered as the “Little Baguio” of Mindoro) and steep ravines.  We made a short photo op stop over at the Waterfalls Bridge at Brgy. Villaflor where we can view the 131-m. high, roadside Tamaraw Falls, the highest waterfall in the province.  Its pool is a popular swimming spot for weekenders. The enchanting view of Varadero Bay heralded our arrival at the beach town of Puerto Galera which spreads out 10 kms. along the coast.  

Tamaraw Falls
Located on a Y-shaped peninsula on the northwestern tip of Mindoro Island, the popular tourist destination of Puerto Galera has numerous fine beaches with sheltered coves beneath the green mountainous backdrop of the 1,086-m. high Mt. Alinyaban, 1,185-m. high Mt. Talipanan and 1,228-m.  high Mt. Malasimbo, all of which are rich in mineral deposits of marble, gold, lime and silica.
 
Muelle Pier
We arrived at the town proper and its ferry dock at Muelle by 1:30 PM  and had a late lunch at one of the restaurants.  Muelle has an excellent natural yacht harbor, effectively protected by Medio Island, at the mouth of picture-perfect Muelle Bay.  From here, we can view the mooring area of Puerto Galera Yacht Club.  From the pier, Sabang Beach and White Beach are both 6 kms. away.

Puerto Galera town proper

A marble cross, located beside Cocopoint Hotel, commemorates the sinking of the Spanish warship El Canonero Mariveles, on November 18, 1879, during a storm off Soguicay Bay.   The cross was originally erected in wood on March 18, 1897 but was renovated in 1938 by Spaniard Luis Gomez y Sotto.   Its inscription reads Ultima tierra que pesarou los tripolantes del Canoneros Mariveles el 18 de Noviembre de 1879.

El Canonero Mariveles Cross

After lunch, we made an ocular inspection of Sabang Beach, Small La Laguna Beach, Big La Laguna and White Beach, 4 of the at least 13 superb connected beaches that have been developed for tourism within 7 kms. or so of the town.  The somewhat gray sand Sabang Beach has the most developed resorts and offers a good choice of restaurants, discos and watersports facilities. Small La Laguna Beach, sometimes called Coral Beach, has whiter sand and is fairly quiet and cozy.  It attracts a lot of foreign backpackers and other budget travelers who like to stay a long time at Puerto Galera.  The broad, 1-km. long White Beach, on the other hand, is immensely popular with local tourists.  Our last stop, we had our dinner here.

Ponderosa Golf & Country Club

After our beach tour, we drove all the way back to Muelle where we decided to check in at fan-cooled rooms with toilet at bath at Coco Point Resort.  Breakfast at its restaurant, come morning, was a pleasure as I had a beautiful view of the natural yacht harbor.  We checked out right after breakfast and drove 5 kms. (half of it unpaved) all the way up to the 9-hole, 20-hectare Ponderosa Golf and Country Club, located 600 m. above sea level, midway up Mt. Malasimbo in Brgy. Minolo.  From this cool and windy vantage point, located southwest of Puerto Galera, we had a tremendous bird’s eye view of Puerto Galera Cove and Batangas’ Verde Island, Maricaban Island and Sombrero Island.  Facilities here include a restaurant and bar.

Balatero Pier

After about 30 mins., we left Ponderosa by 9 AM, driving back down the mountain and, once back on level ground, made a long stopover at White Beach.  It was time to go and we drove to Balatero Pier, 15 mins. from White Beach and near the town proper, arriving there by 11 AM.  RO-RO ships dock here and, after paying the necessary fees and fare, we loaded the Ford Explorer on the MV Starlite Odyssey.  Our ship left Puerto Galera by 12 noon and we arrived at Batangas Port by 1:40 PM.  I arrived in Manila by 4:30 PM.

Mindoro Trail: San Jose (Mindoro Occidental) to Calapan City (Mindoro Oriental)

Posted on by — 2 Comments ↓

The dreaded Day 3 soon dawned upon us, the long (210 kms.) haul, with Charlie again at the wheel, from San Jose down south the previously mentioned horrendous stretch, then up north to the Mindoro Oriental border and on to Calapan City, the provincial capitol and the island’s only city.  We hoped to make it in time to meet with city officials.  After a short, early morning visit to San Jose’s Caminawit Port and 6 kms. of concrete road out of the town, the road soon returned to gravel up to Magsaysay town.

Bulalacao Bay

This was heaven to what awaited us: a “short” 35-km. uphill/downhill stretch along one of the worst “roads” I have ever seen, still tossing about, even in a car with good suspensions.  We never encountered any car, only motorbikes and an occasional bus.  The bad road condition was tempered by beautiful mountain scenery untouched by “progress” (brought about by good roads).  Upon entering Bulalacao, the road soon hugged the coast opening, before us, a panoramic, offshore scenery of beautiful islands along Bulalacao Bay.   Upon reaching a gas station, we had our dusty car washed, thinking that the road ahead would be better.  How wrong we were!  Although the worst was behind us, it was still gravel all the way to Mansalay and Roxas, again coating our newly-washed car with dust.  

Danggay Port

We arrived at Roxas town’s Danggay Port by noon, taking our lunch at a small eatery, part of the time watching people and cars unloading from  a slow ferry at the RORO pier, the gateway to the white sand beaches of Boracay Island (a 5 to 6-hr. boat ride away), the country’s No. 1 tourist destination.  The road from hereon to Calapan City was paved, partly concrete and mostly new and ancient asphalt (with occasional potholes).  It was still a long, nearly 100-km. drive to the city but, from now on, it was all smooth sailing.   Still, we were in a rush.   

Lake Naujan

However, old habits die hard and the tourist in us egged us to veer into a narrow dirt road, hoping to get a better view of the 79-sq. km. freshwater Lake Naujan, the largest (covering the towns of Naujan, Pola and Victoria) in the province and fifth largest in the country.  Ideal for birdwatching (it supports a large number of ducks and other waterfowl), the lake’s rich fauna also includes the country’s two crocodile species: the highly endangered Mindoro freshwater crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) and the estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus).  However, no matter how far we went, no good vantage point was in sight so I decided to leave the car, go by foot up a hill and there, get a good shot. 

Calapan City Hall

We finally reached Calapan City by 4 PM and got to meet with city officials at their stunningly new, white-painted and 2-storey high City Hall, built in the Neo-Classical style of architecture.  Calapan has changed much since my last visit and the city is now booming, with new hotels sprouting up.  One such, the Calapan Bay Hotel, where we stayed overnight, is worthy of note.  Aside from its 12 beautiful airconditioned rooms with bath and cable TV (standard and superior), its appeal lies in its porch-like, multi-cuisine coffee shop (Café Angela) facing the sea.  Here, one savors not only the good food but also the all-embracing whiff of the cool sea breeze.  Too bad it was just an overnight stay.  I would have enjoyed a longer stay.  Just the same, we still had to proceed to Puerto Galera, our final destination and debarkation point back to Manila.