Nothing much happening around, my health is deteriorating and I am struggling to be normal. Anyway, I don’t want to talk about it because it seems this blog is going to be a health blog soon.

My sister have been bugging me to see the sunflower farm at the nearby town, we have planned to see it for almost a month already but we keep postponing to see it so when we had a chance we finally did, we are not able to tagged along my father because he work even on Sundays just to get by, he is actually been complaining of being tired but what else he can do he have to feed me (lol).

The sunflower farm located in San Andres wasn’t that hard to find, the entrance fee cost P30.00 which is less than a dollar if you had it converted. My sister was all excited when I am a bit disappointed, it wasn’t that great as it was seems to be maybe because it was summer and the flowers wasn’t that huge or maybe because I have seen sunflower bigger and beautiful than from the farm or I guess nothing excites me anymore?

Anyway, my mother seems more excited seeing ripe papayas on sale for a cheaper price in the entrance of the Sunflower farm than wandering around the sunflower beds, she actually doesn’t want to look around if we didn’t told her that it was a waste not to consume her entrance fee. Well, she wandered a bit and then asked if she could sit and the next thing we knew she was already sitting near the booth where cheap papaya fruit were sold.

Traveling is part of me, visiting ancient places, meeting new people and experiencing their way of living.  As a traveler, I’ve visited many places and countries but around Tablas Island in Romblon is my favorite destination in the Philippines, the marble capital of the country and home to “Galapagos of Asia” (Sibuyan).

[Beautiful Sea View in Sta. Maria, Tablas Island]

The province of Romblon is located in the center of the Philippines and clustered on MIMAROPA Region IV-B, it is composed of three major islands, Romblon Town, Sibuyan Island and Tablas Island which is the biggest island among the three.

[Coastal view along the road in San Agustin, Tablas Island]

Around Tablas island is my favorite destination not only because it is my hometown but because of the many pristine beaches for swimming, scuba diving and snorkeling, clean rivers, waterfalls and lakes, marine sanctuaries, green mountains and well-preserved forest which are good for hiking and trekking. Unlike any other island too in the Philippines, Romblon isn’t that populated and it is peaceful where you can hear the birds and insects singing lullaby.

[ Mount Payaopao, the highest peak in Tablas Island]

Tablas island too has long coastline and what is fascinating you can encircle the island in less than a day, which is popularly called as round Tablas by locals, we spend six hours by motorcycle when we do the road tripping and visiting every municipality.

[Calatrava, Tablas Island]

Each town has their own unique vibe, you’ll able to met friendly and helpful locals, beautiful coastal view, hidden waterfalls, fresh seafoods, local kakanins and many more.

[Mablaran Falls in San Andres, Tablas Island]

Tablas Island is reachable through ferries from the port  of Batangas City and through commercial flight from Manila to Tugdan Airport in the municipality of Alcantara which is a few hours away to the capital town of Tablas, Odiongan.

[Poctoy Port in Odiongan, Tablas Island]

There are many things to do in Tablas Island, all you have to do is take your bag and head out to natures paradise.

[Scenic View at Sta. Fe, Tablas Island]

You can enjoy the sea view and coastal coast in Sta. Maria, dive in and be amazed with the blue hole in San Agustin, admire the lakes and beaches in Calatrava, swim until sundown in San Andres, have fun with the falls, resorts and the sunset in Odiongan, adore the beaches in Ferrol, see the old houses in Looc, enjoy the bashful mountains in Alcantara and love the scenic view of Sta. Fe.

[Old houses in Looc Town, Tablas Island]

Well, there are more many things to see and to experience around Tablas Island, there are still many hidden beauties awaiting for me to discover and what is amazing my next travel adventures around the island can go to the next level with the help of  OPPO F1s since it is sporting a 13 mega-pixels rear camera with an industry -leading imaging chip and 1/3.06-inch sensor that maximize light sensitivity, making a wonderful nighttime performance which is I think a perfect companion for fireflies watching in the island. The large pixels also work to bump up the dynamic range and give pictures a vivid dept and details for capturing exceptionally clear and detailed photos which is a dream of every travelers like me.

With the scorching heat of the sun, humidity,  limited supply of water and without rain for a longer period of time it is definitely summer time. Some of our relatives went home when my aunt dies and my older cousin’s and her kids stays for short vacation and last Saturday it was agreed by many to have a dip to ease the warm weather.

The clan decided to do family outing at SATO Beach Resort which is just in a neighboring barangay, initially I am not attending since my family doesn’t want to go because my father isn’t in a good mood and he is at work, my mother thought if we tagged along he will not like it. My family offered to drop me at the beach resort but I declined since it feel awkward to be alone without them but when an older cousin came to our house and asked if we are not tagging along, my family pushed me to go and since I would like to visit the place that I have been only hearing from other people I went with them.

SATO Beach Resort was located in Brgy. Batiano, the resort was just a few meters away from Odiongan port it is overlooking the port and a beach shore but the main attraction was the large pool and slides. There are plenty of people on their family outing and there was also a wedding reception taking place at the main hall.  SATO Beach Resort has a pool for adult and a pool for kids to enjoy, the large pool was huge, the water is salty and the chlorine is very strong to the extent that it smells like Zonrox bleach for clothes,  the moment that my cousins dip in the pool they complaint that they felt itchy and keep scratching their skin same with the kids with us, I didn’t feel itchiness so I have told them maybe skin is thick like carabao skin and wasn’t so sensitive like theirs. I didn’t dip longer in the pool and just dip when it is cloudy, I just dip three times in short period of time but turn very dark easily like everyone, wasn’t sure if it was because of the salty water, the sun or is it a chemical burn from strong smelly water?

Browsing online here’s what I found from ask.com – According to clorox.com, chlorine levels in the water should not exceed 3ppm (parts per million) as measured by a pool testing kit. To reach these levels, very little chlorine is needed. For example, if a circular pool has water 3 feet deep and is 15 feet in diameter, only 5 cups are needed to reach the appropriate chlorine levels. Although liquid bleach and chlorine tablets both contain the same chemical, it is extremely important to know what other chemicals are contained in both products. Do not ever put chemicals in the pool that are not recommended for use in pools, and do not substitute products such as cleaners with bleach for plain, liquid bleach. Know the type of filtration system in the pool, and be sure to avoid chemicals that can react with other cleaning chemicals and cleaning systems. Always test the pool water with a pool testing kit before entering, and do not enter the pool if chlorine levels are above 3ppm. Wait until the sunlight breaks the chlorine down, and test the water again.

My aunts rented two cottage but was given a free one for renting two, I have forgot to ask how much does it cost for each cottage but the entrance fee cost ₱50 per head (adult) and ₱30 per head (kids) and ₱40 for senior citizen. The cottage was good but since the resort doesn’t have too many trees and it is overlooking the beach it was very open and not shady like it should be.

Anyway, I didn’t take long and went home early with our grandmother leaving everyone to enjoy on their own. I have informed our distant cousin that everybody went to SATO beach resort and I have informed the salty and strong smelly water, he seconded about it and says it was the reason why they didn’t went in the outing because they had a batch reunion less than a month ago in the said resort so they knew how the pool was like.

SATO beach resort is very spacious, good location since it is overlooking the beach, the downside not enough shade to enjoy and the water has a strong smell of bleach not sure if it is because the pool is using salty water unlike other pool around.

SATO BEACH RESORT
Pier, Batiano, Odiongan, Romblon
Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/satobeachresort/
Mobile No. – (042) 567-6279 / 09473421701 / 09353574631

Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post. Above written post was my own personal experience and opinion and might be different from yours.

Odiongan celebrated town fiesta every 5th of April but the celebration opened on the evening  of April 1st through a color run in the public plaza, a night inspired by light followed by a beach party featuring a reggae singer “Kokoi Baldo” then on the 2nd of April there was Agency Night sponsored by Romblon State University and Barangay Night on the next night sponsored by barangay associations. On April 4th a fluvial parade and oar boat racing in the town shoreline and grand coronation of Ms. Odiongan on the evening at Odiongan Public Plaza.

Kanidugan Festival is the highlight of Odiongan fiesta celebration, it was been a decade ago since it was first opened. When we went to town the parade and street dancing was already starting and the intersection going to the public market was already blocked with vehicles and people so we returned and use the other route but it was also blocked so went the other way and we are able to find a good place where we can see the street dancing but on my disappointment my camera didn’t cooperate with me, it won’t focus and there was too much light in the photos.

After the parade and street dancing the Kanidugan competition follows at OSCES grounds. It was a very hot day but there was a lot of people. It was a shame but many Odionganons left their manners at home that day, people were redundantly told to sit and not to leave their grounds so other people at the back can see but many didn’t listen so as expected everybody swarmed upfront and of course I wouldn’t just remain seated in the ground seeing different shape of legs and butts so I went nearer as well so I could take better photos.

Well, I wasn’t able to find a good spot but I can’t go back since a lot of people swarmed up in our back, it was very discomforting, it feels like my ear drums will pop out and when the current performers ends I left to find my companions and since most people left out of disappointment, the ground became a bit spacious and my companions were able to find a good spot beside the stage ground, I took a bit of photos and asked them to go home, the last tribe performing was very lame anyway, their sounds wasn’t good.

I think the people in San Agustin, Romblon during their festival and ground demonstration was more disciplined except from one teacher who also left her manners at home that day.

The fluvial parade at the sea or biniray was religiously done in the capital town of Romblon celebrating the devotion of the people to their religious beliefs but in recent years biniray was also done in the island of Odiongan although it wasn’t so fabulous like how it was celebrated during every second week of January in the capital town.

A day before the town fiesta of Odiongan there is a special celebration in the town shoreline aside from the fluvial parade of boats adorned with coconut leaves there is also a boat race.  A year ago they held Paraw Regatta a popular annual festival in the province of Iloilo where the main event is a sailboat race in Iloilo Strait that features the Paraw, a Visayan double outrigger sail boat. It is dubbed as the oldest traditional craft event in Asia and the largest sailing event in the Philippines but this year in Odiongan they held oar boat racing which was joined by more than fifteen boatmen, it was made possible under the management of DepED teachers in town.

Well, the boat race this year wasn’t very colorful like a year ago since the boats were not adorned with colorful sailboats. The boat race was themed “Bugsayan” since the participants will race using “bugsay” a local dialect for oar or paddle.

Many Odionganons were too excited that they started running in the shoreline when the racers are going ashore so dunno how the management find the winner when many people blocked the shoreline already, wasn’t able to take photos of the boatmen going ashore since my view was blocked with people.

My father and his batch mates celebrated their 35th grand alumni homecoming in Mt. Dion Garden Resort, it was second day of their get together the first one was held in their batch mate house near the shore. The garden resort was newly opened that’s why we went there to look around even though the get together was only for them alone. We just took photos inside the resort,  buy and ate melted ice cream then left since we are scheduled to watch boat race and biniray at Odiongan shore as part of the town fiesta celebration.

My father’s batch mates mistaken my younger sister as his eldest daughter and when we told my father about it at home, he also shared that their architect’s nephew told him that he admired how my father’s eldest daughter drives motorcycle toughly, since I don’t know how to drive my father knew that the guy wasn’t talking about me but my youngest sister so he informed him about it, we end up laughing  together in my sister’s displeasure.

Mt. Dion Garden resort was located at Brgy. Bangon, it is a perfect venue for family outings, small gathering like birthdays, get together and maybe even weddings with small guests since I think the area is very small to accommodate a lot of people. The resort has two medium sized pools one at the bottom and one at the top where there is a statue of peeing boy.

The main attraction at Mt. Dion Garden resorts are the animal statues like the large gorilla at facade and the giraffe, elephant and other stone statues inside the resort.  The food in their catering service tasted good since my father brought home some left over.

Mt. Dion Garden Resort
Brgy. Bangon, Odiongan, Romblon
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Mt-Dion-Resort-1752136945023941/
Mobile No. – 0948 980 4398

Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post. Above written post was my own personal opinion and might be different from yours.

Odiongan is moving progressively now adays, there are several things that the town had been accomplished in the past few years. A year ago a tourist centre was opened and since then bit by bit something new arises; a well-known fast food chain was in construction in town to cater local people and visitors.

Anyway, a recently the town accomplished a new building for teenagers then a new signage in the food terminal just in front of almost abandon commercial building. It was already very late if you ask me since Odiongan is a first class municipality but another town belonging to fifth class municipalities has signage already years before Odiongan has, as well as other municipalities belonging to lower class.

On the first few days that the signage was lit, it attract old and young people. Many had their photo taken and shared in social media sites. Well, I hope the town can accomplished more things in the future.

Wandering around Calatrava didn’t take that long we are still up for adventure so we decided to stop in town of San Andres to look around; I have been in this town long time ago during a summer camp of Baptist Youths and San Andres is one of the town you have to pass by going to San Agustin.

We went around the town and took some rest in their bay area below the eagle statue, and then headed to their town hall. Since it was weekend nobody is around, we are all starving. Instead of looking for a restaurant to eat we have decided to go home quickly and cooked. Eating out might be a good idea but kind of expensive and we can’t eat all we wanted on the same price if we bought something in the market to cook.

The day is perfect for travelling, the sky is blue and the sun is not showing so my mother asked us again if we want to do road trip. It seems I influenced her for being a traveller huh?

We decided to visit Calatrava, a fifth class municipality in Romblon, we already passed this town when we went to San Agustin. We first stopped at their Municipal Fishport, went inside and took some pictures. We can clearly see the shoe island inside the port which is quite nice, I have been hearing about this island from my classmate’s long time ago, how they swim and have fun. The port is quite different from the port I have remembered when I am still in secondary high school where we had a field trip in this town and had a lunch in Lapus-Lapus Beach. If you will ask me when that was, well it was 14 years ago, over a decade. Hehe

We really didn’t take long, we headed to the nearby sea wall where there’s a marble statue of fisherman’s family and their town name in marble stone as well and then headed up to their town hall. As it was Saturday, non-school and office day, town was half empty. I was glad when I found the concrete boat I have been looking for, it was different from I remember over a decade ago maybe because it was painted now and the park around it changed a lot. It was one of the highlight of our field trip those days because of the love team that had been developed and non-stop teasing for our gay classmate involved.

Calatrava is a quite a beautiful and clean town despite of being a small one and I won’t mind coming back again, hopefully next time I could visit their water falls and beaches, since it was only a short visit and the sun is starting to come out we headed to another town nearby.

Visiting Ferrol didn’t take long as we expected, we are still looking for adventure. It is still early to go home so we decided to continue our road trip to Sta. Fe, a 5^th class municipality in Romblon, my mother and sister has been there many times when our father is working at one of its islets. They will tell me endless stories how beautiful was it, how they rode a banca or pump boat to cross the water and etc.

Listening to their stories made me excited, so despite the fact that some of the road is rough I didn’t agree with them going back to Odiongan when the road already felt endless. My reason is we are already there and why not continue further, it turns out they have never been to downtown Sta. Fe just a part of it. Some of the roads are not just rough; it is also an endless curve going up and down in short mountainous.

We only met few bikes along the way including a foreigner who is in between of smiling and not, I was startled why, it turns out the two people in front of me didn’t bother to smile or nod because the sun is toward us, the loose soil and the truck that is just behind him, well I don’t know if I smile either since my attention was focus in snapping photos along the way. Sorry, maybe next time!

Anyway my companions don’t want to continue again after we passed the intersection going to Mati not only because of the rough road but because we didn’t see people or bike along the away, it was a very silent trip all we can hear is our bike and birds. It is sort of secluded area if you will asked me, but I am already decided to continue and follow where the road will take us, after some time we saw two kids walking home from school so we stopped and asked how far is it to town of Sta. Fe, the kids told us it is still far like going back to Brgy. Manhac of Looc, my mother was so decided to return home so my sister turn around the bike and went back where we came from, I felt very disappointed. I told them that distance for kids are not the same as the distance for an adult, along the way going back to Brgy. Manhac we met a local in a motorbike and we asked how far it is to downtown Sta. Fe, we are told it is not that far, it is already downtown after we descended in the mountains so we turn around and decided to continue our trip.

It was the right decision; the view at the foot of the mountain wowed me. It was very scenic, the sea is marvellous. We passed by their port where a boat just arrived, it probably came from Boracay. We drive around the small town and stopped by at their park and town hall. We didn’t take long because my companions are on a hurry, it is like we came and then go.

We stopped by in Looc town before heading home; we went to their public market to look for smoked fish which is cheaper compare to those you can buy in Odiongan market.