Exploring Pagbilao

We all need to get away

It was a stressed-induced week in our office when we planned our trip to Pagbilao, Quezon.
We hope this will ignite and refresh our system for the final leg of our stay here in the Operation Center.

sunblock, aftersun, soap and other stuff courtesy
of our lovely Under Secretary <3 td="">

All of our bags are packed and ready to go!

One of our team leader, Ms. Joyce, gladly accommodated us in her home town.



Itinerary

We escaped the Metro at 6pm on a bus in Cubao, and arrived in Quezon at around 10pm. The fare was around Php 220 After a late dinner in the bus stop we went to Ms. Joyce place, fixed our selves up and had a good rest.

Dinner at the bus stop, photo courtesy of Trizzia's samsung phone haha :)

A bountiful breakfast greeted us on the morning of our first day. We had "on-the-house" fried rice, "daing" (dried fish), adobong chickin in gata (coconut milk) and fresh vegetables.  That was really heavy and enough to charge me up for the days activity.

The jeepney is loaded with summer spirit

Slippers
We rented a "jeepney" went to the public market to buy some additional stuff.
I on the other hand, bought a slipper! It's not that I didn't have one at home. I just find it troublesome to carry one so I always buy a slipper whenever I'm a trip. It's also a sort-of souvenir.

Then we took a 30 minutes jeepney ride to Pagbilao Grande Island, home of Pagbilao Power Plant.
from a little community of fisherfolk, we took a boat ride around the island to a hidden private cove.

I'll name it, "Lampasan pa" (Just after another) private cove. :) You might ask, why would we need to take a boat ride instead of a land travel.






Well that is the only access we have, since most of the land in the island is privately owned and the cove is not open to the public.

It was a spectacular place! The best thing it's private, the 12 of us literary own the place for two days and one night!

The sand was crushed soft limestone, the water is so clear, that you can see even the fishes swimming.

yup that's a good fish to catch

during high tide, you can jump on that top rock

there is only one cottage enough to fit us all. 

Responsible Tourist

Since we are just a guest, I always remind myself to pay respect to the unknown, call me traditional, but a simple prayer of thank you for the nature is enough. I also lived by my motto of leave only footprints and take only the memory.

Sleeping under the stars.



The best thing ever. I got the fire ready, my tent up and the night sky is cloud free. What a great time to be alive.

Hiccups
There are some unforeseen circumstances, this are some tips that you may want to keep in mind when doing a off-grid all night-er beach

• Since we are far from civilization having a reliable powerbank helps! You can document things without hesitations. 
• Extra water is better than extra liquor
• Having a jacket seemed stupid on a hot day, but super effective against the cold 3am breeze
• Extra sugar snack can keep you fueled for the afternoon swim.
• Eat but be mindful about your companions if they have already eaten.
• Do not set up tent under a coconut tree. Those coconut are not soft. 
• When someone is sleeping in the sand, do not run and spread the sand in the air
• Got sand in your tent? Well take your wet shirt/small towel and just wipe those pesky sand off your tent. 
• Before going inside the tent, get a dry towel and wipe excess sand on your toes and legs. 

Cheers!