story of a girl

I spent two weekends rediscovering my father’s province and it was one summer experience (minus Punta), worth writing about!

Hundred Islands

Due to the global phenomenon that is recession, the company decided on not having a summer outing for this year. Hence, our department opted to have its own little version. With the beach in mind, we chose to explore two birds in one hit: Hundred Islands and Bolinao which are both in Pangasinan.

Planning was easy, thanks to Carleen, Eve and some information from yours truly. I have been to the Hundred Islands in Alaminos when I was still a teenager, and it seemed too long ago, so visiting it for the second time was still exciting especially with my friends in tow.

Going there, a lot of things didn’t go the way we wanted to but these happenings should be expected in every backpacking trip. The most important thing is to not stop being happy and excited about the travel despite the occasional hitches that may pop up.

We had a simple bangus and longganisa breakfast at the port before heading to see the islands. The sun was in hiding at that time but not even the dark skies would stop us.

We were able to set foot on only four of the more than a hundred islands, as we had to reach our 2pm check-in at Bolinao, they were: Governor’s, Cuenco, Marcos and Quezon. My favorite was our beachcombing at Marcos, it was one of the cleanest and it also has the finest sand among the four islands we visited.

Maxine’s by the Sea

We had our lunch at a nearby restaurant from the port. I could say we were lucky to have chosen this one as we were introduced to the most delicious seafood kare-kare I have ever tasted. Aside from the rich peanut taste, the dish was a real seafood fiesta with an assortment of mussels, oysters, squid, fish (not sure what kind), shrimps plus the vegetables.

It was a top-rater for me that I had to bring my family back to Alaminos the next weekend just for another taste. If you have the chance or if you’ll be travelling near Alaminos anytime soon, I’m telling you, this is a must-try! It’s only a few walks beside the port in Lucap, Alaminos.

Punta Riviera Resort, Bolinao

Haaay. This was one of the disappointments we encountered in this summer trip.

We traveled for an hour from Alaminos to Bolinao via a rented van. It was a rocky ride as the major part of the path we had to take was on rough roads.

Objectively speaking, the resort was ok. But their service was just disgusting; imagine sending a van with a capacity of only seven persons for a group of 13 heads??? And I need to mention that this service was not free, we had to pay for it but they cut down the price because we won’t stop complaining. But this is the funny part, on our way home the next day, they informed us that we will be given the same van, this time without discounts, because it was no longer a secret to us that only seven persons can be comfortably seated in it. Boy, were they making us laugh.

There were no mirrors in the bathroom and they were poorly constructed as you had to keep sweeping the water into the drainage, even while taking a bath, or else it would be like you bathing in your own flood of a whole day’s sweat and dirt, eeeewwww. When it rained in the evening, water from outside was also dripping in from the exhaust fan.

The resort’s rates were too high for the quality of the amenities and the service that they were able to offer. The free breakfast was supposed to be buffet style but they had last minute changes (they couldn’t set the buffet table daw due to the rain) and what they served us was a meager single danggit with a hotdog and a slice of tomato plus rice. Where the hell was all the food in the buffet that they were supposed to feed us??? And the staff (OMG!), they didn’t even know how to calm the irate customers.

But to be fair, I gave them points for their infinity pool “effect”. It wasn’t anything near the beautiful infinity pools we see in other resorts but it was the only one in Bolinao that attempted to have that kind of, well, effect. And anyway, we had a blast swimming and fooling around in it (with Feli even diving, hahaha!). We spent the few wonderful times we had in Punta, in that pool.

Puerto del Sol, Bolinao

The first family summer outing was set right after the CMID outing weekend. So I had no choice but to visit Pangasinan for two consecutive weekends.

We chose a different resort, Puerto del Sol, which according to a lot of blogs and reviews is the most high-end in terms of price and amenities in the town of Bolinao. I was so glad that I had a second chance at the place after my disappointing experience in Punta Riviera.

This time around, what their brochure and website said was an understatement of the real thing. It really was a beautiful resort from beginning to end.

For one, we were escorted to our rooms by the staff and they also carried our bags for us (this didn’t happen in Punta). There, that was the service we paid for.

The rooms were fabulous, there were no extravagant furniture but they were very comfortable and cozy, as if to repay the long hours of drive we took before getting there. But what I loved the most was the view we had from the balconies of our rooms: it was the resort in its full spectacle and beyond it are the waves crashing in the sea.

Puerto del Sol has a better beach area, not as shallow as in Punta’s, and their floating nipa was a hit among the guests. I had a better time appreciating the sunset in Bolinao from the hut and we had a blast taking photos in it too. The resort grounds were beautifully landscaped and the greens they have were so refreshing to see. My brothers had a lot of room to Frisbee on.

They had good food too, although it was kind of expensive just like in other far-away resorts. The free breakfast was a party. We had a real buffet (hehe) and they served daing na bangus, ham in cinnamon sauce, eggs (poached and scrambled), pandesal with cheese and marmalade, fresh fruits, orange juice, coffee and tea. Sometimes, it really doesn’t hurt to pay more if only to get it back a hundred folds better.

And oh, before I forget, they have a Jacuzzi, weee!!! J

All in all, it was the far better resort and sans the long drive to Bolinao, our family outing to Puerto del Sol was F-U-N, fun big-time!

Cape Bolinao Lighthouse

We also had more time so we took a ten-minute drive to the talked-about lighthouse of Bolinao.

The lighthouse was beautiful and it looked well-maintained. Although we weren’t able to go inside, the view from the deck beside it was enough to keep our eyes full.

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So far, I’ve been having a spectacular summer, and even with the early arrival of the uninvited typhoons, I’m not done yet. Here I come, Bantayan!