It's been awhile since i last posted something. my apologies dear readers (feeling na marami kayo na followers ng blog ko, chos!). anyways, my life's been very busy with the corporate world i'm in, super! ubusan ng hininga sa pressure, ganung levels... so, me and my friends embarked on a weekend getaway at Badian, south of cebu. i'm joined by a lovely couple, the Evanglista's. We visited Lambug beach. Notice the sprawling white sand beach! heaven!

we settled at Grandeur Beach Resort which is 100 steps away from the parking area (rough estimate lang). what i really like about this place is that its not over crowded with tourists and locals maybe because of its location which is about 3 kms. from the main national road. there's tranquility, peace and calmness in this area. if you're not a fan of crowded and rowdy people, u should visit this place. the sand is close to powdery which is a joy to walk on. we booked a room that's good for four persons which costs Php 2,250 per night. it's composed of 1 queen size bed and two single bed foam. if you're a group of four, the room would become sardines level na. lol... the room and toilet is clean, all tiled up. the water pressure is not that strong but its always available so keri na. the resort provides you with cooking and dining utensils. there's a fridge for everybody's use. you have your assinged dining table and there's a cooking area as well. almost everything is provided by the resort.

the beach water itself is a combination of sea grass and small rock formations on the sea bed. you have to be careful coz i personally spotted two sea urchins... other than that, its crystal clear water. there are so many tiny school of fish. my only complain, there are invisible sea creatures that bit me coz i felt tiny stings all over my body most of the time, and my friends complained about it too. here's our ganap. :)

i hope you guys who are able to read this would visit this place soon. its worth the trip and just have fun along the way. lol
when we headed back to cebu the next day, we passed by famous spots along the way. 1st, we stopped by Barili town where we had lunch at Gustoso Pizza and Grill. my o my, u should try their Gusto Special  pizza (i may be wrong about the title) coz its an overload of everything, the BEST! take it from me, when i say its the best, its really the best! lol... we also tried their vegetarian pizza, which is almost all tomato slices.. its taste is refreshing to the palette but this one is just an average when it comes to taste. they can do a lot of improvement on this one. try adding arugula and basil perhaps? just a suggestion. also, the place is all made of hard wood, so expect everything to be almost rock solid and heavy! lol here's our ganap.

ang men's cr, di ko kinaya ang hiya level when i peed. you'll see everybody passing by when you pee and they see you too coz its fronting the main road! you pee on the wall with a urinal attached to the main fence! kaloka! to the management of Gustoso, please do something to keep naman your urinal for men private. its so inhuman, nakakaoffend. :(
anyways, after lunch, we had another stop over at the Molave milk station to taste their ice cream made from fresh carabao and cow's milk and this will be our dessert. i always love being under a tree coz the wind gushing is really cool. this is how this milk station is set-up. but my gad, the ice cream is too sweeeeeet, kaloka! after 1 hour consuming the ice cream, we felt that our throat was sore na sa sobrang tamis ng ice cream. we all had an itchy throat to a point that it hurts when you swallow your saliva. we raced drinking water. hahaha! my gad, not worth trying again coz magkakasorethroat ka after sa sobrang tamis. to the management of molave milk station, PLEASE, I BEG you to lessen the sweetness of your ice cream, nakakadiabetes ang level ng tamis ng ice cream nyo. the puto flan that we had was just so so in taste. not impressive and by saying that, they could improve more on this.

so, this is how me and my friends have concluded our weekend. i'm happy how everything turned out as we are well prepared for this trip. there was no hassle at all. best thing is that we all had a good conversation on and off the table. we are not gadget peeps who from time to time checks their phone to check other people's status on social media. all we did was pure, forward looking, fun, no judgement conversation. chos! until next time. :)
tight hugs,
AC

i took on a very brave feat that I've never done in my entire life, and that is travelling alone. lol

destination is alcoy, down south of cebu. my purpose - eat, pray and love... feelingera! hahaha... this was the suggestion of my colleagues at work. So, may i take the bus to Alcoy from south bus terminal. It was a pleasant 3 hour trip I must say. the scenery going to alcoy was refreshing. i'm a nature lover and my dream is to retire and live in the province where i could be one with nature. chos! but yes, i enjoyed the lushness of nature that met my eyes. 

the bus dropped me at Tingko public beach resort, which was my original plan as to where i should be settling but all rooms were booked! kaloka! lesson learned - book a room first before setting out for an adventure where you don't  know anybody. naman! lol

so, i treaded along the shoreline, hopping from one beach resort to another but to no avail, until i crossed path with Cartagena Beachwalk Resort. in this resort, i found a place where i could finally settle in, thanks God! sobrang INIT kaya at ang layo ng nilakad ko ha! hahaha

after i was settled in the room, first thing i asked from the owner was, can i see your menu? i was starving to death! lol and the owner's answer was, "we don't sell food here, you have to go to the poblacion to eat."... i replied, WHAAAT?! kris aquino levels na ang taas ng boses ko. i reasoned out, i dont want to go there coz i'm afraid, i'm new to this place, i'm travelling alone, and i'm starving. please cook anything for me, i won't mind the cost. i really want to eat coz i'm really starving... and the owner heeded  my request. she told me that they really dont cook for their guests  but for me she'll make an exception. oh diba?! i'm always an exception. charot! lol... but i really appreciate the effort and the understanding, and what the owner displayed was really excellent customer service.  going beyond expectations! :) ... yeah, they dont have a menu but what they always suggest to guests is to buy from the market and cook it in the resort coz they have designated cooking area for the guests. which
i think is also a nice idea coz its practical and less hassle on their part.

by the way, here's how the resort looks like from my room's balcony.

i took a sunrise scenery from the resort. feeling photographer with my digi cam. lol

the next day, i was brave enough to check out poblacion and buy at their public market. my menu for the day is, calamares! oh diba, resto levels! that's for my lunch ha... after cooking 8 pieces of the calamares, napagod ako! hahaha.... so i let ate melsy, their helper, take over my cooking and just gave her instructions. i told her that since i wont be able to finish all of the calamares in one sitting, she
may bring the rest to her family for lunch or dinner. she was shocked in disbelief. and asked me so many times, "sure ka sir?!"... hahaha nasarapan sya sa calamares ko coz its very crispy daw, unlike the calamares she tasted before, mine was exceptional. i just replied, "of course!"... feelingera! hahaha

Here's ate melsy, taking over my calamares cooking and my calamares recipe. :)

my dinner was still squid but guisado levels na. sa sobrang dami, di ko na naman naubos. ending na naman is for ate melsy to bring it home with her. naloka na naman beauty nya and kept asking, "sure ka sir?!"... lol
here's what composed my dinner. :)

all throughout my stay in this resort, i was given the opportunity to know the owners of the resort on a personal level, ma'am Sandy and ma'am Nardy. the stories they've shared were very hilarious, specially ma'am Nardy. they have assisted me in my cooking with their utensils and etc. they allowed me to share their table where they usually eat. they told me that i have a kind heart coz i konw how to share my blessings with others, and i dont mind the cost. i told them, i dont want to let the food spoil coz i know there are so many out there who barely eat three times a day. so, i'd rather share it. then, ma'am Nardy told me, she won't charge me the rice that i've ordered from them since the time i came in coz i'm a kind person daw. my heart melted from her kind words. trully, a good deed is always left unnoticed and will always be repaid with kindness in unexpected ways.

here's my pic with ma'am Sandy and ma'am Nardy. :)

To know more about their room rates, visit their FB page by clicking on this link : Cartagena Beachwalk Resort.

I stayed in this resort for 2 nights. by sunday, i bade them farewell and these owners were so sweet that they told me that they'll miss me. i replied that i'll miss them more. here i am, waiting for a bus to pass by and lead me back to cebu. wala lang, selfie while waiting for a bus. i'll definitely do this type of adventure again. lol :)

until my next adventure...

tight hugs,
AC

it's been a long time since the last time i wrote something in my blog. oh well, corporate stuff made me BUSY for such a long time and i apologize to my dear readers, if there's any. lol ... anyways, i'm back! to start it off is my adventure with friends down south of cebu. destination, the "abot ng matatanaw mo" shoreline of moalboal. hihingalin ka sa haba kung lalakbayin mo with matching lawit dila. hahaha. check the pics below.

the beach was clean but it was just full or rocks. you need to wear slippers to protect your feet from being injured. that's one of the letdowns. the sand along the shoreline was white but its not powdery. there were portions of the shoreline where the sand was powdery and some weren't. but then, its not much of an issue coz u can still walk on it barefoot. :) 
we stayed at an airconditioned lodging house costing Php 2,000 but we bargained, and they gave it to us for Php 1,500. good for three persons, just ask for an extra pillow and bed. the room has its own bathroom. the place was decent enough to get a good sleep and provide a safe haven for your valuables. the only thing i complained about was the pillow. it was hard as rock! lol... magkakastiff neck ka, kaloka! hahaha... forgive me, i forgot the name of the place where we stayed. lol... kasi naman, walang signage! lol.... but two landmarks makes this place known, the 2 carinderia's that are open 24 hours. that's what you tell the tricycle drivers in molboal to get here. the name of one carinderia was "Arlyn's Carinderia"

one trait that i love about the people here is that they are honest. i left my digicam during one of our breakfasts and the service crew kept it, and will return it until someone claims it. nakakaproud, they really take care of their customers and provide excellent customer service. mind me, there are also a lot of foreigners in the area, and they eat our local food. also, the food was ok. its the not the restaurant-ish type of food but its decent enough for your palate. reminds you of "lutong bahay" type of food. :) the serving of the viand ranges from 30 pesos and up. one serving of rice costs 10 pesos. a liter of bottled water costs 30 pesos. gosh, 20 pesos lang kaya ang 1 liter ng nature spring here sa city. so, you know what to do when you visit this place. hehe... here's our ganap.

by the way, there are a lot of resorts to choose from once you get there. from the budget friendly to the expensive ones. we had a great time in moalboal. a lot of stories were shared but one thing is for sure, it was memorable. definitely, a place worth going back to. visit moalboal this summer, you'll definitely have fun. more of our ganap. ;)

hope you guys enjoyed reading this. more to come soon. :)
tight hugs,
AC

last april 13, had another summer escapade for 2013. this time its with another set of friends. we went island hopping in mactan cebu. here's our ganap.

our peg for this activity is buffet! yipee! in fairness, the food that was prepared for us was really yummy. plus, the spicy lechon was to die for! haha :)

our swimming galore in the middle of the ocean. :)

during this activity, i was eating non-stop coz the food was also served non-stop, gosh! haha :)

tight hugs,
AC

i just had another summer escapade with my team. venue is at Bunzie’s Cove in Tabogon, Cebu Province. the resort is actually built on a cliff, with a cove beach below. Travel time from Cebu to Tabogon is almost 2 hours. and yes, this is a provincial summer tour! :)

there are two villas that can be rented out in the resort. my team took the biggest villa which can occupy more than 30 heads. the rent for this villa costs Php 6,000. Our villa has huge open windows with a great view of the open sea.  here’s how it looks like.

the other villa is located on another cliff, to the right of our villa. This villa costs Php 4,500, which has a pool in front and a breath-taking view of the open sea. here's how it looks like :)

the beach cove is located in between the two cliffs. here's how the beach cove looks like :) the beach cove doesn't have fine white sand as its composed of stone corals. therefore, the need to wear slippers when swimming is a must! hehe... apart from this, the beach cove is fine. :)

there are still other cottages that are good for two, which costs Php 2,000 plus but its not worth it. i suggest that you don't avail of such. hahaha! it poorly constructed coz its made of nipa and bamboo. trust me, you wont like it. haha... this provincial experience made us bond together as a team. more or less, we get to know each other's personality through this event. it was an experience i can't forget. some of our team members brought their whole family, so it was really fun having children around. here's some of our ganap. :)

and here's our beach cove ganap. perfect coz many brought their own waterproof cams! so its camwhoring at the beach.. it was raining while we were enjoying the beach. its ok coz there's not much sunlight to cause sunburn. hehe :)

this is just one of my summer 2013 events, more to come! hehe... you need to splash your 2013 summer guys! :)

tight hugs,
AC

i was given an opportunity to judge a competition entitled "2012 Bisnok Festival Queen" in Dumanjug. Dumanjug has an annual event that they celebrate - Bisnok Festival. "Bisnok" means bisayang manok (native chicken). when my good friend Geofe Mari Pasculado (Pageant Director) invited me to be a judge, i was ecstatic. i said YES right away! haha! its going to be my first time to travel alone and my first time to visit dumanjug. my friends know that i'm not adventurous but this time, its time to get out of my comfort zone. i just felt that it was going to be an awesome experience. indeed, it was! here's the ganap. :)

i love the stage coz it was bursting with colors! it's so festive! it sets the mood of everybody to have fun. Kudos to the committee behind this. in fairness, ang ganda ng gym nila, well budgeted. ang flooring is painted with rubber paint! sosyal! :)

ok here's the thing, call time for the judges to be there was 8pm. the show should start by 8pm. my gad, the two other judges came in at 9pm! 1 hour ako at ang iba na nagantay sa kanila! my other co-judges are still students but its time for them to learn to manage their activities. next time, don't be late. be conscious of the people who are waiting. i heard that mayor nelson garcia was not in good mood after learning that we were still waiting for the two judges before the show will start, and he wants to start the show with only me as the judge! kakaloka! hahaha :)

anyways, here's the ganap of the competition. click on the pics to have a larger view. :)

honestly, i was so impressed with the production of this event. it was well planned and well thought of! its so sosyal! i love it to pieces. the best part, i was judging everything, from the candidates to their costumes, and everything is happening right in front of me! :)

it was contestant number 6, Juvy Angtiampo of Cogon National High School, who won the title that night, and best in hakot award din siya, in fairness! :) her costume was just amazing, amazing, amazing, as in! :)

by the way, before i forget, one little dancer really caught my attention during this show. he's a little becky! nakakaloka! haha! :) i smiled at him and he smiled back, and when the dancing start, i laughed so hard coz kung makakendeng ang becking ito, super, talbog lahat! hahaha... i wonder what's his name was! i didnt saw him after the show e. sayang! :)

also, i get to meet the mayor of the town, Mayor Nelson Garcia. the mayor without a security detail. before the show proper, mayor nelson arrived at the venue to check if everything was ok. i didnt know he was the mayor then but he arrived there riding an ATV (all terrain vehicle), sosyal! plus, he doesn't have a security detail! it shows that dumajugeños are peace-loving people. i tell you, from the time i step foot in dumanjug, from the mayor, down to the pedicab drivers, they were all nice to me. :)

in fairness, the production crew, the little dancers, were all given token by the local government. lahat sila kasali sa payroll and should sign the payroll. very evident ang transparency kung saan napupunta ang pera ng government. this is worth emulating. here are the kids falling in line to get their 100 peso token. :)

by the way, i stayed in Beaumaris Lodge in dumanjug. here's are pics of the room i stayed in. comfy enough. :) you may contact Beaumaris at this number : 0063-32-4719305. it costs 700 pesos a night.  click on the pics to have a bigger view. :)

Geof, I know you'll be reading this - we don't have a pic of us together! hahaha! but from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU so much for the invitation, accommodation and most importantly, for the friendship. i would never get to visit your very friendly hometown had you not invited me to judge an event there. i had a great time with  you and your townfolks. you all put a smile on my face. as i've said before, " I love Dumanjug " !!! i hope and pray that i'll be invited again for another or the same event in Dumanjug next year! hahaha :) You really staged one hell of a show for this event, BONGGA! just recalling the events that unfold that night, i'm still in awe! you really came up with a GREAT concept, as in! Congratulations! :)

to all who get to read my blog, you should all visit Dumanjug. uber nice people, and great food! :)

tight hugs,
AC