Bicol 2013: Day 1 - Bulusan + Irosin

Sometime last year I blogged about my 2013 summer adventures. It's summer time once again in my beloved country and though I don't really have any plans considering that I'm mostly out of the country I thought I'd finally get down to sharing our Bicol itinerary. As I mentioned in my old post, blog entries have been very helpful in order for me to arrange our DIY Bicol trip. Since my other entries particularly the Calaguas one are not of much help, I hope this one would be more informative.

My mom and sister haven't been to Bicol but I've been there twice. The first time I went to explore the region I was able to enjoy: CWC, Mt. Isarog and Caramoan, Camarines Sur. The second time was spent beach-bumming in Calaguas and "surfing" in Bagasbas, Camarines Norte. I had to scour around the cyberworld for ideas that would take me to new places since I knew that there's still so much to discover in Bicol. The next popular ones left were the Butanding experience and the Legazpi ATV tours. I felt that it was lacking the beach experience that Bicol is known for so after some researching I finally ended up with the following Sorsogon+Albay combination:

Day 1: Bulusan Lake + Irosin
Day 2: Matnog Beach tour
Day 3: Legazpi City Tour: Cagsawa Ruins, Lignon Hill and ATV adventure

I had to give up the whole whale shark experience because we were on a tight schedule and on a budget. We originally intended to travel by land the whole time (minimum of 8hrs just to get to the region) so doing the whale shark meant skipping Matnog if we wanted to stay just 3 days. Also, we ended up splurging a little by choosing to fly back from Legazpi instead of the long travel back to Manila by bus. So we bought our bus tickets from Cubao near Ali Mall to take us straight to Sorsogon City on a Thursday Night.

Day 0, Thursday: 8pm: travel  to Sorsogon City from Cubao
Day 1:
From the Sorsogon City bus terminal, we took a tricycle to take us to the town proper where Fernandos Hotel was located. After checking in, we freshened up, tried to get our bearings and ate our breakfast. Before lunch time, we were on our way to Bulusan Volcano National Park:
From Sorsogon City, take a jeepney bound for Gubat. Travel time is 30-45 minutes. From there, you should take a Bulusan-bound jeepney and get off at Bulusan public market. Travel time is about 30 minutes. Ask around as to where the terminal for jeepneys bound for Irosin are, these jeepneys passes by the entrance to the Park. Travel time is about 30 minutes. At the entrance we got a tricycle driver who offered to take us to and from the park and to our next destination which was Irosin hot springs. I forgot how much the fee he asked from us was but I believe considering the distance, it was reasonable (no more than PhP500 for all three of us). Also, it turned out to be a good offer from the driver since the distance between the entrance to the park and the lake was quite a distance in itself already. However, you could immediately feel the cool "forest floor" temperature once inside. 

We learned that the volcano is still quite a distance from the lake and that you have to camp the night if you wanted to be at the peak during sunrise. The water was green owing to the colors of the forests/trees surrounding the lake. You can kayak or hike around the lake (with a guide) for a fee which we ended up doing both. The kayak was harder in my opinion since we were exposed to the noon sun. My mom cheated as she got one of the guides to kayak for her while she sat with her umbrella. The place is just too beautiful and serene. However, there is not much choice when it comes to food so better if you plan for your lunch elsewhere, arrange it with someone or bring your own for picnics.

After spending some time kayaking and hiking we then headed off to Irosin for our very late lunch. We were definitely starving. The hired trike from Bulusan to Irosin took us probably an hour or so. We were all sleepy from the sleepless bus commute from the night before. I had to bear it though since I was seated at the back of the driver. I couldn't possibly afford to fall asleep there! 

that side mirror shot.

At last we got to our destination and first on our list was to eat. There was not much of a choice but all three of us: me, my mom and my sister loved the Bicol express!!!

The San Mateo hot and cold springs Resort don't look much and not too inviting but I suggest give it a chance and take a dip. You'd definitely realize why it was worth going to after all, at least that's what we felt. The water felt really clean and invigorating!

Going back, we just took a tricycle and some jeepneys to Sorsogon City. It's not too scary to ask people around as they are honest and helpful enough for directions. The good thing was the tricycle and jeepney rides going back to Sorsogon gave us a picturesque view of the country side with a glimpse of Mt. Bulusan.

view from the Bulusan park

Pearl shopping

Surprisingly, when a visitor asked me for good places to eat, buy and see here in our beloved country I had to think about it. You'd expect me to blurt out right away being the local here and be able to give them great tips but then my arsenal was mostly composed of mundane city stuff. I had to contemplate what's a "definitely Pinoy" experience that sets us apart from other countries. Also, I had to consider the fact that they only have time to go around after office at 5pm for 4 days. So, when asked what is "fun" in Manila, I had to double check what his definition of fun was. For me it depends on what kind of fun you are looking for. We couldn't guide them through the city though during their short stay so they ended up just going around the (EDSA) Shangri-la Mall and Megamall shopping for dried mangoes which were just walking distances from where we are at during the first three days. 

On their last night though, we finally got the chance to take them to Greenhills. I just remembered that a lot of folks especially from the US tend to buy local crafts and jewelries when they find themselves in Metro Manila. So we decided to take them there. They find these things as really cheap here in comparison to their home country. Fortunately, my other colleagues already knew of a store where our other counterparts have bought their souvenirs and they knew how to check. This was a relief since I don't know anything about pearls. I've been buying from time to time from vendors in the local beaches or markets at really cheap prices ($1 for a pair of earrings). All those time, I just assumed they were real pearls although I didn't know what real meant. After last night though, here's what I learned:

1. The more rounded (and whiter) they are, the more expensive they get. (Higher quality)

2. Deep sea pearls are expensive (they showed us a strand which went for about PHP60,000 or $1,500. They were a little big for my taste though but when you placed it side by side with the other pearls they do stand out. From afar, they were almost the same.

3. Freshwater pearls (some cultivated) have varying qualities as well.

4. If you lit a pearl, it shouldn't burn or change color. I'm not convinced on this one though because they only use a lighter and just a few seconds (not even 5). There's not even enough time for the heat transfer! High grade/denser plastics can probably withstand the same (or other reinforced material)

5. Here's a little interesting one: If you try to rub two pearls together, you should see scratches and bits of powder scraping off (pearl powder/essence?). But just rub the pearl even with your finger and the scratch should be 'wiped off'. I guess at some point if you keep on doing this you'd end up scratching off all the pearl though.

The last one got me curious so I tried it out on the 'pearls' I found at home. The two pairs below are from Palawan and cost only $1 each pair. Scratching them was easy:

Rubbed them with my fingers and well they went back to normal:

I tried it on three more: from SM, Boracay and H&M:

The ones from SM and H&M though were too smooth it was hard trying to get them scratched. Either they weren't real or they painted some sort of coating on them or I still have a lot to learn about pearls.

I ended up buying this silver necklace (no idea on the percentage) with pearls for just Php150 ($3). Considering the price of accessories these days, I'd say it's not bad at all. The earrings I got for free as a treat from the visitor for taking them out.

And oh Koreans sure now how to haggle! I can learn a few things from them too. Anyway, I'm still no expert when it comes to these things but at least I learned a few things. Hopefully next time it'll be about gold/silver.