Family Time: First Time Beachineering with a toddler - Prepping time

It's been a long time since I last updated my blog. If you are reading this, thanks for visiting my site again :)

I've been busy learning how the Mommy stuff works. I'm no expert but I do want to share how I kinda survived out first ever family outing with Arya, my #stormbornofthenorth baby. (I'll share the story behind the hashtag next time).

Ok so, first off.. I created a checklist of what I think I need for Arya (she's my petite 21month 1st born) for an overnight swimming event:

1) Swimwear

2) Floaters (wearable one and the salbabida round thing type)

3) Swim diaper

4) Milk (whole can), feeding bottles (5pcs), distilled water (1-2 litters should be more than enough)

5) Cleaning stuff for feeding bottles (soap and brush, container for sterilizing, I have no sterilizer so maybe I can borrow kettle at the resort)

6) bathrobe, towel, head to toe wash

7) Change of clothes set (3-4sets)

8) DIAPERS!!!!

9) Blanket, Coco the Bear

10) Slippers and sunscreen

11) Insurance HMO card
12) On the road snacks

*I'll probably update this later if I forgot something. The list is quite long since I want to be ready for anything that may happen. Hopefully next time my list won't be longer.

I will create separate entries to review some items on the list which I will be using for the first time.. so stay tune!

Hope you find this list for first time Mamas useful.

Puerto Princesa and El Nido Palawan in 5 Days

Plan, do your research, and prepare to let go of your plans to enjoy your travel experience completely

Planning this trip was not easy at all, I had the dilemma of a “budget” traveler. First is of course you want to see as much as you can with the limited budget you have. From the numerous blogs that I’ve read, I find it quite impossible to squeeze the places we want to see within the limited time and budget that we have. The blogs that I have been reading were helpful, in the sense that I knew what I wanted to do would be sort of amazing race style and of course, it’s difficult to decide whether we’d do a restful vacation or wake up elsewhere everyday.

Initially, I planned that we’d go to less popular destination like visit Tabon Cave in Quezon vs the more expensive Palawan Underground River Tour, Port Barton vs El Nido. A few blogs I’ve read convinced me that Port Barton is a better option, but circumstances led us to scrap our original itinerary, trust that we’d be in good hands, so just go with the flow.

I was only able to picture where we’d go and what we’d do once we’re there. But as most of you might have already experience, it is altogether a different once you’re actually there. Anyways, here’s our actual 2016 Palawan (PP-El Nido) itinerary along with our expenses, to hopefully help those who’ll visit this awesome place for the first time.

Day 1 (Manila - Puerto Princesa)	Expenses for 2	Particulars
6:40 am Depart to PP via AirAsia	6463.12	roundtrip fare
8:13 am Arrival PP airport, walked from airport to main road
- rode trike to take us for our 1st Chaolong breakfast	255	breakfast
9:31 am Picked up by friends for City tour
- Baywalk and Port Area
- Plaza Cuartel
- Museum tour (this one's located at the Town's Capitol)	100	entrance fee
11:50 am Lunch at Ka' Inato	1100	lunch
1:06 pm Baker's Hill	250	pasalubong
1:17 pm Mitra's Ranch
2:30 pm Check in at Circon Businessman's Inn	900
4:30 pm Shop for supplies at Robinson's (rode multicab)
7:00 pm rode multicab to Baywalk, dinner at K'na Boyet	1155	seafood dinner
10:00 pm Rest
Day 2 (Underground River Tour - El Nido)
07:54 am Depart Puerto Princesa to Sabang Port	105	breakfast and fare
09:42 am Arrival Sabang Port, board banca to Underground River
11:54 am End of River Tour, wait to board banca back to
Sabang port
12:00 nn Lunch at eat all you can restaurant in Port +	570	food and tamilok
Tamilok encounter
01:19 pm Book Lexus shuttle from Sabang to El Nido	1400	for 2
04:30 pm Stopover at Roxas	140	dinner
07:07 pm Arrival El Nido, Ride trike to Resort (IBR Inn)	50
07:46 pm Check in, rest	2900
08:00 pm Dinner at Coco Bar
11:30 pm Rest
Day 3 (El Nido: Tour B)
08:00 am Rise and shine, walk around town proper
- Breakfast	240
09:30 am Island hopping	3000
03:30 pm End of Island hopping
03:45 pm Walk around town, food trip
07:00 pm Dinner at Coco bar	840
Day 4 (El Nido: Tour D)
08:00 am Rise and shine, walk around town proper
- Breakfast	320
09:45 am Island hopping	2900
03:30 pm End of Island hopping
05:00 pm Depart from El Nido to Puerto Princesa	1000
05:30 pm Van depart PP
08:00 pm Roxas stop over	240
11:00 pm Arrival PP and hotel	900
Day 5 (PP to Manila)
08:00 am Breakfast at Chaolong; buy pasalubong	185
09:30 am Jeep to Irawan (Crocodile Farm)	102	jeep fare and entrance
12:04 pm Iwahig Penal
12:53 pm Depart Iwahig to Binuatan Weaving
02:03 pm Arrival at Binuatan weaving at Sta Monica PPSAT
02:47 pm Hotel, ready for check out
03:30 pm early check-out and dinner at Baywalk	770
07:45 pm bye bye PP
TOTAL	25885.12

Davao City Tour

 So what to do in Davao.. Day 1 was supposed to be travelling to Ma-a to visit Eden Nature Park. Woke up a bit early and decided to eat at Taps for our first breakfast in downtown Davao. Found one branch of Taps in Bolton Street. Good thing this branch is near our hotel (located along C.M. Recto). After our breakfast, my navigator decided to walk around. This “walk around” turned into our actual day 1 activity.

Osmena?? not..

Thanks to technology and my techie navigator, he was able to navigate his way “accidentally” to sort of a plaza which I initially thought to be Osmeña Park (but it’s not). We did find San Pedro Cathedral. I found the shape of this cathedral rather odd at first. After all it’s not your usual Roman Catholic architecture. But that made sense after our visit to Museo Dabawenyo.

Davao Museum

On the way to the museum, we got to visit (or see from the outside) the Sangguniang Lungsod ng Davao and the Peace Monument (the monument which symbolizes peace between Christians, Muslims and Lumad), cause they were both in front of the Cathedral. Had a taste of fruit shake davao style while waiting for the museum to open.



The visit to Museo Dabawenyo gave us an overview of Davao plus made sense as to why and what San Pedro Cathedral’s architecture is along with the history of Davao, its people. I especially liked the background about the Lumads. Our jolly museum guide gave us a colorful and entertaining educational experience which more overly elevated my respect for Dabawenyos.
After our Museum tour, my navi brought us both to see Davao City Hall and of course Rizal Park. It was still early but we opted to have an early lunch at Kuya Ed’s. Walked some more until we got back to our hotel to rest. After all, it was a long breakfast (and I haven’t taken a shower yet). As we were walking back, we stumbled upon a vendor selling durian and langka flavored bibingka…. and, you just have to give it a try.

unusually flavored bibingka

First half of day1 turned up ok. It was time to rest as all the walking around did burn up considerable amount of calories (which I love!!!!) plus.. I gotta take a bath~~~~

In and Around the Wonderful City of Davao

It would be my 2^nd time being in Davao city as of writing this. Until now, I still have the hangover and full admiration that such relatively peaceful city exists particularly in Mindanao area, where peace is quite hard to attain due to cultural difference, belief and principles of its inhabitants. I admit that our travel checklist is not that long, but so far, I can say that this is one of the best cities I’ve been in the Philippines (yes, my list includes Baguio and no, sadly I still can’t count Metro Manila in). I can’t help but express my appreciation and respect to their beloved Mayor Rudy Duterte for his efforts to keep peace, order and harmony among the Lumad, Christians and Muslims in Davao.

Davao decor in Jack's Ridge

 So if you haven’t been in Davao yet, I strongly urge you to stop by and experience how it is to live in this city. Wear your most comfortable and decent clothes, download the city map and get those muscles warmed up cause Davao is best experienced the commuter’s way.

 

After much research from other blogger’s experience and version of itinerary, I’ve come up

And we're here

with my initial version of itinerary, which my travel companion and photographer happily re-arranged on the spot, cause he doesn’t seem to believe in following itineraries as is, thus make our trip rather exciting and full of surprises. Too bad our trip didn’t coincide with the Kadayawan Festival. That would have been epic.

Anyway, here our actual itinerary in and around Davao City:

Day0:

5:00pm: ETD from NAIA Airport to board the much delayed flight of you know what airline

10:30pm: ETA Francisco Bangoy International Ariport (Davao)

Around 11:20pm ETA Uno Hotel along C.M. Recto via taxi

Zumba, Dabawenyo Style

Day1: (City Tour)

9:00am: Breakfast at Taps

10:00am: City tour (Osmena Park, San Pedro Cathedral,Sangguniang Lungson ng Davao and Peace Monument, Museo Dabawenyo, City Hall,Rizal Park)

12:30pm: Lunch at Kuya Ed’s Buffet, Walked back to hotel to rest

4:00pm: Walked to People’s Park

5:00pm: Commute to Jack’s Ridge

9:00pm: Dinner at DL-Xandro’s Kambingan

Day2: (Samal)

9:00am: Breakfast at Lolo Cardo’s

11:30am: Check out hotel. Commute to Magsaysay, Lunch at Luz Kinilaw

12:30pm: Walked to Magsaysay park, bought mangosteen, pomelo and durian for Samal trip from fruit vendors. Walked to Sta.Ana Wharf

1:00pm ETD Sta. Ana Wharf to Kaputian, Samal (travel time around 1-1.5hrs)

2:00pm: Check-in Kostal Resort, rest, swim

5:00pm: Walked to aplaya to find dinner (roasted chicken and puso [rice in ibos?]

Day3: Samal Island Tour and back to Davao

8:00am: Montfort Bat Cave, rode along other resorts, Maxima, Hagimit Falls

11:30am: Back at Kostal Resort, check-out

12:30pm: ETA Babak Wharf via Habal-Habal, back to Sasa Wharf, commute to downtown

1:50pm: ETA D’Counter, check in

5:00pm: Jog at People’s Park

7:00pm: Walked around Roxas St. Dinner at Lyndon’s World’s Worst Ribs and Awful Chicken

8:30pm: Walked back to Hotel, Chill at Primo Café and Bar

Day4: Philippine Eagle and Eden Nature Park

9:00am Walked to Bangkerohan to L300 terminal to Calinan

10:50am: ETA Philippine Eagle Center

12:42pm: ETD to Eden

2:15pm: ETA Bayabas Crossing

3:00pm: ETA Eden

4:45pm: ETD Eden to SM Davao

5:45pm: ETA SM Davao, Coffee

7:00: ETD SM to Hotel

8:00pm: ETA Hotel, Dinner at Barbeque Boss

Day5: Pasalubong Shopping Day

9:00am: Pasalubong Center, walked to find Glamour Crab Buffet

12:30pm: Unlimited Crab for Lunch

2:00pm: Aldevinco Shopping

4:00pm Commute to Magsaysay Fruit Vendors

6:00pm Dinner at D’Counter, Coffee at Primo Café, rest

9:00pm ETD downtown to Airport

10:00pm ETD DVO to Manila

12mn: Back to reality

Note: It’s also possible to spend another in Talicud Island. You can ride a boat from Kaputian going to Talicud’s Isla Reta then ride a boat back from Talicud to Davao City (this I’ll try on my next Davao visit).

So next time you chance up on those seat sale promo, don't forget to check if they have one going to Davao, a place worth visiting.

Giant Clams Ocean Nursery

After doing a quick stop to Moro-Moro watch tower in the municipality of Guinsiliban, we finally arrived to our next destination. We were already quite dry when we arrived there, just in time to take another dip in the waters of Camiguin, this time with the Giant Clams.

The Kibila Giant Clam Conservation and Ocean Nursery is maintained and operated by CCMPC, a community-based cooperative. A classic example of how eco-tourism can provide a community income generating opportunity through environmental conservation and protection. This made my visit to this area worth the "long" trip around Camiguin Island.

Welcome, but first, the rules

We availed the guided tour package, which I think is good because we get to learn many interesting information about this place (and the clams too!). One of the many interesting information is the fact that the shores of Guinsiliban, particularly where the Clam Sanctuary's located, is the only strip of White Beach attached to the Island of Camiguin (White Island doesn't count cause its sandbar and its a boat ride away from the main island).

Giant Barkadas

Time to meet Tridacna Gigas!
"Can we eat the clams?" - a not so bright but curious question of mine
     Obviously I was quite hungry, hence the question. Turns out the giant clams species are already endangered. The sanctuary wanted to contribute to the society by preservation and propagation of these enormous creatures.(KUDOS!!!). Moving on~~~
    First stop, a concrete tank containing 6 of the 9 known giant clams species. 4 of which are endemic to Camiguin, while 2 were imported from somewhere in Pangasinan? (if I remember it correctly).

Giant clams shoreline

After the introduction and the presentation by one of the tour guides, we proceed to wear our snorkeling gear and and swam into the reef of clam farm. I was equally thrilled to see the giant clams, corals, lots of fishes and the fact that I am floating over water where my feet can't reach the sea floors, thanks to their floatation device. (Taking swimming lessons is still on my bucket list). After a swim over the clams, we walked back to the shore to have closer look at the juvenile clams and the "sick" ones that needs more TLC until they are strong enough to again survive on their own. We also had close encounters with the clown fish curious of our feet.

We had enough time to appreciate the view of the sanctuary before we headed off to our next destination. I would want to come back to this place and swim once again and hopefully next time, I'd be able to float on my own ^_^

Anyways, here's the breakdown of our expense for two:
Entrance Fee: 50.00
Clams Viewing: 300.00
Equipment Rental: 200.00
Life vest: 100.00
------------------------------------
Total: 650.00 PHP

Camiguin Island tour and Itinerary

Airfare seat sales really attracted me to decide to fly to Cagayan de Oro for the second time to explore this region of Mindanao more. What I originally planned to be a CDO-Bukindnon-Camiguin trip (which is the usual CDO travel IT) turned to 3days-2nights Camiguin Island trip. And I must say that this turned out to be one memorable vacation. For travel enthusiast, planning and much research is needed to come up with the best travel itinerary. This I did and may I add that it wouldn’t hurt to ask the friendly locals (although there are only a certain number of people who can speak Tagalog, but most are fluent in English) who are more than willing to help to make your stay as memorable as possible.

View near Old Volcano

I was not able to properly reserve a place to stay but I trusted Paguia’s Cottage owner Ms. Weng to reserve a room for 2 and was delighted that she reserved a better room for us (3-4pax capacity) for the same price because the 2pax bedroom we requested was not available at that time. Going to Camiguin from Manila was quite long but it was comfortable since we got to ride the Ocean Jet fast craft which was air-conditioned. The long trip was however well-worth it mostly because of the people we met along the way who were helpful and hospitable too.

White Island

Here's our actual itinerary during our stay in Camiguin, the Island born of fire.
Day1:
4:40 am Manila to CDO (Laguindingan Airport)
6:10am ETA at CDO airport
6:30am ETD from airport to CDO via Magnum Express
7:30am ETA Magnum terminal near Centrio Mall in CDO
7:45am ETA Macabalan port (via taxi)
8:00am ETA from Macabalan Port in CDO to Benoni Port in Camiguin
10:36am ETA Benoni port
GUINSILIBAN:
10:53am early lunch in J&A Fishpen
MAMBAJAO:
12:00nn ETD from port to Mambajao public market (where Vjandep bakery is) Motorella ride to Brgy Yumbing
1:00pm ETA Paguia’s Cottage, rest
3:00pm Explore the White Island
5:00pm travel back to mainland
7:00pm: Dinner at Fire Island Grill
9pm: Lights out

Day2:
8:00am  start of tour
CATARMAN:
8:30am    View old volcano
8:40am    Walkway to the old volcano and Stations of the cross
9:30am    Viewing of Sunken Cemetery
9:40am    Stop over at Ruins of Church of Gui-ob (aka Church of Cotta Bato)
10:00am  Bura Soda Spring
11:40am  Sto. Nino cold spring
GUINSILIBAN:
2:00pm    Moro-moro watch tower
2:20pm    Giant Clams Sactuary
MAHINOG:
4:20pm    View of Mantigue Island
4:55pm    Katibwasan Falls
6:10pm   Ardent Hotspring
7:30pm   End of Day Tour

Day3:
8:00am    Check out from Paguia’s Cottage
8:30am    ETA Mambajao Public Market
9:45am    Van left terminal to Benoni Port
10:00am  Departure of RORO to Balingoan Port
11:41am  Arrival of RORO to Balingoan Port
12:00nn   Bus to Agora Market
2:00pm    ETA Agora Market, Lunch
3:00pm    LAX shuttle to Airport
4:30pm    ETA shuttle to Airport

Estimated expenses for 2 pax excluding airfare from Manila to CDO: