Caramoan Island Hopping

There are two island hopping tours in Caramoan: short (Php 1500) and long (Php 2000). The four islands to be visited for the short tour are just a few minutes from Paniman Beach (the jump off point for tours) and the tour can be done in just half a day. The destinations for the long tour are an hour from Paniman Beach but this tour can still be accomplished in just half a day. Maybe the tours should be renamed as near and far. Caramoan has many islands and both tours cover just seven of the many.

I was supposed to take the short tour when I arrived in Paniman Beach...but it was already late. Kuya Ramil suggested to take both tours the next day. So it is possible. I initially thought one should spend one day for each tour.

For the combo tour (Php 3000), we went to the far destinations first (the spots included in the long tour) then moved closer to Paniman Beach (the spots included in the short tour) after lunch.

In the morning, it was the far islands first:

Sabitang Laya Island

According to Kuya Sonny, Kuya Ramil's cousin who was also the guide, when there's a Survivor shoot on Sabitang Laya, the island is kept very clean, but tourists can't step foot on the island. At the time of my visit, there were trash (empty bottles, junk food wrappers, etc.) scattered about. Tsk tsk.

Cotivas Island

An entrance fee of Php 25 is collected on Cotivas island. Need shelter from the sun? Open cottages are available for rent. The caretaker, who lives on the island, collects the money.

Bugtong Beach

Overnight stay at Bugtong Beach on the northern tip of Lahuy island is possible. There are cottages for rent for about Php 1000/cottage. Generators run at night to provide electricity. Day trippers can spend some time at this beach but must pay an entrance fee of Php 25.

One can hike just a short way up on the right side of Bugtong Beach for a view of the sandbar and the sea. Photo was taken during high tide, so no sandbar for you. Can you guess where the sandbar is?

The sandbar is under these floating cottages :-) That rock outcrop is where I stood to take the previous photo. It doesn't look too high, but believe me, it is.

Manlawi Sandbar

A little farther from Bugtong Beach, on the eastern side of Lahuy island, is Caramoan's largest sandbar: Manlawi. There's really nothing much to do but walk on the sandbar. Walking on Manlawi sandbar doesn't feel like you're going anywhere, it's just sand everywhere! The cottages in Manlawi (as seen on the photo below) are also for rent.

After having lunch on the boat (too stingy to rent a cottage), we were off again. We spent an hour tracing our way back to get closer to the next group of islands. But before the islands, we stopped just off the mainland for a bit of snorkeling.

 

Snorkel here!

Matukad Island

Kuya Sonny explained that matukad means to go up or climb up.

What's to climb on this island? A vertical limestone formation where arm and leg stretching is required and finding a good foothold is a must. This probably won't be a problem for people with long legs and long arms.

Why go through all the trouble to climb this sharp limestone formation? To see the lagoon hidden on the other side where one lone bangus (milkfish) swims. They say there used to be two milkfish. A fisherman speared one of the bangus, took it home, cooked it, and he and his son ate the fish. For unknown reasons his son died, then him. True or not, no one has attempted to take the last bangus.

A lonely bangus in a lagoon is not enough reason to climb the sharp limestone? Maybe this view is reason enough.

Lahos Island

Two jagged limestone formations connected by white sand equals two beaches. Lahos in Visayan means to pass through and through. Get the connection?

Cagbalinad Island

Cagbalinad Island gives you a small and serene white sand beach and a little cave.

Minalahos Island

A small island with large rock formations and a small beach. This island is named Minalahos because in the past this island was not given any importance. Remember the root word "lahos"?

Was taking four years and a day to see all this worth it? I wish I had gone sooner. Before Survivor. Before the milkfish in Matukad's lagoon was killed. Back when the only way to get to Caramoan was by land. But then, it would probably have taken me longer than 10.5 hours to get there.

Caramoan, Camarines Sur:
The Road to Caramoan Took Four Years and a Day
Caramoan Island Hopping (you're here!)

The Road to Caramoan Took Four Years and a Day

Source

The town of Caramoan is on the mainland. From Naga City, it would take two hours to get to Sabang. From Sabang, another four (or was it six? I forgot) hours on rough road to Caramoan. But when pumpboats came to ferry people in just two hours, the buses were left to rust in town.

It took me a looooonnngggg time to get to Caramoan. It took me four years and a day. In 2009, I was going to fly in to Legazpi City in Albay and then take the long road to Caramoan, but Mayon started acting up and when alert status was upped to level 2, I ditched the plan and it took me another four years to get to Caramoan. Correction: four years and a day. A day...spent getting from Legazpi City to Caramoan.

Caramoan is actually not that far. It was the waiting that made Caramoan seem far.

 

Waiting area in Sabang, Camarines Sur (left)

and crossing the segmented floating bridge to get on the boat bound for Guijalo Port Caramoan (right)

 

0515 Arrived in Grand Central Terminal (Legazpi City) and found a van for Naga
0545 In the van....still in Grand Central Terminal
0615 In the van in Grand Central Terminal mentally willing people to come and get in the van
0645 The van finally fills up and leaves for Naga
0815 Got off at Atayan, Pili
0830 Got on a bus for Goa Terminal
0930 At Goa Terminal, got off the bus and looked for a jeepney for Sabang
0945 Tick tock tick tock...waiting in the jeepney
0955 The jeepney I am in starts rolling out of Goa Terminal
1015 Sabang port! 45 minutes until the next boat trip to Caramoan.
1100 Still on dry land
1200 Still no signal for passengers to board the boat
1230 Boarding is finally announced
1245 And we're sailing!
1345 Still rocking and rolling in the waves
1445 Boat docks at Guijalo Port in Caramoan
1500 Finally stepped on the dock after everyone else spilled out of the boat
1515 Chitchatting with the tricycle driver as we leave Guijalo Port for Paniman Beach
1545 Congratulations! Destination reached: Paniman Beach

Total waiting time: 5 hours and 10 minutes
Total time on the move: 5 hours and 20 minutes
Total time from point A (Legazpi City) to point B (Paniman Beach): 10.5 hours

Guijalo Port (left) and Paniman Beach (right)

So that was the long of it. Here's the short version:

1. From Legazpi City, take a van (1.5 hours, Php 140) or bus to Naga, Camarines Sur. Get off at Atayan, Pili, Camarines Sur.
2. At Atayan, Pili, get on a bus for Goa Terminal (1 hour, Php 49).
3. At Goa Terminal, ride a jeepney to Sabang (20 mins, Php 22).
4. At Sabang Port, cross the floating bridge (Php 10) to get on the boat bound for Guijalo Port (2 hours, Php 120). Schedule are as follows:  Sabang to Guijalo 530AM / 7AM / 9AM / 11AM / 2PM. Guijalo to Sabang 7AM / 8AM / 9AM / 11AM. Note that schedules are not strictly followed. If there are only a few passengers, sailing will be delayed.
5. If you're staying in Caramoan Centro, from Guijalo Port, take a tricycle to Centro (10 mins, Php 20/pax).
6. If you're staying in Paniman Beach, from Centro, hire a tricycle to Paniman Beach (20 mins, Php 150/tricycle). If you're in a hurry, you can hire a tricycle from Guijalo Port straight to Paniman Beach (30 mins, Php 300/tricycle).

St. Michael Archangel Church in Caramoan Centro

There are places to stay in Caramoan Centro and in Paniman Beach. I opted to stay at Paniman Beach, in Kuya Ramil's house (Php 300/pax since I just used the fan; it's Php 500/pax if you want to use the AC). For big groups, the entire house can be rented. It can fit up to ten persons. You can ask Ate Myrna (Ramil's wife) to cook, or spare her the trouble by eating at a nearby resort, or buying food just a few paces away. For drinks and snacks, there are a number of sari-sari stores around Paniman Beach. Island hopping, which, I bet, is your main reason for visiting Caramoan, can be arranged thru Kuya Ramil.

One of the rooms at Kuya Ramil's house

The different Survivor franchises that have filmed in Caramoan have helped the residents of Caramoan by providing jobs. With the money Kuya Ramil earned working as a speedboat driver for the different franchises, he was able to build his concrete house and acquire a number of pumpboats. According to Kuya Ramil, Survivor USA will start filming again on March 2014.


Contact information:
Ramir (tricycle) 0930 616 9766
Ramil and Myrna Cruel (homestay/island hopping) 0907 435 1962 — Don't be fooled by their family name. They're actually good people.


Caramoan, Camarines Sur:
The Road to Caramoan Took Four Years and a Day (you're here!)
Caramoan Island Hopping

Do Not Eat Bicol Express, Ride It!

For a 10-hour ride, would you rather take the bus or the train? I have taken the bus so many times, from short 30-minute trips to butt-numbing 12-hour ones, it's about time I get some sleep in a horizontal state while traveling.

The PNR Station at Naga City, Camarines Sur

We only had a day in Camarines Sur, and before our wakeboarding spree at CWC, we got away from the complex to buy our Bicol Express tickets for the train ride that night. Oh poor mustache, the sleeper coach was fully booked! The ticket lady had to check her reservation sheet for available seats and make some calls. (Their reservation system? A paper chart marked by hand and she had to make calls to make sure that that seat wasn't reserved in other stations. I wish they had it all online where the reservations can be updated realtime.) Green light. There were 3 reclining seats available in the same car though on different rows. So sleeping in a horizontal state on this 10-hour ride through the night wasn't meant to be. I was still stuck on a bus type seat but just on tracks instead of pavement.

All aboard!

Boarding time was at 6PM and by 630PM the train was off chugging away to Manila. It was a freezer on tracks! We had to ask the train conductor to turn down the AC. The ride itself was alright for me (or maybe I slept thru all the unusual stuff if there were any).

Inside the freezer on tracks

There are toilets/washrooms in each car

This was wayyy better than being on an ordinary bus. For one, it has toilets. And for another, wide leg room! But it would have been excellent if I had been on the sleeper coach. Next time. Oh yes, I shall take the Bicol Express again...and this time I will make my reservations for the sleeper coach!

As of February 2012:

• The dining car wasn't attached yet
• Bicol Express goes up to Naga City only

Map below shows the Bicol Express goes up to Legaspi City in Albay. As of this writing they have a separate line for Manila-Legaspi (doesn't stop by Naga).

Photo from PNR facebook page.

Philippine National Railways

(02) 319 0041


How this train ride chugged its way thru Mustachio's pocket:
Bicol Express reclining seat Php 548


Camarines Series:
Camarines Norte: Tinaga Island's Mahabang Buhangin
Camarines Norte: Surfin' CamNorte
Camarines Sur: Wakeboardin' CamSur
Camarines Sur: Bicolano Grub at Geewan
Camarines Sur: Do Not Eat Bicol Express, Ride It! (you're here!)

Bicolano Grub at Geewan

Being in Bicolandia, I just had to try Bicol Express. Bicolandia should have Bicol Express just about anywhere, right? Wrong! (Or maybe I was looking at the wrong places...) I really had no idea where to find it. Hunger got me hopping on a tricycle and asking the driver to take us to the best place for Bicol Express. Luckily, Mr Tricycle Driver, knew the right place - Geewan.

We checked out the menu board and ordered Bicol Express (the last serving available!) and two other dishes we've never heard before - pinangat and kinunot.

Bicol express has pork, shrimp paste, and, of course, never forget the chilies! Pinangat has taro leaves, chili, and pork in coconut milk, then wrapped in gabi leaves. Kinunot is made of fish, malunggay, and coconut milk. Man, oh man, this has got to be the most delicious meal I've had this trip. So delicious I ordered extra rice twice! Of the three dishes, I like Pinangat best. (I am drooling just writing this blog.) Anyone who knows how to cook Pinangat? Pleaseee teach me how!!!

Note: The above was shared with two other friends. I am not that big of a pig.

Geewan

P Burgos St.
Naga City, Camarines Sur
(054) 472 3888

Other branch:
SM City Naga foodcourt
Ninoy and Cory Avenue,
Naga City, Camarines Sur 


How this Bicolano lunch Bicol expressed thru Mustachio's pocket:
Was so hungry and focused on the food that I forgot to take down notes, but I am sure it did not exceed Php 400 for all 3 dishes and 3 servings of rice. 


Camarines Series:

Camarines Norte: Tinaga Island's Mahabang Buhangin

Camarines Norte: Surfin' CamNorte

Camarines Sur: Wakeboardin' CamSur

Camarines Sur: Bicolano Grub at Geewan (you're here!)

Camarines Sur: Do Not Eat Bicol Express, Ride It!

Wakeboardin' CamSur

...On the road again, this time heading to Naga City in Camarines Sur. The van dropped us off at the bus terminal in Naga. Time check: 8PM. Stomach check: very hungry. So we ate at the nearest food place we laid our eyes on, Kakanon Bikol (just across the bus terminal), and boy, was it the best food we've eaten in Bicol region so far. We ordered pinakbet, ginataang puso ng saging, and laing. The serving was more than what we expected (like water gone to the brim), so we ordered half of each serving.

Deliciouso!

We had informed Ecovillage's receptionist that we were going to be late, she said we can catch the shuttle going to CamSur Watersports Complex (CWC). It might still be at SM Naga. Stomachs full, we headed to SM Naga, just a few steps from the restaurant.

We asked directions from the SM guard (I'm a sucker for asking law enforcers) and he pointed us to the only shuttle at the parking lot. The driver wasn't around, so we sat at Mang Inasal, just opposite to where the bus was parked. Fifteen minutes or so later, the driver entered the shuttle after finishing his cigarette. Three foreigners boarded the bus, we followed next. More passengers came: Caucasians, Koreans, and some locals.

A wonderful thing about CWC - its shuttle service is FREE. At the time of our visit, this was the shuttle schedule: leaves CWC at 1030AM / 3PM / 730PM and leaves SM Naga at 12NN / 5PM / 9PM. You can call reception to check on the current sched.

If you miss the CWC shuttle, you can take a bus for Legaspi from the Naga terminal and get off at Capitol (Php10-12), then take tricycle to CWC (Php10). You can do this vice versa too.

Reserved parking for CWC.
Taken the day after our arrival.

We arrived at CWC by 930PM, a fast 20-minute travel. CWC has a wide land area, with good landscaping (plants everywhere) and very much well maintained. Too bad we couldn't go shutter happy with our cameras because the rain was nonstop. The shuttle dropped us off at Ecovillage and we headed straight to the reception area, registered, got our keys, then settled in. We booked the AC Cabin which was good for 4 persons (Php850). There were about 15 barnhouse-looking cabins in that area. Do not judge these little farm houses by its GI-sheet walls, the interior is pretty much cozy. Wallpapered, nicely ventilated, with 2 clean queen-size beds. There are also single and twin rooms available.

 

Inside our little barnhouse. It was raining, please excuse the indoor clothesline.

One thing to keep in mind - the Ecovillage is part of CWC, but it hasn't kept-up with other "villages" mushrooming near the main watersports complex. It's also farther away which makes it a last option for tourists who aren't tight on their budget.

Some of the other "villages" in CWC:

Villa Del Rey Wood Cabins (left) and Villa Del Rey Containers (right)

Ecovillage has a common bathroom (separate for men and women, of course), a bit average and needs a bit of scrubbing. In the men's bathroom, the only one with consistent running water was the farthest shower room but the hot/cold function wasn't working. 

Barn houses at Ecovillage

The common toilet and bath by the mini pool.
Male T&B on the left, female on the right.

Wanted to dip in, but hadn't had the opportunity to do so.

What to do in CWC with a limited time? Easy - Eat and Play. Okay, I have to admit, we weren't able to try the food at CWC. No time to eat. Must go wakeboarding. And now!

Tagged and ready!

Grabbing my first board

I am no wakeboarder. The first five or more attempts got me sinking into the water. It's not hard though, there are basic steps that can be learned. The thing about wakeboarding is that you have to do it again and again, just like how I tried surfing, until you get the groove right. We got the hang of it in less than an hour. 

That ship's going down!

Before sinking like a rock

We had a great time wakeboarding that we forgot the shuttle was leaving at 3PM. We had just finished wakeboarding and haven't got ourselves ready yet. We decided to just take the tricycle and bus to the city. The tricycles inside the CWC will take you up to the main road only. From there, you can take a bus that stops at the Naga bus terminal.

By the main road outside CWC. Taken after the tricycle ride.

On the bus to Naga City

We got off at the bus terminal and bought packs of Pili nuts. After the speedy pasalubong shopping, we walked to SM Naga to grab a quick dinner before catching our train to Manila.

 

Honey Chicken rice topping (Php 80) and Siomai Mami (Php 70) for me,

and Vegetable rice topping for my friend.

All from Naga Garden, SM Naga foodcourt.

Contact information:
CamSur Watersports Complex (054) 477 3344 / 477 3349
Ecovillage at CWC (054) 477 5636


How CamSur bore a southside hole in Mustachio's pocket:
Daet to Naga van Php 188
Dinner (Php 175/2 pax) Php 88
SM City Naga to CWC Php 0
AC cabin at Ecovillage (Php 850/3 pax) Php 283
1 hour wakeboarding inlcuding helmet and vest Php 165
CWC to main road tricycle Php 10
Bus to Naga City Php 10
Dinner at Naga Garden (SM Naga foodcourt) Php 150


Camarines Series:
Camarines Norte: Tinaga Island's Mahabang Buhangin
Camarines Norte: Surfin' CamNorte
Camarines Sur: Wakeboardin' CamSur (you're here!)
Camarines Sur: Bicolano Grub at Geewan
Camarines Sur: Do Not Eat Bicol Express, Ride It!