Ticket for Two: camping

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Calaguas Island: Trip Planning

DATE OF TRAVEL: March 28-29, 2013

PLANNING YOUR TRIP

(A) Naga City; (B) Paracale; (C) Calaguas Island
Photo generated using https://maps.google.com/

GETTING THERE (Getting to Calaguas from Naga City)

(Rates are as of April 2013)

Lakwatsero has a well-written guide on how to get to Calaguas. There are actually 2 jump-off points in going to Calaguas. When I first went there, our entry point was Vinzons. If coming from Naga City, this would be a more convenient route. But because of a bad experience in dealing with the boatmen there, add to that a longer travel time in rough seas (~3 hours), we opted on our succeeding visits to go via the Paracale route despite the longer land travel.

Via Paracale

1. Van from Naga City (Camarines Sur) to Daet (Camarines Norte)

Terminal: Naga City Van Terminal, in front of SM Naga

Travel time: 2 hours

Fare: 200php

2. Van from Daet to Paracale

· Be aware of the last trip from Paracale going back to Daet, when we inquired we were told it was at 3pm

Terminal: Daet Van Terminal

Travel time: 45minutes

Fare: 65php

3. Boat from Paracale to Calaguas

· Our boatman (Mang Boy) has available tents for rent. He was also nice to let us use their bathroom to wash and freshen up before heading back to Naga City

Travel time: 2 ½ hours

Fare: 3000 - 3500php for 6pax

Contact Person: Mang Boy 0908-546-0683

ACCOMMODATION

As of writing, there are no commercial establishments in the island and you will need to bring your own camping gear. They have rustic bathroom and toilets but you will need to pump your own water and costs 10php/pail.

HOW MUCH WE SPENT

	Group (6pax)	Per Pax (From Naga City)
Transport a. Naga to Daet,vv b. Daet to Paracale, vv c. Boat Paracale to Calaguas d. Transfers, etc	-	400
	-	130
	3000	500
	-	50
Camp Fee (Entrance Fee 75php + Barangay Fee 20php)	-	95
Tent Rental (3pax)	150	50
Food	1500	250
TOTAL	-	~1,500/PAX

HELPFUL LINKS

Lakwatsero

Biyaherong barat

NOTES

“Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time”.
This was the site that greeted me while taking a stroll along the beach.

Angkulet has written a compelling post on what unregulated tourism can do to Calaguas. I don’t mind the fact that a lot of people finally discovered this hidden paradise, or that instead of waves crashing, you hear party music blasting from other campers all night, or that we couldn’t find a place to pitch our tent because of the crowd. But irresponsibly leaving your trash after a drinking session is just too much. 2 years ago, Calaguas was a haven (see Calaguas: For Noob Campers). We were sharing the shores with only 3 other campers. This time around, I was picking up trash and cigarette butts left and right. Calaguas is still beautiful, but what’s alarming is the direction to where Calaguas is headed, and at a fast rate at that. I hope as travelers we can be more responsible with our trash and I hope their LGU can soon set up policies that could regulate the influx of tourists.

RELATED POSTS

Calaguas Island: Trip Review

Calaguas: For Noob Campers

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Calaguas: For Noob Campers

We knew Calaguas was paradise. We had pictured it in our minds, crystal clear azure waters, and pristine beach with powdery white sand. But what we failed to consider was we needed to camp out to fully enjoy this place. Living in Los Banos during our college years does not necessarily equate to knowing how to survive the wilderness, in this case an island off the coast of Camarines Norte. Although we occasionally hiked Flat Rocks, Mudspring, and Peak2 in elbi, we have never camped out nor joined any camping trips.

Photo from bayshorespringfest.webs.com

Don’t get me wrong, we can rough it out in the wild, cowboy kung cowboy.. but.. I don’t even know how to cook rice with a rice cooker, more so in an open fire! The only survival skill we know was the art of opening canned goods using a knife. This skill acquired from years of not having a can opener, and eating canned goods kapag wala pang padalang allowance. So if you are organizing a camping trip, but have never been a girl/boy scouts, take heed of these advices:

Come prepared

In retrospect, we should have brought the following gear that could have made our life a little easier.

Ideal Camping Gear:

Bed: tent; sleeping mat; pillows; blankets

Light source: personal flash light; butane lantern or petromax

Kitchen gear: portable butane stove, pots and pans; knife; ladle; disposable plates, cups, spoon, fork; dishwashing paste with sponge; grill; seasonings and condiments

Miscellaneous: trash bag (for trash or to protect your bag during boat travel); water jug

Photo from www.123rf.com

Use your charm and ask the caretaker to start the fire

Starting a fire is not an easy feat. Save yourself the trouble and bring a portable butane stove. But if you don’t have one, make sure to bring charcoal and a lot of paper. I also learned that you need an enclosed space if you will use coals for cooking.

Learn to cook rice over open fire

We were stuck eating soggy improperly cooked rice because we were too dependent on rice cookers. So I googled how to cook rice when we came back and this is what i learned:

- Ratio of rice to water is 1:2

- Once the rice starts boiling, minimize the flame by removing some of the coal

- Let stand in the fire until upper portion is cooked

You can’t go wrong with canned goods

Need I say more?

Have fun

I’m lucky to have crazy friends who are willing to put up with anything. We have been dorm mates turned roommates turned housemates turned forever friends (so cheesy..haha).