See you in Cuyo Palawan

The Cuyo Archipelago (also known as Cuyo Island) is a group of about 45 islands lying to the northeast of the Philippines and part of the Province of Palawan. It is rich in history and culture, unexploited islands and islets decorated with white sand beaches, and built by waves and strong winds.

This silent island measures about 57 square kilometers and is divided into two municipalities: Cuyo and Magsaysay. 

Cuyo is more than just the movie "Ploning." It has a distinct and appealing charm on its own. Due to its remote location, the island appears to be less attractive to tourist which is also a blessing in disguise for it has maintained and preserved its beauty.

The dream  of setting foot on this beautiful, less touristed island has finally been realized. We left Iloilo City on board M/V Milagrosa on a Holy Thursday past 7 in the evening.

MV Milagrosa

Cruising the Sulu Sea at a maximum speed of 8knots/hour, we are set to arrive at around 8 in the morning in Cuyo Island but we got a glimpse of the island from afar past 9 in the morning of Good Friday.

We finally disembarked at 10 in the morning.  The long white sand of Capusan Beach greeted and it was truly a treat to my eyes after that long travel. I said to myself, "Well, this is more than worthy."

Capusan Beach as Seen from the Port

We had lunch at the restaurant in our Place (La Premiera) and took our much needed rest before we start exploring.

Day 1 (Friday)

Our first stop is to Trek Mt Aguado. It's some 3kms from the town proper and located in Brgy Balaguen. At 4 in the afternoon, we found ourselves way up Mt Aguado. Just in time for Good Friday as this Mountain features life-size Stations of the Way of the Cross constructed from the foot to the peak of the mountain. It is said that Cuyonon, visitors and tourists make their Annual Pilgrimage to Mt Aguado as part of their penitential rites during the Holy Week particularly on Holy Thursday.

On Top of Mt Aguado

From the foot, you will never get lost as there is a trail leading to the top. Upon reaching the summit, you are afforded some nice views over the island of Cuyo. hey are not 360 degree panoramic views, as you have to peer through the tree line, but they are nice enough.

View from Mt Aguado

After the climb we explored the town. The Good Friday procession is about to start when we passed by to watch the sunset.

Town's Preparing for the Procession

Waiting for Sunset

Our First Glimpse of Cuyo's Sunset

Day 2 (Saturday)

Our Black Saturday started with a splash at Cuyo's Public Beach: Capusan Beach Resort. Been wanting to swim here upon laying eyes on its white sand and clean water from the boat.

Enjoying the Heat and Sun at Capusan Beach

Cuyo Island is also a place to do Kite Surfing. We found some locals and foreign Kite Surfers doing their thing.

Kite Surfing

After some good splash at the White Beach, we rested a bit and started our inland exploration that day. It was 4 in the afternoon when we started our way going to Anino Beach Resort. It's another resort that caters kite surfers. Travel time from the town center takes about 30-45 minutes. Bumpy and dusty roads is inevitable but the serene place will give you the rest and peace of mind you needed.

View overlooking the Great Ocean

Not an Ideal Beach to Swim but beautiful enough to find solace

Some 10 minutes and few kilometers away from Anino Resort, we went to Kuta Beach.  (forgot to take a picture though)

We also visited the St Augustine Church and Fort in Cuyo. The town is a typical Spanish era set up where a church, a school, a plaza and a market is located next or adjacent to each other.

Day 3 (Sunday)

It's Easter Sunday! Yey! This means, today is our Island Hopping day. We are set to explore the islands in the northern section. Our target is Cocoro, Tagauayan and Siparay Islands.

It was a cloudy and windy day when we started sailing the open sea and you can only imagine what's next. The waves weren't that sail-friendly that time but we have survived it.

After an hour and a half we reached Cocoro Island. This is a big inhabited island and part of the Municipality of Magsaysay. It boasts a cream-colored sand beach, not really a white sand but somewhat more of a dirty white in color.

 The island doesn’t have a modern resort but there are some open cottages near the community.  This also features a saltwater lagoon where one can swim but be careful with sea urchins though.

We had lunch here and off we go to the next island destination which is Tagauyan Island.  It's another 30-minute boat ride from Cocoro Island.  There are no resorts as well but there is a community living on the other side of the island.

The island has a few hundred meters of white-sand beach. There’s also a marine sanctuary in the island where you can swim and snorkel but there’s a part in the island where the current is a bit strong.

There are other islands in Magsaysay but weren’t able to explore them since we were on a tight schedule and the waves are a bit rough that day. We content ourselves with the two beautiful islands and sail back to the mainland at 4 in the afternoon.

Day 4 (Monday)

It's time to go home, but wait, there's more.  We line up at Milagrosa Shipping Lines office early in the morning to find out that the boat is in its full capacity upon leaving Puerto Princesa City and have few slots left for Cuyo's residents/tourists.  To make the story short, we weren't able to board the boat that day. A series of unfortunate events came one after the other. The regular schedule of the boat will not be followed that week as they have to cater passengers going back to Puerto Princesa from Cuyo.  We will be able to get ourselves on board on Friday (that's 4 days away from today, sigh)  So guys, prepare for things like this to happen.

On the bright side though, we have more time to explore the island which I have learned to love. It's simplicity is very appealing to me.

Day 5 (Tuesday) 

We opted to check out Cuyo's Airport which serves Air Juan and other private planes going in and out of the island. It's a 30 minute ride from the town center and located within the boundaries of Barangay Lucbuan and Emilod in the town of Magsaysay.

Next stop is Aceros Park which they call "Little Baguio." but It's named after Baguio because of the cool temperature when you walk on a concrete steps under the canopy of trees.  It;s a quaint spot shaded by many trees and thickets. There were concrete pools of spring water where locals bathed, washed their clothes and collected fresh water from.

Aceros Park aka Little Baguio

Day 6 (Wednesday)

Taking a break from exploring, we just spend the day lounging in Capusan Beach and watch another romantic sunset that day.

Day 7 (Thursday)

It's another Island hopping day. This time we are exploring the southern Islands: Bisucay, Pandan and Bararing.

Bisucay is a 30 minute boatride from the mainland. You will be greeted by emerald green water on one side of the island but that part wasn't swim friendly because of the strong current.

Swimming in Bisucay Island

 On the other side, you will see a fishing port where water is calm and still and you will be able to swim and see fishes from the shallows.

Bisucay Island Port

We grilled the fish we bought so we can have our lunch to the next island stop. We are still doubtful if we will be able to reach Pandan Island but when the boat started its engine the boatman gave a 'Go' signal upon seeing the waves.

We had lunch in this part of the island after almost 2 hrs of boat ride.  This island  doesn't have shadesat all except for this one. We content ourselves with the shade it gave and fill in our tummies with a great lunch.

This Tree gave us the shade we needed to have lunch

This side of the island isn't ideal for swimming though because of the strong waves, but I had to admit, this is one hell of an island. The water is so clean plus the great weather on that day make it picturesque.

The other side of the island though has still water where one can swim but be careful as the rocks can either be slippery or pointed.

Our next and last stop is Bararing Island. It's almost an hr boat ride from Pandan Island.   It's a rocky islet off the coast of mainland Cuyo and can be seen even on foggy days.

Bararing Island

Day 8 (Friday)

Time to go home, finally.  This town is as beautiful as I imagined it to be. From a tourism perspective, it has many challenges, but the potential is there - island hopping, beach camping, mountain biking, snorkelling (although it may take some time to regenerate the corals), and of course, kiteboarding.

One last glance

How to get to Cuyo:

From any parts of the Philippines you may fly in either to Iloilo City or Puerto Princesa City. From there you can catch a boat going Cuyo Island or fly via 9-seater plane (Air Juan)

Sea Travel Time: (based on what I've heard)

Puerto Princesa to Cuyo via Montenegro is 16 hrs (longer travel time if it's Milagrosa because it's smaller and slower) 

Iloilo to Cuyo via Montenegro is 11 hrs (longer travel time if it's Milagrosa)

Things to Remember:

• Best Time to Visit Cuyo is Summer (March -  June)
• There are lots of accommodations around Cuyo town that can accommodate groups of tourists at budget friendly rates. Fan Room starts at P200 
• Mobile Signal (especially SMART) is available around the island but limited to call and text only (intermittent cellular data signal) 
• Credit Cards are not accepted, bring EXTRA Cash
• NO ATM Machine available but there are stores/banks that has POS terminals which you can get cash for a minimum charge.
• There is an airport in Cuyo Island that serves Air Juan but fares are very expensive (Iloilo to Cuyo vv, Coron to Cuyo vv and Puerto Princesa to Cuyo vv)
• Be READY to get STRANDED (lol)
• Don't forget to ENJOY, EAT a lot of sea foods, and most importantly, ALWAYS 'Leave No Trace'

I will be back to experience more of this beautiful and charming island. Thank you Cuyo for an awesome summer experience. 

Halfway in Thirty: Tracing The Blue Rider’s Trail

Before reaching 30 I vowed to my self that I will set foot on half of the provinces of the Philippine Archipelago. As I looked back, I can only smile and feel grateful that I was able to reach it within my set timeframe and more…

Here’s what I have traveled so far in chronological order:

Rank	Province	Region	Island Group	Place/s Visited	First Landing Date
1	Negros Occidental	Region VI	Visayas	Province Wide	Since Birth
2	Cebu	Region VII	Visayas	Bantayan Island	April 2009
3	Guimaras	Region VI	Visayas	Guimaras Island	July 2009
4	Aklan	Region VI	Visayas	Boracay Island	September 2009
5	Siquijor	Region VII	Visayas	Siquijor Island	March 2010
6	Metro Manila	NCR	Luzon	Multi City	April 2010
7	Baguio	CAR	Luzon	Baguio, La Trinidad	April 2010
8	Cavite	Region IV-A	Luzon	Tagaytay City	August 2010
9	Laguna	Region IV-A	Luzon	Sta Rosa (E.K)	August 2010
10	Zambales	Region III	Luzon	Subic	August 2010
11	Bulacan	Region III	Luzon	Bulacan	June 2011
12	Pangasinan	Region I	Luzon	Alaminos	August 2011
13	Ilocos Sur	Region I	Luzon	Vigan City	February 2012
14	Ilocos Norte	Region I	Luzon	Laoag City, Pagudpud	February 2012
15	Iloilo	Region VI	Visayas	Isla de Gigantes; Iloilo City	June 2012
16	Capiz	Region VI	Visayas	Dumalag and Pres Roxas	June 2012
17	Misamis Oriental	Region X	Mindanao	Cagayan de Oro	November 2012
18	Camiguin	Region X	Mindanao	Camiguin Island	November 2012
19	Bohol	Region VII	Visayas	Bohol Island	May 2013
20	Batangas	Region IV-A	Luzon	Laiya	June 2013
21	Quezon	Region IV-A	Luzon	Lucban, Lucena City	August 2013
22	Palawan	Region IV-B	Luzon	Puerto Princesa City	January 2014
23	Ifugao	CAR	Luzon	Banaue	February 2014
24	Mountain Province	CAR	Luzon	Sagada	February 2014
25	Tarlac	Region III	Luzon	Tarlac City	February 2014
26	Aurora	Region III	Luzon	Baler, Maria Aurora	February 2014
27	Nueva Ecija	Region III	Luzon	Pantabangan	February 2014
28	Camarines Sur	Region V	Luzon	Naga City, Caramoan	March 2014
29	Albay	Region V	Luzon	Legazpi City	March 2014
30	Camarines Norte	Region V	Luzon	Calaguas Island	May 2014
31	Negros Oriental	Region VII	Visayas	Dumaguete City, Bais City	May 2014
32	Rizal	Region IV-A	Luzon	Antipolo City	May 2014
33	Oriental Mindoro	Region IV-B	Luzon	Puerto Galera White Beach	June 2014
34	Leyte	Region VIII	Visayas	Tacloban City, Kalanggaman Island	June 2014
35	Bukidnon	Region X	Mindanao	Malaybalay, Manolo Fortich	July 2014
36	Sultan Kudarat	Region XII	Mindanao	Tacurong	July 2014
37	Cotabato	Region XII	Mindanao	Cotabato City	July 2014
38	Lanao del Norte	Region X	Mindanao	Iligan City	July 2014
39	Occidental Mindoro	Region IV-B	Luzon	Apo Reef, Sablayan	July 2014
40	Bataan	Region III	Luzon	Multi Destination	July 2014
41	Saranggani	Region XII	Mindanao	Glan	August 2014

42	South Cotabato	Region XII	Mindanao	General Santos City	August 2014
43	Davao del Sur	Region XI	Mindanao	Davao City	August 2014
44	Davao del Norte	Region XI	Mindanao	Samal Island	August 2014

The ones in Red were Solo Backpacking trips. 20 out of the 44 Provinces visited are all Solo Flighted DIY trips :)

Thank you to everyone who made these trips possible.

Lakbayan Map - Traveler Grade B 

Technorati Tags: Project LuzViMin,Project 30DXXXY,Day 4

PH Travel: The Amazing UNESCO World Heritage Sites

 

We all know that our country is blessed with great wonders; mountains, forest, structures. One of my travel goal is to set foot on all of the sites recognized by UNESCO.

 

Just an overview, UNESCO Heritage Site is a place (such as a forest, mountain, lake, island, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as of special cultural or physical significance (Wiki) You can find the list here

 

 

In our country we have Nine (9) UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

 

 

Baroque Churches of the Philippines

The Baroque Churches of the Philippines is a serial inscription consisting of four Roman Catholic churches constructed between the 16thand the18th centuries. Baroque churches are constructed with European Design but constructed with local materials to form a new church-building tradition.

 

I have visited 2 out of the 4 churches. Been to Ilocos Sur several times but I missed to go to Sta Maria Church, and I have this on top of my list whenever I'll find myself in Vigan next time around.

San Augustine Church, Intramuros

Paoay Church, Ilocos Norte

*Sta Maria Church, Ilocos Sur

*Miag-ao Church, Iloilo

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park lies in a unique position in the centre of the Sulu Sea, and includes the Tubbataha and Jessie Beazley Reefs. It protects an area of almost 100,000 hectares of high quality marine habitats containing three atolls and a large area of deep sea. The property is home to a great diversity of marine life. Whales, dolphins, sharks, turtles and Napoleon wrasse are amongst the key species found here. The reef ecosystems support over 350 species of coral and almost 500 species of fish. The reserve also protects one of the few remaining colonies of breeding seabirds in the region.

I just hope I will be given the chance to see this place for real. Not only that it requires diver’s certification but it’s also a bit expensive, who knows!

Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras

The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras is an outstanding example of an evolved, living cultural landscape that can be traced as far back as two millennia ago in the pre-colonial Philippines. The terraces are located in the remote areas of the Philippine Cordillera mountain range on the northern island of Luzon, Philippine archipelago. While the historic terraces cover an extensive area, the inscribed property consists of five clusters of the most intact and impressive terraces, located in four municipalities. They are all the product of the Ifugao ethnic group, a minority community that has occupied these mountains for thousands of years.

I haven’t trekked one of these clusters though but I have seen Batad Terrace from the viewing deck and because of this, the five clusters have been enlisted :)

The five inscribed clusters are:

(i) Nagacadan terrace cluster in the municipality of Kiangan, a rice terrace cluster manifested in two distinct ascending rows of terraces bisected by a river

(ii) Hungduan terrace cluster that uniquely emerges into a spider web

(iii) Central Mayoyao terrace cluster which is characterized by terraces interspersed with traditional farmers’ bale (houses) and alang (granaries)

(iv) Bangaan terrace cluster in the municipality of Banaue that backdrops a typical Ifugao traditional village

(v) Batad terrace cluster of the municipality of Banaue that is nestled in amphitheatre-like semi-circular terraces with a village at its base

 

Banaue Rice Terraces

 

Historic Town of Vigan

Vigan represents a unique fusion of Asian building design and construction with European colonial architecture and planning.  Vigan is an exceptionally intact and well preserved example of a European trading town in East and South-East Asia.

 

I love Vigan! No wonder why I found myself here thrice within two years :)  And everytime I go there, I keep on falling inlove with the place, the food and its people. Who knows I will find my partner in crime there. What do you think?

 

Calle Crisologo during the Day

 

 

Calle Crisologo at Night

 

 

Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park

This park features a spectacular limestone karst landscape with an underground river. One of the river's distinguishing features is that it emerges directly into the sea, and its lower portion is subject to tidal influences. The area also represents a significant habitat for biodiversity conservation. The site contains a full 'mountain-to-sea' ecosystem and has some of the most important forests in Asia.

 

I celebrated a milestone at work in Puerto Princesa City, it’s a way of treating myself for a fantastic 5 years of excellence and dedication. Is there a better way to enjoy it than seeing the newly hailed 7 Wonders of Nature?

 

Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary

Forming a mountain ridge running north-south along the Pujada Peninsula in the south-eastern part of the Eastern Mindanao Biodiversity Corridor, the Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary has an elevation range of 75–1,637 m above sea level and provides critical habitat for a range of plant and animal species. The property showcases terrestrial and aquatic habitats at different elevations, and includes threatened and endemic flora and fauna species, eight of which are found only at Mount Hamiguitan. These include critically endangered trees, plants and the iconic Philippine eagle and Philippine cockatoo.

 

This one is the newly listed heritage site, research in progress :)

 

I am proud to say that I have visited 5 out of 9. How about you?

 

 

 

 

 

Technorati Tags: BucketList,Project30DXXXY,Day 3

Appreciating Another World Class Wonders in Apo Reef

The Apo Reef Natural Park lies approximately 33 kilometers off the coast of Sablayan in the province of Occidental Mindoro. The coral reefs cover a total of 34 sq kilometers, making it the second largest contiguous coral reef in the world, next to Great Barrier Reef of Australia.

Also considered as the second largest atoll-like reef in the country, Apo Reef consists of two separate coral reefs that are separated by a 30-meter deep channel with a fine white sand both numerous mounds and patches of branching corals under the deep blue water.
The Apo Reef was proclaimed as a protected area under the category of Natural Park. DENR's Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) submitted the reef for consideration as a World Heritage Site of UNESCO. (DENR)

One has to endure 6-7 hours bus ride or an hour plane ride and 3 hours boat ride (one way) to get to this paradise, nevertheless, experiencing amazing and world class wonders will always be priceless

 

 

Technorati Tags: Apo Reef Marine Park