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Wow, I heard that Zac Efron was in Bicol and I didn’t realize that he had so much fun there! Look!

He’s riding an ATV ride here and by the look of his smile, it really looks like he had so much fun.

I remember our visit to Bicol two years ago, the food, the trip to the hot springs and more. I would love to go back there and who knows maybe we can try that ATV ride too!

* Photo Grabbed from http://www.facebook.com/legazpicity.

To finish off my 2012 Holy Week in Bicol posts, here is one thing that I always look forward whenever we are in Bicol, it’s the DJC’s Halo-Halo!

Have you tried it!?

I love that it has cheese on top. This is what makes this halo-halo unique and something I always devour right after lunch.

Yummy! Better try it when you are in Legazpi City! I highly recommend it! (*wink*)

DJC Halo-Halo & Snack Inn
Rosal St, Legazpi City, Bicol

Never fails to take my breath away…

On Black Saturday, when we brought my Mom to the airport, we witnessed the majestic Mayon Volcano.

Mayon Volcano, also known as Mount Mayon, is an active volcano in the province of Albay, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Renowned as the “perfect cone” because of its almost symmetric conical shape, Mayon forms the northern boundary of Legazpi City, the largest city in terms of population in the Bicol Region. The mountain is a national park and a protected landscape in the country proclaimed as Mayon Volcano Natural Park in the year 2000.

This is definitely a highlight of our trip to Bicol over the Holy Week.

Mayon Volcano
Legazpi City
Province of Albay

Before the Good Friday procession on our trip to Bicol during the Holy Week, we decided to check out Bacon Port. We haven’t seen this area for years now since we didn’t bother to check it out when we were in Bicol. Since the kids wanted to go out, we brought them to the port which was just a couple of minutes walk from the house.

The sun was about to set then, so we find the port refreshing. It was not too hot nor windy then.

We love the fresh, seabreeze on our faces. We stayed for a couple of minutes then off we went back to the house to watch the Good Friday procession.

Bacon Port
Bacon, Sorsogon
Bicol

The highlight of our trip to Bicol during the 2012 Holy Week is our discovery of Paguiriran Island.

Isn’t it a beauty?

This wasn’t the first time we discovered this island. But the last time, we didn’t get to appreciate it because it was low tide and raining so we didn’t bother checking it out.

We planned on staying for an hour or two. Big Mistake. The island was so beautiful, we should have stayed there for hours! Too bad, we didn’t bring our lunch so we had to go home.

But at least we discovered it and hopefully the next time we are in Paguiriran Island we will stay for the day. If they installed led icicle lights in the cottages, we could stay until night time too! I’m sure be a different experience for us. Those LED lights would make a difference. Since it is a remote island, the lights would make the place alive and colorful. I wish they would check out 100Bulbs.com they will discover a lot of lights there. Maybe I can recommend it to them when we come and visit the island again.

Oh yes, we are definitely going back hopefully next year!

Paguiriran Island
Bacon, Sorsogon City
Bicol

Last Holy Wednesday during our 2012 Holy Week in Bicol, off we re-visited Mateo’s Hot & Cold Springs at San Benon.

I wasn’t looking forward to it that much because our last trip to this place wasn’t too exciting. I remember so clearly that the pools were so full with people. The bathroom was so dark, we couldn’t finish our shower anymore. It was the worst experience.

But I was surprise that it was renovated, when we were there last April.

There were not much people either so we were able to enjoy the hot pool, especially the kids! I love, love the experience. We ordered food for snacks which was also ok.

I think we will be visiting this place every time we are in Bicol. But we have to make sure that it’s a weekday and not a holiday too.

Mateo’s Hot & Spring Resort
San Benon, Monbon, Irosin, Sorsogon

As much as I would like to indulge myself and continue my beauty rest with the rustic bedding of CWC, I had to pull myself together and prepare for FIL’s birthday dinner. This is the reason why we stayed at CWC. So off we went to Naga City which is just a few minutes away from the resort.

We had reservations for dinner, good thing because the place was full. I love the food and the ambiance wasn’t too bad at Red Platter. Since I love Bicolano cuisine, I just kept on eating the whole night! It was definitely a great dinner.

After that, we bought a couple of goodies from Red Platter’s bakery then went back to the resort. Now, I can sleep again and I’ve appreciated the clean beddings of the resort. I was thinking of getting these fine linens and I found cute horse themes from LogFurniturePlace.com. I hope they ship in my country.

Yes, our trip to CWC or Camsur Watersports Complex during the Holy Week was already our third time. The first one was when we tried the wakeboarding last 2007. Check it out!

I totally enjoyed the wakeboarding but when the kids got bigger, on our second time, we didn’t get to try it out. We just stayed at the pool, which I found a little dirty and disappointing.

I wasn’t expecting MUCH on our third time because I knew that CWC wasn’t that exciting anymore.

As soon as we arrived CWC, we went straight to the restaurant. The service was good but since it was open, the flies were all over the place. The food was good though and my kids were able to finish their lunch, fast! Hubby enjoyed his lunch that he ordered beer.

I got too tired from our flight. Probably because we had to wake up so early. So I was happy to learn that we were going to the hotel after lunch.

We checked in at the Mansion Suites hotel. It was located a bit far from CWC. It was just OK. Nothing special. But the rooms were roomy and big. I just slept the whole afternoon. The aircon wasn’t functioning well at first but it was suddenly fixed after a few hours. Even the hot water was fixed the NEXT day!

Oh well…if you plan to check in at the hotels in CWC, I would recommend that you try the hotels that are just near the resort. These rooms were just a few meters away and you would appreciate the resort more. Unlike the Mansion Suites that you need a ride for you to go to the resort.

Anyway, while I slept throughout the afternoon, the kids enjoyed this…

I guess for the kids, it was still fun to swim and they all love CWC!

Well, since our flight was uneventful (thank God!), no delays or technical problems (thank God again!), I would say our flight to Bicol during the Holy Week was a breeze.

We left MNL around 7AM, then arrived after an hour at Legazpi Airport. The weather was nice and the Mayon Volcano (as always) took our breath away!

Now, off we go to our first stop which is Camsur Watersports Complex. Will post more about it tomorrow! (*wink*)

…of what my posts in the next couple of days are about…

Our trip to BICOL during the Holy Week!

Watch out for more stories and photos soon! (*wink*)