Our trip to Caramoan was somehow unplanned. We were so busy with Rap's graduation and our daily tasks that I wasn't able to make an itinerary of sorts. In fact, Rap traveled with my sisters-in-law and their families two days ahead of me and Dadijun because we still had work to do. We finally left for Naga that Thursday night aboard the Isarog Lines SII sleeper bus.
We left the Cubao bus terminal at almost 10 pm and arrived in Naga City by 6 am. We met with the rest of our companions who were checked in at the nearby CBD Hotel for the night. Our rented van arrived shortly after and off we went to Sabang Port where we'll ride the boat that will take us to Caramoan.
It took us an hour to reach Sabang port from Naga City and we waited for another hour and a half waiting for a boat. We were lucky that we were travelling with my sister-in-law's friend whose family owns the home we rented for our stay in Caramoan. She was the one who took care of listing our names in the passenger manifesto and looking for a porter that will carry our things from the shore to the boat.
I was relieved that a floating bridge is provided for passengers to use in riding the ferry boats. I read in some blogs that, in the past years, porters had to carry passengers to the boat because the ferry boats cannot go near the shore. Still, we needed to hire a porter to carry our things. It was a good move on our part as the porter was able to reserve nice seats for all 16 of us by putting our things on the benches of the boat. Although the government strictly imposes the "no overloading policy" riding the boat was on a first-come, first-saved basis and according to the manifesto.
After 2 hours and 15 minutes (yes, I took note of the time), we finally reached Guijalo Port in Caramoan, Camarines Sur. We then took a tricycle to the Centro (Caramoan's central district) where Jallores Homestay was located.
Most of the homes in Caramoan offer lodging to tourists as there are only a handful of resorts and inns in the place. I believe that the locals are trained by the municipal tourism board as I saw a certificate posted on one of the walls in Jallores Homestay.
We rented the two bedrooms at Php 1500/night each. Both are air-conditioned and have their own bathrooms. We were also given extra mattresses and pillows to use because some of us had to sleep on the floor.
We arrived in time for lunch. It's a good thing that Kuya Edward, the husband's cousin, brought cooked chicken and pork adobo and rice for all of us. I was really hungry already because I haven't had a complete meal since we left Manila that night. We were supposed to have an island hopping trip that afternoon but had to cancel it and just decided to rest.
Grocery items are expensive in Caramoan probably because of the time and effort spent in bringing goods over from the bigger cities. We actually brought our own stocks from Naga since we're travelling with kids, but had to walk to the market that afternoon to buy the ingredients for our dinner and for our lunch for the island hopping the following day. Jallores Homestay was just two blocks away from the marketplace.
While the others were in the market, Dadijun and I walked to the nearby St. Michael the Archangel church for some picture taking. The church was built by Franciscan missionaries way back in the 15th century and has undergone several repairs and renovations. It is made of clay, adobe, and stones and have withstood earthquakes and even World War II. All these information came from the Internet, LOL! I tried looking for the historical marker of the church but failed to find one.
The vast lawn outside the church somehow serves as the town's plaza. Since it was already dusk, a lot of locals were there either seated on the grass or on the low branches of the trees in the area. Children also played and rode their bikes on the hilly terrain.
We went back to our companions shortly after, cooked dinner, and rested early for the following day's big event - island hopping!
This post is the first of my Caramoan Getaway series. To read the rest of the posts, please click HERE.
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| Aboard the Isarog Bus Lines Sleeper Bus SII (Php 1,000) from Cubao to Naga. |
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| The make-shift boat terminal in Sabang where we waited for our ride. |
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| Ferry boat from Sabang to Guijalo took 2.5 hours and cost Php 120 each. |
I was relieved that a floating bridge is provided for passengers to use in riding the ferry boats. I read in some blogs that, in the past years, porters had to carry passengers to the boat because the ferry boats cannot go near the shore. Still, we needed to hire a porter to carry our things. It was a good move on our part as the porter was able to reserve nice seats for all 16 of us by putting our things on the benches of the boat. Although the government strictly imposes the "no overloading policy" riding the boat was on a first-come, first-saved basis and according to the manifesto.
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| Tricycle rides here are costly at Php 25 per passenger. |
Most of the homes in Caramoan offer lodging to tourists as there are only a handful of resorts and inns in the place. I believe that the locals are trained by the municipal tourism board as I saw a certificate posted on one of the walls in Jallores Homestay.
We rented the two bedrooms at Php 1500/night each. Both are air-conditioned and have their own bathrooms. We were also given extra mattresses and pillows to use because some of us had to sleep on the floor.
We arrived in time for lunch. It's a good thing that Kuya Edward, the husband's cousin, brought cooked chicken and pork adobo and rice for all of us. I was really hungry already because I haven't had a complete meal since we left Manila that night. We were supposed to have an island hopping trip that afternoon but had to cancel it and just decided to rest.
Grocery items are expensive in Caramoan probably because of the time and effort spent in bringing goods over from the bigger cities. We actually brought our own stocks from Naga since we're travelling with kids, but had to walk to the market that afternoon to buy the ingredients for our dinner and for our lunch for the island hopping the following day. Jallores Homestay was just two blocks away from the marketplace.
While the others were in the market, Dadijun and I walked to the nearby St. Michael the Archangel church for some picture taking. The church was built by Franciscan missionaries way back in the 15th century and has undergone several repairs and renovations. It is made of clay, adobe, and stones and have withstood earthquakes and even World War II. All these information came from the Internet, LOL! I tried looking for the historical marker of the church but failed to find one.
The vast lawn outside the church somehow serves as the town's plaza. Since it was already dusk, a lot of locals were there either seated on the grass or on the low branches of the trees in the area. Children also played and rode their bikes on the hilly terrain.
We went back to our companions shortly after, cooked dinner, and rested early for the following day's big event - island hopping!
This post is the first of my Caramoan Getaway series. To read the rest of the posts, please click HERE.
Did you like my post? CLICK THIS to have my posts delivered straight to your email inbox.
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