A Dreamy Haven

A Dreamy Haven By JO ERLINDA G. NEBRES Printed in Fil-Am Megascene Chicago February 25, 2009

Basking under the cerulean sky, lying lazily at the immaculate white sandy beach beside the calm waves of the azure seawater makes a getaway perfect for intimate moment at Caramoan Peninsula !
There is no paradise like Caramoan Peninsula, the hidden treasure of the Philippines located in the province of Camarines Sur!
Getting there, you will readily fall in love with the beautiful place. Its beauty never stops to entice each visitor who comes to this place. The pristine white sand and the crystal indigo sea found in the cape of Caramoan are very alluring to the eyes of many. You’ll never stop wondering what’s beyond this dazzling azure water when riding in a boat. What promises lies ahead?
Seashore that can match a beach in Miami, Florida and privacy, a quiet, serene Caramoan Peninsula can be a wonderful retreat, a seventh heaven to be part and enjoy the nature. The place has its own beauty and pride of its own uniqueness. An undeniably charming paradise!
Caramoan Peninsula’s beaches are truly magnificent with its immaculate powdery white sand surrounded by sparkling cerulean water, unexploited by commercial tourism. Each beach has its own uniqueness.
Touring around the place gives island hopping a new significance to witness its enthralling beauty in many ways. A great ocean adventures for kayakers, snorkel and scuba dive to experience the diverse marine life, trek and search for the unfathomable lagoon, rock climb the limestone cliffs, explore the caves or star gazing at night!
There are many islands and caves clustered in Caramoan to hop around, each boasting its own beauty and individuality.
Here are some exciting islands to see.
The Lahos Island, the most popular, has its name which means "overflow" where the sea can wash over a part of this narrow island from one side to the other.
Matukad Island exemplifies the portrait of a perfect tropical island.
Honongan Island is the first resort in Caramoan to open. This hundred-room development is set off the cliff facing the beach. Its beachfront has beautiful views of immaculate islands right across the calm sea.
Island hopping won’t be complete without seeing the mysteriously majestic caves. Omang Cave is part of the Caramoan National Park located in Barangay Paniman and Barangay Ilawod. Its entrance is about 30 feet above sea level and the interior is like architecturally designed. The air is very cool inside. It is dark and, if lighted, shows extravagant beauty. It is like entering a new dimension of a limestone world.
The most intriguing Manipis Cave is located at Barangay Pandanan. It is believed that General Yamashita hid his treasure in this cave but you don’t need to look any further for the cave is a treasure in itself!
This cave has rich guano reserve.
Calapnitan Cave in Libmanan contains countless stalactites and pillars ranging from massive to extremely delicate. Thousands of bats make this cave their home. The site of the hundreds of bats also is a very extraordinary spectacle. Their presence provides a very good source of guano supply and phosphate.

The fresh cool water from the underground stream of Taisan is simply irresistible in Bulang-Bugang Cave. Explore the deep underground river of the cave.
Don’t miss the twin waterfalls of Itbog Falls in Sta. Cruz Buhi and the Malacsay Falls in Mt. Isarog in Panicuason. The cascading water measures about 40 feet from the top to a wide pond below.
Malacsay Falls could compare with famous waterfalls in the Philippines like the Pagasanjan Falls in Laguna.
There are many activities to do and places to see in this dreamy haven of Caramoan Peninsula and there 's a lot of natural wonders to discover. Island hopping, swimming, skin diving, limestone cliff expeditions, snorkeling, scuba diving, caving or spelunking, rock climbing , hiking, beach camping, kayaking, inland and island lagoon exploration, sea and marine cave adventures, subterranean river adventures and gold panning!
Whew! Aren’t these adventures enough for you to entice you to come in one paradise called Caramoan Peninsula? Think of getting thrilled in wakeboarding on your way home?
Let’s have fun basking under the sun and explore the many islands of Caramoan Peninsula together! Email me at gagabytes@yahoo.com.

Experience the very unique Bohol

Experience the very unique Bohol

By JO ERLINDA G. NEBRES

Printed in Philippines Today US

February 18, 2009

Did you know that the tarsier was the inspiration of the famous movie E.T. of Stephen Spielberg? Yes, it’s true. Stephen Spielberg used the tarsier-look for the lead character ET of the movie E.T. Tarsiers can be found in Bohol , Philippines .

Bohol is the home of the unique tarsier, the smallest mammal in the world. This cannot be found in other country, except perhaps in Borneo and Indonesia .

Bohol is also famous for the matchless Chocolate Hills, pristine white sand beaches, dive spots, and old stone churches, which are among the oldest in the country.

There are many tourist spots to visit there and fine dining restaurants and great accommodations,too.

Bohol province is accessible by land, sea and air transportation. When in province the unique shape of thousand of hills called Chocolate hills are the first destinations of most people who visit there. It is matchless. You cannot find anywhere like it but in Bohol . It is a pride of every Boholanos living there.

Bohol also has few springs and caves ready for exploration.

. Swimming or diving is a must for every diving enthusiast in Bohol's Panglao Island. Whale and dolphins everywhere!

Panglao Island is well-known destination for divers who love to discover marine life. Hotel and resorts in the Island offers scuba lessons for scuba aspirants. If not interested in scuba, there are lots of activities you can do. Swimming, dolphin watching, jet skiing, kayaking, snorkeling and more water sports and activities available in the hotel and resorts of Panglao Island. You might try boating and fishing there.

Many fine dining restaurants available in the area offers different specialties. Seafoods, native delicacies, Westerners dishes and many choices to choose from when in comes to dining in the province. Try the Pyramid in Aloha Kew to experience the dampa type of restaurant wherein you will need to buy in the wet market for food and render in the restaurant their cooking services. Whether you like it grilled, in soup or you might want it spicy, sour or anything, just give the restaurant your instructions.

When it comes to dining, Loboc River Cruise Lunch is a must visit cruise-restaurant in Bohol . The food and service is superb! A band will serenade you with old and news songs and some Spanish songs while eating and cruising the Loboc River . Curiosity behind the jungle scenarios might want you to try hiking amid the jungles. What a spectacular dining experience!

Bohol Bee farm has a unique food to offer. They serve natural organic food freshly picked from the farm that actually not seen in the market.

Your travel won’t be complete without trying the local sweet delicacies – Peanut Kisses, Calamay and Broas. Don’t forget to bring ‘Bagol ng Bohol ’, a sweet dessert from coconut milk, grind glutinous rice, brown sugar, and peanut.

So, come to Bohol. There are many more to discover when you are in the province, known for the warmth and hospitality of its people.

A Magical Night in Donsol River

A magical night in Donsol River
By JO ERLINDA G. NEBRES
February 10, 2009
Published in Philippines Today US
http://www.philippinestodayus.com

Fairy tale stories will come alive in river boating in the long Donsol River in Sorsogon. It’s an extraordinary experience and a different kind of river boating. Night rowing might seem eerie to you, but in Donsol, magic reveals when the sun sets in.
An imaginable experience starts around 5:30 in the afternoon. River cruising in a small boat while waiting for darkness to envelop the place is worthy doing. You’ll be awestruck by the beautiful view of the sunset and feel yourself melt as the color of the sky changes to a deep orange and the sun falls into the calm Donsol river waters.
As the sky blackens, the mystery unfolds as few tiny lights start to emerge around you. While observing them, you can’t imagine the thousands to millions of little lights already there surrounding you.
The unfathomable fireflies swimming in the air, glow-dancing and forming like a giant Christmas tree around the lined-up mangrove trees beside the river. You could even see its lights reflecting on the river water.
The river is like an enchanted place which comes alive from the fairy tale story. The site of thousands to millions of little fire balls with wings swimming around you, the moon and the billions of stars twinkling above you makes you young at heart. It’s delightful to watch the entire place. The only light would be the stars and the moon and the immeasurable numbers of fireflies that brighten the area. At times, you cannot even tell the stars from the fireflies!
When the boat river tour is over, one can't help but shed tears. How beautiful the world really is!
The picture of glowing lights from the water up to the skies above will continue to dance in your mind!
Rarely do we see fireflies in nowadays. In fact, firefly-watching tours are not available in all countries but only in three countries in Asia and Philippines is one of them.
Visual feast of fireflies won’t end during your visit to Donsol. Donsol is rich with locally known Butanding or whale shark. You might want to have an interaction with giant whale shark while you are there. A once in a lifetime experience to see fireflies and whale sharks!
Let the magic unfold before your very eyes. Witness the enchanting place like Donsol River at night. Let the magical experience starts by emailing gagabytes@yahoo.com.

Palawan's enchanting underground river

TRAVEL TIME

Jo Erlinda G. Nebres

Published in Philippines Today

http://www.philippinestodayus.com

Palawan's enchanting underground river

Marvelous! Enchanting! Extraordinairy! Wow!

These are a few words to describe this-must-see Underground River !

This simply unique underground river has been known as the world's largest underground river and is found in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

The mystical eight-kilometer St. Paul Subterranean River runs under a mountain range hollowed out by a cave system at the bottom of karsts limestone cliffs, topped in rich rainforest cave system of sprouting and most awesome stalactites.

Outside this cave, you can lie down sunbathing on a pristine, powdery white sand beach or begin snorkeling on the emerald blue waters on the coast! Nothing beats the excitement of cruising in a mystical underground river!

From Puerto Princesa it will take you two hours drive to the pier where a boat ride takes you to the underground river. Going to the underground river is an adventure itself. Upon reaching the island, there is a little bit of trekking on a forest trails leading off into the jungle. One of these leads to a boat landing point where you charter your boat and boatman to take you into the caves. While hiking, there are monkeys and large monitor lizards roaming freely. You can hear and watch many beautiful birds there! The entrance to the underground river is a sight to see with its calm deep blue green water encased by sharp, pointed rocks!

Now, going inside the underground river is another totally different experience. More mystery unfolds. If you’re afraid of the dark and deep water, then this adventure could pose a problem for you. Each boat carries one light only that primarily points to fantastic stalagmites. The boat ride is quite long, more than 30 minutes and if I remember correctly, covers at least four kilometers of the distance but when riding on kayaks it will push farther.

On your way back, when you see the opening of the river, you kind of heave a sigh of relief because the ride is almost over. Then again, you’ll see breathtaking sceneries that make you want to stay a bit longer.

Marveling at this one of the Seven Wonders of the World , interesting rock formations are very noticeable, and the thousand of bats and swiftlets, including the one that produces the edible birds nest.

Puerto Princesa, capital of Palawan, prides itself as the cleanest city in the Philippines. To protect its mega diversity, only eco-friendly programs are adhered to by tourist establishments. And there are strict ordinances against dynamite fishing, with only net and line fishing allowed. Palawan may have opened itself to tourism but it has also taken serious efforts to preserve this last frontier.

So come to the Palawan underground river and find out for yourself why it is now leading in the search for new wonders of the world.

For comments, email gagabytes@yahoo.com.

Blogging - My New Best Friend

Blogging - My New Best Friend
By Jo Erlinda Gabot
January 22, 2009

I’ve been writing for many years now for a Filipino community newspaper in America. I first started as a freelance media relations officer at the Office of the Mayor of Manila. Along the way, I sidelined as a media relations consultant to some officials and friends as I grabbed the opportunity to earn more, taking advantage of my connections with the print, radio and television media editors because my father is one of them.
Last October 2007, I met a tragic car accident in Nasugbu, Batangas. The car I was driving hit a parked gasoline truck which I did not notice because it was dark. Due to the great impact of the collision, my car hood smashed my windshield hitting me in head and face. I woke up in the hospital three days after coma and learned that my nose broke, there were holes in my face and you can even see my skull during my heartbreakingly incident. If it wasn’t by God’s grace, I would not be live again. If you see my totally wrecked car, you would not believe that I would survive that mishap. It was a miracle. A miracle of God.
After operations on my face and broken legs and bones and almost a month of recuperation at the Asian Hospital and Medical Center in Alabang, Muntinlupa City, the doctors finally allowed me to go home. My recovery continued in the house. After several months, I went down to the pit of depression. I could not accept the damages on my face.
My friend advised me to start writing my thoughts down. I went home that night, inspired to write my thoughts. After several write ups, I noticed the word blog on my friendster profile. I began to type blog on the query box of the search engine of Google to get more information about blogging. To my amazement, my query returned huge number of results. I read some of them.
Even when I want to go places to while away time, forget all my troubles, especially my tragic accident, I just go to my blog and find beautiful places, far or near, which you can enjoy and you will be at peace with yourself. The Philippines, my country, has plenty of good and beautiful sites which you can even call paradise. El Nido, Puerto Princesa underground river, Tubatahha Reef, Hundred Islands, Boracay, Coron, Panglao, Siargao -- all gems for tourists, local and foreign. Indeed, blogging has become one of the most effective marketing tool nowadays. You blog and while away time and earn at the same time. Why not?
At that thought, I began using my friendster’s blog. I began putting my masterpiece on the site doing my best to make my blog’s lay-out friendly to my readers.
It’s amazing what blog can do for online marketers. Most especially to the online entrepreneurs and writers like me. Blog today is the most powerful tool for ranking a website in Google search engine. Most Search Engine Optimizers or SEO use blog to drive links to a specified website they wanted to promote for Google love to read texts on the net!
Every writer wants to be read on the net. They want to share their thoughts to the world. The writers' challenge is to encourage readers to agree on what’s written on their blog. They want to be seen on the world of W3’s. They want to gain popularity as a blogger and to gain avid readers and friends thru their site.
As a blogger, I am happy to know that someone read my articles or someone commented on it. I was surprised at first when lots of readers commented on my articles although I don’t even know them. I never invited them. Wow! Next thing I knew I began researching on how search engine works and learned the importance of quality content of the articles to the ranking of Google’s search engine.
It’s really fun to write. It’s really engaging to blog. It is every writer’s new best friend. Most especially, it is free to blog. It’s free to share your thoughts. Make one now. You might never know what writing and blogging your thoughts can do to your life.
Blogging has played a significant role in my road to full recovery, physically, spiritually and emotionally. Now, I am so confident and optimistic about the world we live in. Sharing one's thoughts verbally to your friends, acquaintances or even to not so friendly folk isn't that easy. But through blog, this best friend of mine, I can now share everything to the world!

A Very Unique Bohol

Experience the Very Unique Bohol
By Jojie Gabot
January 29, 2008

Did you know that the tarsier has been the inspiration of the famous movie E.T. of Stephen Spielberg? Yes, it’s true. Stephen Spielberg used the tarsier-look for the lead character ET of the movie ET. This tarsier can be found in Bohol, Philippines.
Bohol is the home of unique tarsier, the smallest mammal in the world. This cannot be found in other country except in Borneo and Indonesia.
Bohol is famous for the matchless chocolate hills, world’s smallest primate tarsiers, pristine white sand beaches, dive spots, and old stone churches.
There are many tourist spots to visit there and fine dining restaurants and great accommodations can be found.
Getting to Bohol province is accessible by land transportation. When in province the unique shape of thousand of hills called Chocolate hills are the first destinations of most people who visit there. It is matchless. You cannot find anywhere like it but in Bohol. It is a pride of every Boholanos living there.
Few springs can be found there. Caves exploration can be done for a few caves can be found in different towns of Bohol. Swimming or diving is a must for every diving enthusiast to explore in Panglao Island. Whale and dolphins everywhere!
Panglao Island is well-known destination for divers who love to discover marine life. Hotel and resorts in the Island offers scuba lessons for scuba aspirants. If not interested in scuba, there are lots of activities you can do. Swimming, dolphin watching, jet skiing, kayaking, snorkeling and more water sports and activities available in the hotel and resorts of Panglao Island. You might try boating and fishing there.
Many fine dining restaurants available in the area offers different specialties. Seafoods, native delicacies, Westerners dishes and many choices to choose from when in comes to dining in the province. Try the Pyramid in Aloha Kew to experience the dampa type of restaurant wherein you will need to buy in the wet market for food and render in the restaurant their cooking services. Whether you like it grilled, in soup or you might want in spicy, sour or anything, just give the restaurant your instructions.
When it comes to dining, Loboc River Cruise Lunch is a must visit cruise-restaurant in Bohol. The food and service is superb! A man will serenade you some 80’s songs and some Spanish songs while eating and cruising the Loboc River. Curiosity behind the jungle scenarios might want you to try hiking amid the jungles. What a spectacular dining experience!
Bohol Bee farm has a unique food to offer. They serve natural organic food freshly pick from the farm that actually not seen in the market.
Your travel won’t be complete without trying the local sweet delicacies – Peanut Kisses, Calamay and Broas. Don’t forget to bring ‘Bagol ng Bohol’, a sweet dessert from coconut milk, grind glutinous rice, brown sugar, and peanut.

IT'S PARADISE!

It's Paradise!
Jo Erlinda Gabot
March 27, 2008

A fun way to start snorkeling begins
at Long Beach, Puerto Galera







Many of my friends would ask me, why do I always want to go to the beaches?
I’ve never been addicted to the beach, though I was trained to swim during college. I hate beaches for their salty water and it irritates my skin and eyes! I didn’t enjoy swimming there for my fear that something would actually attack me. I usually spend my time at the shores making sand castle or enjoy grilled food at the cottages there.

My first experience in Puerto Galera in Oriental Mindoro last summer 2006 changed everything. My badminton peers went there for three days and spent time at the San Antonio Island. The first time I saw the water, it was really inviting for its clearness. The sooner I put down my traveling bag, I immediately spent practicing snorkeling. There, I saw colorful and unique sea creatures that I’ve never seen in my whole life that close.
The following day, we rented a motorized banca and went island hopping. Our first stop was Puerto Galera’s famous Giant Clam Shells.
As my first time snorkeling experience in deep water, I made sure that there was someone beside me or there was a person I see not far from me.
From the Giant Clam Shell, we took our stop in an island where there is cave for our picnic lunch.
Our next stop, the most important place a first-timer should be in, was Long Beach . On the Long Beach shore, you mustn’t forget to rent a banca to take you to see the bountiful rainbow-colored coral garden! You wouldn’t ride in that small motorized banca. Youʼll grab a piece of handle beside it, and it will pull you to the destination while snorkeling and feeding the fishes.
A very exhilarating experienced that surely no one can ever forget. A first close encounter by hundreds and hundreds of different species of fish eagerly and waiting for their turn to take a piece of food in your hand! You can even hold and feel the fish as you feed them. What a spectacular sight and a mind-blowing experience! It’s like being inside a gigantic aquarium. To add to the momentum, you’ll see the coral gardens and reefs multi-colored in all shades of the rainbow deep below. There are shallow coral gardens, interesting rock formations, and colorful species to watch, like crabs, shrimps, sea anemones, moray, and trumpet fishes.
When it was time to leave, all of us didn’t want to reach the shore. We continued snorkeling and there I begun my own venture alone. After gaining my confidence in snorkeling, I wandered around and looked for something more interesting.
Before going back to our cottage, we stopped at Coco Beach Resort Hotel and had a few drinks and rented kayaks.
As our second and last night, we went to White beach for a party! I was amazed that there were many people there. It was jam-packed and full. You can’t even find a table immediately. Every adult looking for a drink should try their Mindoro Sling!
After that unforgettable experience in Puerto Galera, I had wanted to go snorkelling there again and again. And maybe find another place as beautiful as the waters of this famous place and its denizens in its pristine waters.
Yes, Puerto Galera. My tropical paradise.
Send comments to gagabytes@yahoo.com