Livin high and takin it easy

UBBE Calaguas + SURFVIVOR Bagasbas (Apr 17-18, 2010)
Camarines Norte, Philippines

BEACH BUMMING + Surfing + Skimboarding in ONE WEEKEND

PACKAGE RATE
P3,900 per pax (ALL IN) – if the group fills 1 bus

PACKAGE INCLUSIONS
- Roundtrip air-con bus: Manila to Daet – Daet to Manila
- Overnight accommodation at Calaguas Island (1 Nipa hut with CR and fresh water + Camping Tents)
- Chartered boat service from port of Daet to Calaguas Island
- Camp meals at Calaguas Island (Day 1:lunch, dinner, Day 2 breakfast)
- Other meals: Day 1: Breakfast, Day 2: Lunch and Dinner
- Guide fees and Environmental fees at Calaguas Island
- Use of skimboards at Calaguas Island
- Half-day room accommodation at Bagasbas tourist inn (for rest & shower)
- Travel Insurance
- Travel Factor Souvenir: ID, Lanyard

Not included:
- Surf Lesson at Bagasbas Beach with surfboard rental and instructor (P400 per pax)

ITINERARY
Day 0, Apr 16 Friday
10:00 PM Assembly at McDo Quezon Ave
11:00 PM Departure to Makati
11:45 PM Pick Up participants at Shell McKinley, Makati
12:00 MN Departure to Daet

Day 1, Apr 17 Saturday
07:00 AM ETA Daet;
09:00 AM ETA Calaguas Island
Set Camp, BEACH BUMMING, Explore the Island
12:00 NN Lunch
more BEACH BUMMING and skimboarding
07:00 PM Dinner and Bonfire Night

Day 2, Apr 18 Sunday
08:00 AM Breakfast
09:00 AM Break camp
10:00 AM Depart camp
12:00 NN ETA Bagasbas, Daet. check-in at Tourist Inn. Lunch. Rest. Explore Bagasbas Beach.
02:00 – 4:00 PM Option to Surf or Skim c/o CamNorte Surfing Association
07:00 PM Check out. Dinner
09:30 PM ETD Daet to Manila via bus (travel time: 7 hours)

Day 3, Apr 19 Monday
3:30 AM ETA Cubao

BOOKING AND RESERVATION GUIDELINES
* Deadline of Registration: Mar 15, 2010 (or earlier)
* Book & Buy Policy. First come, first serve basis.
* No regform, No reservation. To reserve, please fill-out registration form then send to tours@travelfactor.org

Subject: Calaguas – Registration (Apr 17-18, 2010)
* Then you will receive thru email account details where to deposit payment (BPI). For group reservations, please send your registration forms in one file & email.
* Everyone is required to download and submit registration form
* Please register only if you are 100% sure you are joining. And if after registering you need to back-out, please have the courtesy to notify us properly thru email.
* Full payment must be settled within the agreed timeframe. Should you need extension, please coordinate with Travel Factor
* Non-refundable but transferable to other person. Travel Factor must be notified asap or at least 5 days before the trip. In this case, the “proxy” must fill-out and submit registration form.
* The payments made to us are only refundable if we cancel due to weather issues or fortuitous events.
* Upon payment, you will receive a copy of complete guidelines, including things to bring, itinerary, reminders, etc…

FOR INQUIRIES/COMMENTS/SUGGESTIONS
email your concerns to tours@travelfactor.org with your name and contact number
Subject: Calaguas – Inquiries (Apr 17-18, 2010)

or contact Travel Factor at 02-359-2434 / 0917-8475341

DISCLAIMER
Recommended for fun-loving & adventurous people who would like to meet new friends while travelling. Be prepared of the long travel time and the ‘wiwi’ moments on public restrooms.

For more information, click on the image or visit the Travel Factor page at Multiply.

***

A visit to the island of Calaguas is long overdue. It seems to me that I (and Ryan) are the only ones who have not been to the island among all our Travel Factor friends. I know a lot of people in this area and a visit to the island for a day should not be too difficult. I go to Daet often enough. I have a lot of high school friends who have been there and whom I could go with.  I could even organize a trip for the entire family if so desired. My mom keeps saying we should go.

I wasn’t really friends with TF people in 2008, having joined my first trip in March (Ilocos) and met Leia, Rex and Cha there among a good number of others there for the first time. I met Ced for the first time in May 2008 in Bagasbas Beach, after they had just come back from an overnight at the island. I didn’t make it to the legendary Calaguas trip slash Ced’s birthday party in 2009. My baby was barely two weeks old then.

This year I hope to be able to finally step foot on Calaguas Island, dubbed by TF friends as the “Happy Beach”. I don’t mind spending extra (because I have been told by my high school friends that it only cost them P1,000 all-in for two days and one night in the island when they went there on their own, though this cost is coming from Naga City instead of Manila) because I will be with the happy friends that is the Travel Factor. The fun should be worth it. I could always come back..

Baler, Aurora; April 2008

It was in Baler, Aurora that I learned to surf. I went with my grad school friend PJ and her boyfriend, Gerard. I met Daisy Valdez and Jefferson de la Torre for the first time. It was April of 2008.

Jason, also known as Balat and Jeff’s older brother, was the one who taught me how to surf – in Charlie’s Point. I was out there with them, trying to ride big waves for the first time with PJ’s flowered pink fun board. It was indeed, a lot of fun.

View the entire set on Flickr here.

More story on Multiply here.

Bagasbas Beach, Daet, Camarines Norte; May 2008

It was the first ever Bagasbas Summer Surf. It was my first time in Bagasbas. More importantly, it was my 26th birthday. This trip was a birthday gift to me.

It was also the first time Ryan drove the car all the way to Bicol and the very first time we took our dog, Ewok, with us on a long trip, or more specifically, a trip to Bicol.

View the entire set on Flickr here.

Clich here to view more photos of the Bagasbas Summer Surf event on Multiply.

Click here for [more narcissistic] touristy photos.

And click here to view the old blog.

Bacnotan, La Union; July 2008

In my first ever trip to La Union, I did not get to surf in San Juan. We were at Bacnotan for two days instead. First time in La Union, first time in Bacnotan.

We did stay at Hacienda Peter’s Resort in San Juan so I managed to take a few snapshots of the surf in front as well as the beautiful sunset.

Click here to view the entire set on Flickr.

Click here to view the story and photos on Multiply.

That surf trip would be the last one in one long year, as I learned I was three weeks pregnant in August of 2008, as I prayed and hoped I would be.

Urbiztondo, San Juan, La Union; July 2009

For this trip, the firsts were…

… first time for Ryan to go to L.U.
… first time to drive the car to L.U.
… Lia’s first time in L.U.
… first time surfing in San Juan

If it weren’t for this post, I would not have realized that I have not managed to upload the photos on Flickr. I did make a blog post of this trip here on this site and made a photo album through Smilebox.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Click here to go to old post.

I will work on posting the entire set for this trip to Flickr once I am done with this past weekend’s photos.

2008 was a great year for surfing. I went surfing thrice in three different locations.

2009 was dedicated to my daughter. We were literally inseparable for months.

Who knows what 2010 holds?