Hundred Islands: Rekindled

After 2 long years, I'm back to my 2nd love. Clear blue sea, white sands, soft breeze, nature...

Oh, and not to forget the main purpose of the place:

The Hundred Islands.

Back to Victory Liner

It was my 3rd time at Victory Liner, Cubao--that's because most of my destinations starts here. I came along with Alex, Vivien and Anais. While waiting for Chris and Chai to join us, we stopped by this coffee shop next to the terminal, called "Country Style". We ordered some bread and coffee, but the French troupe didn't really enjoy the coffee. (the French version is much better, according to Alex, lol) We waited for a few minutes, unfortunately Chai's plane from Cebu got late so they failed to join us. I was very disappointed, but we had to keep moving!

Seaside Haven
After 4 long hours, we finally arrived in the chartered city of Alaminos. The sky was still dark and clear, making the stars from above very visible. By just looking at the surroundings, it already brought back a lot of memories. I came here 2 years ago with Bruno, his brother Charles, and another friend, Roody.

As we rode a tricycle going to the port, the light breeze turned to cold wind as our vehicles moved faster. I couldn't imagine myself living in a place colder than this!

Soon we arrived at Seaside Haven where Gina, the inn keeper welcomed us with a smile. It was still early, about 5am so we asked Gina if we could stay until the sun comes. Thank God she was generous enough and let us in. She gave us room number 1--the same room that I rented before. And guess what--I also took the upper deck bed; the same one I took a couple of years ago!

Alex enjoys her breakfast.

When morning came, we went to the resort's restaurant for breakfast. The three of them ordered a comfortable meal of ham and eggs, while I digged with my favorite tocino and sunny-side-up egg. For those who didn't know, Tocino (toh-see-no) is sliced pork fermented with vinegar and sugar. Come to think of a sweet version of beef jerky. With curious looks, the three of them tasted it and loved it!

Hundred Islands, here we come!
We rented a boat that cost us P1200 (24USD) to visit 5 different islands for the whole day. Upon arriving after 20 minutes, we landed at Governor's Island where we had a good view of the rest of the islands. We took so many pictures together, even shooting the same spot where Bruno and the rest of us posed before. :-)

From left: Charles, Bruno, Me and Roody at Governor's Island, August 2008.

And my recent picture with Anais, Alex and Vivien at the same spot :-)

Marcos Island
After the vanity shots, we headed to our next destination: Marcos Island. The trio couldn't help but to tan themselves under the fiery sun! Anais and I had a few swimming lessons together; and I was surprised that I could swim after all! (probably because of the density of the sea water). I also enjoyed snorkeling near the corals and gladly, I found a few rare kinds of fish. Alex even saw a coral snake swimming behind the seaweeds!

Me, relaxing on the fine sands of Marcos Island.

Quezon Island

Known as the busiest and only crowded one among all the islands, Quezon Island was our third spot. We didn't swim much; we just relaxed at one of the bars uphill for a few cola drinks and chats. Soon, the girls swam with the other tourists while Vivien and I rested on the covered benches nearby. Not later we noticed a group of men swimming towards the platform where Alex and Anais were sunbathing. Looks like a bunch of admirers!

Children's Island, our favorite place!

Children's Island

Among all the islands that we toured, this is my favorite. Don't get deceived by the name because for me, it doesn't really look like an island for kids. I think it's more for lovers because the island have very nice spots for lovers to spend time together; just like the long ledge where we took the rest of the day just sitting there; chatting about anything while watching the other islands from afar, birds flying in the air, and fish swimming near us. And who would forget those cans of beer lying on the ground? :D

Admirers galore

The islands weren't the only highlights of our weekend; there were crazy admirers chasing us, too! (I think Vivien needs to shave to get more of the local girls' attention, lol)

On the first day Alex and Anais were the stars--with a bunch of hunks swimming towards them, a not-so-cute dude who asked Alex for a drink date on the same night (but Alex gave him a fake number), and another one who frequently called Alex's attention.

And then the next day during our breakfast at Maxim's by the Sea, there was this creepy guy named Allan who came to our table and told me how much he liked me. He even invited us to take a ride with his newly-bought 4x4 Ford Escape going back to Manila!

At first I hesitated and showed no interest, but because the three were teasing me (and it was an opportunity for us to take a trip home for free), I forced myself and made friends with him! And yes; he indeed, drove us home--straight to the trainees' house! Plus, he treated us for coffee and cake at Starbucks in Tarlac and gave us several fresh mangoes from Dagupan!

At the end of the 2nd day we were back in Manila; exhausted yet had so much fun. And after that, Alex, Anais and I had a good body massage at J Spa, just a few walks away from the village. It was a wonderful time for everyone of us especially that it gave me a chance to get closer to them. They were even more thankful because I showed them to one of the most-beautiful places in my country. They even treated me for a huge dinner the night before we went back to Manila.

That was just one good weekend accomplished. I'm sure there's more to come!

*This weekend happened from the eve of March 5, 2010, Friday until Sunday evening, March 7, 2010.