Friday, April 30, 2010
Southern Sorsogon - Irosin and Bulan
After the town of Bulusan, and getting awed with Lake Bulusan, we then headed on to get to the town of Irosin. Normally, the right way to get to Bulusan is via Irosin, but since we came from Barcelona, we thought it was wiser to proceed to Bulusan from there. We encountered bad zigzag roads along the side of the mountain from Barcelona, but nonetheless we also enjoyed the magnificent view.
From Bulusan National Park, we got to see along the way the entrance to Masacrot Hot Springs
From Bulusan National Park, we got to see along the way the entrance to Masacrot Hot Springs
Gubat and Barcelona
On our second day in Sorsogon, we embarked on a day long trip that would take us to the eastern towns of the province. The hotel did not offer good breakfast so we just drove to the nearest burger joint. There are only two Jolibee shops within the entire province - one is in Sorsogon City, while the other is hundred of kms away, in the town of Bulan.
From Sorsogon City, we headed towards the town of Gubat. 20km away from Sorsogon City, we reached Gubat in roughly 30 mins. Comelec checkpoints abound the route, and although the officers had an idea that we were from out of town (us holding maps, and trying to look innocent), somehow I kinda felt that the soldiers scared me a bit. They asked us where we are headed for, and when we told Gubat, they just directed us and even wished us a good trip.
There's really not much to see in Gubat, except that I got curious to see this town where a friend from work hails from. We drove a little around the town and saw a big church along the road, St. Anthony de Padua Church.
We continued driving till we saw signages for Rizal Beach Resort - said to be one of the best beaches in the province. We didn't actually plan to go swimming that day so we just went on to get to Barcelona.
Barcelona is only 10kms away from Gubat. The road was well paved and the sights of the sea to the left and the quaint old houses on the right was just a welcome breather for us Manila folks. As we were enjoying the view, suddenly, on the right appeared the magnificent Barcelona Church (St Josephs Church).
And just across it, the beachfront with the picture perfect Spanish fortress ruins.
From Sorsogon City, we headed towards the town of Gubat. 20km away from Sorsogon City, we reached Gubat in roughly 30 mins. Comelec checkpoints abound the route, and although the officers had an idea that we were from out of town (us holding maps, and trying to look innocent), somehow I kinda felt that the soldiers scared me a bit. They asked us where we are headed for, and when we told Gubat, they just directed us and even wished us a good trip.
There's really not much to see in Gubat, except that I got curious to see this town where a friend from work hails from. We drove a little around the town and saw a big church along the road, St. Anthony de Padua Church.
We continued driving till we saw signages for Rizal Beach Resort - said to be one of the best beaches in the province. We didn't actually plan to go swimming that day so we just went on to get to Barcelona.
Barcelona is only 10kms away from Gubat. The road was well paved and the sights of the sea to the left and the quaint old houses on the right was just a welcome breather for us Manila folks. As we were enjoying the view, suddenly, on the right appeared the magnificent Barcelona Church (St Josephs Church).
And just across it, the beachfront with the picture perfect Spanish fortress ruins.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Good-bye Albay, Hello, Sorsogon
The night before we headed for Albay, we had almost all of our stuff packed in the pick-up already, just leaving a few more for the next morning.
Sorsogon is said to be an hour to an hour and a half away from Legazpi City. We headed for Daraga proper - which is actually just a few mins away from Albay District. I decided to gas up - diesel here costs P2 more compared to Manila when I left 3 days ago. Signs abound everywhere, so getting to places isn't really very difficult. Add to that my new friend, EZ Map of Sorsogon.
It was an uphill and zigzaggy drive away from Daraga - reaching the twists and turns around Barangay Kumintong. The road is pretty well maintained and surprisingly only a few public transports are plying at the same time. Tricycle drivers are even quite behaved - they tend to move to the side of the road and give way. The only thing that peeved me was the long stretches of rice grains layed out on the road to dry under the sun. I try to avoid them and use the other lane occasionally but most times I had no choice but to run over them.
It was a pretty good drive going to Sorsogon. The province was more laid-back in appearance, people were outside sweeping their front yards, and there was smell of breakfast, fish in particular.
We eventually got to the crossing - right leads to Donsol and Pilar, and straight ahead was Sorsogon City. I continued to drive - and I was tremendously enjoying the view - everything looked so green, so fresh, and it was just a breather from all of my daily work routines.
Another crossing - right leads to the town of Castilla, where one can take a boatride to Malanmawan Island for diving.
and then suddenly with one turn - we saw this bright orange welcome arch - Welcome to Sorsogon City! And there was a blue crab on it - hmm..
Along the highway, we saw a sign that says to Bacman Geothermal Power Plant Complex - 12kms ahead. So we took the opportunity and turned left. It was an uphill climb - zigzag again up the vicinity of Mount Pulog, and with the fantastic view of Sorsogon Bay. The place was heavily forested and planted with lush trees and other plants - indeed, there was a reforestation project within the area. We finally got to the Bacman Plant gate. Bacman is actually a moniker for a combination of the BACon District of Sorsogon City and MANito, Albay. The guards questioned us and we thought it was alright to view the area - we were informed that prior arrangements must be made before allowing entry. We learned that tours, ECO-tours specifically are offered by some travel offices to the area - it would have been a very promising tour - bat sanctuary, boiling lakes, bird watching, cave spelunking etc. Oh well, that can just be one more reason to go back to Sorsogon...
We went down and back to the main national highway and in less than fifteen minutes, we were greeted by a wonderful view of Sorsogon Bay with Bulusan Volcano in the background. It was the Pepita Park Rest Area - again with an orange canopy with a blue crab on top. Buses and other trucks often stop here for rest and ehem,unloading, before going on to Sorsogon's ports to embark to the visayas and mindanao.
We finally got to the city proper of Sorsogon. It was a bright day - it was only about 8am, roughly 90mins since we left Legazpi. And we even spent some time going to Bacman Plant. We found it still early to go to the hotel (Hotel Fernando), which is just walking distance from the Sorsogon Provincial Capitol.
Sorsogon is said to be an hour to an hour and a half away from Legazpi City. We headed for Daraga proper - which is actually just a few mins away from Albay District. I decided to gas up - diesel here costs P2 more compared to Manila when I left 3 days ago. Signs abound everywhere, so getting to places isn't really very difficult. Add to that my new friend, EZ Map of Sorsogon.
It was an uphill and zigzaggy drive away from Daraga - reaching the twists and turns around Barangay Kumintong. The road is pretty well maintained and surprisingly only a few public transports are plying at the same time. Tricycle drivers are even quite behaved - they tend to move to the side of the road and give way. The only thing that peeved me was the long stretches of rice grains layed out on the road to dry under the sun. I try to avoid them and use the other lane occasionally but most times I had no choice but to run over them.
It was a pretty good drive going to Sorsogon. The province was more laid-back in appearance, people were outside sweeping their front yards, and there was smell of breakfast, fish in particular.
We eventually got to the crossing - right leads to Donsol and Pilar, and straight ahead was Sorsogon City. I continued to drive - and I was tremendously enjoying the view - everything looked so green, so fresh, and it was just a breather from all of my daily work routines.
Another crossing - right leads to the town of Castilla, where one can take a boatride to Malanmawan Island for diving.
and then suddenly with one turn - we saw this bright orange welcome arch - Welcome to Sorsogon City! And there was a blue crab on it - hmm..
Along the highway, we saw a sign that says to Bacman Geothermal Power Plant Complex - 12kms ahead. So we took the opportunity and turned left. It was an uphill climb - zigzag again up the vicinity of Mount Pulog, and with the fantastic view of Sorsogon Bay. The place was heavily forested and planted with lush trees and other plants - indeed, there was a reforestation project within the area. We finally got to the Bacman Plant gate. Bacman is actually a moniker for a combination of the BACon District of Sorsogon City and MANito, Albay. The guards questioned us and we thought it was alright to view the area - we were informed that prior arrangements must be made before allowing entry. We learned that tours, ECO-tours specifically are offered by some travel offices to the area - it would have been a very promising tour - bat sanctuary, boiling lakes, bird watching, cave spelunking etc. Oh well, that can just be one more reason to go back to Sorsogon...
We went down and back to the main national highway and in less than fifteen minutes, we were greeted by a wonderful view of Sorsogon Bay with Bulusan Volcano in the background. It was the Pepita Park Rest Area - again with an orange canopy with a blue crab on top. Buses and other trucks often stop here for rest and ehem,unloading, before going on to Sorsogon's ports to embark to the visayas and mindanao.
We finally got to the city proper of Sorsogon. It was a bright day - it was only about 8am, roughly 90mins since we left Legazpi. And we even spent some time going to Bacman Plant. We found it still early to go to the hotel (Hotel Fernando), which is just walking distance from the Sorsogon Provincial Capitol.
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