[Bicol Trip - Day 2, Part 1 of 3]
After our stay in Pier One 39 we headed off the next morning to Joroan (Tiwi, Albay) to find some natural springs. We used the coastal road (this is in the eastern edge that runs through the contours of Atulayan Bay) and after about half an hour of driving we reached a high point and could already see Atulayan Island. It didn't look interesting until we zoomed in using our cameras -- white sands!!!
We stopped and decided to drive back to Sagnay that same morning to check out nearby resorts where we could park our vehicle and find some boat to rent to have a look at this island. We found Nato resort (less than a kilometer from Pier One 39) and got a much cheaper price for the boat (P700). They also had rooms there but we didn't rent them thinking that we'll probably hop on to our next destination when we come back later that afternoon.
The trip on water was about half an hour by motorized boat. It was too late when we saw that it had no roof, but we were lucky the sun's heat wasn't that bad at that time. The beautiful long stretch of mountains on one side (where we were driving earlier that morning and saw the island) took our attention for most of the ride and the clear waters seemed very inviting. There were no establishments in the area but they have set up some huts (good for about 8 people) where we could find shade and a large table to hold enough dishes for our monster appetites.
We bought our food from a fisherman right in the middle of the sea, a fish called Matambakol (?). We got three of these big fishes, they were about the size of a 6-foot guy's arm and we had each them cooked by the locals in different ways -- grilled, fried and sinigang. This is super fresh fish -- cooked just about 30 minutes from the time they were caught. The downside: we were eating all fish and rice and nothing else... too much fish!!! The effect was more powerful than mouthwash, we had fish breath until the next morning
After our fish meal we tried the water. The sands were fine, but there were plenty of crushed corals around the area so it wasn't easy to go around barefooted. I tried to gargle with the seawater to wash off the fish smell, but I forgot it wasn't my usual springwater anymore (been drinking too much mountain water lately) so I vigorously expelled all the water back to where it belonged.
We stayed about 2 hours more in the area to rest and talk about what to do next. There was nothing else here except for the beach, our fish, a pig, a rooster, and a family of locals so it wasn't long before we wanted to leave. Our boatman patiently waited by the shore until he heard our golden words "balik na tayo" (let's go back). It was almost sunset so the scenery on our ride back looked more dramatic.
We had more drama on our way back... we asked our boatman earlier to bring us to the middle of the sea to buy our fresh fish lunch. About 200 meters from the our destination we ran out of fuel and we didn't know what exactly would happen next. Our boatman started paddling but it seemed like we weren't moving, so we tried to help him out. We thought paddling with our hands would work but the force was only enough to move a kayak. We brought some kickboards with us and used it instead (I just don't know if it helped in any way). We were supposed to call the boat owner (the boatman's father) to get his folks to pull us back to shore but couldn't find his number. The sun was out in a few minutes, and we were still on the water.
The boatman didn't stop paddling until a few minutes later we realized we were getting closer to the shore. By that time I was already faking my paddling of the kickboard but I kept it going (hehehe). We finally reached land, went back to the resort, changed our clothes and prepared for our initially planned destination for this leg: Tiwi, Albay.
Byebye Atulayan :) Nice Island.
WELL... we reached the Joroan area in Tiwi, had a look at their so-called hot springs, but didn't like the resort we saw after looking around (again, we would be the only people staying if ever). The mountain springs in the area are also dried up already. No beautiful water, so we set off for another spot -- Mayon Volcano (Tabaco, Albay).
After our stay in Pier One 39 we headed off the next morning to Joroan (Tiwi, Albay) to find some natural springs. We used the coastal road (this is in the eastern edge that runs through the contours of Atulayan Bay) and after about half an hour of driving we reached a high point and could already see Atulayan Island. It didn't look interesting until we zoomed in using our cameras -- white sands!!!
We stopped and decided to drive back to Sagnay that same morning to check out nearby resorts where we could park our vehicle and find some boat to rent to have a look at this island. We found Nato resort (less than a kilometer from Pier One 39) and got a much cheaper price for the boat (P700). They also had rooms there but we didn't rent them thinking that we'll probably hop on to our next destination when we come back later that afternoon.
The trip on water was about half an hour by motorized boat. It was too late when we saw that it had no roof, but we were lucky the sun's heat wasn't that bad at that time. The beautiful long stretch of mountains on one side (where we were driving earlier that morning and saw the island) took our attention for most of the ride and the clear waters seemed very inviting. There were no establishments in the area but they have set up some huts (good for about 8 people) where we could find shade and a large table to hold enough dishes for our monster appetites.
We bought our food from a fisherman right in the middle of the sea, a fish called Matambakol (?). We got three of these big fishes, they were about the size of a 6-foot guy's arm and we had each them cooked by the locals in different ways -- grilled, fried and sinigang. This is super fresh fish -- cooked just about 30 minutes from the time they were caught. The downside: we were eating all fish and rice and nothing else... too much fish!!! The effect was more powerful than mouthwash, we had fish breath until the next morningAfter our fish meal we tried the water. The sands were fine, but there were plenty of crushed corals around the area so it wasn't easy to go around barefooted. I tried to gargle with the seawater to wash off the fish smell, but I forgot it wasn't my usual springwater anymore (been drinking too much mountain water lately) so I vigorously expelled all the water back to where it belonged.
We stayed about 2 hours more in the area to rest and talk about what to do next. There was nothing else here except for the beach, our fish, a pig, a rooster, and a family of locals so it wasn't long before we wanted to leave. Our boatman patiently waited by the shore until he heard our golden words "balik na tayo" (let's go back). It was almost sunset so the scenery on our ride back looked more dramatic.
We had more drama on our way back... we asked our boatman earlier to bring us to the middle of the sea to buy our fresh fish lunch. About 200 meters from the our destination we ran out of fuel and we didn't know what exactly would happen next. Our boatman started paddling but it seemed like we weren't moving, so we tried to help him out. We thought paddling with our hands would work but the force was only enough to move a kayak. We brought some kickboards with us and used it instead (I just don't know if it helped in any way). We were supposed to call the boat owner (the boatman's father) to get his folks to pull us back to shore but couldn't find his number. The sun was out in a few minutes, and we were still on the water.The boatman didn't stop paddling until a few minutes later we realized we were getting closer to the shore. By that time I was already faking my paddling of the kickboard but I kept it going (hehehe). We finally reached land, went back to the resort, changed our clothes and prepared for our initially planned destination for this leg: Tiwi, Albay.
Byebye Atulayan :) Nice Island.
WELL... we reached the Joroan area in Tiwi, had a look at their so-called hot springs, but didn't like the resort we saw after looking around (again, we would be the only people staying if ever). The mountain springs in the area are also dried up already. No beautiful water, so we set off for another spot -- Mayon Volcano (Tabaco, Albay).
1 comment:
..expelled all the water back to where it belonged. -- babuy hehe :)
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