Life of fashion, culture and adventure

I have been intrigued by scuba diving for a long time but didn't have an open door to make a step towards it. I've always been a fan of the world under and fascinated w/ the whole new universe that sea creatures are having. But, as they say, anything is possible! A day to visit the world under "UP CLOSE & PERSONAL" happened for real! Orientation by Sir Ivan I expected to have a better diving chance on our future travel to Coron, Palawan. But what do you know??? Ma'am Beth, the owner of the boarding house where my father and brothers used to stay while in Manila, visited Davao and stayed in our humble home for a few days. Who happens to be an avid fan of scuba diving and wanted to experience diving in Samal Island to add to her list. Well, as expected, mom won't join us since she's afraid of activities like that. So, despite our persistent request to Mom and Papo to join, but failed, still with all excitement, Labsy & I, coordinated w/ a few d...

Labsy & me @ Isla Reta 2 Last November 26, 2011, we initially planned to visit Pearl Farm , but the turn of events made us change it to an island hopping escapade in Talikud Island, Samal, Davao del Norte. It wasn't our (me & Labsy) first time, but we never really get tired or bored w/ the beauty of the beach & everything it offers... Jun & Labsy @ Kaputian Beach So morning of that Saturday, we woke up early enough to catch the 7:30AM trip bound for Kaputian, Samal. Well, the bus actually arrived past 8:00am which made us stood at the sidewalk in front of Magsaysay Park waiting for quite awhile. Then eventually, the bus arrived and we joined the pushings of the crowd just to get inside and grab a seat. Luckily, we were able to secure seats for everyone and in about 3-4 minutes, the bus took off with all seats taken plus about 3-4 people standing and later some more picked-up along the way. Labsy, Hilda, Jun & Pam on Our boat ride We arrived in Kapu...

Bro#2 came home (Philippines) recently, and before that, he kept on asking which resort to visit on one of our weekends. I gave him lots of ideas and places but he was intrigued by mom's favorite place/resort in Samal, Davao del Norte where she kept describing as the best so far. Mom never really like going to Samal cause it entails either riding in a boat or the ferry, but she will not deny herself if it is going to Blue Waters Beach Resort. So one fine weekend of July 10 and 11, 2010, we decided to visit Blue Waters, stayed overnight and had soooo much fun together. Ten of us stayed overnight, mom, bro & gf, me and labsy, my neice, her mom (sis-in-law), her nanay, labsy's cousin and my neice from Bohol. Two stayed only for a few hours, Bing and Baldwin, cousins of sis-in-law. They have different room types available for you to choose from but we picked the one in the Garden which can accommodate everyone. This costs Php 4,000.00 for 8 occupants and additional of  Php...

It's June 30, 2010. President Noynoy of the Philippines Inauguration Day. It's also my officemate/friend/kuya Jerry's advance birthday celebration (his birthday is tomorrow). Not just any birthday celebration, we went out of town, off to the Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS), Davao del Norte. And not just any part of Samal Island, we went off-peak, out to the mini-Island of Malipano with a perfect place, a perfect beach and a perfect group of friends hangin' out... The trip started from the bus going to Samal, into the ferry, and stepped out in Peñaplata, Samal (bus cost us Php 20.00/pax from Sasa). From there, Kuya Jer requested a multi-cab to take us to the pier going to the Island. The Bus from Sasa, Davao to Babak, Samal (ferry) is just 'bout 10 minutes, but the trip from the ferry to Peñaplata was about 30. Then the multi-cab trip which if I may add, took the route in a cliff (scary), took about 45 minutes. Whew! It was fun for me though some of us were to...

One of the family's favorite resorts in Samal, Davao del Norte, Philippines is the Bluewaters Resort (http://www.ebluwaters.com/). But every time we visit it, we were curious with the resort nested right next to it, the Chema's by the Sea Resort. It doesn't have a website, so we don't have much idea what the resort looks like and how'd it feel to be there... We searched on some blogs and red a few reviews, and somehow, decided to give it a try... Before going: After contacting the owner through the cellphone number we got from someone's blog site, we made reservations for 7 people... Actually 8, but we didn't count my 2-year old niece... And take note that you cannot bring food to the resorts, except chips... Getting there: In getting t here, you have to go to the Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao (http://www.waterfronthotels.com.ph/davao/index.html), pass through it's lobby, leave the car in their parking area of course (;D), and then go straight towards t...