Be cool, Bicol!

My friends and I have booked a Legazpi trip thru Cebu Pacific's Piso seat sale a year ago. And finally, March arrived (with a bad weather. tsk.) Our flight was on March 27, 2011 6am from Manila-Legazpi. The captain noted heavy rains and poor visibility in Legazpi. Our hearts sank when he said we might return to Manila. We prayed real hard. Crossed our fingers and toes!

LO AND BEHOLD, "The airport is open. We are now on our final descent." Twas the best news we heard. Woohoo we made it!!! Thank You Lord!!! 

And our Bicol adventure starts here...

We made prior arrangements on airport pick-up + Legazpi tour + Donsol = P3,000. Of course, we had Bicol express for brunch to jump start our Bicol adventure!

Daraga Church. 

 An 18th century Baroque church built on top of a hill (overlooking the magnificent Mayon Volcano but sad to say, Mayon did not appear that day due to the rain). 

Cagsawa Ruins.

The 1814 eruption was recorded to be worst eruption of Mt. Mayon. Some 1,200 people who took refuge and sought the sanctuary of the church during the eruption all died when the church was engulfed by the flowing lava. Only the Cagsawa church belfry remains today. (Entrance Fee=P10)

Funny photos taken by a kid we called, Kuya Sam Milby. Please don't mind his thumb on the stone. Haha. He goes like, "1,2,3..okey na po." (in a very calm voice) He was more acquainted with my lx3 than me! Doesn't he take brilliant pictures? :)

Embarcadero.

The entertainment center of Bicol Region offers a mix of retail, restaurants, markets and shops. 

Amor Farm Beach Resort, Donsol.

Our home away from home. An hour drive away from Legazpi City. Gabo, Daut and Motha chillin outside our room. (P1,200/room 3pax)

Kawnkita Restaurant, Amor Beach Resort.

Everything was deliciousoo! My favorite has to be kinunot! Why not, kinunot? Daut ate the burger before I could take a picture. Ate Joan, the waitress was always smiling, happy to serve us! :)

Donsol Tourist Center.

Registration fee=P100/ head

Boat Rental=P3,500 6pax

Equipment rental =P150 (snorkel mask)

And we are now ready for the best time of our lives!

LIVE, LAUGH, SWIM WITH THE WHALE SHARKS!

March 28 2011 SURE THING, BUTANDING!

Bicol is cursed with its location within the typhoon belt. Locals said it was raining for 2 weeks already. But we were blessed with the sun and a rainbow when we were there! 

Kuya Sinong, our BIO (Butanding Interaction Officer) gave us a brief intro.
We were all giddy and waited for motha's lover a.k.a. Butanding. But 3 hours have passed and we have not been lucky :(

After lunch, we had our 2nd attempt because we can't go home without seeing one! It started to rain but we did not lose hope as Kuya Sinong, the spotters and crew patiently waited for the gentle giants to show up.

The spotter balanced himself in the pole for more than 3 hours! Rain or Shine!

Ito na, ito na. Kuya Sinong told us to get ready. If I could frame our facial reactions now, you would see kids panicking! HAHAHA. What an adrenaline rush! On cue, we all jumped and swam. Or rather, Kuya Sinong pulled me forward and the butanding was just an arm length's away! It felt amazing! Seeing the shining silver spots of a giant creature was such a captivating experience. We had 6 encounters all in all. I still feel high from the experience. Wooahhh enjoy the video! :)