BORA at last! (part 1)

Late post...

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We've been planning our Boracay get away since 2012.  But due to our very tight schedule we we'rent able to push trough.

Homer and Icehl (husband and wife and is now based in Australia) will be coming home again for Christmas and since they will only be here for for more or less a month we decided to clear our schedule and PUSH with the get away.

We wanted the trip to be organized as possible due to our very limited time as well as budget friendly so we decided to book our ticket as early as November (our travel date will be on January but it is always best to book months ahead if you wanted the best rate). At first we wanted to see if we can do DIY but then I got overwhelm with the choices and the "what to" and "where to".

We kind of have different preference tho on where to stay. We were considering the two balik bayan so one suggested a posh place to stay but then I "argued" that we will not be staying on our room most of the time so first class accommodation is just as waste of money (im on a tight budget hahaha). Good thing husband and wife leave all the desicion making to us my budget is safe :P

So on with the booking. And no accommodation is available. 

Ichel suggested Travelonline a to assist us in our booking. They have the most buget friendly packages Boracay Packages. Ms. Marie was very helpful in assisting us and giving us the best deal. (visit their website for the complete list of packages TRAVELONLINE).

Plane Ticket (check). Accomadation (check).

With the important details taken cared of all we had to do is wait for January 24, 2014 to come!

THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS THE "PERFECT PLAN". I should have known better. 

Out of the six two made cancellation the last minute. They have a valid reason tho but still I was disappointed but nothing can spoil this trip so we were determined to enjoy!

Again we have very limited time so as ussual our plan was "Do as many activities and see as many places as possible".

We have an early flight and knowing the traffic condition (commute going to the airport to avoid hassle) we decided to meet early.

@ the airport. our summer starts now! 

Manet and Ate Lot

Icehl and Homer 

caticlan port

Check in time is 2pm and since we arrive early we decided to leave our luggage at the reception so we could already explore the Island.

Lunch @ Mang Inasal

Checking out the Beach

The Beach

Itchy feet! Tara Lets!

Sand. Sea. Sky

happy to be here

Books!

Im a certified Book Junkie. So Lucky to have my favorites all at the same place

because we were excited to do some exploring we forgot to change our clothes. so I practically hurry up everyone to go back to our room and change.

Dinner at the HILL HOUSE.

We met Manet and Ate Lot's cousin who happen to reside in boracay (they also own the only bookstore on the island) and invited us to have dinner at their house.

The house I had to say FABULOUS!

Night time in the island will never be boring. One can party the night away with countless of clubs but since we're really not the party kind of crowd we decided to just walk around "D Mall".

BLOGAPALOOZA 2014

I'm not an active blogger. (you can tell by the number of entries I have)

But I've always wanted to be one. To be able to attend at least one event.

So when my "Sis" Nancy (visit her blog @ Daily Bustle) posted something about attending a bloggers event I was like "I want also!" but then felt that that I'm not "worthy" (given how little time I manage to spend on my blog site) so I just sigh and bitterly clicked the like button.

But then she told me that I don't need to have a hundred entry to be able to join, all I need is have a blog site and I'm good to go.

Being a true KALADKARIN that I am - how can I refuse. :D

At first I was worried because I didn't know if my registration was successful I kept on checking my URL on the list :( but Nancy said if I cant be on the official list I will still be able to attend as her +1. See if there's a will there's definitely a way! Push na:) 

So nothing can stop me from attending.

Answered prayer! So happy to see my URL today on the list! Thank you!!!! *happy dance*

Super excited. Nanz already brief me on what to expect and what to bring.

Another "first" experience for me.

For those who still want to join, registration is open until 6pm of October 9, you can also visit BLOGAPALOOZA for more information.

See you on October 11 @ SM Aura!

Gutsiest and Dirtiest Trip - Cave Spelunking at Mt. Manalmon (flashback friday)

The waters calms me. The mountain gives me peace...

It was August last year when my new set of friends (the same persons I went island hopping to Quezon with) invited me on another trip. It seems like they develop a new hobby and wanted me to try it also - Hiking.

Hiking! Seriously?!

Finally! A chance to cross an item on my "Bucket List". (happy dance)

Bad weather where ever I go :(

I don't know but it seems like when ever I plan to go somewhere LPA is always pesent and trying to spoil my day. 

Yes. It was raining hard which I believe the reason why almost everyone is late on the agreed time - we were suppose to meet up @ 9am but they arrived almost more than an hour later that I almost panic thinking that we will not be able to go on with the trip, because how are we suppose to go hiking in this bad weather??? when one by one they finally showed up I was like "thanks goodness". 

Tuloy ang Lakwatsa! :)

 MT. MANALMON

They said we will be going to Bulacan. Reggie assured that it will be an easy hike so we needn't worry. He also mentioned about the posibility of cave exploring (if we're upto it) and challenge us to try the monkey bridge (whatever it was).

Being a beach person, I'm surprised that there's actually a place as mentioned in Bulacan. So I Googled it to atleast have an idea on what Im getting myself into :p

Located at San Miguel, Bulacan at 196 MASL and is considered a minor hike. It says also that summit can be reached by 1 or 2 hours. Pwede!

We wanted to be able to see the sunset at the summit but having been delayed by the weather we arrived at Bulacan at 3pm and started the hike maybe around 4pm. We were quite positive that we will be able to target our goal. 

What I thought was an easy hike turned out to be much challenging than I expected. Thanks to the LPA the trail was wet and muddy.

So after 3 hours of struggling not to slide in the mud we made it to this rock near the camp site we will have to wait until morning to go to the summit so we decided to set up camp and rest. Because tomorrow the  real adventure begins.

Near the campsite... Konti na lang...

Dinner @ the Camp

The weather was good to us during the climb but later that night it started to rain. 

Foggy Morning at the Summit

living at the edge

The girls...

and the boys...  had to do this pose. Hahahaha

We made it! (Effeng, Bitoy, Tintin,, Me, Joy, Cath, Reggie, Pia, Ey, Emmeng and Albert) 

On to the next leg of our adventure... Cave spelunking.

Had to go down and go up to the cave entrance 

Me going down the cave entrance.

One of the things to do in Mt. Manalmon aside from conquering its mountains is to go Cave Exploring. Of course one should be willing to go inside a cave, crawl, climb and go in to tight places because once you decided to enter you cannot go back to where you started and there's no other option but to go forward and reach the exit.

During the briefing before starting our cave exploring our Guides have 1 simple rule of safety: Trust your Guide.

I was the first to go among the girls. Had to convince them that its safe and its not scary. (Good thing this is not my first time to go on rappelling or I will be among those who is near tears with fear).

Reggie

Ey

Effeng

Cathrina

According to our guide Cave Spelunking is quite easy, but because of the rain last night the inside of the cave is wet and supper slippery that we had to be very careful as not to trip and slip. It also hard to climb some areas because of the mud.

goind deeper inside the cave

dead end! had to go up to continue (whew!)

getting not just our hand dirty :)

Thankfully there was no visble spiders and snake along the way...

happy to be out at last!

at last! one more rapel and we're done!

padumihan ng paa!

Mt. Manalmon summit. Check!

Cave Spelunking. Check!

Which means there's one challenge left.... The MONKEY BRIDGE.

Fyi... There's two option in crossing Madlum River:

1. Raft - which cost only 5pesos

2. Monkey Bridge. ( cross at your own risk)

I must say Monkey Bridge really looks scary...I had questions about its safety. Because there's no harness so should one decided to cross and change its mind she must choose whether to let go and fall in the 10 feet water (its been raining since yesterday so it looks murky and the current is deadly) provided you can swim or just endure and cross with shaky legs all the way to the other side.

Out of the seven girls only four of us dared to try the bridge.

Sobrang na stress ako sa Monkey Bridge!

Having a height which barely reaches 5" it was really hard for me especially on the part where the wires sag. It tested my upper body strength because I had to practically "tip toe" my way to end (my friends say I gave them quite a scare seeing me almost hanging) I told myself I had to finish this or they - the boys especially would never let me hear the end of it. :P

This is it! 

This is trip is definitely one of my bravest ever. I never expected I will cross out several things on my bucket list in  one trip. :) Another bonus for the new friends I gained. 

God is really great for creating such beauty. For giving me the opportunity to see and enjoy his creation.