Libotero – Philippine Travel Photo Blog

Part 12 of the Libotero Pampanga and Malolos Heritage Series

DAY 3.

After having lunch at SM City Clark, I went back to the hotel to take a short nap. Just a few minutes after I zzzzed though, I was back to my senses as I overslept the previous night.

For that, I just decided to kill my time at MarQuee Mall, and ofcourse to buy ‘pasalubong’ as well. But before that, I had to ready my luggage, check out and leave my baggage at the hotel lobby. Luckily, as I stepped out of the hotel, a shuttle was parked just across the street so I was immediately transported to the mall.

Upon arrival at the mall, I headed straight to the cinemas hoping to watch a new movie but unfortunately, I already saw all the movies that were being shown. I was desperately looking for something to do and so I ended up at a skin clinic, Dermstrata! And that’s where I had my very first facial ever, LOL. I won’t elaborate on that.

Anyway, after the relaxing-grueling-fulfilling facial treatment, I then proceeded to Krispy Kreme to buy 2 dozens of donuts to bring home to my family and friends. Time flew so fast, it was already 6pm when I checked my watch. There were no shuttles back to Friendship Gate at that time so I had to make ‘pakyaw’ a tricycle for P70 to take me back to the hotel. But before I went back in, I took a quickie dinner at a fastfood, just beside the hotel.

As I arrived back at the hotel, the driver that would take me to the airport was already there. I do not know how one would commute to the airport, so when I checked-in the hotel two days ago, I already pre-arranged for hotel transport to bring me to the airport, with a price tag of P300! So off we were to the airport for my 8:30pm flight back to Cebu.

The airport was a good 10-15 minute ride from the hotel.

The Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) is located at the heart of Central Luzon, making it the most viable and convenient airport of choice for travelers from North-Central Luzon and the northern Metro Manila area who want to avoid the hustle and bustle of the city streets. It is one of the biggest aviation complexes in Asia with two (2) runways in parallel configuration that can easily be extended to 4 kilometers to accommodate new generation wide-bodied aircrafts. The airport was envisioned by the previous president as the next premiere international gateway of the Philippines but as of the moment only low cost carriers are using the airport.

I really don’t have much to write about airports because they’re all basically the same. Initial security check -> check-in counter -> final security check -> pre-departure area. I have to mention the security check in DMIA though since it was really one-of-a-kind. If I recall correctly, the airport was lauded for excellence in security checking. Anyway, after I passed through the metal detector, I had to stand on a platform where the security officer “laid his hands on my body”. The hands moved all over my body as if a snake was crawling over me. Amazing LOL. The officer then noticed a bulge on my pocket and asked what that was. I quickly responded, “lip balm and eye drops”. The officer then flashed a smile and said thank you.

DMIA’s terminal fee for domestic flights is P150.

One of the things that I look for in airports are decent food outlets. Thankfully, there was Smokey’s Hotdog Bar at DMIA. As if my dinner wasn’t enough, I grabbed my favorite Chicago Dog, and then patiently waited for my boarding call.

I could feel that security was really tight and so I wasn’t able to take a lot of photos of the airport.

At exactly 8pm, all Cebu-bound passengers were called for boarding.

And that wraps up my Pampanga and Malolos Heritage series. Thank you for your continued support dearest readers! Stay tuned for the Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and Iloilo posts!

(…end of series)

Part 1 of the Libotero Subic Roadtrip Series

DAY 1.

As early as 5am, we already left our home in Sta. Rosa, Laguna and were already on the South Luzon Expressway. We left with empty tummies, so as to avoid the early morning weekend rush. Well, not really empty as we had ‘pampainit’, just that one bread slice dipped into some hot chocolate drink.

Light streaks of early morning traffic at the South Luzon Expressway

Just forty minutes later, we were already at the northbound lane of the Balintawak Interchange of North Luzon Expressway! That was fast!

On peak hours, travelling from Laguna to Balintawak could take up to 2-3 hours

Closed Boundary System from Balintawak to Marilao. These toll fees do not apply anymore after the recent price hikes.

The North Luzon Expressway is one long and boring drive as you’ll only be seeing the road, vehicles, trees, and seemingly endless rice fields. The area around the expressway is less populated, compared to its counterpart in the south, the SLEx. And while SLEx has gasoline stations cum strip malls for every few kilometers, these are spread very far apart in the NLEx.

At 6:07am, we stopped over the Shell Megaplaza in Balagtas, Bulacan, 22 kilometers from the mouth of the North Luzon Expressway, for breakfast.

Most of my food cravings, under one-roof!

The Jollibee Branch here is one of the first branches to have cushioned seats.

Breakfast! Longganisa and Hot Chocolate..

Uriel sipping my Vanilla Frappe!

We tried our best to have a quick breakfast but there were just too many people! It took us 40 minutes all-in-all to line up at the counter and consume our meal.

By 6:50am, we were already back on the highway!

Forty minutes more, we were already at the Mabalacat Interchange of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, its only connection to the North Luzon Expressway.

The Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx), the newest expressway in the Philippines, is a 94-kilometer four-lane expressway north of Manila (the longest in the country), in the Philippines. Its southern terminus is at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone in Zambales, it passes through the interchange with the North Luzon Expressway near the Clark Special Economic Zone in Angeles City, and its northern terminus is at the Central Techno Park in Tarlac City, Tarlac.

Construction on the expressway began in April 2005, and opened to the public three years after, on summer of 2008.

Contrary to the boring Clark-Tarlac stretch of the highway, the Clark-Subic stretch was very scenic! I’ll let the photos speak for themselves:

Up-down

Although Mount Pinatubo’s last explosion happened almost 20 years ago, volcanic ash still remains in some parts of Pampanga and Zambales. While these monotonous lahar remains remind us of the widespread destruction that happened not too long ago, it is surrounded by vivid landscapes which we can picture as a light of hope, embracing us on our struggles.

The majestic mountains of Pampanga. Did you know that contractor of this highway had to secure an environmental permit from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources so that they could cut through the mountains?

The SCTEx follows North American Highway standards so we could really be proud of this world-class highway

Even the terrain surrounding the expressway feel like North America LOL.

Riprap walls had to built by the mountains to avoid soil erosion, especially during the rainy season

The SCTEx is truly an excellent engineering feat in Philippine infrastructure

Florida? Erm. Floridablanca that is.

The long and winding road.

And we’ve finally reached the end of the expressway. Toll fees again! (but I’m not complaining though as these are needed for the maintenance of our highways. I just hope and pray that these funds are indeed being put to good and proper use.

(…to be continued)

Part 1 of the Libotero Bohol Series

We could have gone to Bohol via fastcraft but we opted to bring our van as it means, we can tour and discover what the province has to offer at our own pace considering that we’re travelling with kids who are not so used with public transportation. Plus, bringing our van adds some convenience as we could bring some provisions and necessities as much as the vehicle can carry. It’s like our home on the road.

I wasn’t really aware about the requirements in order for us to bring our vehicle to Bohol since mom did all the processing but all I know is that you have to ready with you your original OR/CR and driver’s license with multiple photocopies. The ferry charge for the van was P2,000.00 one way. Meanwhile, each of us was charged P180 for the tourist class deck.

DAY 1.

Very much excited about our first RORO trip, we were already at Pier 1, Cebu City as early as 5:15am (our scheduled time of departure was 7am). When we arrived, the pier seemed quite empty so we just parked in one corner and took a nap.

At 6am, our vessel, Lite Shipping’s Santiago de Bohol docked at the port and unloaded passengers and rolling cargo. There are actually 2 RoRo-capable seaports in the province of Bohol that connects to Cebu – Tubigon and Tagbilaran. But being at a shorter distance from the Cebu City Pier, Tubigon was the better choice for us.

Some early morning scenes…

Pigeons

Is that oil/grease on the sea waters?

Busy sea traffic

At almost 7am, we were made to board the RORO vessel and I immediately snapped some photos of the sights and sounds…

Badjaos, or more popularly dubbed as “Sea Gypsies” are quite amazing to watch when ferries dock and leave the port. These Sea Gypsies approach ferries and ask for coins. You just toss the coin towards them and they will effortlessly dive into the waters to retrieve it.

At around 7:25am, M/V Santiago de Bohol finally left the Cebu port…

An arriving Cokaliong vessel

Radisson Blu in the background

The early fisher catches the fish, LOL

Malacanang of the South. Trivia: This was formerly a Customs’ Building, built in 1910

One of the enclaves of Cebu’s rich

Compania Maritima, a commercial building built in 1910. This triangular three-storey structure located right at the harbor housed the Devotee City in the recent Sinulog Festival 2011

The SRP Viaduct

(…to be continued)

Part 18 of the Libotero Baler Roadtrip series

DAY 3.

After shooting the sunrise, I went back to the hotel to sleep some more. It was our last day in Baler and we’ve already completed our set itinerary so there was nothing else to do but sleep…

We woke up at around 9am to pack up and ready our things for our roadtrip back to Manila. After everything was ready, we ate breakfast, still at Bahia de Baler’s restaurant. After filling our stomachs to the brimmed, we relaxed for a while and finally hit the roads again to finally start leaving Baler..

On our way to Baler, we passed through the Pantabangan-Baler Highway. This time, we decided to take the other route, the Baler-Bongabon Route as one book about Baler described it as the “more popular route”.

So we expected that we were going to go through more concrete this time… And yes!

Concrete!

The zigzag road crossing the Sierra Madre Mountain Range now has some portions that are cemented, but only until the initial portion of Barangay Diteki.

Concrete, still..

The lush Sierra Madre Mountain Range

But just after less than 10 minutes, signs of rough roads are starting to show up… Oh no!

This area must be very landslide prone. Yikes!

Imagine if those huge rocks are going to fall on you!

Sierra Madre greens. Let us help protect and preserve the Sierra Madre mountains. It is one of the only three biodiversity corridors in the country! It is one of the very few surviving forests! Let us help save the Sierra Madres from destruction!!! PLEASE!

A seemingly non-ending stretch of unpaved road..

Still more than 40 kilometers to go on this rough mountain zig-zag road!

Oh my, such huge boulders!

Another landslide prone area…

The Baler-Bongabon route definitely had lesser signs of human habitation, which was good as there would be less chances of adding damage to the Sierra Madre Mountains but on the other hand, it added to the vague premonition of danger like “Who would help us in case of emergency when our cellphones had no coverage, there are no residents around the area, and vehicles rarely pass by the route?”.

More greens…

On gravel road still…

Wow, unexpectedly, concrete greeted us again!

until…

OH MY WHAT IS THAT?!!!?!!

The steel bridge was destroyed by previous typhoons…

So how were we going to cross the river?

Locals washing their clothes and taking a bath on the river…

…and leaving their clothes on gravel to dry.

We had to go through that wooden plank bridge to cross the river. OH MY!!!

The bridge looked very narrow!! Fearful of our safety, mom got out of the car and guided dad as he maneuvered the car to cross the bridge, haha!

So what could have happened if our car fell of the bridge? God forbid!

At that point, we were at the heart of the Sierra Madre Mountain Range! Such a breathtaking sight to behold!

See mom in action!!

It was a very inconvenient rough road but the amazing scenery and memorable experiences are all worth it! Goodbye Aurora! ‘Til we meet again!

Having crossed the Aurora provincial boundary, we were already in Bongabon, Nueva Ecija.

The last few stretches of rough road, finally!

One can see the obvious change in landscape. If the surroundings were so green in Aurora, everything seemed to be dry in Nueva Ecija!

Crossing a bridge…

…to cross another bridge. A rusty one-way steel bridge which badly needs to be repaired as soon as possible! It didn’t look like it was strong enough to carry a few vehicles…

All dried up!

But there was still some fresh water falling off from the mountains…

Overall, Nueva Ecija was so dry, a huge contrast to Aurora’s “lushness”

We’re back to the plains, finally!

And that wraps up the Libotero Baler Roadtrip Series! You see, no amount of rough, “not-for-faint-hearted” roads discouraged us from visiting Baler so you should visit the province too, as soon as possible, before everyone else does! I’d like to go back in the near future as there are much much more natural and cultural attractions in Aurora waiting to be discovered and invaded. Our 3-day visit was totally not enough to get to experience the “real” Aurora so I promise to be back SOON!

Part 14 of the Libotero Baler Roadtrip series

DAY 2.

From the Aurora Provincial Capitol in Baler, we then drove northwards to the adjacent town of San Luis where some of the province’s natural wonders are located.

En route to San Luis, we were looking for convenience stores to buy some cold drinks to quench our thirst in the scorching noontime sun but then there were none! Actually, there were some but they were so “primitive”, they didn’t even have Coke, not even bottled water, at the least. We finally found the first decent convenience store across the San Luis Municipal Hall and bought some “C2″ and “Real Leaf Green Tea”, haha!

San Luis Municipal Hall

Upon driving further, we encountered a detour as one bridge was badly damaged and impassable.

This bridge must have been damaged by the typhoons that visit the province regularly. Good news is that there are a lot of infrastructure projects currently ongoing in the province so everything must be okay now.

After some few minutes, we still haven’t found what we were looking for, the Cunayan Falls. When we encountered locals walking around the streets, we asked directions, and we were directed to go further, just follow the road, and watch out for a road sign that would lead us to the waterfalls.

But after almost an hour, we felt that we’ve gone too far. We even started to go uphill already.

Feeling that we’ve gone way beyond the waterfalls, we just continued driving and looked for someone who seemed reliable in giving out directions. A few minutes later, we encountered a middle-aged man who looked well-informed and alas, he confirmed our doubts: we already passed by the waterfalls. For that, we asked for directions and took note of them very well.

We did a U-Turn and headed back to civilization!

The very picturesque national highway of Aurora, except for those campaign posters!

This time, all eyes were open. There were six of us and we thoroughly inspected all the road signs that we encountered, until we finally reached the intersection to the waterfalls. Our original plan was to visit Ditumabo Falls, dubbed as the “Mother Falls”, still in San Luis, but we weren’t ready for the few kilometers of trekking, so we settled for the Cunayan Falls which was located just a few meters away from an interior road. From the national highway, the interior road to the waterfalls is a bit rough.

It wasn’t paved, and was only made of sand and gravel. As we got nearer to the falls, we were surprised when we were charged a P20 toll, not once but twice! We just learned at the entrance of the Cunayan Falls that we passed by private property and therefore, they had all the right to collect an amount from us. Okay, settled. At the waterfalls, each person was charged P10.

Parking Area

Welcome to Cunayan Falls. We were informed that it is more popularly known as “L Pimentel Falls”. That explains why we mostly got scratching heads as reaction when we asked for directions to the Cunayan Falls

Trash.. Errr! Why can’t we all dispose of trash properly?!!!?

Streams around the waterfalls…

There are a few cottages around the waterfalls as well… So if you wish to spend the whole afternoon here, you definitely can!

The lush forests surrounding the waterfalls…

Steps to the parking area…

The Waterfalls. The Cunayan Falls isn’t actually that high. Actually, our initial reaction was, “This is it?” But then, the water was so clear plus, it wasn’t deep as you could just stand directly below the falls effortlessly,.. so it was very inviting for a dip!

The Cunayan Falls

So yeah, we just took a dip, literally, for our feet, haha… The water was very refreshing, it was cool.. Uhm, cold actually, perfect for summer getaways! We would have wanted to swim but then we forgot to bring extra clothes from the hotel, boo! For that, we just spent a few more minutes enjoying the cold water passing through our feet LOL.

Splash!

The Cunayan Falls is located approximately 30 minutes from Baler, Aurora.

(…to be continued)

Part 9 of the Libotero Baler Roadtrip series

DAY 2.

After exploring the Ermita Hill, we droved further southeastward to the Baler Fishport..

The Baler Fishport is where fish like blue marlin and tuna, as well as other seafoods like shrimps, crabs and lobsters are being sold at wholesale, “provincial” prices. It was almost noontime during our visit so we didn’t get to see that in action.

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