: Misibis (Part 1)

Last August 19-21, our family had a short vacation in Bicol to celebrate my mom's birthday the week before. I have never gone to Bicol so I was pretty excited about the trip. The excitement increased the night before leaving when I checked out the website of the place we would be staying in. A lot of activities were in stored for us and I couldn't be happier!

Day 1

I slept late the night before leaving so my hair would be curled in the morning. I am a girl; I sacrifice sleep for things like this. We arrived at the airport at around 7 am and ate at Cinnabon for breakfast. We didn't wait long for the plane because we arrived pretty late at the airport itself. It was already the last call for all Legazpi passengers. Eep! Anyway, I slept through most part of the plane ride. However, I was blessed to be awake when we were about to land already. As I looked outside the window, I saw a rather beautiful piece of elevated land. I have never seen such up close in my air trips before. I immediately thought of the Mayon Volcano! After a few seconds of awe, I asked my brother if he thought that it was the Mayon. He agreed and we both stared. It was really majestic. I don't know why some people don't describe it having perfect triangle shape anymore. It still seemed so. The mixture of greens and grays were a delight. I loved the lava trails. It was really beautiful!

I just couldn't let the moment pass so I got my camera and took a picture of it! Too bad its beauty cannot be encapsulated in this shot!

We arrived early for the check in time at the hotel so my mom opted to have the city tour ahead. It was scheduled beforehand and was still under Misibis Bay, which is where we would be staying at the rest of our stay. We went to the Lignon Hill (or is it Hills?) to have a good view of Mayon but the sky was not clear and none of us wanted to ride the zip line so we left after a few minutes. Going down the hill, we passed by the Japanese Tunnel and we thought that it would be cool to visit it. We did! Well, the three of us did, to be exact. My brother got scared (or just did not want to bend for a long period of time) so he waited outside. The cave was small and lighted with fluorescent bulbs. Japanese soldier figures were stationed at the "big stops". It was pretty hot inside and you really have to bend low to go from one stop to another. Well, being in a cave is cool enough for me! The tour guide was kind and very accommodating too!

My brother and I in the pick-up van! My curls did not even reach Bicol!

Free water

At Lignon Hills

The trash bin had a solar panel! Green!

Outside the Japanese Tunnel

My mom and I inside the tunnel with the Japanese soldier figure.

My dad and I at the part with a higher headroom

With the creepy figure just outside the tunnel

Our next stop was the Cagsawa Ruins. I have only seen this place in pictures so I was pretty psyched that we were going there. A lot of tourists were in the site and a number of credited tour guides were there as well. The name of our guide has skipped my head but he was really informative and entertaining. His English was not bad as well. He mentioned that the government trained them to be tour guides. He, as a lot of locals in the area, also offered to take trick pictures of us by the ruins. We gave it a shot (no pun intended) and handed our cameras to him. I have to say that I was impressed of how he knew his way around our cameras! I am not sure if it's part of the training or he just really knows the place (lighting, good angles, and all) and the devices. His fee was not expensive at all so my dad gave him a big tip! He deserved it!

Kudos to finding good lighting

One of the classic trick shots! My family behind is so... theaterical! :)

We visited a small church after. The guide said that the church is not white, per se. It's just the limestone wash that made it white. It's used to protect it from the acidity and ash from the volcano. We also got a box of pili goodies at Albay Pilinut Candy. They give free tastes of some products so we tried some first before buying a lot. Their products are good! Also, their walls are filled with pictures of celebrities that have dropped by at their store. Based on that, I'm guessing that they are popular in the country. We had a short lunch at 7 degrees after. It was my first time to eat Bicol Express! Before going to Bicol, I was thinking what their famous cuisine is. Nothing came to mind. Seeing the big chili peppers at the Cagsawa Ruins didn't ring any bells as well. I really had a moment when I said, "Oh yeah, Bicol Express is from Bicol!"

We then had an hour ride to Misibis Bay. We were welcomed by dancing people in costumes, hot towels, and lemon juice. So refreshing! I did not prefer the smell of the towel though. It smelled like strong perfume. After a few minutes of waiting at the lobby, we were taken to our room via golf cart. The cement paths were pretty small and we were surprised that the golf carts were able to pass there. We had an adjoining room. The color theme of the room is bright orange and white. The bed was comfy. I didn't like the blinds, though, and the bathroom. The blinds were noisy and the bathroom had separate rooms for the toilet and shower and it did not have locks. Nothing big, though. We visited the church and amphitheater. The church was only operational when there are weddings. It had a really nice exterior and clean interior. The amphitheater reminded me of Camp Rock 2! This was the pit stop of an episode of Amazing Race Asia. It's pretty cool if you ask me! The staff said that some use the area for dinner. I mean, I would have understood if it was for a performance, but for dinner? Way too romantic! We had dinner at the buffet that night. I liked everything besides the Kare Kare.