Travel Up (Banaue-Sagada-Baguio) 03

Day 02. Sagada Adventures. Good Morning Sagada! We woke up around 07:00 AM then had our breakfast. Afterwards, we went to Log Cabin for buffet reservation, later tonight. During Saturday night, the restaurant has a buffet dinner for Php 350.00. Unfortunately, there was no buffet for the night since only few tourists inquired for it. I was saddened, I wanted to try it, but I know there's still next time for that. 

We've just decided to go to the weekend market along the street and buy something to cook for our lunch and dinner. There are stalls lined up in the streets from the Municipal Hall up to the St. Mary's Church wherein you can buy fresh fruits and vegetables, ukay-ukay, souvenirs and local arts and craft.

Afterwards, we went to the Municipal Hall to inquire for the cave connection rates. It will only be me and sands will go spelunking (caving) since I told Patrick that it will going to be a 4-hour cave experience, and he got scared with the idea. I already tried the 4-hour cave connection before, but I wanted to experience it one more time. 

The rate for cave connection is PHP 800.00 for 2 persons and PHP 400.00 for additional person. (For more details on the cave connection rates, please visit the Municipal Hall once you get there.) :)

Cave connection will start at Lumiang Cave and will end up at Sumaging Cave. From the Municipal Hall, it'll be a 15 minutes walk to get to there. 

Travel Up (Banaue-Sagada-Baguio) 02

Welcome to Sagada! At long last, we reached our destination. 

I made a reservation to Residential Lodge because of the good reviews I've read from different sites and it was true, plus the owner Tita Mary was very accomodating and kind. (Mary Daoas of Residential Lodge +639196728744)

Our room was big enough for us. There's a kitchen and private toilet. And the rate is fixed for Php 250.00 per night per person. 

We explored the lodge. We went to the rooftop first. The view was so relaxing. I love mountains, I hope I can do mountaineering soon. ;)

Travel Up (Banaue-Sagada-Baguio) 01

Day 01. Banaue. It was last year when I did a solo trip to Sagada. I don't have any itinerary then, even contacts to Sagada. I can even remember the time that I was searching about places to go then the next thing I was doing is packing my things. That was an exciting moment. After all, I survived the trip and here I am back in Sagada. But this time I'm with sands and Patrick. 

Since my route to Sagada before was Manila-Baguio-Sagada, we tried another route which is Manila-Banaue-Sagada.

Me, sands and Patrick met around 7pm for us to catch the 9.00PM/10.00PM bus trip to Banaue. We have no bus reservations but still we were able to get comfty seats. The travel time was around 9-10 hours. At the bus, we had a little chat first until we dozed off. I was able to sleep for 3-4 hours only, it was cold and freezing inside the bus. At 08.00 AM, we arrived Banaue.

The woman who did some talk at the bus approached us and asked if we want to have a tour at Banaue. We are hesitant at first but the woman told us that even if we go to the Tourist Information Center of Banaue, sya pa din daw ang makakausap namin because she's a staff there. So, what more can we say then let's go.

MoMoLicious Weekend

Me and best planned to watch Eat, Pray and Love last Saturday. Unfortunately, it rained so hard that we weren't able to catch the screening time. We just decided to go straight at Eastwood Mall for a MoMoLicious dinner.

I wanted to try this restaurant when I learned it on Chyng's blog and my best wanted to try it since her special friend is working there.

When we arrived the restaurant, all seats inside our occupied so we made reservations and strolled the mall first. After half an hour, we received a call from MoMo. We moved right away as best is a bit excited to see her special friend. ;)

The Beach (Cagbalete Island Trip)

It was last May 22, 2010 when me and my HS friends have been to Cagbalete Island for a summer getaway! I've learned of this island when I was searching for a beach to go after my island hopping at my Zambales Trip. Cagbalete Island is still undiscovered paradise located in Mauban, Quezon so we thought of going there for a perfect escape.

Me and my friends met around 4.00 AM to catch the 05.00 AM bus trip going to Lucena City. Bus fare is around PHP 300.00. We arrived at Lucena City (Lucena City Grand Terminal) around 08.00 AM. and from there we rode a mini-bus (non-aircon) bound to Mauban. The mini-bus leave on an hourly interval and the travel time is one hour and 30 minutes, with bus fare of PHP 60.00. I've read from a site that there are also van from SM Lucena going to Mauban but we found the mini-bus more convenient for us (commuters from Manila) since we don't need to go to SM Lucena City anymore. 

Best Zambales Trip

Before the year ends, I'll be starting to blog my previous trips this year. To start with is my Zambales Trip with my best friend. 

It was our first time to travel together and we're excited. We made research on how to go and possible itineraries and contacts to Zambales. It was my best who found out this blogger Chyng who had her Island hopping to Anawangin, Nagsasa Cove and Capones Island. So we contacted Mang Johnny (0920.222.4687). Thanks to Chyng and her blog served our guide to our trip.

Last January 30, 2010 03.30 AM, me and my best met at 7-11 and headed to Victory Liner to catch the 05.00 AM bus trip to Iba Zambales. We arrived at San Antonio around 09.00 AM and rode a tricycle going to Pundaquit. From there, we met out boatman Mang Johnny who is truly kind and accommodating. Since we don't have a tent, we rented a tent from him.

Our island hopping includes Camara Island, Anawangin Cove, Nagsasa Cove and Capones Island. We first went to Camara Island. Because of excitement we forgot to change our clothes and we're not yet prepared to soak, thus we ended up wet. We roamed the island and took some pictures then we headed to our next destination, the Anawangin Cove.

Stackers and More...

Since the supposed weekend getaway at Club Manila East has been canceled, me and my friends decided to have some fun dinner at Eastwood. We don't have any preferences to eat that's why we ended up at Stackers Burger Cafe. It was my second time here, and I was satiated on my first time.

It is open 24/7 and it has a branch on Piazza. Stackers Burger Cafe is about great burger and great food on a new casual style dining concept. The price is a bit pricey compare to our common McDonald's and Jollibee, but when I say Stackers, it's simply Auss'm burger.

From Galeon Impossible to Fort Santiago

Me and my best went to Pier 13 to see the Galeon Andalucia but the plan didn't pursue because when we arrived, there's a long queue for the Galeon. We can't afford to stay long since we have further commitments on the afternoon. We just decided to go to Fort Santiago (at least something historical). From Pier 13 we walked going to the Fort Santiago.

The Fort Santiago is open daily from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM. There's an entrance fee of PHP 75.00 for adults, PHP 50.00 for students/children/teachers, free of charge for disabled and senior citizens. Students, teachers and seniors must bring a valid I.D.

The last time I've been here was 3 years ago for our shoot on Rizal's Life with my college friends. 

And Now I'm All Alone

Last Friday was my team-mate's last day! It was 2 months ago when I started working with her. For that short duration, I learned new things and enhanced my skills. And I would like to thank her for sharing things to me, and letting me be part of the group. I had fun working with her and now, I'm all alone...

Last Saturday, we threw a farewell party for her. We held it at Centerstage KTV, Jupiter. We have a reservation at 07.30 PM however, I arrived late since I still came from a "Run, Baby Run" activity with my HS friends.

From L-R: Me, Meme, Jean, Sybs, Mark, Tina and Mon

A Lunch Date at Cafe Lidia

I've been fond of going to hole in the wall restaurants/places to dine when I went to Marikina for the first time and had breakfast at Pan de Amerikana. What I love about it is being cozy and the great food on affordable price.

One rainy morning, me and sands went to Cafe Lidia for lunch. I've read a lot of good reviews about it so I thought of trying it that day. 

From Pasig, we rode a jeep going to Marikina. I asked the driver to drop us in Calumpang because I'm not yet familiar with the place. After a couple of minutes passing Ligaya, there it is Bgy. Calumpang. 

Greenpeace Volunteer's Orientation

You're invited. Take actions, be a volunteer! Let's join Greenpeace Volunteers.

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Time	Tuesday, October 5 · 6:00pm - 9:00pm
Location	Greenpeace Office Room 301 JGS Building, #30 Scout Tuason Street, Quezon City, Philippines
Created By	Greenpeace Volunteers (Philippines), Roni Rodriguez
More Info	We would like to invite you to the Greenpeace Volunteers’ Orientation on October 5, Tuesday 6PM. Please reply with your name, contact # and email address to confirm. Also, please bring a photocopy of your ID card and any ID picture for the volunteer form. Venue will be at QC, will send you the details later when you confirm. Send an SMS to 0917 649 6936 to confirm your attendance If you’ve already been to a Greenpeace orientation,  pls send us a message so we can remove your name on the new volunteers' list. Sincerest apologies if you are receiving this again, we are trying to improve our system but do not want to remove anyone who would like to be part of the team. Thanks for your understanding ;) ---- To give you an idea of how you can volunteer for Greenpeace, in general, as long as you are 18 and above, you can become one of the following: · Activists -- are those who take non violent direct action in support of our campaigns. They support and uphold GP's commitment to nonviolence and commit to a training program to ensure that the GP standards for such activities are met. They are the volunteers who are involved in protests activities, boats, rope work, research and field and logistics work. · Cyberactivists -- who help us push for campaigns using online tools such as helping us with online petitions, blogs, social networking sites etc. they are part of our volunteer cyber community who help us reach out to other cyberactivists and participate in our web based activities. · Local Group Members -- are those who are part of a duly recognized Greenpeace local group. Greenpeace Local Groups serve as a conduit for our campaigns and to provide a community for our volunteers who cannot be part of office-based activities because of practical limitations of space and time. Currently we have three local groups – Iloilo, Cebu and Baguio local groups. · Interns -- are those who render unpaid office-based work to complement our campaign staff over a specific period of time. This is usually arranged through schools, universities or organizations. They are expected to deliver the same quantity and quality of work as paid staff in exchange for the work experience with Greenpeace. They can be engaged in office-based work as research assistants on specific campaign issues, media work and public outreach. · General volunteers –- there are also those who help out in any way they can, offering their skills and talents. We have artists, graphic designers who design our materials, t shirts and other publications; we have teachers, first aiders and we have those who drop by the office helping out with office work on comms related tasks, research and logistics and fundraising. · Solargen – for this you do not have to be 18 years old J. This is our youth group involved in projects and activities relating to our climate and energy campaign. There are other ways of volunteering for Greenpeace aside from those mentioned above. You can find out more about the options, how to become an active Greenpeace volunteer, learn more about Greenpeace and our campaigns during the volunteer orientation.

Greenpeace Philippines

http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/en/ph/