Oct 26, 2013
Caramoan
The last trip to Caramoan from Araneta Cubao bus terminal was supposedly at 9 PM. Of course, I arrived at the terminal 5 minutes before 9 PM, with no reserved tickets, no less. Contrary to my wishful and overly positive thinking, all seats were already taken, much to the dismay of my friend TJ who had waited for me for more than an hour already. Fortunately, another bus came 30 minutes after (if there really was a 930 PM schedule, I did not find anything online) and we were on our way to Naga at 10 PM.
8 hours and 2 extended stopovers after, we arrived at Naga city central bus terminal. No sooner had we arrived, than some tricycle drivers approached and offered to "help" us get to the van terminal on a "bargain". Less than a minute (!) and 50 PHP (!!) after, we arrived at the van terminal, which was just a stone's throw away from the bus terminal.
It took a while to fill up the van - it was a good thing that a large group of tourists came in 20 minutes after. The trip to Sabang port from the van terminal took about 1 hour and 15 minutes. At the Sabang port, we had to wait for more than an hour since the first boat already left - the 2nd boat need to be filled to capacity before it can leave (I guess it was really important to arrive as early as possible to Naga - late arrival will have domino effect on succeeding trips). It was a good thing that there was a small canteen on the port - I had my first good meal in more than 12 hours.
It was past 11 PM when we finally arrived at Guijalo port, an hour and 45 minutes later. There, we met our tour guide Tupe, whom I only contacted the day before. He provided us a package for 4,400 PHP each, inclusive of accommodations at Paraoma Guesthouse, road transportation, and private bangka for island hopping. Paraoma Guesthouse was right in the middle of town proper, so it was easy to find cheap places to dine in.
After a quick lunch, we were off to island hopping. We actually only got to visit two islands - Matukad and Cagbanilad - since it was already afternoon and the waves were already strong, per our guide (of course, it was possible he was trying to shortchange us).
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| Matukad beach |
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| Cagbanilad |
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