Spice at Calaguas Islands.

Perhaps you already knew (or heard) about Calaguas Islands from many posted photos in social media and in the internet. This beautiful destination (for me) is already mainstreamed since half-a-decade ago. However, there are conservation efforts being implemented by the local tourism office, and the LGU's there to preserve and protect the islands' captivating beauty. (ctto: www.howto101.ph)

Spice Gala Club is a local and international travel experts with several advantages,

1. arrange your full itineraries (just pack your stuffs and come to the meet up point),

2. saves you a lot of money as "joiners" (sharing travel cost and food),

3. lets you meet new friends from all walks of life (expand your travel network),

4. gives you more time to enjoy the "moments" and leave other worries behind.

* You may check their Facebook page to check upcoming invites on cheap rates.

We came as "joiners" for another level of experience in this getaways.

And this was our adventures and experience...,

Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.

We travel +340km (about 8hrs drive) from Makati (our meet up place) to the town of Paracale, Camarines Norte, to enjoy the beautiful Group of Islands in Calaguas. (ctto: www.google.com/maps)

The roads down south of Luzon main island are winding and at high speed. It's the best time to sleep and regain much energy - saving for the right moment.

The moment that we arrived (and as always during getaways), we visited the Our Lady of Candelaria Parish Church in Paracale, Camarines Norte, to give thanks to the Lord for the safe journey ahead.

Built on 1611 by the Franciscan Friars, this historic church made of adobe blocks was surprisingly beautiful from in and out. Local legend has it that in this church, "the Candelaria herself" descended from the façade and went to the beach to ward off the Moros in an attempt to invade the town.

It was a beautiful sunny morning and the weather was good, when we rendezvous our boat rides in Buhangin Beach in Paracale, Camarines Norte.

This place was quiet and serene that attributes to the simple life in the province.

The ocean was calm and the boat ride was simply gliding on the waters with considerable waves.

Boats full of tourist do come and go to this passage as summer time was about to an end.

You will notice the white sands on some private coves and beaches along the way - which will add to your excitement.

Mahabang Buhangin Beach.

Seeing for the first time the long beach line of Mahabang Buhangin Beach (in Tinaga Island) was very impressive. My heart was pounding with joy seeing the beach from afar.

It's the final few weeks of summer - so people were rushing to the white beaches almost everywhere. Thankfully though, the local tourism in the island limits the number of visitors to avoid overcrowding the place.

The milky white sands are so smooth and immediately caught my attention. It disappears from your hands when the crystal waters washoff and reclaim it away.

We were to pitch our tents on the spaces reserved for the group, as arranged by Spice. That's the advantage when you have a "legit organizer" with you, which handles almost everything for your convenience.

Mahabang Buhangin beach is undoubtedly beautiful. It is so huge, it can hold 2 beach volleyball games side by side, or even a full size soccer games on the beach.

The beach was full of boatmen, travelers, resort helpers, small sari-sari stores, kubo's, etc.

Our host, Mam Lila was very accommodating, well travelled, served the people as PAO lawyer for years, and now a municipal trial court Judge - prepared for us sumptuous dinner - lots of food, fruits, sodas, and (to our surprise) 1 whole pork lechon to feast on. It was a birthday celebration of one of the guest, so with balloons too.

Everyone sat together, introduced themselves, and ate happily together. You can easily discover new friends, prospected travel buddies, and/or a dependable travel resource. As most are travelers, you can patch them in as resource person for planning itinerary of your next travel. Mam Tarah (at the back of Mam Lila), is perhaps the most flexible travel organizer, extremely well travelled, and always has an amazing pose for photographers that comes along with Spice.

Some joiners were group of friends already - and if you are polite enough, you can easily join and share your experiences and happiness with them.

The camping near the beach was super exciting - hearing people singing, laughing, and slowly starting to calm down as the night falls.

Awaken by the increasing heat from the rising sun in the morning, it's about time to roam around in the beach, and on to other islands nearby.

The weather was calm and there was no rain during the night - we had the same reliable tent that stood for us on several getaways, including the rainy night in Palaui Island.

Some of our newly found friends were already awaken. It was our first time together with Sir Ron, a very humbled engineer, a seasoned recreational scuba diver, and very well travelled. He was also with us in one of our most amazing getaways in Caramoan islands.

Early in the morning, the long white beach of Mahabang Buhangin has some swimmers enjoying the crystal clear waters and amazingly, the sunlight is bouncing off the sand.

It was indeed a vast span of long and wide beach front with extremely white sands everywhere. The angled beach line (from the trees to the water line) is almost identical in length with the white beach in Boracay.

After a few minutes of wandering in the sands, it's time to board the boat, and on to the island hopping spree nearby.

Balabag Island.

These group of islands is called "Balabag" which means a barrier or obsticle in the local language. Situated very near the northern tip of Mahabang Buhangin, these islets has majestic scenery in all of Calaguas islands. (ctto: www.google.com/maps)

There's a rocky formation on the east side with pristine white sand below which I think is best for pre-nuptial photography sessions. So, if you don't have access to Caramoan islands, these islets will surely deserve your taste in angles and perspective, and just an alternative.

The water was crystal clear that you can easily see what's at the bottom.

The sands was amazingly silky smooth that it beckons you to get wet to ease away the heat of the summer morning.

Also first time with us was Sir Derick and his group of friends - a very soft spoken people development manager of one of the most famous food chain in the country, and a legit traveler.

I cannot resist not to get wet with the water that's so pristine in Balabag islands.

The stones are actually a combination of volcanic rocks and dead corals at the bottom, and sharp volcanic rocks on top.

It was exciting to go on top of the rocks really.., after a little bit of efforts.

Going to the western side, you shall cross the huge volcanic rock formations with sharp edges and a shallow sea water that divides the islets east and west.

The water was amazingly cool and clear - and the crossing was relatively easy with care.

On top of the highest point, you will see the amazing scenery of the rock formations on the east side - so beautiful!

A short hike on top that goes to the other edge would resemble a short hike on the eco-trail in Mt. Ulap without seeing any water.

There's a cove below on the western side that will entice you to go down.

The scenery here transforms from rocky beach on the east side, to the very nice beach sand in the west. The kubo below is actually a store that offers some cold drinks, sodas, and halo-halo (mixed fruits and sweets with crushed ice), an excellent relief from the heat of the sun.

Not as smooth sand due to many coral stones, this cove is best to silently camp over the night - unlike in the Mahabang Buhangin beach though, you can find more peace and harmony here due to isolation. In fact, the original plan was really to camp here over the night.

After a few hours of fun and photos, we went back to Mahabang Buhangin beach to pack-up our stuffs, and on to the boat.

Maculabo Island.

We had one last island to visit before heading back to the main land - the Maculabo island.

It was surprisingly beautiful there.. all you have to say at first was, wow..!

I have to get wet clinging on the boat because the water there was unbelievable..,

and totally enjoyed the moment.

There I took some staged shots with my very amused wife..

and I was able to shoot the Spice Gala Club's very own Mams' Lila and Tarah for the very first time posing together.

There were some portions there that's rocks every where - on the east side of the beach..

Perfect for amazing group shots of friends enjoying together..

And the entire group of 33 travelers had the chance to finally assemble..!

Calaguas Islands offers a unique feel in getaways. The combined long stretch of white sand beach in Mahabang Buhangin beach, the wonderful scenery on top of Balabag Islands, and the surprisingly beautiful pinkish sands in Maculabo Island - will definitely worth the exhausting travel back and forth.

Spice Gala Club is truly an amazing group of people put together for each specific locations, that surely capture each individuals' interest and personal bucket list fulfillment.

Indeed, getaways is a gift to yourself. Don't be the person who is too busy when you're young, and too tired when you're old.

Byahe lang.. cheers!

2016 May 21~22, Calaguas Islands

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