Camarines Norte Travelogue

by Raizza Baltazar

March 8, 2014

We finally arrived in Daet, Camarines Norte after 10 hours of travel from Quezon City. We had breakfast at Jollibee and changed into our swimming outfits there since we were advised that there was a high probability that we would get wet from the boat ride to Calaguas Island. Next stop was the terminal of boats en route to the Calaguas Group of Islands. Each boat was accompanied by 4-5 boatmen. At first, I thought that it wasn’t going to be a bumpy ride to Calaguas but as the distance travelled got longer, huge, raging waves showed up making our boat sway from left to right and from front to back making me think and feel that at any time, the boat will keel over. It wasn’t my first time to ride a boat such as the one we rode to Calaguas -- but it was definitely my first time to experience such a scary ride. And true enough, we all got wet with the splashes of water therefore, it is highly recommended to bring waterproof containers for your valuables or plastic bags to place or cover your bags with. After about 2 hours or so, we eventually arrived at our destination and boy, the scenery was worth the ride. 

The water was clear, the sand was fine, the heat was lessened by the sea breeze and the mountains and little houses added up to the pleasing landscape of the island. We learned, through a little chitchat with one of the residents, that the island we were in had the finest sand among the group of islands so it’s the most efficient one that tourists can visit.

Not only did we explore the waters and the sand, we also explored the mountain side of the island.

Then it was time to go. So long beautiful Calaguas! The boat ride home was even scarier because of the larger waves. Thankfully, the boatmen were experts in handling such waves that we got home safe.

After our tiring but FUN trip to Calaguas, we went straight to Bagasbas Lighthouse Resort Hotel. The room that I stayed in was a dorm-type room which had 4 double deck beds, a bathroom composed of 3 cubicles (had showers and toilets in each), a wash area, and a locker. The bathroom was nice but I wasn’t quite impressed with the room itself because, first, the upper deck of the bed didn’t have enough guard rail, second, there wasn’t enough space for our things and that made me feel that the room was congested, third, there wasn’t a trash bin in the room so my roommate had to place a piece of plastic in the bathroom for our trash, and fourth, there wasn’t enough power outlets for eight people (there were only 4 and all were located in the lower deck; more disadvantageous for the people in the upper deck). The resort all in all was okay. It had a playground, a basketball court, an open bar, a cafe/restaurant, several gazebos, a swimming pool, free wi-fi (but you have to be in the lobby to connect), and KTV rooms.

March 9, 2014

This was the day we explored the municipality of Daet. We got brochures from the reception of the resort for free. The first thing you see when you go outside Bagasbas Lighthouse Resort Hotel is the Bagasbas beach. This beach resembles the Lingayen beach a whole lot. One thing you can do here is to surf. I think you can rent surfboards from the resort.

From the resort, we then went to the city proper (or centro as what locals call it) through tricycle (10 Php/person). You can find a number of shopping centers and fast food restaurants there. Also, there are stores there where you can buy pasalubongs.

With the help of the locals, we went to some of the places listed in the brochure. First, we went to Rufino Pabico Ancestral Home. The caretaker was nice enough to let us in the premises of the house but we were told that the owner was out of town so we couldn’t go inside the house specifically. Had Mang Paking (the owner of the house) been there that day, surely, he would’ve let us inside because according to the driver of the tricycle we rode in, I quote: “Ahhhh, mabait talaga ‘yun si Mang Paking” (Mang Paking is truly a nice guy).

Next, we headed to the old and new municipal halls of Daet -- both halls are located near each other. Located in proximity with the new municipal hall, was Wenceslao Vinzons’ monument. By the way, we passed by the Vinzons’ house on the way to the terminal of the boats to Calaguas.

In the afternoon of the same day, we went to see jewelry-making in Paracale. There, people explained the processes and the uses of the machines we saw. We were told that the jewelry there were sold at low prices. After the jewelries, we were given free time to go to mass and to explore the municipality of Paracale.