“Tired but happy.” Add fulfilling, fun, busog, sunburned, and more to that! 🙂 As cliche as it may sound, this is a fun trip despite the 5 hour drive to and from. Good thing our driver, Kuya Rey, is pegging a drag racer. 🙂
I just got up from our 2 day trip in Pangasinan with my good high school friends. And I have just discovered rashes around my left wrist and a fat bruise on my right torso. Anyhow, it was all worth it.
03/10/2012 6:30 AM. Touchdown Bolinao. Grabbed a quick breakfast in a carinderia beside the St. Joseph Church. Then off to our first stop: Falls No.2. There is also Falls No.1 but locals said it’s not good to take pictures there anymore. There is also Falls 1 1/2 but they said, “di pa nadidiscover” so they told us not to go there. This is a good buena mano to our trip. Clear waters, and nothing but greens and silence. All you hear is the sound of the water flowing through the falls. Not to mention, we had it all to ourselves, no other groups came with us.

Next stop is the St. James The Great Parish. They say that if it was your first time in a church, you should offer a candle and make a wish. So we did exactly that. Right after, we headed straight to the Bolinao Lighthouse. It was 11:30 AM with the heat of the sun beaming directly to us. But that didn’t stop us from taking pictures. 🙂

After that, syempre lunch time na! 🙂 Our choice of lunch is at the La Parola El Restaurante de Bolinao which is just along Patar Beach where we will swim later. Affordable food, and yummy as well. (Actually, lahat naman ng kinain namin during the trip eh masarap hehe). Menu for lunch: Sinigang na Hipon, Inihaw na Liempo, Calamares, Papaitan, Tinolang Manok and Lechong Kawali.

This is one of the highlights of our trip for me. I am not well traveled as much as my friends are and I am impressed by the Patar Beach. Crystal clear blue waters with strong waves rushing through the shore. This is nice and kinda reminded me of HI. Another good point is that it was not crowded. Swimming is free but the cottages cost P150 to P200. But I am not sure if we paid for ours, I don’t think anybody made singil to us hehe. We stayed at the beach until sunset. 🙂

After hours of sun bathing, swimming and being thrown around by waves, we deserve some good dinner. 🙂 We headed for an hour drive to Alaminos, where we are going to stay for the night. We checked in at around 7PM and had dinner at the Island Tropic Hotel and Restaurant. Good food as well. 🙂 Menu for dinner : Crispy Pata, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Pinaputok na Tilapia, Sinigang na Bangus and Pork Sisig.

03/11/2012 7:30 AM Off to the famous Hundred Islands. We visited 3 islands, as stated in our itinerary. First is the Governor’s Island. One of the main islands there and where the Pinoy Big Brother house is. To get a good view, you will need to do some 15 minutes hike on a rocky trek. Nakakahingal but the view at the top is whew!

We also snorkeled (where I think I got my rashes), wandered around a cave and passed through the Bat Island. I enjoyed swimming with the fishes and some giant clam sightings. Well, actually I did not swim, I was clinging on the rope the whole time. Teehee

Our day 2 swim is at the Quezon Island. Our bangkero has no idea why it was named after Quezon though. Anyway, the water here is clearer and better than with Patar Beach. Sand is finer too. My friends even compared it to Boracay, but I wouldn’t know because I have never been there. 🙂

We have culminated our trip with a walk in the market to get some longganisa (their province’s specialty) and lunch at a local fast food chain. It only lasted 2 days but I feel that we made the most out of it. It naturally feels bitin but still, these are 2 days well spent with friends. 🙂 Looking forward to more trips with them and more photos syempre! 🙂
03/11/2012 8::PM Touchdown Manila.