Travel Footprints

This was one short Guimaras getaway so we were already packing our bags soon after we arrived! Instead of a motorcycle taxi (habal-habal), we opted to use the tricycle (3-wheeler) on our way to Jordan Wharf from Brgy. Alibuhod in Guimaras. This ride would have cost us something like Php250 but we successfully negotiated it down to Php150 including one stopover in Trappist Monastery. The young tricycle driver seemed joyful with the thought of us stopping over at the monastery.

I was interested to drop by because the locals strongly recommend bringing home pasalubong from their store. So off we went and finally got to Trappist Monastery making a beeline for their gift shop. This store is the Guimaras counterpart of Good Shepherd in Baguio. Except for the fact that…wait…the shop was really manned by monks! And monks dressed heavily from head to toe despite the uber-humid summer heat!

Purchasing the products I decided to bring home, mostly mango bars and mango jam, I managed to strike a conversation with the monk behind the counter (I was shy, I didn’t know if they would be accommodating with small chats). Turns out he has been with the monastery for 7 years now. He used to be a civil servant, working for a national government agency, before he decided he wanted the sanctuary a monk’s life provides, devoting his life to prayer and work within the monastery.

Our tricycle driver took us to see the Chapel within the Trappist Monastery and suggested we meet a monk that we can talk to about prayer intentions. We had a long conversation with a monk who gave us an idea what they do within the monastery and the help they extend to communities. I saw boxes and boxes of medicine in one corner of the room available to those who need them. He asked us to write down our prayer intentions and that they welcome donations. All the sob stories I heard over the last hour makes anyone feel generous about giving this humble people more resources for their service to the community. Before we left, the monk gave a bag of rice to our tricycle driver. I felt better about leaving Guimaras at this note.

Accommodations are available within the Trappist Monastery for tourists. Contact Fr. Bruno Mendoza (09184212852 / 033-5813385) for rates and reservations

While staying in Raymen Beach Resort in Brgy. Alibuhod of Guimaras, I soon found out that there are more little islands of Guimaras that are waiting to be explored. So we hopped on a boat and set sail to our first destination – Sea Turtle Sanctuary!

There were about 7 sea turtles in captivity when we visited the site. One is the green sea turtle shown in the picture above and which I attempted to carry by myself but failed! That pawikan must have weighed about 15 kilos! The other species was a Hawksbill turtle which the caretaker opted not to show up close because of its rough back. They were saying they had an endangered Olive Ridley just a few months ago but was already released into the ocean. The caretaker tell stories about these released turtles sometimes being sighted near the sanctuary and about olden times where grilling of turtle meat is a common sight around the guimaras area. The visit to the turtle sanctuary is free but they do welcome donations to pay for the turtles’ medicines and food (they log every donation in their book!).

Next stop is Ave Maria Island, an islet with a pristine white sands beach and an ideal place to go snorkeling because of its low water level and abundant fish schools.

That’s Nemo and Gill! The fishes came from another boat with tourists who said they bought it in one of the islands. I asked where they intend to take it and how far can it be transported. Turns out they were just from Iloilo and they intend to put Nemo and Gill in their aquarium. Poor fishes! I hope they do survive the trip in that bag.

Our next destination from Ave Maria island was Baras Island. Before reaching the island, our boatmen steered us into a cave first –

We did take a dip in the water inside the Baras Cave. The water was deep in some parts of the cave but we stayed close to where the boat was parked in that rocky area of the cave. We would have stayed longer if not for a very close encounter of my travel companion with a 2-feet long banded sea snake who swam past her legs as we were chatting by the rocks which made us scurry to higher ground as fast as we can. I would have loved to get a photo of the harmless creature but we left our camera in the boat and the sea snake went about his business foraging for food out of the cave mindless of the panic it caused in our group

The sea snake sighting was a cue for us to pack up and head on to Baras Island. By this time though, I was really feeling the heat of the sun as we come close to mid-day. So we simply asked our boatman to just sail pass the islands as we contend ourselves with taking photos at sea.

That’s Fairy Castle island (private) and a cottage along Baras Beach. It was the perfect day for an island-hopping activity. The 2-hour boat ride cost us Php 550 (plus tip for the boatmen). Good thing about island-hopping, Guimaras-style, is that they have a boat association with standard rates of Php 300 for 1 hour and an additional Php150 for each succeeding hours. Just make sure to bring your own snacks and water bottles to tide you over during the island-hopping in wonderful Guimaras islands!

I have little idea what to expect island-hopping in Guimaras. Before this trip, I only know Guimaras for two things – export-quality mangoes and the unfortunate oil spill in 2006! I had the chance to go for a very short vacation to the quaint island of Guimaras – lest I miss the famous beach scene of sunny Philippines while Mr. Rono and I take the summer path less travelled in the Himalayan ranges this year. I was firstly surprised how easy it was to get to Guimaras from Iloilo. For only Php13, you can take a boat from mainland Panay to the island of Guimaras. Boat trips for Jordan, Guimaras are readily available at the port area until 7:00pm. No need to worry about schedules because there are always trips available as long as the boat capacity of 46 persons are met.

From the port of Jordan, you can catch any of the public transportation to take you anywhere within the island. The most convenient (and exciting!) would be a taxi motorcycle. We happened to arrive at Jordan around 5:30pm and had no idea that the beach resort where we are staying was about 15km from the port (about an hour’s ride from the Jordan Wharf), we opted to go for a motorcycle taxi to bring us there faster. I can only count the number of times I’ve actually ridden a motorcycle taxi (also called habal-habal in the Philippines) and this one in Guimaras is naturally memorable for me. It doesn’t help that our driver would talk about witchcraft in the Panay area during the ride. The fact that we were riding off with a spectacular view of the Guimaras sunset is especially unforgettable. Here I am trying to document the sunset while on the motorcycle as best as I can!

We stayed in a beachfront resort called Raymen Beach Resort found in Brgy. Alibuhod which was highly recommended by locals in both Iloilo and Guimaras. I am guessing it’s the most famous and reliable (maybe most accessible as well?) resort in the island. One good thing about the resort’s location is that it is not directly in the area of the oil spill and, of course, the fact the beach is just a few steps away from our simple cabana. I was pleasantly surprised to meet a fisherman by the beach on my usual morning beach walks hawking his catch for the day. He was trying to sell to me his harvest of fish and lobster (which looked really big and yummy!) for only Php 1,600.

Since there was no way I could take those home with me to Manila or eat it all during my stay in the resort, I graciously declined (meaning, I had to say NO over 10 times!). But I have to admit that the seafood selection in the beach of Guimaras is much more exciting than what I have witnessed in Ilocos Norte almost 6 months ago. Raymen Beach Resort offers accommodation ranging from Php600-Php2,000 per room, per night. They also have a restaurant that serves good food at decent prices (considering they almost have a monopoly of sorts in this area!). We had to try the world-famous mangoes which was sold a bit expensive at Php80/kilo –

and sampled the available seafood in their menu such as this crabs in garlic and butter for only Php 130 (half-kilo) –

Yum! As far as I know, Raymen is the only place where you can get food this good in this part of Guimaras. We tried looking for other options along the beach but the only other place we saw was a small shack which only served mostly instant noodles and 3-in-1 coffee mix

Shotgun Trail, named by a mountain-biking group because of a horseback-mounted guard of ex-Mayor Roxas who tried to turn them away with a shotgun (it’s now biker-friendly though!). It’s the bike trail I dreaded the most but there’s really no point in delaying the inevitable with our Nepal trip fast coming up. So early Saturday morning, we were headed once again to face off with the mountains of Maarat on our bikes.

While Mr. Rono is a veteran biker of the (in)famous Shotgun, it is MY first time to actually go through it last Saturday. So the moment I look up and see where we’re headed, I get easily intimidated by the long uphill climbs on our bike. -

Mr. Rono distinctly remembers how much harder it was to bike this trail when it was still a slim singletrack and was later developed to a wide fireroad. And now a full-fledged highway it seems -

This was really one tough uphill stretch! With the el nino heat beating down upon us, it really felt like the Lenten Season has already began and we are on our own personal, uhm, hell Some parts of the trail had me pushing my bike already, the ride was exhausting! It even got me singing -

‘Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the cliiimmbbbb…’

And I mean it literally!

Mr. Rono and I were virtually the only bikers taking on Shotgun trail that day. The only company we had on the trail were bikers going down the trail, construction workers by their rest station and the occasional dump trucks going to and from the sanitary landfill up in the mountains of Rizal.

We’re not too happy about the dump trucks passing because we always get a lung-ful of dust! This does not figure well with our heavy cardio exercise while we go up the mountain on our bikes. But we’re still glad that they share the road with bikers at least. This shotgun trail was a test of both perseverance and patience. And a great eye-opener when we finally reached the top! This was the first time I ever saw the sanitary landfill of Montalban from a near distance.

The trail eventually connects to the main Maarat trail where Mr. Rono and I have been biking in the last couple of weekends. Though rather than connecting to our usual route, we opted to start our way back then (fortuntately it was much much easier going back). Had a quick stop near the TImberland Gate for some Goto and Mountain Dew

It was a tough ride, but I can honestly say I feel a good sense of accomplishment, and actually blurted out I wouldn’t mind doing it again.

Mr. Rono only smiled.

[Btw, this scene with the landfill was reminiscent of how we started with mountain-biking. Back in 2002 on a holiday in Boracay, I wanted to see where the highest point of the island is. The locals told us of an overlooking point somewhere on top of Mt. Luho. We didn't want to go there on a tricycle and we certainly weren't up for a long hike up a mountain. Luckily, we passed by some bikes being rented out for around Php50/hour only. Mountain-biking in Boracay was definitely a fresh experience for us! It was a tough climb and we were severely disappointed when we saw the unpleasant sight of a garbage dumpsite on the way to the overlooking point. Garbage dumpsites in mountains really is an ugly truth in our country, eh?]

Before February ended, Mr. Rono and I decided that we’ll take a break from our training routine for Nepal and join members (and non-members) of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines on a bird-watching trip. The thought of just sitting back watching birds was appealing to me especially after a nasty fall on my mountain bike while riding the trails of San Mateo, Rizal on Saturday.

'Ouch!' is an understatement

Besides, my young sister and youngest brother are both avid members of WBCP for more than two years now and have long wanted to bring the family to a bird-watching trip so we gladly obliged on this lazy Sunday.

And off to Candaba, Pampanga we went...

...for some serious 'birding' action!

That’s me (Mrs. Rono), my brother and my mom with the beautiful Mt. Arayat at the background. The real ‘birders’ – my younger sister and brother – had gone here several times before and they were a bit disappointed that there were fewer birds on this trip than their usual. Personally, it was ok for my first bird-watching experience, we saw common kingfisher, blue-tailed bee-eater, yellow bittern, cattle egret, little egret, purple and grey herons, island-collared doves, red turtle doves, zebra doves and whole lotsa ducks – tufted duck and garganey! Oh, I sound like an expert rattling off bird names like that but I honestly wouldn’t have the slightest idea what they’re called other than, uh, birds, if the WBCP members weren’t there to guide me (so hooray for guided tours!)

Sometimes we see these birds perched on a branch like this common kingfisher -

Or, flying back to their homes after a day-long sumptuous buffet in the swamps of Candaba.

It was amusing how the ‘birders’ get excited when they spot a species and consult each other to identify it correctly. My younger sister even have the ‘Birds of the Philippines’ guidebook as a ready reference to show to us. For Mr. Rono and I, the experience was made more relaxing with the lovely breeze of the countryside and way more enjoyable with a dash of creativity where Mr. Rono imagines he is guarding the perimeter, on the watchout for the silhouette of imaginary enemy soldiers at the horizon. It happens when you’re watching late night re-runs of Band of Brothers.

Mrs. Rono shown here shouting ‘Banzai!’ just to amuse Mr. Rono while he takes his post surveying the land (yes, with his pinky finger up!). I don’t think that bird-watching suits our lifestyle at the moment but I would not discount pursuing it more seriously in the future. The trouble with having a full-time day job, you have to prioritize and squeeze in lots activities during the weekends and there simply is no time for us to do this on a regular basis. But only for now. Well, UNLESS, Mr. Rono can mountain-bike first to where the birds are. That’s a thought to consider at least – MOUNTAIN-BIKING with BIRD-WATCHING!

For one thing, I do have a bragging right of sorts for being the first among our group to spot a white-browed crake idling playfully somewhere near the pond *pat on the back* Peak season for bird-watching is said to be November to February when migratory birds flock this area of Candaba by the hundreds to escape the cold northern hemisphere. And I don’t wonder why –

Candaba really does look like any bird’s tropical paradise!

Was a really good day to ride. Weather was cold. Sky was overcast. But still you can see patches of blue skies. It’s another weekend spent intimately with the trail they call ‘Killer Loop’ in Mariveles, Bataan. This is my third time to ride Killer Loop, and remains to be one of my favotire rides, no matter how wasted I am afterwards.

Apparently the story behind the name Killer Loop is that, several years back (circa 2002 or 2003), some ‘classic’ members of Pinoy Mt. Biker (PMTB) rode this trail in Bataan which passed through several barangays starting from Liyang. Initially, it was called Death March Trail by the local bikers. After the ride, the PMTB folks just had to say, ‘This is not Death March. This is a Killer Loop’. And so the name stuck since!

Blood, sweat, and tears. Killer Loop tests the endurance of both man and machine. Though morbid, I like this photo as it somehow captures the spirit of mountainbiking. Blood and guts. We ride no matter what.

Lester’s chainstay broke (the tube between the crank and the rear wheel). Some trail side repair shown here. Using combined technical knowledge in physics, mech engineering, and medicine, he was able to repair his bike. Not a perfect fix, but at least it will help him finish the ride.

There’s a tweezer inside the tube, wrapped with some heavy duty medical tape, reinforced by a wrench (like a splint), further reinforced by a climbing rope. Don’t ask why Troy was carrying a set of wrenches on a bike ride. But good thing he did.

We were lucky that the weather was really really nice. I carried about 2.5 liters in my pack, 500ml on my water bottle mounted on the bike, plus another bottle of Real Leaf Green Tea stowed in my pack just to be sure. This time, this lasted me until we got down. Last time, I had to drink from the stream up top.

Group got lost a bit through the web of tracks going down (and at one point even once group was going down a trail and the other going up!)

Yes boys and girls. That’s my new bike.  A Chumba VF2, mix of aluminum and carbon fiber goodies. She can ride right through anything as long as you have the courage (going downhill) and the power (going uphill). Point and shoot.

Got a bit of history lesson as well, as Eboy described for us how the Battle of Bataan went. Nothing like being in the middle of the mountain to make history really come alive. Apparently the trail we rode was the old artillery road. And we were complaining about pushing a 30lbs bike up the mountain. Imagine the soldiers back then!

Went down via the lovely Joyce Trail, but Eboy took us beyond that and into what Arnel now calls Captain America hehehe. Basically very fast, very smooth singletracks all the way down. Pretty surreal, since the sun was fading, the wind was howling, and you were just flying down (to the tune of Defying Gravity from Wicked ).

Alas, not a lot of pictures on the other side, going down. It’s just too much fun to ride vs. stopping from time to time to take pictures.

So just imagine with me . . .

Imagine the sun slowly fading, soft light washing over the mountain
Imagine nothing but the breeze of the wind flowing over the mountain
Imagine riding on top of the rideline, flowing left, right, hearing nothing but your tires and the wind
Imagine going like this for about 30 mins.

Nothing else exists except you, the bike, and the trail . . .

Surreal, like a dream.

And so another history lesson of the Battle of Bataan is over. It’s time we learn something new – the Death March! Planning to ride with what the Bataan Trail Riders call Lakbay 44, an epic 50+kms ride from Mariveles to Bagac, passing through some spectacular sceneries. Ride starts from Zero (0) km of the famed World War II Death March Marker in Mariveles to the 0 km marker in Bagac.

Now just have to find other riders crazy enough to go along with me (and look for a place that Mrs. Rono can hang out (maybe Anvaya Cove in Subic?) while I do another epic ride in Bataan. But first, need to get that helmet cam so I can capture more!

Special thanks to the Bataan Trail Riders Eboy and Lester!

I have many fond memories of Baguio growing up. Almost every Christmas my family would trek up and spend cozy holidays there. This slowly faded though as Baguio turned into a city just as congested as Manila.

Baguio has become a destination for me again ever since I discovered the various trails in and around the city. Yes, at its outermost parts the pristine pine covered mountains do still exist . . .

Some years back a friend had invited me up to ride. No idea where exactly. All we knew was we wanted to go up and ride anywhere. As I had a company team meeting that week, it was the perfect excuse to go.

Drove up on Sat, slept over at Troy’s house, and started our ride around 7am on Sun. We had intiallly planned to join the Baguio crew on another ride, but due to rain It was cancelled. But the three of us wanted to ride something long that day, and thought, hey, how about Ambuklao? Was supposed to be 30-35km one way, so we figured it was doable.

“Kaya ba natin?”

“Oo kaya siguro. One day ride lang.”

“Ok let’s go”

Sometimes it’s half baked plans that turn out to be memorable adventures.

Started from troy’s house in La Trinidad. First 10-12kms was paved road along Halsema Highway, moderate climbs with the occasional drizzle. I felt good. I felt strong. It was a perfect day to ride. A couple of kms before the guerilla saddle was the trailhead, leading to Ambuklao dam.

What follows is probably the most fun easy dh course i’ve seen, 19kms of twisty fireroads/doubletracks, with berms along the way. It was just screaming speed and high g turns  I would describe it as forgiving yet enticing. If you’re an adrenaline junky, let go of the brakes, stay low on the bike and carve your corners. It was zigzag all the way down. Those less inclined can take their time, no big rocks or ruts.

The rain also meant lots of mist along the way, which really made for a surreal riding experience. Not a lot of pics taken here as we were having too much fun to stop.

At around 11am or so, we reached Ambuklao dam. And as is the norm with biking, took our time to pose and take shots 

Then begins the best part of any ride . . .the uphill climb back to Baguio, all 35kms of it, of which Onie could only comment, ‘I’m so tired, it feels like I’ve had sex with three women in one night . . . ‘  So maybe that’s Onie’s secret for being a strong rider . . . ? hehehehe

Anytheway, at km 27 to Baguio, we chanced upon Pingkan Jo’s eatery, which was well stocked with Gatorade and Red Bull. A literal Oasis amidst all this!  I think this was around 3pm or so already. Hell, I was grinding at 3-5kph up, and I was seriously questioning a local’s comment that it would only take 3-4 hours back (oh, it takes a car 1 hour to get up, so you guys will take probably around 3 hours), uhm, ok.

Well, at nightfall we were still around 15kms from Baguio, and it was getting colder, and it was starting to rain again. Good thing Onie and I brought lights. Telling some ghost stories along the way didn’t help either . . . eventually our lights died out and we were walking in pitch darkness. No moon, no light, no traffic. Just the lights in the distance of which I keep hoping would be Baguio already.

At km 8, we called it quits. It was about 9pm, and we were resting at a sari-sari store which had some enclosure, a thankful sight on a cold wet night. So when a jeepney pulled over (fortunately it was a sort of turn point for most jeep trips), we negotiated for a ride back to La Trinidad. Stopped over at Andok’s for our dinner, and just dumped all our dirty gear at Troy’s living room  We didn’t want to look at our bikes anymore.

Special thanks to Onie for the photos.

 

Bataan has always been one of my favorite riding destinations. So when a ride was organized to do the Killer Loop Trail during one of the long weekends in August, I immediately signed up. It’s been a long time since I’ve done long whole day rides so I really looked forward to this ride.

How to Get There

The Killer Loop Trail starts in Pilar, Bataan. Coming from Manila, it’s about a 3 hour drive from Balintawak (around 1 hour of that is just to get through the horrendous traffic in Balintawak due to the MRT construction). I parked my SUV at the Total gas station in Pilar. I heard you could also take the bus going to Mariveles. The rest of the group opted to rent vans instead though.

It was about 9am before the entire group was complete and we started our ascent up Killer Loop (KL).

What to Bring

You just have to smile through it all.

I had ridden KL two years before, so pretty much knew what to expect: lung-busting climbs, spectacular views of Mt. Samat and the Bataan Peninsula, sweet descents. It also means no store whatsoever within the trail, so you have to bring all the supplies that you need. For a mountainbiker like me that sweats about 1L and burns about 500 Kcal per hour, this is what was in my ‘lunchbox’:

• 2 Clifbars (about 250 Kcal per bar and 10g of Protein, with all natural ingredients) 
• 1 Clifblok Electrolyte Chew  (about 200 Kcal)
• 2 bars of Apple & Cranberry Cereal Bars (about 100Kcal)
• 1 Hammer Gel (about 90 Kcal)
• 1 Jollibee Champ for lunch (about 600kcal)
• 2L of water in my hydration pack, and about 500ml of Gatorade in a separate water bottle (the last time I had brough more drinks, but the weight was just too much to bear. I decided I would just drink from the stream this time around)

As with any sport, you have to “eat before your hungry, drink before your thirsty.” For me, I feel my body shutting down if hunger sets in. I suppose it’s like your laptop suddenly going into low power mode. Net, I’ve learned in long rides to ensure that I’m constantly chewing on something every hour.

Up the Mountain

Up the mountain we go.

From Total gas station, you pedal on the road going towards the Mt. Samat Cross. You don’t climb towards the cross though. The Killer Loop trail actually goes around Mt. Samat (and by around I don’t mean around the base, but around the surrounding mountains.). Indeed, I think at one point in the KL trip we were even higher than the Mt. Samat Cross!

You climb over cement roads, then fireroads, and then singletracks all the way up. It’s not one long climb though, but rather something like a staircase – short steep climbs followed by a moderately flat terrain, then climb again, and again, and again . . . The noise of the barrio below gradually fades away, ’til all you hear is the rustling of the trees and grass amidst the mountain air.

It’s in these moderately flat terrain with some trees that you take your rest when you can. If you take some time from trying to catch your breath wondering why the hell you’re doing something like this, and actually look around, you will see just how spectacular the view is up top. From the highest point, you can see the Mt. Samat Cross in the distance. And enveloping that, the South China sea. Maybe it’s the lack of oxygen going through your brain, but you can start imagining also the Von Trapp family singing in the distance (‘the hills are alive….’).

Anyway, one can’t help also but think how life must have been like for the Bataan defenders back in WWII standing in one of the ridges overlooking the entire peninsula. It certainly felt like there were different platoons spread out across the trail is one group catches up with another.

You just have to work extra hard for some parts of the climb.

The Best Burger

We finally hit the summit around 2pm. The group was slower than usual since there were a lot of novice riders. Someone forgot to mention that it wasn’t a newbie ride. So a lot of pushing, resting, pushing . . .(I heard that one of the Bataan Trail Riders did this with a couple of triathletes, and they completed the entire ride in about 3 hours. ) Anyway, after being baked in the sun battling it up the mountain, thankfully the rest area up top was well covered with trees. The local riders called the place aircon. Nice.

And there’s nothing like a juicy 1/3 lbs burger after all that sufferfest. Mmmmmmmmmm.

It’s about 3pm when the group was on the march again (yes, literally marching, since the trail was wet, slippery, and filled with large rocks, but then again that means we’re near a water source). After rationing my water supply going up, it was oh so refreshing to drink all the water that I could out of that stream. And it was icy cold to boot!

And finally, we were on our way down.

The Flow

Rides check their bikes before the ride down. Mr. Rono waits patiently for his turn to ride.

Riders call it The Flow. It’s that feeling when your riding, and everything just sems to hang together. You are in tune with your bike, with the terrain, with yourself. Concsious thought gives way to the subconscious, and you are, well flowing through the trail. Not thinking, simply riding. Those who have felt this, crave this.

The ride pretty much made the climb all worth it. I will gladly climb KL again just to experience that sweet ride down. The first part of the descent was somewhat technical, fun, but there were some parts where I had to stop to get over a big rock, big drop, etc. No flow yet, not at least at my skill level.

At about 5pm, we came upon the final run towards the end of the trail. Head straight, and you go though a wide fireroad. This was the route we took last time, and I was so tempted to just take this trail and head on back to Total. I was exhausted, and my shoe was already malfunctioning (the clip that attaches the bottom of the shoe to my right pedal was coming lose, so I couldn’t engage it right). Turn right, and you take the longer route going down. At first, I didn’t feel like riding here. My hands were already aching, and my left hand was certainly not exerting enough pressure anymore to control my front brakes.

The long sweeping fireroad down. Mr. Rono rode down an alternate route down.

There were still several riders left behind, so most of the group would wait for them and take the shorter route down. Some of us though were invited to ride the alternate route.

And I’m glad we did. This trail was pure smooth, super fast, super flowy singletracks all the way down. We were flowing though the mountaintops dusted by the last remaining glow of the sun. I just smile whenever my hands start to give, and focused on the trail. We were flowing. I will gladly go through the climbs of KL again just to experience this. It is that fun, that rewarding. 

The singletracks gradually gave way again to fireroads, then cemented roads, and to the sounds of dogs barking and tricycles running. We were finally back in Pilar. Some ice cold Coke please!

Photo credits: Roche Cuyco of Mt. Biking Babes (MtBBabes)

Weekend Warriors

For those looking for a way to spend all the upcoming holidays this August, we strongly recommend a weekend trip to Camsur Watersports Complex in Pili, Camarines Sur. Just a friendly advice, though. If you’re into leisure trips, I would avoid going to CWC on the weekend of August 23 because the Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 will be held there. But, if you’ve heard of the Ironman 70.3 before reading this post, I’m sure you’re the type who wouldn’t mind joining the bandwagon (we’re actually very proud that an event this big will actually be held in Philippine soil).

So here are some of our CWC faves during our weekend stay that might be useful for you :

1) Budget – lodging, meals and activities within CWC cost us about Php3,800++ (airfare included) so this definitely falls into our category of travelling on a shoestring budget.

2) Airline Schedule – we left Manila via Air Philippines flight at 6:15am on Saturday and arrived back in Manila at 5:00pm on Sunday. Plenty of time to still catch up on errands in Manila before the work week starts.

3) Food – we got all our meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner and in-betweens) at the CWC restaurant and it did not disappoint at all. All the food they served us were oh-so yummy and delicious! We especially liked the Chocolate Caramel cake and CWC signature burger (with a choice of single, double or triple patty).

The CWC signature burger is a must-have

4) Free shuttle service – CWC offers not only free shuttle service to and from airport, they also offer free shuttle service to and from Naga City for one hour miscellaneous errands including drop-offs at the bus terminal! This added-value service allowed us to hear Sunday mass service at the Basilica of Peñafrancia in Naga City during our weekend stay. How convenient is that? I told you, we love this place.

The view of Villa del Ray at night

5) Accommodations – We wanted to try the container rooms just out of curiousity but it was under renovation. Luckily, the lodging at Villa del Ray gave us a great place to rest our weary bodies from all the intense day activities for a reasonable rate at about Php700 per person.

6) Winch park for wakeboarding newbies – not everybody who goes to CWC would have the skills and the guts to try out the cable park (including us), so we loved the fact that the Winch Park is the comfort zone for beginners who are trying to master the art of wakeboarding. With very friendly staff to boot

Trying (and succeeding) to do some graceful wakeboarding acts at Winch Park

7) Government Revenue – all our expenses inside the CWC were issued an official government receipt from the Province of Camarines Sur. Judging from the foreigners and locals flocking the complex, there must be a lot going around to stimulate the local economy. Yehey for the people of CamSur!

There’s more to CWC than just wakeboarding action apparently. And it’s just across the wakeboarding park in a place called Lago del Ray. Talk about going back to second childhood –

Getting on it is much harder than it looks, trust me.

That is just a glimpse of our laugh trip. What was especially hilarious while we were trying out the inflatables at Lago del Ray (e.g., giant slide, trampoline, iceberg) was we were actually imagining a voice-over narration of all our bloopers ala-Takeshi’s Castle. The fee of Php120 (good for one hour) per person was totally worth it. All the fun and laughters while we complete the ‘challenges’ of the inflatables were absolutely priceless!