We seldom spend our vacation in Subic and always choose Batangas for summer getaway as it's already a home for us and is quite nearer from Manila. Last Saturday, we cancelled our Laiya reservation and headed north instead. We have no reservation in Subic so we left Manila early morning because we're not sure if we could get a cottage to stay for about 17 pax. The SLEX was clear that day. There were no signs of traffic and it took us only about three hours on the road. The traffic only started to build up in the Subic area. Buses and other vehicles were lined up going to resorts. In our first stop for an available resort, the caretaker offered us the two vacant rooms and a cottage. We were told to come back right away because they couldn't guarantee to reserve the place for us as he reasoned out that a lot of tourists are expected to stay that day. After talking to our group, parked just a few meters away, we went to the resort owner to confirm our overnight bookings, unfortunately, the rooms were already taken by another group in a span of five minutes. We felt frustrated for a while. Luckily, on the next stop, there were quite a number of tourists to check-out in two hours so we just waited till the rooms/cottages become available. We were offered a nipa hut good enough for us and a papagan.
There were already quite a lot of vacationer nearby. We're lucky to have landed in a semi private resort where only a few came to spend their summer.
We hopped to another island. The locals call it "Pulo Island". It's a rocky island, a perfect place for location shooting. You don't need to look for a great scene or angle because the island was very picturesque. The water was very calm and quiet but I saw it in different way. I was terrified and kept asking the boatmen, "malayo pa po ba, normal lang po ba ang alon na yan." It took us more than 15 minutes before we reached the island. I noticed that the life vests were already worn out and that added to my worried and stressed mind. The waves were coming against our way that caused our boat to sway from time to time. What made me more nervous is when I heard the boatman said, "Naku, sabay sabay pa umalis, walang aalalay sa atin." I guessed the boatman was referring to all the 5 boats that left the island at the same time. You can call me crazy or maybe not behaving normal but there's always a fear inside me every time I ride a boat. I was really terrified and prayed hard, "God please sail the boat for us and guide us in our trip." When we landed back to resort, I looked at the calm sea and the sun was about to set. How could I be such in a bad panic state when the water was very calm and quiet. Crazy.
We passed by floating island.
and the White Castle Island. It was really nice from afar but when you get closer, you would notice the damages caused by the storms and high tides that already had passed and ruined the castle.
The Pulo Island
My daughter couldn't resist the early morning water. It was so calm and quiet and clean. You could see the fishes swimming in a shallow water.
Yes, definitely, we'll be going back to northern part of Luzon to explore more. I love my place and that's where my home is, Batangas, but I already had enough with the South.
