Tag Archives: featured

Mt. Romelo Hike featuring 4/7 Falls

After months of not hiking, having heard of this Mt romelo hike excites me already. I had searched about what to expect on the destination and kinda makes me second guess about it. However, who knows until I got there to see it for myself.

We rode a jeepney from Starmall Mandaluyong Parklea to Tanay Rizal Market that costs us P58 per head and one and half hour travel time. From there, we rode the SINILOAN jeepney going to Famy (P45 per head). Upon reaching Famy, we first bought Pandesal from the nearby Bakeshop (which smells really good LOL) and took tricycle going to Buruwisan (P20 per head). Once we arrived there, Mang Teroy (our contact guide) is already waiting for us. Out of nowhere, I decided to buy a walking stick (P10) and plastic which had been really useful than I thougt. We headed to the barangay and paid the entarnce fee for P50. We are advised to leave our things there except for the valuable ones since it might got wet on the river crossing. (So its really best to bring waterproof things on this hike).

This is it. We prayed first and proceeded to hike. The trail was muddly/slippery hence became challenging even we’re just starting. This is the time where I appreciate the walking stick the most. If not for it, I might have slided a lot of times!😱

 

What I like about this hike is that, its not crowded even during weekends unlike the other mountains that became so popular. On the way to the summit, we passed stores selling Ice candy with Buko Salad and Banana flavor (P25) and fresh buko (P25) as well.

After some time, we have reached the Summit. You’ll be able to see overlooking Laguna lake , windmills and the beautiful scenery. This hike does not showcase the summit however its still nice to look how beautiful the nature is. We rest there for awhile and headed to the first out of seven falls. Yup. Most people hike here to see all the awesome falls. Before I forgot, its recommendable to wear leggings and long sleeves with bright/light colors as leeches are present. On the way to Sampaloc falls, we found few leeches sucking our blood waaaaaaaaaahh 😨 I kinda panic and became paranoid for some time 😂

When we Reached Sampaloc Falls we made sure to clean ourselves first. Checked our socks carefully since some of the leeches are there 😏😏 Our guide told us that its okay though as long as it didn’t reach your eyes/ears hehehe. We also spend our lunch there that we brought with us. Sampaloc falls is beautiful except for the leeches that you will encounter going there. Mang teroy said its only on that part where Leeches are present so we feel at peace to see the Next falls which is Batya-Batya Falls.

Before getting to Batya-Batya falls, there is another store selling fresh buko on the way. Also, you’ll get to pass an enchanting river. It does really look and feels magical. Capturing it through phone is incomparable to the beauty that what our eyes have saw. We did river crossing that’s over the head deep. For people like me that does not know to swim, don’t worry because the Rocks and vines on the side can help you get through and Mang teroy is always there for us haha! The current can be strong so be careful. We enjoyed the water before heading to the next falls.

The rain has been on and off the whole time so when we reached Buruwisan falls we decided to buy coffee (P25) and eat lunch (our own food/baon) again 😅 Cottages are available. It serves as the campsite also. We found few people and few foreigners too 😮

After resting for sometime, we went to Buruwisan Falls. Its the tallest amongst the 7 falls. Its really beautiful. Strong like us 😂 We decided to bathe there and spent more time feeling the splashes of the falls as we went behind it. Its cold too😁


We got tired and decided to head to the next falls which will be the last for today because it’s getting dark already. We went to Lanzones falls and did not stayed for long since my friends are chasing Guys that we bumped into. hahaha! Mang teroy said that its not deep enough and you can also enjoy swimming.

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After the fourth falls we decided to go back. It really was tiring plus the muddy trails. All of us had slided on the mud already haha! The rain hasn’t stop hence making the difficult trails 😥 We reached the Barangay around 6pm. Bought street food and took a shower (P20-P30). Going back, we rode tricycle again to famy (P20). From there we took a Van (P140) and dropped off at Ortigas. Hiking with friends was fun and the rain never bothered us anyway 😂💪👌 I hope to complete the remaining falls next time 😊😊😊

Mt Maynoba & Cayabu :)

This happens to be one of my favorite hiking trip. The view was amazing. We were able to catch the sea of clouds and my goodness, the SKY is just so beautiful the whole time 🙂 We started the hike around 4am. The trails were slippery/muddy thus making us slide and fall everytime 😂 I consider that as the fun part tho haha! At the time, it was foggy and cold but we started sweating after minutes of hiking.

When I reached near the upper part of the mountain, I’m starting to feel the excitement. I gave myself a moment of silence to just look, stare and appreciate the beauty of the incoming sunrise. The feeling of being proud that at 5:00AM where almost all people are still sleeping and here I am, doing the mountain trek 😛 This is the feeling that’s hard to trade for anything. It feels really good and satisfying 🙂

So there are two mountain summits. The first one that we passed was Mt. Cayabu. However a flock of people welcomes us when we got there so we decided to continue to the next one. I didn’t expect that it would take us long so it’s nice to meet strangers that turned friends along the way. They definitely made it so much fun. All of them are so funny and been very thoughtful to us. I didn’t find it so tiring because most of the time we are just laughing 😂


After some time, we now reach the Mt. Maynoba 😍 It’s so beautiful. Witnessing the sea of clouds on a great weather just feel so awesome 🙂 It’s just WOW 🙂 I’m literally speechless and left me lost with my surroundings. I started zoning out myself from people and just had the luxury of staring the beauty laid infront of my eyes. I only got recover when my friends already asked me to go forward for the 8 wonder falls 😂 Right. I’m back to reality 😅


Walk walk walk. And we reached the first waterfall. I guess it just one long waterfalls divided in 8 😂 Maybe you’ll enjoy this more if it’s not so crowded in there. A lot of people are staying there to eat and sleep 🙂 We had our lunch and continued hiking until we reached the end 🙂 We lined up to the bathroom and paid P20 to take a shower. After that we are already prepared to leave. However, this trip includes a side trip to Windmills in Tanay Rizal. It was nice but nothing much special 🙂 it’s okay tho 😊

All in all we spent P700 with inclusion of van transfer and the tour guide 🙂 Worth it? Definitely. Much worthy than P700 😊😊

BOHOL (Amarela Resort)

I’ve been waiting on this vacation for so long. Not only because of the place we are going to visit but because I’ll be travelling with the boyfriend 😀 XD Yep. Malandi lang. Its always  travel with comfort along with food tripping with him. So I hope you’d still get something from it 😀 Our flight was around 7:30 AM and we still don’t have a hotel to go to in Bohol Hahaha! We just booked exactly when we’re about to board, but upon the last step of registering with dying seconds left of boarding, it failed :3  (Nothing, just wanna share that hahahaha!) So yeah. When we arrived at tagbilaran airport, we booked at Amarela Resort, however their shuttle was nowhere to find in the airport and we dont have the shuttle schedule since we just literally booked that time. We decided to rent a car going to the resort which cost us P400. For me it was a reasonable price because using tricycle will cost you P300 🙂 Both have been the main transportation there although you can also use “Habal-Habal”/Motorcycles as an option  🙂

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Amarela resort is a paradise like place. There are lots of plants/flowers, its interior is so nice and arriving there with their refreshing calamansi juice was just perfect. The staff are very welcoming and so hospitable. You’ll know that staying there will be really relaxing with its peaceful and beautiful surroundings ^_____^

One more thing that was commendable was their food. We think that they are growing their own herbs/vegetables.  The food were always fresh and tasty. Apart from that we always get to sit with the great view ^_^

Tapsilog 🙂
Amarela Pasta
Adobo 🙂
Tosilog
Continental Breakfast
Buko
Four Season Juice

The resort has a lot to offer. Aside from the swimming pool area, they have Library so you can still read books or if you’re working while on vacation 😉  They have wide array of selection of DVDs that you can borrow and watch in your room as well. How cool is that 😀 Also, you can play pingpong, Darts or visit their mini museum 🙂

We only got to do the countryside tour since this trip was mainly for us to relax and enjoy 🙂

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We contacted Kuya Lito that we rode going to Amarela since they are also offering the countryside tour. It was a private tour using  Toyota. The first stop was the famous chocolate hills. You have to climb thousand steps to get to the viewing point. Upon reaching the top, a beautiful greenery hills welcome us. It has a super amazing  WOW view. LOL  We also rented an ATV and paid P600 for both of us. Its all worth it and so much fun 😀

After that we went to Loboc Cruise for lunch 🙂 We have met few friends that took our photos while in there 😀 The food were nice and it was just a wonderful ride in the river 🙂 The locals had prepared dances for the tourists. All of them were all smiles and been very welcoming 🙂

We visited the butterfly garden, Tarsier sanctuary, Baclayon church and Blood Compact after. We had a long day and cant wait to go back to the resort.  That place had left something personal in me. It was so peaceful. Everyday we woke up early to wait for the sunrise and watch how beautiful it scatters on the ocean. We also made sure that we watched the sunsets 😉 Those little things makes me happy. Those things that me and my love enjoy as if  we are the only one in this world 🙂 I can live there forever. Its like a place where I can just go and hide. Only if 🙂

I hope to come back again to discover places that we missed to visit 😀

Where my love for Hiking Started.

At first, I don’t understand what do people get from hiking. I saw them posting it on Facebook every now and then. I mean, what are you going to do in the mountains?  Until one day, I joined a club in the company I work on, where employees that are adventurous go on hike, surf, and travel with a cause etc.

So yeah, I registered to their hike at Mt. Ulap.  But it doesn’t sound that easy ! I don’t have the things that I needed for the hike. Great right. LOL. So here is the list of what should I get.

checklist

Those things kinda overwhelmed me. So I contacted a friend that already  hikes mountains so often. Asking advice and  all. Apparently he drags me into a mountain hike right before the MT . Ulap trek. They are just week apart. He said I should just join so I could experience it with myself and know the Do’S and the Dont’s.

SO HERE COMES MY FIRST HIKE 🙂 Presenting, MT. BINACAYAN, Rodriguez Rizal.

This hike was amazing. It was AWESOME! So beautiful. But before you get what you have  reaped off, you have to endure the tiring trails. We started with a prayer for all of us to be safe then proceed with the assault on the trails. I said to myself, “what have I entered into”. It really was tiring. BUT as what have I said, it was so worth it. OMG! I cant even explain how perfect it was! We started hiking at 4am and we’re able to catch the sunrise. The view from the top is priceless. All that sweat and complaints had really paid off.

Conquering this mountain only needs less than P1000. The expenses are as follows:

  • Guide fee is P500 (This already works for a group. Its up to you if you want to add more for their effort of taking photos 😉
  • You have to buy gloves since this mountain have rocky/rough surfaces. I guess it cost around P30-P50. I cant remember how much haha Apologies. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes. Might as well bring slippers for the wawa falls after the trek. YEP. You can chill after.
  • Ofcourse water. Lots of water.
  • I also bought energy drink and chocolates
  • Going down, there will be a mini store where you can buy foods/drinks.

After the trekking, its just right in time to get some lunch and we decided to rent a “Kubo” at wawa Falls. You have to pay for it as well.  We have rice and eggs with us. Our guide initiates to buy us cooked meals already so it was a good lunch I could say. Below is the photo of us in Wawa Falls 😀

The falls was very refreshing. It feels like a massage after the tiring long trails. Be careful tho coz every time you climb up you’d probably slide just like what happened with my friend and I. haha! It was fun but hurts in the ass hahahah! This experience was pretty amazing that made me wants to hike more 🙂

Adios! 🙂

Discovering Masbate

I’m having one of those days where I feel lazy and wanna go somewhere. Fortunately, an old friend of mine contacted me through Instagram that she wants to go with me on my next travel. The thought of that excites me already 😀 We have planned our next destination. A lot of places come up until all the plans failed for some reasons. We felt disappointed but then we come up of sudden decision of joining the “Alibijaban and Burias Islands” Event tour of Gala PH. Get your butt ready tho because its a super long road trip. It feels forever. We left Shell Ayala around 1am and arrived at Quezon that is just right in time for breakfast probably 7am . From there we rode a boat and started the Island hopping.

The first stop was the Dapa Island or Snake Island. This one is my personal favorite of all the islands. Its beautiful. Serene. The water is so clear and cold which is a good thing because its very hot that day. Its good for people that’s want to detach themselves from the crowd. It feels like you own it and just simply wonderful 🙂

The next stop was Animasola Island. It takes 45mins to 1hr travel time to reach one island to another. The stones here could hurt you haha. The Rock formations were exquisite tho. Its amazing! 🙂

We catch the sunset in Tinalisayan Island. Thankfully we got to see the sand bar as well. We enjoyed strolling and ofcourse taking photos 😛

And the last stop for the day was the Sombrero Island. We took a shower there by paying P50 per container since its hard to get fresh water. You can do beach volley there. Stores are available as well. We set up our tents and indulge with the seafood buffet dinner. We deserve it 😀  We did some sharing of stories while others are drinking beers. It was a goodnight that I actually overslept after hahahaha

During the Last day , we went to the Alibijaban Island where it was super low tide haha.
There are people living in the area. Someone is selling ice candy which I totally enjoyed. we also came across with soldiers. We had our lunch there where they served  seafood again 🙂 Before going home we went to buy halo halo hihihi

This trip costs us P2,700 excluding the rent of the tent (P200 for two). Inclusions are as follows:

  • Round Trip Van Transfers manila to Quezon,
  • Entrance/Guide/Environmental Fees,
  • 3 set buffet meals (Dinner day 1, and Breakfast and lunch day 2).

All in all. It was fun. We really dont have an idea of what the place would look like. We tried googling it but we cant see photos that made us excited hahaha! What can I say, these beaches are worth to laid our eyes on 🙂 Sometimes unknown places are best ones! Cheers!