. : s i e s t a : .

Because we haven’t been to any beach last summer, we decided to do it this June. I know we might be late for the summer. But at least, the weather these days are still hot. We’ve been preparing for this for a long time. It’s our only chance for this year—before the rainy season comes.

The meeting place was again in front of our dearest alma mater, our former school. I was the last one to come because I wasted my time searching for the camera’s USB port. And I have no cash yet, so, I have to go to an ATM. I thought I’ll be left behind. I am glad I still made it.

Because some of us haven’t seen ourselves for a long time, there were endless chit chats inside the van. The road was clear. It took us more than two hours to get to the beach. We looked for a good-looking beach resort with a good cost too.

We rented a tiny house with a kitchen, dinning table, room and comfort room. The cottage is comfy enough. And we got it for a cheap price of Php700. We also rented a boat bike for us to wander around beaches all day long for a cheap price of Php700 too. Because there’s less expenses for our stay, we have plenty of budgets for foods.

Before doing any beach activities, first, we settled and grab plates. We didn’t prepare any food for this outing; everything was bought at the nearest talipapa or small market.

With our stomach full and recharged bodies, we did the first activity—site seeing. We wandered, felt the fine sand with our feet, relaxed our eyes with the blue horizon and smelled the fresh sea breeze. Of course, there were endless picture takings.

Then, we drove the boat bike. This ride has pedals for two persons and a steer. It can accommodate up to 7 persons. While on the boat, we can see the sea bed and the corals under. The water is so clear.

The next activity was body henna tattooing. There are lots of designs to choose from. I decided to have a tribal tattoo on my nape. A boy, about 10 years old, drew the pattern on my back with a pen. Then, his older brother did the henna tattooing. My other friends have their tattoos at their biceps and on around their ankles.

We have to let the henna dried up first. So, the next activity was sun bathing. We laid and sat on the sand while letting our skins get sunburns and skin cancer. *Joking. We wore sun blocks for our protection. Then, we covered Ric with sands. We buried him alive. Haha! Afterwards, we all got sand body scrubs.

Next, we swam. The water is cool enough and colder below. You can swim well because there are only small waves. The sea bed’s sand is so fine. You can feel it with your feet’s soles. There are some portions that are rough because of the coral reefs under. We played, glide, float and stroked.

Afterward is my favorite part. We rode a fishing boat and sent us to The Little Cave Island. The ride only cost us Php500 back and forth, plus free snorkels for us to use. It took us about 15 minutes to the little cave. We were all stunned by the beauty of that place. The water is very clear—crystal clear. The cave is said to be the nest of fisher birds. It has awesome boulders and bounty fine-looking sea shells. The place is breathtaking…a perfect time for picture taking. Haha!

I caught live sea shells (small creatures called, “I don’t know”) which I brought home. I placed it on my small aquarium with my little soft shelled turtle.

The next best thing we did was snorkeling. We grabbed snorkels and goggles. Then, jump to the sea. Wow! The coral reef is so splendid. There are corals with different colors, shapes and sizes. There are small fishes which seem to be playing around with you. But if you tried to hold them, they would swim away. Some creatures I saw were clown fish, angel fish, sword fish and star fish. (Sigh.) The underwater world is so dazzling. It feels like were on a giant aquarium.

After that underwater adventure, we went back to the resort. We took merienda or snack. Minutes later, we went back to the water for our last swim. About 6pm, we all decided to have our fresh water bath/shower and dressed up.

We saw the spectacular sunset. The sun seems to be a giant orange basket ball. We all hate to leave but we have to say goodbye to beach…and drove way back home.

But, our journey didn’t stop there. Going back home, we decided to have our dinner on an also famous place in Batangas, at Tagaytay. The place is similar to our country’s summer capital city, Baguio. Tagaytay is a high land where you can view the smallest volcano in a middle of a lake called Taal.

We had our dinner at Mushroom Burger. It’s a popular restaurant that uniquely serves cultured mushroom dishes. I ordered mushroom beef and 100% mushroom burger, their specialty. Hmm…yummy! You must taste these burgers. They are not just delicious but nutritious as well. Trust me. (Endorser? Haha!)

We all went home safely with our body tired, hearts filled with joy, and faces painted with smile. This had been another happy and unforgettable bonding moment for us. Actually, on our way home, we are already wondering and planning for when and where will be our next outing. We all can’t wait.

For more photos, click the link below:

Nurses' Day Out at Batangas Multiply Photo Album

Labels: food, happy, life, me, nursing, sentiment, summer, travel

I have been gone for a long while and I am finally back. I had been to Bicol with my family. It took us 13 hours to be there. We traveled by land. But if you travel by a domestic plane, it will just take you few minutes. But, it’s very expensive.

The last time we went to Bicol was few years ago. And Bicol now seems to be just the same as before, for me. Though, some roads are now solid, my favorite hanging bridge is now concrete and the padyak is now motored tricyle. There were few developments, but still Bicol is a bucolic province. It’s a province dominated by rich and fertile rice lands. Aside from its plains, Bicol is generally hilly and mountainous. It also has many rivers, lakes, bays, mountains, volcanoes, waterfalls, caves and spring. I am very lucky to see these beautiful and interesting spots again. One of my favorite spot is the majestic world’s nearly perfect cone Mayon Volcano. I am glad to see Mt. Mayon still with its perfect cone shape after many eruptions.

I was also fascinated by the Philippine’s 2^nd tallest mountain, the Mt. Isarog. It’s an inactive volcano which has a rich diversity of flora and fauna.

I also found out that Bicol has its leaning tower too, similar to The Leaning Tower of Pisa. It’s called Leaning Tower of Milaor. It’s a beautiful and strong stone tower composed of three layers stood. I was curious about what’s inside the tower but I didn’t attempt to go inside. I was scared the tower might fall down.

Naga City is the nearest city where we stayed at. It was said that it is the heart of Bicol. It’s a commercial center and it’s where we often shop and buy foods. Naga is erected with many catholic churches mostly housed with image of Virgin Mary.

What I missed most to Bicol is its spicy dishes, called “Bicol Express”. Due to abundance of chili plants, it’s been a custom that foods in Bicol are generally spicier. Eating them is very challenging for me. But, it will really increase your appetite and will make you eat lusciously. Other famous native foods I ate here are rock n roll (colorful banana chips), Naga’s toasted siopao, pili nuts (found in Pili town) and the famous smallest edible fish, which is the tabios or sinarapan (found in Lake Buhi and Bato).

The people and culture of Bicol never changed. They are still very hospitable and entertaining. They are very joyful and kind. They still live with so many pamanhiin or superstitious beliefs.

I still find hard times of learning its dialect. But, I have learned few words and can understand few phrases when they were talking to me in Bikolano.

My stay at Bicol seems to be living from the past. There were no TV, DVD, music player and internet. But I enjoyed that simple way of living. Eating with my bear hands, sleeping inside the kulambo or mosquito net, and taking bath on farm’s water irrigation are my blissful experience in Bicol. It’s the place I would love to go back to. See you again, Bicolanos!;)

Labels: food, happy, life, me, summer, travel