Follow Your Foots: beach

Showing posts with label beach. Show all posts

Monday, May 4, 2009

Reunion at Laiya, Batangas

Tonette was home for a one-month vacation so we thought of having our block reunion at Laiya Batangas. Laiya is about 140+km from Manila. It is located on the southeastern tip of the province of Batangas. It is known for its white beaches, good snorkeling and fishing.

Photo c/o Johann

We stayed at Sigayan Bay Beach Resort as suggested by Lissy. We haven't been there so we had no idea what to expect. Sigayan for me is quite nice since it is a family resort equipped with kitchen equipment and faciities in every cottage like gas stove, sink, refrigerator, water dispenser among others. The cottage that we reserved was quite small so we upgraded to a bigger one and since we did not bring anything to cook, we opted to dine out. The resto in Sigayan would take you around 30 minutes or so before you can eat so make sure you order beforehand. The staff were nice as they also arrange boat ride to explore Laiya cove.

Photo c/o Johann

We went snorkling, visited a cove, and tried food in other resorts like Kabayan and Punta Miguel. Compared to other places like Anawagin, Guimaras, Pagudpud, etc., Laiya offers simple shoreline but is a good alternative to Puerto Galera and other Batangas beaches due to its proximity.

Photo c/o Johann

After staying overnight in Laiya, the group decided to have merienda in Tagaytay before calling it a night, bringing good memories from our college years up to now. Looking forward to our next year's reunion.

FOOTNOTE:

- Going to Laiya - http://www.waypoints.ph/detail_gen.html?wpt=laiya

- Information on Sigayan Beach Resort - http://www.sigayanbayresort.com/

Monday, February 23, 2009

Footnote: Raymen Beach Resort

We're supposed to book at villa igang but no one was there when we arrived. When I asked Kuya Jesus our driver, he told us it's better to stay at Raymen so our feet led us to raymen beach resort.

It's facilities are relatively new as they offer hotel-like accommodation. We took the P1,100 room because they only offer local tv channel s so we opted to let go of television. Fan rooms are simpler than air-conditioned rooms.

Unlike some reviews, we find raymen staff accommodating and the place is relatively peaceful. Added to that is access to good food for they have a cafeteria where you can order from their menu or buy fresh catch from local fishermen and ask the café to cook it for a minimal fee.

Raymen's shoreline is relatively small but it has fine white sand. The beach front is protected by safety nets for protection of its guests, as well as supervised by local lifeguards.

Cottages are also available for day trippers.

For more information, text Raymen Beach Resort at 09185207271.

Island Hopping in Guimaras

It was 8 am in the morning and the sun and sea is one with our craving for interesting places in Guimaras. We didn't not see the boatman who offered island tours the other day so we took chances and ask one of the island tour stations along Raymen beach. It's nice to know that island tour is standardized in Guimaras. They charge P 400 for the first hour and additional P 150 for succeeding hour.

After a sumptous breakfast, we took our gears and money to tour the island. We took a yellow boat owned by Charlie and went to diffent places around Guimaras. He's so accomodating, articulate and tourist-friendly. He is a good photographer as we let him take our photos. If you're in Guimaras, he can pick you up from Jordan port and he can meet you in Raymen Beach Resort. His mobile number is 09293100842.It took us almost 10 spots all in all in just three and a half hours so it's worth the boat ride.

We went to Pawikan Caring and Feeding Station situated in a nearby community. It was my first time to touch a pawikan and it's quite heavy. When you visit the station, make sure to bring extra money as they encourage any monetary donations for maintenance of the facility.

After that we passed through several beaches and islets that are undeveloped. Then we stopped at Ave Maria Cave to snorkel. We were not able to swim right inside the cave for it is so majestic that you want to look at it from the outside. A sea urchin hit my toes so I decided to stay near the boat while we stopped bleeding.

On the other side of Ave Maria, we took a dip in a white sand beach. There we had our traditional jump and shoot travel photos. hehe...

We had a breaktaking view when we stopped in baras beach resort and walked up the cliff. It felt like you're one with everything you see. There were many foreigners booked in baras beach as it is one of the secluded resorts in Guimaras since it can be reached through a pump boat.

Isla Naburot is also one of the secluded resorts in the Island and its cottages are made of native materials that reminds everyone of bahay-kuho. There is no electricity in Isla but is situated in a quiet and peacefull location.

On our way back to Raymen, we passed through other interesting places like properties own by foreigners and lighthouse. We bought fresh samaral fish and lobster for P 520 when we arrived at Raymen. yum!

Sharing some photos of my travel friends...