El Nido, Palawan

Hi guys!!! here's a  teaser of my Palawan Adventure, really got caught up with my work and other stuff don't have enough time to detail my blog, hope you like the pic..

Good Home Remedy

Hi guys! It's been a while since I'm not updating my blog. I've been working all night (since I work graveyard shift) after I had my mini vacation, I had a blast exploring the City of Palawan feels like I cant get enough of it, I was so mesmerized of its natures beauty and I cant wait to tell, words are not enough to describe how I like the place, however, I'm running a slight fever and my throat itches and hurt, I got a very bad cough I guess this is what I got of having too much fun at Palawan. I spend most of my time lying on my bed and was having hard time sleeping, I'm sometimes taking antihistamine pill because it makes me sleep. I can't even go outside due to non stop rain. Well, I like it though coz it is conducive to sleeping however, it didn't work for me, I wish this ailment will stop, I'm not taking any drug medication as I feel like my liver can't take no more pills I'm afraid of having side effects of taking too much drug medication, so I go for herbal medicine that my mom used to tell me, its a traditional way of treating cough.

It's called "Oregano Juice". Oregano is a perennial herb, growing from 20–80 cm tall and spade-shaped, olive-green leaves, according to study it used for respiratory tract disorders such as coughs, asthma, croup, bronchitis and other illnesses. I prepare it accordingly to my moms version the juice is made from Oregano leaves boiled for several minutes and then after let it cool, you can add some calamansi juice and  a teaspoon of honey to give pleasant taste, I didn't add mine as I don't have available honey, the taste is awful but its tolerable for me  and I'm trying to take it religiously to see if it really works but so far it works good on me I've heard a lot of good stuff about this plant so I give it a shot, no side effect as this is 100% drug free. I goggled it and it says a lot of good effects on our body. 

How about you guys whats your other way of treating bad cough?

Swim with the Dolphin

It is my ultimate dream to swim with the dolphins, I am really fascinated by these intelligent, clever and friendly animals, and ever since I dreamt about  swimming with them. So when I and my friends decided to look for a new adventure, one of our friends who was relocated at Ozamis City suggested us about this amazing interaction with the dolphins near on her place,I was so thrilled about the idea of going there, it's finally a dream come true. We've come up a decision of travelling by land since it was an abrupt idea and much cheaper than riding a plane. We planned and figured out what month we're going to go that will fit to our different work schedules, no ifs and buts we immediately packed our bags and prepared our pocket money. All of us were excited about the trip, we managed to woke up early and met each other at the bus terminal around 4am, we then paid our individual tickets that cost us 450 each. The bus was air conditioned with comfortable seats, we choose route going to Cagayan City and departed 5:00am. We were on the road for like roughly 12 hours, but  transferred  after we arrived at CDO since that was the boundary of the bus and there's no route directly going to Ozamis. We then immediately jumped off to another bus and choose a route bound for Pagadian that will drop us to Ozamis City and arrived around 6:00pm. We are worry-free of arriving late and no room reservation as my travel buddy's sister already reserved us her space where we can stay the whole duration of our trip and that was a money-saving offer.

This pic was taken at CDO terminal while waiting for the next bus bound to Pagadian. We all a bit tired due to long hours of travel but it never stopped us from showing our big smile and excitement. 

The bus were loaded in the ferry (roro/barge) to cross passenger and head off to Ozamis City    for about 20 minutes

Scrumptious dinner  Upon arriving @ Ozamis City

The resto's ambiance were amazing but the Food is Superb!!!

Dolphin Encounter

Here's some of our pics taken during our friendly encounter with this cute and lovely animal, unfortunately I didn't get the chance to have a close up pic with them while I'm under water feeding and seeing their cute little teeth as I don't own any under water cam :( so sad for me, nevertheless memories still remain and it is truly  remarkable.

On our way to Dolphin Island, best memorabilia.. picture! picture!

We need to ride a motor boat to cross dolphin island

Our group was the only passenger that time so we occupy the center to have a perfect view 

Finally were here! 

Looking for a perfect fit of life vest

Yes, indeed! kinda costly but promise the experience is really worth the price..

Our guide giving us tips about proper breathing and rules we need to abide  while feeding dolphins

I was so scared at first, so our guide gave a perfect demonstration using my hand :)

Cant wait to touch them..

OMG! we are surrounded with dolphins

Yahooo.. we made it!

This playful animal was having a good time:) 

We really enjoyed ourselves playing and feeding these beautiful mammals, when will  we get another chance for this?

Dolphin Island or Aquamarine park is located in Misamis Occidental, this island is the home of Giant clam and other sea creatures, but their main attraction is these rescued dolphins.  I wish I can show you other stuff we did at the island but unluckily we don't own underwater cam, after feeding the dolphins we headed off and explore the island, we went underwater and fed the fish, witnessed those giant clams and sea turtles. One of their guides taught us a good location where we can see a school of fish and other sea creature it was spectacular I've never seen like that in my whole life. The experience is really worth remembering.
                                                                                                                   

White Water Rafting

I'm not an extremist but this adventure was sort of life-threatening activity, so if you wanted to try this you really need to have the guts and confidence to do it and you will experience the most amazing and exciting adventure of your life, because that's what we felt too when I and my friends decided to  venture this kind of outdoor activity. 

Now, before you will dive into water rafting you have to sign up a waiver to release the sports organizer from any injuries to the participants due to risk involved and can result to minor and major injuries, well im not trying to scare you guys but of course they will provide you safety precautions as well safety gadgets.

We were just told about this wild and fun experience by a friend, although it was already one of our plans that we really wanted to push through but we were unable to to do it due to price is quite high. Well great news, River One offered a good deal to every Davaoeno's  who wants to experience white water rafting, so we didn't hesitate to grab the opportunity and immediately booked for reservation week before the scheduled date for rafting.  

We need to form at least 7 members to avail the package price of P800 each, inclusive of  pictures, videos, water and safety paraphernalia's for rafting, there's only 4 us so we look for friends to complete the 7 heads and luckily we made it.  We  assemble  early morning at Madrazo St. where River one office is located and signed the waiver that i mentioned on my first note, we looked for the best fit helmets and vest and ready to on board. It was 9:30 am when we departed and arrived approximately 10:30am at Tamugan River Located in Calinan Davao City to start the raft. 

Assemble area with my group

Orientation: DO's and DONT'S 

Getting ready to beat the rapid!

The Paddle

The Raft

The Rafter (feeling relax and comfy)

This is it! fear of unknown.. start paddling! paddle HARD!!!

Scream till your lungs out!!! but don't forget to paddle hard, follow every single command  of your guide..

It's not yet over.. here's the rapid! another dramatic shout !!!  

No matter what.. say high five!!!

chillin with other rafters while the rapid permits..

Yahoo.. we survived!!! 

After more than 4 hours of struggling and surviving of the strong rapids  we are soaked and wet so make sure not to bring any camera but yourself only. And yes, we did it! safe and sound worth what we paid for. All I can say is that this is an adventure of a lifetime. People  might have different impression about white water rafting some are good some are not but you cant prove it unless you try.  But for me this is one of  the best experiences I have had. Thanks to River One Staff for giving us the safe and most extreme trip that we're looking for, we owe it to you.  This adventure,  I've learned to appreciate the beauty of nature and its richness.  All of us are first timer and we all felt ecstatic, we burst into laugh after sharing each others experiences, we all agreed one thing.. that this is an unforgettable escapade.

First Destination Vigan

It was already 10pm after the bus dropped us along the highway where Vigan City was situated, we arrived  feeling wasted and hungry and we don't know where to go next, we don't have any van or room reservation because we opted to look around to avail much cheaper rates and our only hope was to ask any available person that we will meet along the way, good thing there were group of tricycle parking along the street, so we approached them and asked if they can take us to Grandpa's Inn for us to check in since that was the first choice that we made due to good reviews from internet. Although we don't have reservation yet from the hotel but we're crossing our fingers hoping there's still available room for us since its not yet peak season. We pay the tricycle driver P10 each for the ride.

While en routing we were completely mesmerized by the place, its a whole lot different from the usual places in the Philippines that we've traveled before like beaches, parks and bars. This place is perfect for escaping the hustle and bustle of big cities. It was so peace and quiet and with only background "clip clop" of Kalesa walking along its cobbled streets. Feels like we were in Spanish era the one that my teacher used to describe during our class in history. 

When we arrived at Grandpa's Inn we immediately talked to their receptionist if there's still vacant rooms good for 4 of us, unfortunately they only had 2 rooms available good for 2 and not air conditioned, that was really a bad news but somehow we are open to other option as we understood we checked in very late. So we checked the available rooms maybe we can manage to stay just for the night because we are really dead tired. Upon checking we were disappointed because  it has no proper ventilation,just a fan room and tightly close with a brick walls.  We find it not convenient to stay knowing that we really need a good rest for us to recover from a very long trip, additionally we find the room creepy because of their interior design like old gadgets, antique chairs and tables, but most of the tourist appreciate those vintage items used as a decoration as well as the complete set up of the hotel but not us. So we decided not to get the room. Despite what we agreed, the receptionist still helped us to look for other option, they refer us to go to El Juliana Hotel and gave directions which is just a walking distance within the vicinity of Vigan City.

We stayed @ El Juliana Hotel,  price is reasonable for only P1,100 good for  3 persons  we just added P300 for extra bed since there's 4 us, it only cost us P1,400 for overnight stay that includes breakfast meal  and unlimited use of pool.

Inside our room, we find it comfy with a full blast a/c, cable TV and 2 big beds plus hot and cold shower 

Pool area inside the hotel

Decided to go swimming first thing in the morning                                

Crispy Bagnet & Sizzling Pork Sisig @ Cafe Leona where we had our dinner

Cafe Leona Dining area

The Kalesa (carriage) and the Cuchero (driver)we hired  from the cathedral for P150/hr  within the vicinity of Vigan City

Wandering around Crisologo Street 

Calle Crisologo @ night 

Looking for some cool and cheap memorabilia @ Souvenir Shop