Northern Samar: Visiting New Places

Just wanna share my vacation in our province 2 years ago.

My mom and I flew together for the first time to Samar via Tacloban. We booked a promo fare through Cebu Pacific Air. I guess I did miss Samar that much. I returned 3 months later, after not visiting for about 8 years, for the town fiesta. My uncle's car wasn't in good condition so he wasn't able to pick us up at the airport so we made several trips from Tacloban to Victoria via Grand Tours (UV Express Vans) that took about 5 hours. It was exhausting for me who came straight from work and been up for almost 24 hours. Anyway, the vacation was fun because my cousin Katz was also there along with her mom.

The day after the fiesta, we went to San Antonio Island, just us three - Katz, Ate Maritess and I.  We strolled along the beach, took pictures, had brunch and stayed by the floating cottage and just chatted for a good hour or so.  It was funny coz Katz literally pulled the cottage away from the shore using the rope that holds the cottage in place.  The water was clear and so blue and so inviting that we hated being 'girls' in such a lovely summer day. We went for a quick swim before heading back to Victoria for Uncle Marcos' birthday lunch.

The boat ride, I think, is around Php 50 per person. It was morning and there were no other passengers so we tried to haggle and got a total of Php 200 deal that will bring us to and from San Antonio island.

We stayed there for just a couple of hours so I can't say much about the resorts. At first, we went to Haven of Fun but they charge for using the beach cottages (forgot how much) so we just walked around  and took some pictures then transferred to Seashore Spring Resort where there is no charge for using the cottage as long as we order from the restaurant, which we did.

the shore was lined with nipa huts

with the cousins

just chillin'

special service by the macho girl, kathy ann :)

girls with the birthday boy with mawo bridge for background

After lunch, my mom mentioned she wanted to go to the place called overflow in San Roman. So, off we went into the mountains in my uncle's old but trusty van and took photos.

me and my mom

overflow in San Roman

look up!

Because it was already around 3 in the afternoon, it was hot and we all felt like having some fresh coconuts to refresh ourselves. And since we all are curious on what my uncle's house looks like, we all headed to his place to stalk and have our buko fix in Karawisan. Lol!

long nice walk under the big coconut trees

what a view!

preppin the spoon to scoop up our buko with

sluuurrrpppp

my uncle's resthouse up on a hill.so beautiful and relaxing!

Next day after this, the cousins and I went on another mini adventure.  We went to the busay or falls in Alegria.  The water was wonderfully cold, but we didn't swim, because girls. Lol. We just took photos then went straight to Imaga rock formation in Cabacungan.  It was already scorching hot when we got there but it was windy on top that I felt the need to hold on to the railing.  The view up there was divine! It was not a climb for the weak heart.  There were railings to hold on to but no steps.  So bacically, it's just a big piece of rock with railings. Scary, but it was worth it!

Note: The van we were using can only go as far as the farm area somewhere in Cabacungan, but there were habal-habal (motorcycles) in the town that offers rides going to Imaga rock formation for a fee (which, surprise! I forgot. Lol). There were six of us and we rented 2 habal-habals - 3 passengers plus the driver. The road is unpaved and full of potholes so hold on tight. Our habal-habal was caught in one and the driver lost balance and we all fell on our side. We were okay, except for some slight bruises, but the driver got a wound in his big toe. Awww..ouch! :(

busay actually means falls so it's not right to call it busay falls.my bad.lol

before the jump

nice rocky beach

one step at a time

awesooommmeee!

kathy taking a break

love it here!

Let me introduce my swagger grandpa. I love you, tatay! :)

tatay goyo

my lolo is waaayyyy cooler than your lolo.haha!

This is one of my fave photos. Father and daughter being kids. My mom is playing candy crush while my lolo is eating ice cream. I love it!

Here are some more photos from my vacation. :)

 

moon peeking out of the clouds.looks like a storm is brewing.

moon rise.one of my favorite shots during my vacation.

touchdown Tacloban.making a U-turn.

Our flight back to Manila was through Philippine Air Lines via Calbayog, which was about an hour and a half away from our town. We got a (very rare) promo which was around Php 1,500 one way. It was supposed to be a return trip but they moved the flight going to Calbayog a day after which didn't work for us so we cancelled it and got our refund, and booked Cebu Pacific Air instead. FYI, you can also book a flight to Catarman which is basically about the same travel time going to our town.

Anyway, we left around 4AM for our 8AM flight which was delayed for about 2 hours. Cebu Pacific Air used to have a Manila-Calbayog route. I don't know why and forgot when it stopped though. But, there's a new route, I believe, which is Cebu-bound and vice versa via Cebu Pacific Air. You can check their website for details.