Casita del Rose: Pangasinan

Showing posts with label Pangasinan. Show all posts

After a hearty breakfast at the Nautilus, we're on our way to the second leg of our Pangasinan get-away.

Next stop, Bolinao and its famous waterfalls.

There are 3 falls located near each other, but we only got to visit the first. It was packed with people. The main attraction is the 20-something-feet falls that people jump from. There's another falls at the top with a shorter jump.

Entrance is P60 for adults, while kids are free. Parking is P50.

There are bamboo cottages to rent, for P200 and people tend to come and go. So if you're only taking a short dip or jumping from the falls, I would suggest not to bother unpacking or renting a cottage.

Next stop, Patar beach. But first, a short stop at the Enchanted Cave.

Enchanted Cave is an underground natural spring off Patar road. The owners made a nice development of the area with plenty of flowers around big, tall trees. There are gazebos for rent for a nice romantic gathering, like debut or a wedding reception.

Entrance is a bit pricey at P150 per head; whether adult or kids or even if you're not taking a dip on the cave itself.

There's a small pool with natural water for small kids, with a life guard on standby. So it's safe. But be careful navigating the stairs. It's made up of limestone and would cut your knee deep if you slip.

There's a long line going into the cave since they only permit limited number of persons inside for safety. It's a real cave with a small opening and cemented stairs to gown down too. Inside is a cavern with fresh spring water, about 7 feet deep. There are thick ropes lining the sides for people to hold on too. France used his mask to swim around with no additional vest. He's getting good at it. After 20 minutes of waddling, we decided to come up and find our next destination.

Read Part 1 here.

Travel Date: April, 2017

Photo owned by Andy Arciga on Flickr

For this year's summer trip, we opted to go to Pangasinan and see the famous Hundred Islands at Alaminos.

According to various legends, the islands were formed after 100 valiant warriors defended the town of Alaminos from invaders a long long long time ago. Another myth says that the islands were formed after two datus fought each other at sea for the hand of a princess. On both of these myths, the chilling realization was that the islands were actually the slain body of warriors.

We prepared and woke up extra early, 2 AM to be exact. I don't want a repeat of the more than 12 hours drive we did last year going to Vigan.

We arrived at Alaminos at around 10 AM. Our expected check in time at Nautilus Lodge was 2 PM but they were nice enough to let us drop off our bags inside the unit ahead of time.

Rooms Nautilus Lodge

We immediately requested for a boat, since we want to spend the whole day island hoping and snorkeling. Sadly, since it's peak season, and there's limited number of boats. Add in the long queue at the wharf, where tourist are required to pay for the environmental and insurance fees.

So we had lunch first.

Food at Nautilus Lodge was great, and priced just right. Sorry, no picture of the food. We're too hungry to care.

By 12NN, we're off to our island destination.

First stop, Quezon island.

Our boat man said that they're closing the island by 3 PM since an international cruise ship is expected to dock on the island later.

Second stop is Children's island.

The water here is very shallow, so you can let your kids frolic in the water with minimal supervision.

We tried to persuade our boat man to take us to other islands, with less tourist and a better view for swimming and snorkeling. But they were persistent that we make the 3 island rounds and nothing more; even if we tried to pay them more than the required fee.

Our last stop was Governor's island. It's not really a place for waddling in the water. The ground was littered with remnants of bleached corals that would cut your foot raw if you don't have slippers or aqua shoes on.

We made do, and tried to snorkel around at waist deep water. Yes, there were fishes here and there, but not what I was expecting. I must say that I was not awed by what I saw.

But the kids had a blast swimming around. We used the Thenice Snorkeling Mask and found out that you can actually float with only the mask on. No need for floaters or vest. Since the mask was creating a pocket of air on your face and allowing you to breath normally, it gives your body buoyancy.

For adventurous persons, there's zip line, wall climbing, rappelling, banana boat ride, kayaking, jet ski and even parasailing on these three islands. Drop by here for the complete list of activities, amenities and rates.