We traveled 11pm from Cubao and reached their hometown of Bolinao around 4am. Uncle Arthur met us and we took their boat going to the fish cage where there is a hut for us to stay at. We slept a little, got up at 6:30am and we then laid out our proposed plan so everything will be coordinated.
Our first destination (12 September) was in Tondol Beach, located in the town of Anda. It was our first time to see the place, and we were in awe of its beauty! I can actually compare it to Boracay - with its powdery whitish sand and clear waters that made us feel as if we were in a big swimming pool. The downside was that as time passed, the water of the beach subsides little by little, and that there weren't much water to swim on because there's a part in the beach with lots of seaweeds. We didn't wear any slippers, so we didn't dare walk on those parts in fear we might step on some sea urchins. My tip... if you want to go to this beach, be there as early as possible so you can fully enjoy the water, and I heard sunrise here is spectacular.
The next day, we traveled to Hundred Islands in the town of Alaminos. Coming from Bolinao, it was already near lunch time when we got there, so our island hopping was actually shorter than expected, because we opted to go for the "service" type of trip, which supposed to allow us to visit whatever island we wanted to visit (the regular trip will only allow visit to the three major islands in the area). Anyway, I am happy to see Hundred Islands again - it was refreshing to see the changes in the area, though part of me was sad as well, because I personally wanted to see the islands as is - and seeing a concrete kind of development sort of "ruins" the experience for me.
If there's one kind of concrete development I am grateful for, it would be this railing atop the Governor's Island. When I first traveled here in 2010, there was only a thick rope that acted as a fence, which was a little risky to put up.
Overall, I enjoyed the island hopping. We didn't get to set foot in Children's Island anymore because the rain started to fall, but we were able to enjoy the waters of Clave Island and we got to pass through Cuenco Tunnel as well. This place already earned a soft spot in our hearts, and we are sure to visit there again.
Okay, food. Hahahaha.
Prior to this trip, I got to see pictures posted by a friend on Facebook and I loved the way she chronicled all the food she ate while she was on her trip. I told myself I will do the same for this trip, but I guess I am still adjusting to owning a camera again, that I wasn't really able to do such. Still, here are some of the food I ate while I was in Pangasinan:
Pan de Regla.
I am not sure if it would be okay to post the literal meaning of this bread, but the reason why I took a picture of this was so I could share it on my Facebook page for my bookworm friends to see. There is a story behind this kind of bread that us friends on Instagram (who are Colleen Hoover fans) would relate to. I ate this for breakfast before we went to Tondol Beach.
Jurassic Chicken Leg.
The morning of Friday, before we traveled to Pangasinan that same night, Aunt Mary met up with mom at the mall and gave her a huge (5-kilo kind of huge) dressed chicken, which mom cut into pieces and cooked it Adobo style. We took the dish on our way to Pangasinan, and because the dish had vinegar, it didn't spoil easily and we were able to eat it for lunch while we were in Tondol Beach.
Masikoy.
A new food for me. This is a native delicacy of the sweet kind - the white balls are rice flour boiled in water and the sauce is made from toasted (until black) sesame seeds. It has a very interesting taste, but this particular one lacked a little sweetness.
Birthday Lunch.
From Anda, we traveled back to Bolinao and stayed at the hut again, then the next morning, we prepared food that we will eat for lunch. Aunt Mary fried some fish, while mom cooked the spaghetti. We also packed bags of junkfood and bottles of softdrinks.
Buko Juice.
Island hopping was fun, but very tiring. When we reached the wharf, sister and I decided to stay a while longer because we got to see a lot of street foods for sale. Seeing the coconut juice made me thirsty, so obviously I bought a big cup to quench my thirst.
Ihaw - Ihaw.
We managed to book a transient house for a very low price, so instead of finding a restaurant for dinner, mom and Aunt Mary thought it would be better if we would just buy rice and eat dinner as if we were eating at home. We got to see a barbecue vendor, we sister and I decided to indulge ourselves to some grilled food. Our choices included some sticks of chicken intestines, pig's ears, hotdogs, and pork barbecue. It was delicious!
We did get to eat out for lunch the next day, which I will share tomorrow.
I come from a family who loves cooking and eating. I never had any formal training in cooking and that I taught myself how to cook based on the handed down recipes, but I could say that I can cook good food. In 2008, I started documenting my food trips for my