Mount Mayon

I'm a Bicolana but I only got to see Mount Mayon last September 2010 when my family and I went to Bicol to attend the wedding anniversary of my uncle. It's nice to actually see Mount Mayon and the Cagsawa Ruins up close for the first time. The Cagsawa Ruins are the remnants of the Cagsawa church built in 1724 and destroyed by the 1814 eruption of the Mayon Volcano.

The ruins of the Cagsawa church are now the site of the Cagsawa Ruins Park, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Albay. There are a lot of stalls selling native Bicol products surrounding the park. What was pretty amazing for me were the boys who earn extra money just by serving as guides to the visitors. They would come up to you and tell you about the history of the Cagsawa Ruins and they would readily be your photographers taking interesting shots of you and Mount Mayon or the Cagsawa Ruins.

Camayan Beach Resort

My family's favorite destination whenever we want a weekend of relaxation is SUBIC particularly the Camayan Beach Resort. Subic is just a short 2-3 hour ride from Manila. And thanks to the new SCTEx (Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway), the short road trip is not a hassle anymore.

We prefer the Camayan Beach Resort because the guest rooms are situated near the beach. We love it because we can wake up each day and see the beach which is a few meters from our rooms. We can swim whenever we want without having to worry about paying extra for beach entrance fees, cabanas and chairs. Guests also have free breakfast buffet. If we have checked-in in one of the hotels along Waterfront Road in Subic, we would still have to wake up early and travel for about 15 minutes so that we can swim in one of the Subic beaches. More importantly, the resort is also dog-friendly. We actually brought our dog with us during our last trip. ( We've grown so attached with our dog that we carry her around as much as possible wherever we go.)

These additional rooms were just built recently to accomodate their guests.

A band would play at certain times in the afternoon playing reggae songs.
I remember even watching a fire dance perfomance in one of our visits at the resort.

There's also a lifeguard who keeps an eye on the guests!

The guests were playing tug-of-war here.

I prefer these rooms because they're a few meters from the beach.

The view just outside our rooms.

This area behind the wooden fence is for resort guests only
so the guests don't have to rent plastic chairs or cabanas
if they want to stay outdoors.

Caleruega: Close To Nature, Closer To God

Caleruega is a "house of prayer and renewal". It's actually one of those tourist destinations that shouldn't be missed. I can't even remember how many times I've actually dropped by the place before leaving Tagaytay just so I can have some quiet time for myself.

Caleruega is open for outsiders. Weddings, retreats, recollections and seminars are held there all year round.

Fontana Water Park

My family and I went to Fontana Water Park in Clark Field, Pampanga 2 weeks ago. We went there on a weekday so there were only a few guests (which I loved! As you all know, I hate crowds!). Entrance fee is P300 per person. Visitors are not allowed to bring food and drinks so we had to buy food from their small snack stand. And if you're interested, dogs are not allowed too. (so we had to leave our shih tzu at home!)

What's great about Fontana Water Park? It has kid-friendly pools with water level just about one to two feet high. ( My nephew really enjoyed the place!) Lifeguards were everywhere. The place was well-maintained. The shower and comfort rooms were clean as well.

Fontana Water Park

My nephew's fave pool with a big pirate ship in the middle.

Water Factory

Lazy River

The lazy river can be seen at the lower right side of this picture.
It goes around the water park.
You can just ride the big yellow life saver (floaters)
and the water will just carry you around the park.

Giant Slide

Wave Pool
( Visitors get to experience huge waves every 30 minutes)

31610

Summer in Boracay

It was the first time for me to visit Boracay two summers ago. And I only have one word to describe the place....PERFECT! A lot of people have been raving about the place but I never had an urge to take my vacation there until my brother gave my parents a free trip to Boracay as an anniversary gift. I just joined them the last minute.

Boracay is a perfect summer destination with its white sand, blue waters and skies. No wonder a lot of tourists frequent the place. I hate riding in small airplanes but Boracay is so worth it.

My brother booked us at Boracay Regency Beach Resort and flight arrangements were fixed via Seair. What I like about Boracay Regency is that from the time we arrived at Caticlan Domestic Airport, we were already assisted by their employees on where to go next which was great for first timers like us.

From the airport, we proceeded to Fairways and Bluewater Resort where we rode a small boat to take us to Boracay.

View of Caticlan from Seair

Our small boat which took us to Boracay

Picture taken while going to Boracay

I think Boracay Regency Beach Resort was one of the main reasons why we enjoyed our Boracay trip so much. When we arrived at the hotel, we were given welcome drinks while waiting for our room. Our room was clean and their housekeeping staff was very efficient. Our balcony wasn't overlooking the beach area but it was okay since the hotel was only a few steps from the beach. Their breakfast buffet was great. There were a lot of choices to cater to both Filipino and foreign tourists. There were also 3 swimming pools to choose from if you get tired of the beach. ( What we did was we spent the day at the beach and then we'd go to the hotel's swimming pool for night swimming.)

Boracay Regency Beach Resort

Hotel Lobby

A view from the hotel lobby's glass window

Steps leading to the beach front

It was April when we took our vacation there so the weather was great too. I told my mom that even if you're not a professional photographer and you're just using an old camera with low resolution, the pictures would still turn out to be beautiful. Our timing was also perfect since it was before the Holy Week ( I hate crowds!) so there were only a few visitors when we had our vacation there. So if you want a relaxing vacation, try visiting the place during the lean months.

Puka Beach is situated on the other side of Boracay Island. You can reach the place via boat ride. Some prefer island hopping so they rent boats for the day. But since I don't like boat rides, we went there via tricycle! ha!ha! What's nice when we visited the place was that there were no commercial establishments along the beach so it was just pure nature at its best!

Puka Beach

I super love this picture.
It looks like it was taken from a postcard.
And to think I just used my ordinary digital camera
when I took this picture.

The grotto -
The water here is just chest-high
so you can just walk towards the grotto.

It's nice to spend the day sitting infront of the beach
appreciating nature's beauty.

Beautiful sunset of Boracay!