Puting Buhangin (White Sand) Beach

I attended my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary last January. It was one of the most memorable times of my adult life. It became a family reunion as well. I was able to reconnect with my older relatives and meet some additions to our big family.

After the celebration, we still had time to explore the local tourist sites in the area. We particularly visited a hidden white sand beach, locally called Puting buhangin.

Puting Buhangin Beach(local name) is located at Purok Magsasaka, Barangay Mangingisda, Puerto Princesa City

I was so amazed that Palawan, despite being a high profile tourist destination in the country, this place was almost empty. There were some young people and local kids roaming around, taking selfies, and playing tags. Aside from them, there’s no tourist, foreigner in particular in sight, which also meant that we have the beach all to ourselves. Might as well enjoy it no matter how short our time was.

We’re not prepared since this was just a spur of the moment. We’re not able to bring swimsuits but we still enjoyed our time spent in this beautiful and peaceful beach.

It was almost sundown when we finished our little escapade but it was all worth it.

More stories on my next blog about my journey back home…

Canlaon: Century-Old Banyan Tree and more…

May 1, 2016 – It’s Holiday in the Philippines and the best way to spend it is to travel and visit a not so new but undiscovered place. We’ve been to the City of Canlaon before but in a different part and with a different purpose.

The good thing about road tripping in the countryside is that no matter how many times you’ve driven past through a certain road, you will experience a different environment or scenery. Sometimes, the field is so green but this time it looks barren.

And it is not every day that you can see something as colorful as these:

The view from Mansalanao road of the glorious Mt. Kanlaon after blowing some ashes for the past few months:

 

 

We took this route because this is newly constructed to get to Canlaon City faster. We did not see any public transport taking this road yet but there were few private vehicles, most of them were motorcycles.

We had our lunch at one of the eateries (the one that was not close due to Holiday) near the City’s public market. You know that feeling when you really want to enjoy what is being served on your table but could not because the locals were debating about who will win on the coming presidential election? I assure you that it was really an unpleasant one that even photos of what we ate is not worth sharing.

However inhospitable that was, we headed directly to our purpose after a toilet break. We drove up to the mountain where we were treated by the beautiful view, although the effect of El Nino was very evident in this place. Plant leaves looked so dry and animals were in the hunt for food and shade away from the sun.

Finally, we arrived at the location of the 300 or more year old Banyan tree. The leaves were not so green but it was still standing mightily among other tresses around.

There were local tourists when we arrive and still coming when we departed the place. Everyone looked amazed by the size of the tree. Some dared to climb, others took selfies and so do we.

I salute the locals for maintaining this huge tree and keeping the surroundings clean while caring for their playful children.

And off to our next destination, the journey was enjoyable and educational. We learned that this is how cabbage looks like while growing.

It was already late in the afternoon when we reached this place and the scenery was spectacular.

The entrance fee to enjoy the pool of the Inland Resort was Php 25, cottage rates were from Php 100 to Php 500. But since we arrived late (and the resort was about to close), our cottage was free of charge.

The pool has three levels. First, the upper part is for kids or for those who can’t swim. hehe 🙂 Second, the middle part is for adults who can swim but are afraid of deep waters. The third and last part, the lower level is for pro for obvious reasons.

Warning!!! The water is freezing cold…grrr…grrr…grrr

But surely worth a visit. A holiday well spent.

Until next time…maybe next Holiday!!!

Gawahon Eco- Park

Gawahon Eco Park is one of the tourist attractions located in the mountainous area of Victorias City, also known as the sugarcane capital of Negros Occidental.

March 24, 2016

It was a fine day when we departed from home with one goal in mind, to reach this wonderful place and experience its atmosphere for the first time.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by cheerful staff and have ourselves registered at its entrance office.

The adventure began… We drove up to the hill to see the man-made swimming pool.

To those who want to stay overnight or longer, there were cottages ready and are available for rent near the man-made koi pond.

After some photos were taken around the pond, we head down to the first falls where we ate our packed lunch, bought some popsicles for dessert and prepared for a hike.

The first falls (which was crowded by visitors that day) was just by the road  but we want to reach the other falls…

1st Falls  (it was lunchtime that’s why it seemed not crowded in this photo)

And the hike began; it was scenic and enjoyable.

2nd Falls

The third and fourth Falls… The first four falls were tiny and shallow but they were unique and beautiful in every way.

The fifth and sixth Falls were taller but they were not very easy to reach. Their location was on the rocky and dangerous part of the trail, to say the least.

And we hiked all the way to see this… a twin falls..but before that, we were greeted by the locals who were also enjoying the falls and the view.

We enjoyed the journey and most of all the destination…

The location is home to different species of flora and fauna unique to a tropical country, like ours. Even though we did not see them, we were treated by their joyous and constant chirping while hiking back to the first falls. Truly it was an unforgettable and nicely shared experience with friends.