ELF Bohol - Cebu Trip : Bohol Countryside Tour

Hello Friends!

I'm just too happy that I had 2 checks off my bucket list - to visit Cebu and Bohol. This trip was even more special because I got to spend 4 lovely days of leisure, food, laughter, beach, rain and sun with ELF and partners.


Let the tour begin!

After the usual "Kitaan sa Junction" ritual, off we went to the Airport!

Checking in, oh yeah!

  

Excited? Oo naman!

After 1 hr and 15 minutes up in the air...

Touchdown, Cebu! (Picture grabbed from Joanne's FB Page)

 

Ocean Jet 88 took us to the Tagbilaran Port in Bohol. Thanks to Lori's bargain hunting skills, we booked the promo back-and-forth ferry fare for P740 only, instead of the P800 one-way fare.

We took the tour package for P2600 per pax which includes the following for our 3-day Bohol escapade (will post our itinerary later).

- Aircon transfer from airport/pier to hotel/resort and vice versa.
- Aircon car/ van for the tour countryside tour & Panglao tour
- Hotel/Resort accommodation 2N/3DAYS without breakfast
- All tour entrance fees
- Buffet lunch at Loboc River Cruise during Bohol Countryside tour 
- Driver and Tour Guide

First Stop: Loboc River Cruise Lunch and Buffet. Boy! This was hell of a fun dining experience. We had an entire hour eating our hearts out, while cruising the Loboc River. We had a singer on board serenading us while we enjoy our lunch.

ELF and Sophie

Nic+Mic: Bears with Happy Tummies

Too bad it was raining when we headed for the famous Chocolate Hills. It was dripping wet, yes... but, who cares? :P

It was still raining when we got to the Tarsier Conservation Area. These Tarsiers are now endangared, and we are really lucky to see them for real. Visitors are not allowed to touch these species known to be the smallest primates, but pictures can be taken- only if the camera flash is turned off.  (Picture courtesy of Joanne)

The man-made forest with the masisipag na ELF magpapicture kahit umuulan. Joanne's photo.

The lazy kids who chose to stay inside the van

Hanging by the Hanging Bridge

Pupal Stage of the Butterflies (at the Butterfly sanctuary)

"Hindi totoong nakakabulag ang pakpak ng paru-paro. Alam nyo kung ano ang nakakabulag? PAG-IBIG" -Richard the Guide

Here's Mic Snake Lovin' - Bohol Python Prony

We ended our countryside tour with a simple dinner at the Chicken Ati-atihan restaurant. After eating, we checked in at the Dumaluan Beach Resort 1.

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Our Day 1 Itinerary

Salamat sa pagdaan! Will tell you about the next days of our Cebu-Bohol Trip soon.

Love,
TROPAng Ina

Nagsasa Cove Adventure Part 2

Once upon a time, 8 drunkard strangers were brought to a magical cove called Nagsasa... it was so magical that all of their dreamy fantasies came to life...

One became a princess and slept on a Magic Carpet under the stars

The emperor celebrated his birthday drinking and eating the best things the kingdom has to offer

All had nothing but genuine smiles

The heavens showered the mortals with simple sweetness

The heavens showered the mortals with simple sweetness

All men are equal regardless of size, color or creed

Sea Creatures offered themselves to their mortal masters

SAND MERMAIDs do exist

In this world, everyone has a destined pair

Giants teeming with hands called leaves

Abundant happiness could be found at the beach

That friendship brings about peace

there's a child in all of us

Hope that you'll find your magical place, too. 

Thanks for dropping by.

Love,

TROPAng Ina

Tropang Gubas Goes to Nagsasa Cove - Part 1

Summer just couldn't end without us going on a budget trip just to beat the heat. We decided to go to Zambales since it's not too far and we wanted to go on a camp trip for a change. 

The next phase of our getaway planning brought us to some word-of-mouth and blog research. Adaphobic served as a great guide, complete with budget, check lists, itineraries and time estimates. To save time and moolah, we voted to bring our car instead.

Our budget: PhP 2000 per head.

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The Big Day!

Mic and I ended our shifts at 6:00 AM, so the rest of the gang picked us up in our workplace parking lot. Just so we would not starve to death upon reaching our destination, we had adobo and rice, along with some sandwiches prepared in advance. 

 Stopover

It was an approximately 5-hr drive until San Antonio, Zambales. Here is were we did the wet market shopping for food and drinking water. Afterwards, we went to Pundaquit beach were we had our car parked near the barangay hall. We rented 2 small boats (PhP 1800 each, 4 pax per boat) since there were 8 of us in the group. The boat ride from Pundaquit to Nagsasa is took around 45 mins. to an hour. The long boat ride did not get us bored. We had some time for

 

Inter-boat Picture taking :P

 Goofing around

and admiring Majestic Rock Formations and everything nature has to offer

Touchdown!

We immediately set up our camp upon arriving at Nagsasa Cove. 

 Tents and Hammocks

More of this trip on my next post!

Love,

TROPAng Ina

Kwentong TROPAng Ina: Narinig ko sa UP (Overheard at UP)

Hi, Kalamay!

While doing my daily dose of facebook.com browsing today, I chanced upon my highschool classmate posting some musings about Narinig ko sa UP (Overheard at UP). 

Curious and wanting to know what the hype was about, I clicked the link and followed the group. Alas! I found myself laughing alone, reminiscing my good old college days, my "Dear-Lord-sana-pumasa-ako-sa-Math 11" prayers, and everything else about UP. 

Overheard at UP Cover Photo

According to the facebook page, this "Group was created by Christian D. Rillera circa 2010". This page is a collection of "overheard" stories from UP from hilarious UPCAT scenarios to professor phobias, SPARKS (love stories) and a whole lot more that would make UP students, alumni and everyone else laugh and reminisce. Becoming a member has responsibilities, too. see: Alituntunin.

Have a great day! Weekends a day away!

Love,

TROPAng Ina

First Resorts World Experience

Happy Tropang INA Moment: Athena Learns ABC!

Hello guys!

Today, May 30, 2013 is yet another Nanay (Mother) milestone for me. Athena is now able to identify letters from A-Z! There are still a few occasional misses, but still...Yey!

Sorry if I am making a big deal out of this... this is the reason why:

Athena doesn't speak like those kids of her age. She just learned talking perhaps a few months after she turned 2 years old. She was not even able to call us, tell us her needs and couldn't follow ANYTHING that we teach her. Frustrating, yes. But this did not affect our love for our child in any way. A few months back, I found myself crying to my mom because my "mommy instincts" told me that something could be wrong with my kid. I kept on ignoring that feeling. We have a few cases of developmental delays in the family, which made my fears grow stronger. I researched for these delays and therapies, and checked some mommy blogs for possible interventions. I even got in touch with one of my college classmates who is now a therapist (I took up BA Behavioral Sciences, but did not get a chance to practice Clinical Psychology) to see if she could recommend a developmental psychologist who could assess my child's case. I scheduled the assessment.

A few days after, I noticed a sudden development in terms of Athena's learning and speaking. She started to call Mic "Tatay", and myself "Nanay". She was also able to call "Merm" (my mom), "Bujoy" (my sister) and "Doy" (my brother)... even "Nanang" (my MIL) and "Tatang" (my FIL). If she wants milk, she says "Dede, Plis"...and the list goes on. This made us want to push more in helping one another in teaching Athena. We allot 30 minutes to a few hours (as long as we could tell she's interested) in teaching or constant exposure to learning materials. Body parts, colors, numbers, letters. Every. Single. Day. The tablet which I won from Sta. Lucia East Grandmall Cinema raffle was also a great help. I have installed an app which had pictures and voice prompts, which Athena just navigated and followed (she knows how to tinker on the tablet on her own). With these improvements, we decided to put the assessment on hold... the psychologist's asking price is P3,500 per session. According to the mommy blogs that I have read, it would probably take 2 sessions before the diagnosis could be made. This means P7,000.. a bit pricey.

With our joined efforts, educational toys, Barney and Little Einstein DVD episodes, tablet apps and posted charts, Athena can now tell the following:

1. Alphabet Identification - we still to work on the ABC song and reciting the letter chronologically
2. Numbers - 1 to 13
3. Colors
4. Shapes
5. Body parts
6. reading the words ANT, BEE and COW (more on my next post) ^_^


Thank you for sharing my happy (and proud!) Nanay moment. I promise to share my "Nanay Preschool" teaching journey... with my Little Athena as the student. 

Till next time!

Love,

Tropang INA

Athena's Nautical 3rd Birthday

Hello guys!

Celebrating our daughter's birthday DIY-style has been a memorable and fun-filled day for us. We were fortunate enough to have people closest to our hearts to celebrate with. Here are some snapshots of our little girl's special day: