Back in Hiking with Dingalan Side Trip

Destinations for this day:

Ø  Mount Sawi |Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija

Ø  Batanes of the East – Dingalan, Aurora | Lighthouse and White Sand Beach

April 15, 2017 | Sunday

 

I was a joiner again this time!

And I was with this group of hikers called, “Adventurous People”.

(I can't find our group picture. Lol!)

Our meet up was at Crossing Shaw at 12 midnight.

Then by 1 am, we travelled going to Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija through a van.

We reached the jump off of Mount Sawi at 5 am and by 6 we started the trek. 

For me, it was an easy trail that the usual rate is 3/9. 

It was more than two hours to reach the summit and you can see the whole view of Nueva Ecija.

 Back to my favorite spot- the summit!

And of course, views from the mountain top will always take my breath away – 360 degrees.

This was called Mount Sawi because of the dead Balete Tree on its summit.

Then we just had a back trail.

Our coordinated treated us lunch when we reached the jump off again! Yay! Thank you so much! J

It was almost after 1 pm, we were on the way to Dingalan Aurora which was only an hour away.

We then rode a boat going to White Beach, Dingalan. 

After settling down our things on the rented cottage, we climbed up the Light house. 

  

And I will always be in love with light houses as much as I love hanging bridges.

Hello there, Batanes of the East!

I so love this trip. Another dream destination unlocked! 

Thank you Lord God for the strength, financial capacity, good health and good people I meet and be with along the way.

Island Trip at Playa La Caleta

April 1-2, 2017 | Bagac, Bataan

With the favorite set of friends, one fine Saturday morning, we were all so ready to discover Bataan!

Since we were total of nine in the group, our budget was only Php. 1000.00 per head!

Yes, we were that kind of budget conscious. 

How we did this? I will post on the lower portion our expenses for this trip from Cubao.

Meanwhile, here’s our itinerary for this two-day trip:

Day 1…

6am- Meet up at Cubao

7am- Ride a bus going to Balanga. Travel time was more than 3 hours.

10am- Ride another bus going to Bagac, then rode a trike going to Bagac Market to buy food. And then we were off the shore to ride a boat with 30 mins. Travel time going to Playa La Caleta wherein we pass through Las Casas De Acuzar.

At 1pm- Here we come Playa! Setting up our tent and preparing our lunch. 

At 4pm- Swimming time, photo ops and strolling the island. 

At 6pm- Wash up and prepping for dinner. Night out. Bonfire. Marshmallow and Hotdog Time. Heart to heart talk over drinks and food.

1 am – Sleeping Time

Day 2…

6am - Packing up of our things and did the island hopping. 

7am- Cliff jumping. Off the bucket list!

11am- Brunch at Balanga, Bataan

2pm- Back to Manila

Here’s the expenses we had:

Bus Fare: 400 Round trip

Another Bus fare: 100.00 RT

Food Contribution: 100.00 – we went to Bagac Market to buy raw food and other stuffs needed (please see below menu)

Boat Fare: 150.00 RT;  You can nego with this. (here’s the contact number of Kuya Kenneth – our bangkero, 100% recommended by us: 0977-2061325). His family also offered and lend us some cooking utensils, water gallon and ice box that we brought to the island. We even use their bathroom for our wash ups before we went home. He even fetched us using his own tricycle at the Bagac Market going to the shore.

Entrance Fee to Playa La Caleta: 200.00

Tent Pitching: 25.00

Total: 975.00/ head good for 9 pax.

These are the stuffs we bought on the public market and our total budget was Php 900.00!

This is how budget conscious we are. He-he.

RICE

ALAK (syempre!)

PORK

CHICKEN

FISH

TOYO

CALAMANSI

RED EGGS

KAMATIS AND OTHER CONDIMENTS

ULING

BARBEQUE STICKS

KEROSENE GAS

MINERAL WATER (1 BIG GALLON WITH FAUCET)

HOT DOG

MARSHMALLOW

ICE

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Bonus Blog post:

My thoughts on Cliff Jumping as this ticked my bucket list!

“It took me a lot of strength and courage to do this. Maybe to some who knows how to dive or swim, this was not a big deal.

But then for me, this worth my life.

I have a lot of fears. I was always afraid and hesitant to do the things that scares me but it challenges me at the same time. So I took this opportunity to tick my bucket list.

Here I come, cliff jumping!

Aside from the fears I have (falling, deep water and heights), I also have a lot of trust issues. My friends said that I won’t get drowned since I was wearing a life jacket. But still, coming from a major heartbreak not so long time ago, I gained trust issues.

I can’t depend my life on this orange thing around my body. What if it won’t work? What if it will be taken away from my body? What if I die drowning? Oh em G!

Just by looking at the cliff and the rocks beneath the clear water that I will fall off, it chills me so much! Nervousness and fear covered me.

Can I do really do this?

This man beside me, said yes.

He even secured my life jacket.

And the friends down there cheered up for me as well.

It took me so long to jump that this man got irritated already. Ha-ha! They waited for me for almost half an hour to do this. Ha-ha. #truestory

But the thing that triggered me to jump already was when he then became so protective. He can’t stand the sight that I was being looked by a lot of people specially boys in my bikinis.

Audience impact it was! 😂

He was close to being mad and pulling me off the cliff, to go back and not to jump anymore and we just have to go home. Ha-ha!

So, okay, I jumped with eyes closed!

Thanks, Love! As I jumped over the cliff, I also dropped the fear of falling again.

#diwawanders

#diwawonders

#beachlife

#cliffjumping

#summer

P.S. Happy birthday to our dear friend as she celebrated her special day with us on this special place for us.

 Photos from Day1:

DAY 2 PHOTOS: