Paguriran Island: An Amazing Discovery at Sorsogon
Paguriran Island confirmed that there is still so much to discover around the Bicol area--and what a wonderful discovery it was!
Paguriran Island
It was one of those spur-of-the-moment events when I just go ahead and simply do whatever I wanna do. With all my deadlines finished and the opening of classes just a few days away, I wanted to maximize the remaining days I have as a beach goddess even if summer has officially ended and June--the month of rain and opening of classes--reared its ugly head. I came across Paguriran Island during my Internet search for new travel destinations, and I knew that very instant that I want to go there. The soonest the better.
Apparently, wanderlust can be infectious and I immediately influenced my friend Melody to come also. In no time, Von, Don, Kath and Johann are with us as well. Wow, it was a childhood friends reunion of some sort hehe. Throwing caution to the wind and believing in fate's benevolence that everything will turn out fine, we all happily settled in our friend's vehicle, excited to head to an island we've never heard of before and with only a vague idea of where it is or how to go there. I guess that's part of the beauty of Paguriran; it is so mysterious.
The Trip
Anyways, it was afternoon already when we left Naga City, expecting to arrive at Sorsogon by nightfall. We made some stops at Albay to enjoy the beauty of Mount Mayon, the world's near-perfect cone volcano. Sigghhh, what a marvelous view!
Mayon Volcano
And then we went on to pick-up Johann in Daraga, Albay. Indeed by nightfall we were already in Sorsogon, six hungry (did I also say grimy?) backpackers that we were. We gobbled our dinner at Chow King Sorsogon and of course, let our driver Manong Von (hehehe) rest for a while, and then proceeded to search for the direction of Bacon, Sorsogon. From Bacon, we intended to go to Paguriran, which is alleged to be at the very end of the road. We expected a long drive, hence decided to spend the night at Bacon to have hours of soothing sleep first.
Finally...Sorsogon...
Dinner time :)
Arrival at Bacon
Fortunately, we easily found Bacon and went to check in at the New Sea Breeze Resort. We made some negotiations as regards the price, and came to settle for P1300 for all of us--plus the use of videoke, which made me very, very happy :) You might expect that we would rest our tired bodies right away, but we didn't want to waste hours of our precious time together so we decided to have some good time first, something we accomplished with help of Bar Vodka and Gin. After a couple of shots, our shining videoke voices can be heard puncturing the midnight peace of the already sleeping village. Now we understand why there's a municipal order in Bacon banning videoke/karaoke singing after 11 pm. It's a very peaceful, rustic coastal town indeed.
The morning at Bacon is even more peaceful. As we prepared for our trip to Paguriran, I can't help but notice the beautiful beach few meters away from our room. There were a number of people having their early morning dip, just when the heat of the sun is not yet scorching.
Bacon Beach
Busy with the food preparations
We ate a hearty breakfast of tuna with egg and rice, cooked by the very industrious Don, Von and Johann, who also prepared the food we're going to eat for our lunch--grilled yellow fin tuna and liempo. And while they were busy cooking, there was nothing much left for us princesses to do but wait. So,Melody, Kath and moi spent our remaining time wisely by prepping up, lying in bed, watching TV and taking pictures of ourselves. After all the preparations, we paid the resort and headed for the road.
Yup, Paguriran Island here we come.
Fun, fun, fun!
Far from the long and tiring drive we expected, it took us only a little over thirty minutes to reach the location. Thanks, in part, to the driving dexterity of our Manong driver Von, the smooth road--which is surprising for a country road--and the very cooperative weather. This is it, the moment of judgment. My heart was pumping. I was anxious whether they would like the place or not. But all my worries dissipated when I saw the smiles. Everyone appeared to be simply happy to spend the day in a faraway island with a beautiful view. :)
Island and Boat
The Beach
My friend Don got all shutter-happy and started clicking away with his camera. After posing for a number of shots and getting ourselves comfy in the native cottage, we got ready to wade several meters through the water from the beach going to the island. The water is crystal clear and warm, and is only waist-deep so it was not really hard to walk. We had to be very careful though, as there are sharp corals and rocks that could cut the skin. One of my friends scraped his knee in a coral, but apparently nothing--not even the bleeding wound--could keep him from having fun!
Inside the Island--a Lagoon
Inside the island is an aquamarine lagoon. Water is generally shallow except in some parts. What is amazing is that it also serves as a habitat to many colorful fishes and other interesting sea creatures that one can only see in aquariums or in National Geographic. Fish-watching kept us busy for some time.
We spent the hours away swimming, fish-spotting, diving and of course, picture-taking, until we felt our stomachs grumble. I guess we expended so much energy wading through the water, avoiding sharp corals, swimming and posing for photographs. Also, it was already noontime and we noticed, despite the generous application of sunblock, that our skins already have that reddish tinge indicating the dreaded sunburn (in other countries they call it tan, but in our case it only makes us nog-nog). Hence, we decided to go back to the beach for lunch.
Hungry and excited, we devoured the foods that Don, Von and Johann prepared earlier that morning. Don was barely finished mixing the condiments of toyo+sibuyas+manggang hilaw, we were already diving in with gusto. Expectedly, after lunch, languor kicked in and since it was already low tide and the beach has lost much of its water, most of us decided to take a nap. I slept on the hammock that Don put up while Don slept on the sand (hehe). Kath, Mel and Johann were inside the cottage, snoring. Von, however, was busy taking our pictures in our most unguarded sleeping moments (grrr!).
We were supposed to cap our trip with a visit to the Bulusan Crater Lake, which is around 40 kms. away from the city, and the nearby Palagtoc Falls. Paguriran itself is around 20 kms from the city. But we were already tired, the adrenaline rush we experienced hours ago also had its corresponding crash. We also thought that driving in an unfamiliar territory might not be the wisest thing to do then. So we decided to put off going to Bulusan--after all, there are other trips to come (hopefully!). We opted to go back to Legaspi City instead, where the famous Mount Mayon is. I hope to write about our Legaspi escapade in my next post.
So that's it, my whirlwind adventure with friends to Paguriran Island! :P
Fin.
How to Go to Paguriran Island (from Manila)
1) Ride bus to Sorsogon City (travel time around 10 hrs) or plane to Legaspi City, then take a van to Sorsogon.
2) Take a jeepney from the City to Bacon, then from Bacon to Paguriran.
Tips: There are cottages and resorts all over Bacon. You may negotiate with the price. Seafoods are always fresh, so make sure to try some.
Paguriran Island
It was one of those spur-of-the-moment events when I just go ahead and simply do whatever I wanna do. With all my deadlines finished and the opening of classes just a few days away, I wanted to maximize the remaining days I have as a beach goddess even if summer has officially ended and June--the month of rain and opening of classes--reared its ugly head. I came across Paguriran Island during my Internet search for new travel destinations, and I knew that very instant that I want to go there. The soonest the better.
Apparently, wanderlust can be infectious and I immediately influenced my friend Melody to come also. In no time, Von, Don, Kath and Johann are with us as well. Wow, it was a childhood friends reunion of some sort hehe. Throwing caution to the wind and believing in fate's benevolence that everything will turn out fine, we all happily settled in our friend's vehicle, excited to head to an island we've never heard of before and with only a vague idea of where it is or how to go there. I guess that's part of the beauty of Paguriran; it is so mysterious.
The Trip
Anyways, it was afternoon already when we left Naga City, expecting to arrive at Sorsogon by nightfall. We made some stops at Albay to enjoy the beauty of Mount Mayon, the world's near-perfect cone volcano. Sigghhh, what a marvelous view!
Mayon Volcano
And then we went on to pick-up Johann in Daraga, Albay. Indeed by nightfall we were already in Sorsogon, six hungry (did I also say grimy?) backpackers that we were. We gobbled our dinner at Chow King Sorsogon and of course, let our driver Manong Von (hehehe) rest for a while, and then proceeded to search for the direction of Bacon, Sorsogon. From Bacon, we intended to go to Paguriran, which is alleged to be at the very end of the road. We expected a long drive, hence decided to spend the night at Bacon to have hours of soothing sleep first.
Finally...Sorsogon...
Dinner time :)
Arrival at Bacon
Fortunately, we easily found Bacon and went to check in at the New Sea Breeze Resort. We made some negotiations as regards the price, and came to settle for P1300 for all of us--plus the use of videoke, which made me very, very happy :) You might expect that we would rest our tired bodies right away, but we didn't want to waste hours of our precious time together so we decided to have some good time first, something we accomplished with help of Bar Vodka and Gin. After a couple of shots, our shining videoke voices can be heard puncturing the midnight peace of the already sleeping village. Now we understand why there's a municipal order in Bacon banning videoke/karaoke singing after 11 pm. It's a very peaceful, rustic coastal town indeed.
The morning at Bacon is even more peaceful. As we prepared for our trip to Paguriran, I can't help but notice the beautiful beach few meters away from our room. There were a number of people having their early morning dip, just when the heat of the sun is not yet scorching.
Bacon Beach
Busy with the food preparations
We ate a hearty breakfast of tuna with egg and rice, cooked by the very industrious Don, Von and Johann, who also prepared the food we're going to eat for our lunch--grilled yellow fin tuna and liempo. And while they were busy cooking, there was nothing much left for us princesses to do but wait. So,Melody, Kath and moi spent our remaining time wisely by prepping up, lying in bed, watching TV and taking pictures of ourselves. After all the preparations, we paid the resort and headed for the road.
Yup, Paguriran Island here we come.
Fun, fun, fun!
Far from the long and tiring drive we expected, it took us only a little over thirty minutes to reach the location. Thanks, in part, to the driving dexterity of our Manong driver Von, the smooth road--which is surprising for a country road--and the very cooperative weather. This is it, the moment of judgment. My heart was pumping. I was anxious whether they would like the place or not. But all my worries dissipated when I saw the smiles. Everyone appeared to be simply happy to spend the day in a faraway island with a beautiful view. :)
Island and Boat
The Beach
My friend Don got all shutter-happy and started clicking away with his camera. After posing for a number of shots and getting ourselves comfy in the native cottage, we got ready to wade several meters through the water from the beach going to the island. The water is crystal clear and warm, and is only waist-deep so it was not really hard to walk. We had to be very careful though, as there are sharp corals and rocks that could cut the skin. One of my friends scraped his knee in a coral, but apparently nothing--not even the bleeding wound--could keep him from having fun!
Inside the Island--a Lagoon
Inside the island is an aquamarine lagoon. Water is generally shallow except in some parts. What is amazing is that it also serves as a habitat to many colorful fishes and other interesting sea creatures that one can only see in aquariums or in National Geographic. Fish-watching kept us busy for some time.
We spent the hours away swimming, fish-spotting, diving and of course, picture-taking, until we felt our stomachs grumble. I guess we expended so much energy wading through the water, avoiding sharp corals, swimming and posing for photographs. Also, it was already noontime and we noticed, despite the generous application of sunblock, that our skins already have that reddish tinge indicating the dreaded sunburn (in other countries they call it tan, but in our case it only makes us nog-nog). Hence, we decided to go back to the beach for lunch.
Hungry and excited, we devoured the foods that Don, Von and Johann prepared earlier that morning. Don was barely finished mixing the condiments of toyo+sibuyas+manggang hilaw, we were already diving in with gusto. Expectedly, after lunch, languor kicked in and since it was already low tide and the beach has lost much of its water, most of us decided to take a nap. I slept on the hammock that Don put up while Don slept on the sand (hehe). Kath, Mel and Johann were inside the cottage, snoring. Von, however, was busy taking our pictures in our most unguarded sleeping moments (grrr!).
We were supposed to cap our trip with a visit to the Bulusan Crater Lake, which is around 40 kms. away from the city, and the nearby Palagtoc Falls. Paguriran itself is around 20 kms from the city. But we were already tired, the adrenaline rush we experienced hours ago also had its corresponding crash. We also thought that driving in an unfamiliar territory might not be the wisest thing to do then. So we decided to put off going to Bulusan--after all, there are other trips to come (hopefully!). We opted to go back to Legaspi City instead, where the famous Mount Mayon is. I hope to write about our Legaspi escapade in my next post.
So that's it, my whirlwind adventure with friends to Paguriran Island! :P
Fin.
How to Go to Paguriran Island (from Manila)
1) Ride bus to Sorsogon City (travel time around 10 hrs) or plane to Legaspi City, then take a van to Sorsogon.
2) Take a jeepney from the City to Bacon, then from Bacon to Paguriran.
Tips: There are cottages and resorts all over Bacon. You may negotiate with the price. Seafoods are always fresh, so make sure to try some.
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