The Story of my Life

1 May 2008: Visit to Mayon

Arrived in Guinobatan Town around 5:30 am. Then we headed straight to Tita Judy's (Jom's mom) house for breakfast. We were served various suman and tsokolate, Bicol delicacies, for breakfast. Slept for two hours, freshened up then went to Tito Roy's house (Jom's dad) to visit some relatives. After some hi's and hello's we were off to see Mayon Volcano.

Mt. Mayon is taken from the word Magayon, a bicolano word which means maganda. It was shortened to Mayon siguro for recall. hehehe. To see the enchanting view of Mayon, we went to Cagsaua ruins. Cagsaua church was buried by lava when Mt. Mayon erupted in 1814. Historians said that about 1,200 people died during that time. What's left of the church is the Bell tower seen in this picture. Unfortunately during our visit, parts of Mayon were covered with clouds. We just contented ourselves by taking pictures choreographed by one of the tour guides. Please check my Multiply for more pictures.

For lunch, Jom took us to Lets where we ate two of the famous Bicol dishes. Pinangat and Bicol Express. Pinangat is the local name for Laing. But unlike the tagalog Laing, their Laing or Pinangat is all vegetable and gata. No meat nor fish. And the gulay was tender and juicy. You only need to chew a few times and it will slide down your throat easily. Bicol express was ultra spicy, para syang siling nilagyan ng meat! I had a small bite and man, it was really hot!!!!! I'm not a fan of spicy food so I can't describe it to you first hand. I can only tell you that Archie liked it so much that whenever we ask where we're eating he'd say, "sa Lets"

After lunch, we went to Hoyop-Hoyopan Cave. Hoyop means ihip in Tagalog. It is called as such because they say that when you're inside you can hear the blow of the wind. Inside the cave (and just like in any cave), are several stalactites and stalagmites. There was also a man-made dance floor inside the cave (okay diba!?). They said that during Marcos' time, the locals built that dance floor so they can party despite the Martial Law. Maabilidad ha! hehehe

Our last stop was the Mayon Resthouse and Observatory. It's situated a few feet from the foot *(that sounded funny!) of Mt. Mayon. From the resthouse, you can see Bicol province. :-)

We were all tired, nanlalagkit at amoy araw so we headed to our resort after Mayon Resthouse. Jom got us one night stay at The Black Sands Resort in Sto. Domingo town. The resort looks fine. It's clean and the furnitures are okay with native look. But the service crew are not that efficient yet. I heard it's a year-old resort so I hope in our next visit, we can rate their service excellent.

2 May 2008: Interaction with the Butanding and Bigg's

This is the part I've been waiting for. Ever since I heard of the Butanding, I kept bugging my friends to plan a trip to Bicol. Good thing I have a Bicolano boyfriend who so willingly arranged this trip for us. :-)

We checked out of the resort around 5:30am as we were told that there are more sightings of the Butanding from 8:00-10:00am. Towards noon, when it's hot, the Butandings go deeper into the water so you won't see as much Butandings.

The drive to Donsol from Legaspi took about 1 and 1/2 hour, its a long and winding road. When we arrived, we already got in for 2nd batch. Which means the take off would be at 10:30. But we were only able to take off a little past 11:00am. I was getting both excited and worried. Excited to see them, but worried that I won't get to see a single Butanding.

The drill was, when the Spotter signals to the guide that there is a Butanding in sight all passengers should (1) put on their mask; (2) ensure their lifevest is tightened; (3) sit on the lower side of the boat; and (4) jump into the water-- all this you have to do quickly. In the water you have to wait for the cue of the guide to look down. When he says look down, it means you're either swimming side by side with the Butanding or you're right above the Butanding.

The first sighting was quick. I didn't get to see the full figure of the Butanding because I was fixing my cam. The next thing I know it was gone.

The second sighting was unsuccessful. The guide, Randy, grabbed my hand and we tried to swim with the Butanding. Napagod ako kaka-swim sa sobrang bilis nung guide. Sa sobrang pagod ko, hindi ako naka-concentrate. When we got back to the boat. He asked, nakita mo ba? I said, hindi eh. Tawa kami ng tawa. Sabi nung guide, "kala ko naman nag-eenjoy ka na dahil ang tagal-tagal natin syang sinundan yun pala wala kang nakikita." Super comedy. Jom and our friends were all laughing. Super napagod lang ako pero wala akong nakita. Randy said I don't have to swim the next time kasi hawak naman nya ako.

The third sighting was clearer. Randy grabbed my hand and Shawie's. This time we saw the full figure of the Butanding. Pero medyo malayo pa din. Then when we got back, we told the boys, who were still unsatisfied with their sightings, that they should go with Randy so they can catch up with the Butanding.

The fourth sighting was super fun and successful. Randy jumped with Jom and Archie. Shawie and I stayed on the boat as we wanted to rest. Then Randy got back and asked me to jump, so I did. When Randy asked me to look down, the Butanding was right beside me! It was huuuuugggeee!!! Sobrang laki nya. Grabe! I was overwhelmed by its size. And sobrang galing ni Randy because eventhough the Butanding was flocked by people, he still managed to bring me closer to it. Sobrang laki talaga, they said it was approximately 9 meters long. Width? I have no idea. I was really this close. Then we moved closer to the mouth, which was open. I got a bit scared cause I felt it was going to swallow me. Super galing! Super fun experience.

We called that last Butanding a show off Butanding. Because it stayed there, motionless. We didn't swim. It just stayed there for people to see him/her.

After that last sighting, we went back to shore. We were more than contented.

We ate late lunch at Bigg's Diner. When Jom was planning the itinerary, there was a time for Bigg's. I wasn't that excited because I thought, it was just an ordinary burger tapos Bicol pa. I wondered what would make that burger special if it's locally made. But when we tried it, we were all satisfied. It tasted different because of the dressing. And the burger patty also tasted good. We wanted to bring home a few burgers nga sana pero baka masira.

We spent the night at Tita Judy's house. Had a few drinks then dozed off with smile on our faces for a very fun day.

May 3: Kneeboarding at CWC

After lunch at Tito Roy's house, we headed to Camsur for the much anticipated Wakeboarding. Though, I'm not that confident I could do it. Andun na rin naman kami, so why not try it.

We only have one hour to do it so I have to do good on my first try. I tried kneeboarding first and what do you know?! I almost finished the track. :-) If it weren't for my helmet, which was blocking my sight, I would have finished it. On my second and last attempt, I completed the track. Woohoo!!! Not bad for a beginner. I'm so proud of myself!

The trip was more exciting and fun as I've expected. I am so happy (thanks Hon!). It was definitely worth my time and money. And it is one experience I would recommend to my friends. So, tara na! Biyahe na tayo!