Day two of your adventure in Mindoro we woke up so early ( 5:am ) for we want to gather more fun in the Island, We left at around 10am as soon as the boatman arrived to pick us up,When we got at the Sablayan town proper tony decided to go buy some shorts for she ran out.As tony were doing shorts hunting.We noticed that the place has a wet market so we decided to go buy some fish and meat to grill at the second resort we planned to stay in.For 370 pesos we got 2 kilos of big fish, and 1 kilo of meat and some condiments to mix on it.I just realized that Pandan was getting most of their earnings from the food they serve.We paid 450 pesos per person just to have buffet meal and that is required.But we work on our charm and instead of paying five 450 pesos ( pax 5) we the owner let us not pay one 450 pesos, but of coarse you don't get to eat the buffet though.We supposed to side trip to the famous Lighthouse and old church people said it used to be a hiding place of some Japanese soldiers and priest way back world war 2.But the weather was being unfriendly and gloomy.So we head straight to DJ's beach resort.
From the time we stepped our foot from the main gate then it started to rain .The resort compound is significantly spacious compared to other resorts. Maybe the most spacious. They gave us warm welcome.They didn't know that we will be coming on that day too, I tried calling the number i found on the net but it was no good, But it was ok cause just like at Pandan island, there was no other guests aside from us on that day so it seems like we had it reserved just for us.The name DJ's resort was named after their family name "De Jesus".The resort had home type ambiance warm and not that really fancy, so if you are looking for something with AC and has a ready made menu you might go to a different resort, Room 8 has ac but we were accommodated in room 7 which has 3 double bed and fan, plus a bonus dining area at the balcony with our private bathroom! for only 700php per night that's a steal! We are also allowed to use their sink wash our used clothes.
Grill and lunch time
Since we didnt informed the owner that we would be here on this day it was safe for us to bring our own food.How it works in this resort was you have to tell them what menu or food you want to be served and they well go to the market and buy it,then prepare it for you, we were thinking that it will cost us to have them prepare it too so we decided to do it ourselves, only to find out that they dont charge that much on this resort for a 1 kilo of cooked rice it was only 70 pesos thats good for 5 people already . and they drinks they have was just the same from the local store in manila.But it was neat to prepare our own food.We started to put up fire on the grill and cook all the food we bought from the market, the owner was kind to lend us some kitchenware and things we might need for preparing our lunch. Did I mention we had crabs too?(courtesy of Toni)
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| grilled fish ala vena |
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| grilled liempo ala melai |
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| our simple warm room |
The Beach Front and The Sea Huts
One of the main reason we stayed here is the beach front sea huts that we saw from the net, it was the only one who has this type of amenity.But since it was raining it was challenging to walk on the bridge.
we just transfer from hut to hut. These seahuts are a unique physical feature in the resort. We fondly call them 'Kubo sa Dagat', or in English 'Sea Huts'. So what's special about them? They can only be found in this resort! We really loved spending time there, most especially during SIESTA!( beer and snack session ) Fresh winds breezing through the kubo and g waves are heard beneath! and since it was raining it was really cold ! Here you will discover that the resort's grassy beachfront already hosts fishes. And you will see more, including corals in the area near the Seahuts. This is the first time we experienced that corals are just steps away from the resort—approximately fifty meters away from the shore. We have traveled places but we have not found and experienced such rich waters—until we saw this place
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| the water was brown due to rainfall |
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| panoramic view of DJ's |
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| water grass visible near the seashore |
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| sea grass |
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| the bridge |
My friend Toni, vane Ralph conquered their fear to swim in the water underneath the hut for their was a diving expert who joined them, as I was taking pictures i noticed that tony was swimming and floating alone in the cold water without assistant , as for her it was her first time to experience that, she knew how to swim but never in a 10 feet deep.As for me I just went to the shore and just shower in the rain and just feel the nature around me that i dont get to see and feel everyday, it was really great to be amazed that there's someone out there greater than us who's able to create all this beautiful things.It was getting really cold and late so we head back and continue our siesta, we had one case of beer and wine for tony it was fun to share laughs and just chill out.
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| toni learning how to swim ALONE |
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| Image of the Resort in the Morning When the Golden Sunrise hits the waters of Sablayan, its brightness enhances the wooden colors of the Seahuts, set against the backdraft of the Sea and Skies. |
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| tree house |
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| lunch time! |
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| home made food |
Nang sumablay sa sablayan ( Tales of misadventure and kindness on the road )
Our siesta ended at around 11pm and woke up so early 1:30am to catch the first bus ride going to San jose airport which would be a four hours travel, we need to catch our plane ride at the earliest 8:00 am, so we were fine thinking that were safe from being late for we allotted ample of time just to get to the airport. It was down-pouring that time and dark as well, with one umbrella I waited for 15 minutes then peter showed up to join me on waiting for the bus just not to missed it, Aling Gloria was kind enough to lend us a HUGE umbrella too big that it can accommodate 3- 4 people. We accepted the offer for we felt like it will take us longer than we expected , they said that the bus operates 24/7 and travels every hour, but this day life was sneaking upon us, with our feet numbing in cold and in wet water on the road, we kept our spirits high and think positively that one bus will come to rescue us, I was occasionally looking onto my watch just to be aware of the time,till the clock strikes 4 am, still no bus, Aling gloria the owner were told by her husband that maybe a road from the other side of the island gave in due to the all day rain that could be the reason why there's no bus still, Kuya racks( son of the owner) even went with me to the bus terminal to check it out.The bus terminal was just 15 mins away from the resort, on our way there, We bump onto a hole and mess up with the tires of his small pick up truck.We got at the terminal and it seems like a ghost town, no buses.So we head back to the resort and i couldn't think of anything to do anymore,Tony and the rest of the guy were being resourceful to check the flight using their gadgets( iphone and laptop) hoping that the flight will be cancelled, for if not...we will pay another plane fare and might cost us more, and we might run out of budget.It was past 6 am no signs of hope for the bus, and we all knew that we missed the flight, now we have to think on how to get money to book a new trip going to manila( plan B), still raining, and peter got a bench for us to sat on while underneath the huge umbrella, I know we are all tired, so I told peter and vanessa to go back inside and to get a 1 hour rest then ill take my turn after them, as they were all sleeping, ralph and I talked bout silly things from leaves , food, places just to entertain us while waiting for the bus, told myself that Im going to write this , I felt that my tummy was growling so I asked ate Amy ( daughter of the owner ) if they have canned goods? she was so kind to cook and prepare the food for us.She served us thick red saucy sardines with hot steamy rice that we didn't ate the night before because we were all stuffed.I came to think maybe that's the reason why were not able to eat the rice for it will serve as a tool to survive this day.We were all energized and I was sleepy so i came to the room, peter and vena took their turn to wait for the bus while tony was trying to give us updates on whats going on with the flights.I was in bed for 15 minutes. Just timely that the bus arrived!!so from 2:00 am till 8 am we waited for this ride while in the rain our faith was really tested .After the night and the care of motherly host it was finally time to bid goodbye to Aling Gloria and ate Amy and continue with our journey and yes I was not able to rest for a bit, but that's fine as long as we can continue our travel back to manila.We gave thanks to the warm family of Dj'd resort on helping us make it through..
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| trying to warm ourselves up, while eating noodles in the rain waiting for the bus ride at around 3am |
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| us waiting for the bus ride on the road |
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| Ralph trying to be Joly on the road |
Surviving San Jose..
Around 11:30am when we got to San Jose town after a bumpy ride, We went straight to find a place to eat luckily the bus stopped by a carinderia ( eatery ) so there we tried to fill in our tummy again for it will be a long day for us.We were trying to get some information on the local buses and vans so we can decide whether we will take a 12 hours bus or van ride or take a plane ride? either or it will just bring us to manila at around 7am the next morning for planes only fly once a day.So all decided to choose to get the plane ride next day and buy another pocket hurting ticket 2100 pesos, it was raining and if we will take the bus or van ride ( 1000pesos) from san jose to Abra de log( 8 hours ride from San Jose ) we dont know what awaits us at the port, might get stranded again before we take a 4 hours ferry ride going to batangas port and from that port another 4 hours ride to manila .So we booked a ticket for the next early flight and tony used her charm to even get a discount so we only paid 2000 pesos each. Now next thing we did was we searched for a place to stay for the night, we asked some local people and lead us to this place called seacoast, at first we thought it was a resort with a beachfront, but it was just a restaurant , Another angel was sent to us, the manager ( i think) offered us a lift going to the other resort/hotel so we quickly accepted the ride , it felt like one of those movies we saw from movies that people got stranded and had a hitch ride really cool! So we got the other place called Sikatuna beach and restaurant , just looking at the lobby of this place we knew that it's a luxurious place to stay the cheapest room they have was 900 pesos ( all room with ac) we actually beg the receptionist to give us a big discount for we were running short but she couldn't do it, however she lead us to their other hotel which was just few blocks away,
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| tony counting money for plane fare |
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| trying to get a good deal |
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| the hitch |
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| tony screaming on the back of the truck |
When we got to the other place DALAMAPASIGAN which locally means "shore" their cheapest room was a single bed room for just 300 pesos we said a big YES to it! our creativity ran again on how to fit in just one single bed, we borrowed 5 chairs and lay horizontally and put all the chairs on the side of the bed and hang our feet while we laid half of our body in the bed , it doesn't sound that comfortable but can make us get through the night.We were at ease that will not miss the plane next day becuase the hotel we stayed at was
just walking distance going to the airport.We want to make the best out of our misadventure, so after we're all settle we roam around the area, and it was really nice too because it has bistro's restaurants and local bars and most specially it was along the shore we played with the waves even it was drizzling and windy but just thinking bout all the misadventure we had think we deserve breather, so even it was still raining we still enjoyed eating ( lomi noodles 60 pesos good for 3) and sight seeing.Night time we went to this local karaoke bar that has a huge videoke the owner used a projector and a projector screen the biggest i've seen so far when it comes to videoke! plus the place was really summery that helped us to get into a party mood not to mention we drunk brandy and iced tea ( brandy- 90 pesos, iced tea- 20 pesos).We also met some nice locals who were partying that night, that apparently treated us for videoke ( 5 pesos per song) we call it a night at around 11:30pm
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| just got a good deal 300 pesos/ room |
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| our single bed |
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| laying horizontally |
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| coffee shop and bar |
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| pansit from the local bar |
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| hot lomi noodles with beer on the side |
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| playing with the waves |
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| having fun in the red room |
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| the huge videoke |
Time to fly
We woke up early and just walked going to the airport for 10 minutes, we couldn't believe that we are about to go home, we can all feel the hangover the night before and I'm missing my queen bed.Still raining but it didn't take us long to fly our way back. We got in manila at around 7:10am Victory!! We will never forget the adventure we had and learned that even in a hardest situation its better to stick together and face it with a smile till our next trip!
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| bye Mindoro see you again one of this days |
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| peter( wearing white shirt) still having hang over |
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| zzzzzzzz |
Mindoro Itenirary:
DAY 1
Wakeup call: leave at 5:am
Departure: Friday, Jun 17, 2011 , 0650H
7:40am ( san jose mindoro)
8:am - 12:pm bus travel to sablayan port
12:00 pm ETA sablayan town proper
12:00-1pm lunch time 1pm- 1:20pm welcome pandan island!!( check in)
1:30- 8pm free time ( volleyball, bumming around the island ( hammock), snorkeling, or diving,visit the pawikans at the back of the island, and just relax!!pictures!
7:00 PM Buffet Dinner!!
8:00 PM Rest, drink, siesta,swim, pictures!
DAY 2
7:00 am wake up call( but woke up 5am)
7:00am-8:00 am breakfast/drink/swim
9:00-10:00 enjoy the last hour at the island
10:00-10:30- arrival at sablayan port
11:00am -12:00 side trip to lumang simbahan, buy pasalubong ,sablayan lighthouse pressing park)
12:20- 2:00 check in DJ’s beach resort and lunch time!!!
2:00pm - 7:00pm siesta!!enjoy the resort sight seeing ( swiming)
8:00 videoke inom!!!
Day 3. misadventure!
approximate expense: (without the missing the flight)
expenses (per head )
taxi cab fare to the airport - 200php each 2 way
tricycle fare going to bus station 15 mins from airport ( one way) 50 php
lunch time at sablayan town - 100php
san jose BUS station to sablayan town- 230php 2 way
water taxi from sablayan to pandan island ( 300)one way 60pesos each
snack while in the bus going to sablayan - 100php
can goods/foods/drinks- 200 php for extra food and drinks
pasalubong ( optional) 20 pesos keychains etc
accomodation- 500 each for the first night ( pandan island)
accomodation 150 php 2nd night at DJ’s resort
buffet on the first night ( dinner ) 450php
lunch 2nd day ( dj’s grill)100php
fare from sablayan port to the town to DJ’s grill 50php for the ride 10php each
expected expense - 2400php
with missing the flight:
plane ticket = 2000php each
going around the town fare= 50 pesos each
food = 150 php each
drinks= 60 php each
room= 60 php each ( 300 room)
total= 2320 php
***All guests
who will stay overnight or more days,
you are required to take at least 1 buffet daily( pandan island )**
1 bungalow with 2 standard( pandan island)
rooms = 2'500.- PHP 2 to 4 persons ( per night) expected 5 pax = 500 each
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