The long wait is over…
We’re off to Coron, Palawan tomorrow morning! :love:

I can’t believe I’m having another vacation again this year despite my big tummy. As you know, I am now 5 months pregnant and everyone in the office keeps telling me that my tummy looks like it’s going to explode anytime soon because it’s too big! Haha!

We booked our tickets in April and didn’t know I was going to be pregnant, so there’s no backing out now. And besides, my OB said I am fit to travel until my 7th month as long as there’s no complication. I just hope the security at the airport won’t interrogate me for traveling without a medical certificate. I’ll just bring a copy of my ultrasound result as a proof that my tummy is just 5 months. I hope that’ll do!

Anyway, we’ll be back in Manila on September 4 but I won’t be reporting for work until the 16th. Yep, I’m on leave for two weeks starting tomorrow.

I can’t wait to see these lovely places.

Images courtesy of Google

P.S:
I’ll keep you guys posted via Twitter. Woo-hoo!

We recently had our much awaited trip to Baguio on May 15-17. I was with my team mates (Quality Team), and since May 16 marks our 5th wedding anniversary :cake: , I decided to to bring my husband with me so we could celebrate our special day :music: in the Summer Capital of the Philippines. :car:

We boarded the Victory Liner bus at exactly 10 a.m after our shift. The long hours of journey to Baguio was no joke! I swear I was bored to death! :sick: I wanted to sleep but I couldn’t. My butt hurt a little and my mouth got tired of talking and laughing for hours. When we finally arrived in Baguio, it was already 5 p.m. Whoa! :stubborn:

The Manor Hotel

I love this shot. Hehe. :heart:

We hailed a taxi that took us to Mountain Lodge. It’s an old house that was turned into a lodge and I couldn’t help but notice the musty smell. It’s located in front of Teacher’s Camp so we kept teasing each other that ghosts would suddenly appear in our pictures just like what’s reported on TV. :thinking: :geez:

After our sumptuous dinner at Rose Bowl, :apple: my husband and I decided to sleep in our room while the rest of the guys had a short drinking session at the lodge’s terrace. Then we woke up early the next day to explore the beauty of Baguio. :heart:

The President’s Kingdom in Baguio.

Here are the places we visited during our tour: The Philippine Military Academy, Botanical Garden, Camp John Hay, Butterfly Garden, The Manor (it’s the most expensive hotel in Baguio. we love it!), Zigzag Road (you can see the lion’s head from here), The Wright Park, Good Shepherd, The Mansion, Baguio Market, Lourdes Grotto, and Burnham Park.

We love the Igorot outfit!

Find the lion’s head.

After our tour, we headed back to the lodge to take a rest. Two hours later, we went to Good Taste for dinner. The food was awesome, inexpensive and came in large servings! My jaw dropped in awe when I saw our bill. It’s just 2,300 for 11 persons! k: :love:

After dinner, we headed to Dug-out Bar because my team mates wanted to celebrate our last day in Baguio. I was too tired that night so I was hesitant to join the group (but I ended up joining anyway). And besides, I don’t drink at all. As in I hate alcohol! So after less than an hour, my husband and I left the bar to have that special moment alone. LOL. :heart: :hearty:

And the rest is history! :love: *wink*

After our tiring tour at Mag-aso Falls, we headed to Inambacan cave and spring since it’s also located in the town of Antequera. The cave entrance sits above the Inambacan Spring and has active underground river system. When we arrived there, there was a local guy washing his clothes and swimming at the same time. We’re glad he wasn’t naked! LOL. We just took a few pictures and hurried back to the car :car: where Greggy and our tour guide were waiting.

Our next stop was at Punta Cruz Watch Tower in Maribojoc. It was raining cats and dogs when we arrived so we had no choice but to leave Greggy, who was sleeping anyway, in the car again. There’s no entrance fee at this historical tourist spot. It’s like a mini park, but with a great view of the ocean. :love:

From its windows at the top, you can see Cebu, Siquijor, and Mindanao. What a stunning view! :cam: The tower was built in 1796 as a look-out post against pirates and Muslim marauders.

Dauis Church was our last stop. It was built in 1697 and the design was highly influenced by Byzantine and Romanesque architecture. It was past 5PM when we arrived at the church and there was a mass being held. Thus, it was kind of hard to look around. I got fascinated by the interior design of the church, especially the one on the ceiling. I secretly held my digicam up to take one shot, but the priest suddenly looked at me when the flash fired. mg: So out of respect, we just decided to leave. Haha!

We were supposed to visit other places as part of our itinerary for that day, but we’re too tired already. I asked Kuya Tatsky to drop us off at Alona Tropical Resort so we could check-in and rest. I told him to pick us up at the resort as early as 8AM on our 4th day for the Chocolate Hills tour. I also asked him to arrange the sea tour for us on our 3rd day. He was so nice!

To be continued…

Aside from the enchanting Hinagdanan Cave, I was also very excited to see Mag-aso Falls since it’s one of the main attractions of Bohol. So when we’re finally there, I couldn’t help but stare at the lovely trees cascaded everywhere. The entrance fee only costs 10 or 15 pesos per head if my memory serves me right. Kids are free, which is a good thing. :sick:

Climbing down 197 steps to get to the falls was quite a struggle for us. My husband and I had to take turns in carrying Greggy to ensure his safety. It’s a good thing that the steps have metal handrails so we had something to hold on to. And as we got near the waterfalls, the sound of the cascading water became more deafening…

But when we finally reached the waterfalls, we knew that it’s all worth it. There were only four of us there (with our tour guide, Kuya Tatsky) so we had it all by ourselves! mg: My husband wanted to take a plunge due to the humid weather that afternoon, but I didn’t allow him. The current was too strong! :sick:

Mag-aso Falls is about 25-feet tall and is located in the town of Antequera, The Basket Capital of Bohol. more pictures…?

After taking lots of pictures :cam: , we decided to leave the majestic Mag-aso Falls. You can just imagine how tiring it was to climb up 197 steps again! LOL.

To be continued…

:exclamation: Here’s the continuation of the first part of our countryside tour. :bleh:

When I learned from kuya Tatsky that our next stop would be Hinagdanan Cave, I got pretty excited since it’s one of the tourist spots in Bohol that I’d really like to see. I even searched for its pictures online prior to our trip and was truly fascinated by its unique beauty. :heart: :hearty:

This cave has a very interesting history, by the way. It was discovered in the 16th century by a haciendero (land owner) who saw two adjacent holes on the ground while cutting up some weeds. Thinking that his discovery might lead to something else, he dropped some stones and to his surprise, he heard a resounding splash of water! So that instantly gave him the conclusion that this was a hole leading to a cave. Smartass, eh? :bleh: To gain access to the underground cave, he had to create a ladder. And there he saw dripping stalactites from the ceiling and protruding stalagmites on the ground. Plus, a deep lagoon connecting to the sea!

At the entrance, we were welcomed by the two cave tour guides on duty that day. One of them led us to the steep and narrow staircase going down to the cave. I was soooo excited! (and a little nervous… ):lol:

It was dark inside the cave. It smelled a little musty too. But at least it didn’t smell like urine just like how other travelers described it on their blogs. Lucky us! :bleh:

I glanced up and saw dripping stalactites at the ceiling. My jaw dropped in awe. But at the back of my mind, I was a little worried that those stalactites might drop on our heads! Hahaha. Talk about paranoia!

I was surprised at how knowledgeable our tour guide was when he started telling us about the cave. He was very nice and took the liberty of taking our photos and adjusting our camera settings so that we could still have nice shots inside the cave despite the darkness. Thank you, Nards!

More pictures here.

Our next stop is Mag-aso Falls in Antequera, Bohol. To be continued…

:exclamation: Travel Tip: You’ll find the cheapest tarsier ref magnets, key chains and T-shirts at Hinagdanan Cave. Don’t forget to buy these items there.