Fun, Sun, Caramoan

This being a Y and E blog, I hope it's okay if I use up a bit of space talking about my bestest group of friends. After all, we probably would not be together had these girls not been as supportive as they were. As the brilliant Spice Girls say, "If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends."  So there.

My bestfriends and I are so different, our lives just took flight in various directions after we graduated from high school. We were never clingy people, so after college, we each pursued what we  (thought we) wanted. No peer pressure, just each one going after their interests/hopes and dreams. One went to nursing school hoping (and still hoping) to work abroad, one took up medical technology with dreams of becoming a doctor, one took up management in the best university in Cebu (biased girl here, what can I say?), another one studied to be an accountant (and is now our ticket to the quickest bank transactions!), another one studied sports science (we ended up as dorm mates in UP), while I went on to major in broadcast communication. Talk about diverse. We all went to different schools, save for me and Erika who both went to UP Diliman - but with courses that are outrageously different, we hardly saw each other even then.



Despite the differences, we managed to keep up with each others' lives. Whenever we could, we bonded through countless sleepovers at each others' houses, and eventually started going on trips. Bus rides, "cowboy" accommodations, cheap alcohol (and lots of chips for the allergic girl), endless gossip - that's all we ever need to have fun. The best part about traveling with these girls is that no one is high maintenance and no one ever complains. Also, it is from these amazing girls from which I learned the fine art of packing light. (I have a tendency to lug around everything, plus extras, in the spirit of preparedness, but it turns out, I never actually use everything I bring.)

In the recent years, we've tried our best to meet up halfway between our current cities (Singapore, Makati, Cebu... US - if we get to see Adel soon?:) ) and go on happy adventures. Whether it's in Cebu, some neighboring islands, in Manila, in Singapore or Hongkong, and whether it's our boyfriends or our moms tagging along, each trip we have is always fuss-free and easy-breezy.  We play our own parts in the preps and we've already got the system right, if I dare say so. The boyfriends may change (one girl's in particular ra diay, actually), but we all stay the same.

This year's annual (official) get together was at the beautiful Caramoan islands in Camarines Sur. Made increasingly famous recently as it became the backdrop of several editions of different Survivor franchises from around the world.


On a busy Friday, Pat and Mar flew in from Singapore, Jessa and Ria flew in from Cebu and E and I flew in from... work.lol We decided to meet up at the bus station. Jessa and Ria had a very stressful commute from the airport: They took a cab to the LRT station, rode the right train but went waaaay past their stop, rode another train going back, took the MRT and then walked to the bus station. E and I took the MRT as well. We almost didn't make it, but Pat and Mar stopped the bus driver from leaving. Good job, guys.

We took the Isarog sleeper bus because we've always wanted to try it. Best bus ride I've ever had. My photos don't do it justice, but it was clean, spacious and conducive to chika-chika, and sleep of course.haha It was a regular sleepover for us. The top bunks are freezing cold, as other bloggers promised, so I took out all my malongs and sarongs to keep me warm during the nine-hour bus ride.


We got off at the Naga bus station, took a jeepney to Sabang Port. At Sabang port, we waited  in line for about three hours until we finally got on the boat. After a two-hour boat ride, we finally arrived at Caramoan. We booked our accommodations and tours with The Travelers Camp. Sure enough, we were welcomed by one of their staff when we arrived.

The place was clean and the rooms were pleasant enough. On our first night though, they kind of overbooked, so they made us stay at another house - I think it was the owner's house or something like that. The walls had graduation photos and medals of some kid. It wasn't bad, but the main house is a lot better. :) It doesn't really matter much since majority of our stay was spent at the beach anyway. Travelers Camp is highly recommended. It's cheap (hello, Php2600 for 3 days and 2 nights inclusive of  food and island hopping!), the food's really good (and limitless!) AND there's a karaoke machine (sing all you can!haha). I may be biased here because any place with a karaoke machine is good enough for us.

"Survivor" island

<3

Look mom, I found some wild sea creatures! :D

My perfect underwater smile.lol

Lunch!

Riri's model pose.

It's always fun catching up with the girls. But catching up in paradise is even better.
So where are we meeting up next time? :)



xoxo,