bed hair
I wanted to bring Janelle to go see the Hundred Islands National Park in Alaminos, Pangasinan before I go back to Japan. And after a pleasant experience doing the Mt. Pinatubo trek with Tripinas, we decided to once again book a tour with them. This time the price was a little bit higher as we were only two people, amounting to 4,999 PHP (89 USD). This was an all-inclusive price with a roundtrip private transfer directly from Manila to Alaminos as well as a private boat for island hopping.
Our pick up time was around 1:00AM this time around, much earlier than the Mt. Pinatubo trek but still it was just as difficult to sleep in the car. It’s the only thing I didn’t like about doing these daytrips.
We arrived around 5:00AM or so, we got to the park and went to the back to have some breakfast. It was a fond memory of mine because it felt like we were so far from everything else and that we truly had this day all for ourselves. I’m glad I got to sample the local Ilocano food and get a taste of traditional Filipino culture.
We went to the nearby hall to register. I particularly liked the miniature map of the whole island that was just outside. Our driver, who was the same one who took us to Mt. Pinatubo did all the paperwork for us. Unfortunately, he didn’t seem to remember us until I mentioned the lost wallet incident!
pilgrimage
We soon found ourselves on a boat heading off into the horizon. The sky was of a pretty shade of blue and the water looked turqouise, it was a peaceful and chilly morning. It was only the two of us and the boat driver. We actually didn’t know we were going to be getting a private boat so it was a pleasant surprise as we expected something like El Nido or Cebu.
Our first stop was Pilgrimage Island, which provided amazing views of the surrounding islands. One of the main landmarks of the park was a giant Jesus Christ statue that stood on top of the island, watching over the whole sea. On the way up to the summit of the island, we had to do a hike that went through the 14 stations of the cross which had amazing artistic depictions of the different biblical scenes. The views were nothing short of spectacular.
They weren’t lying when they called it “hundred islands,” in fact there’re actually 124 islands all-in-all!
At the top, there was a church where we prayed for a bit before going to the other side of the island where the actual statue was. We actually had to cross a bridge to the other side, I didn’t realize just how big this island was.
the hundred islands
The next island we went to was the nearby Governor’s Island, which required another shorter hike much to the chagrin of Janelle. This island actually provided an even better panoramic view of the whole of Hundred Islands.
Our boat driver also took us to nearby areas to try out snorkeling and we were able to see a lot of colorful fish and the breathtaking coral reefs. The ecosystem here was thriving!
He then took us to Lopez Island, where we were actually able to have it all to ourselves. It was an experience like no other, it was like our little paradise. We swam and walked around the white sand while really appreciating our surroundings and feeling gratitude for the fact that we were able to be here and now.
We went to Quezon Island next which was one of the more developed islands in the area, having some ziplines, banana boats and several restaurants and outlooks. Janelle and I ate our lunch here. Thankfully, I didn’t have anymore stomach problems like in El Nido. We had a little bit of trouble finding our boat again and had to ask local services to hail our boat for us with their megaphone which was apparently a thing on this island.
noon
With tummies full, we stopped by Children’s Island where the water was shallow (hence the name) but the water here was also quite cold partly because it was nestled in between two limestone karsts.
Cuenca Island, was the surprise of the day. At first I thought it was just going to be an island with a small cave so I didn’t even bother to take my phone but when we went through the cave, the other side had the most amazing little alcove that I had to actually run back to the boat to grab my camera!
Romulo Island where we bought some souvenirs, a pair of seashells with our names engraved on it. Unlike El Nido, where each island is really distinct, some of the islands are really just a beach and smaller in size, that’s not to say it wasn’t beautiful but I think as the day went on, they just started to blur together a little bit.
Lastly, we went to Scout Island which was the last one for the day before our driver took us back to the mainland.
All in all, it was an amazing day and now it remains a forever pleasant memory.
