Greencaviar Travel

  Cebu: A Nature Lover's Paradise My recent trip to Cebu, Philippines, was an unforgettable adventure filled with the incredible beauty of nature. From diving with sardines to swimming with whale sharks, each experience was a testament to the rich marine life and stunning landscapes that Cebu has to offer. Moalboal: A Diver's and Snorkeler's Dream Our journey began in Moalboal, a paradise for divers and snorkelers. Famous for its sardine run, Moalboal did not disappoint. Snorkeling in Moalboal is incredibly accessible.  Just off the shore of Panagsama Beach, we plunged into the crystal-clear waters and were immediately surrounded by massive schools of sardines, creating a mesmerizing underwater spectacle.  It's a surreal experience to be surrounded by such a massive, moving school of fish, feeling their collective energy as they dart and swirl around us.  The area is also home to a variety of other fish species, making it a vibrant and bustling underwater ecosystem....

 Daraga, Albay As our plane approached Bicol International Airport, I felt a surge of excitement at the thought of seeing the famous Mayon Volcano with its perfect cone shape. I'd been warned that it’s often shrouded in clouds, but with two weeks in Bicol, I was optimistic about getting a clear view of this natural wonder.   Upon arriving and settling in Sorsogon, our first major excursion was to Daraga, Albay. Here, we explored the Cagsawa Ruins, a poignant historical site where the remnants of a basilica, originally built in the 1500s, stand. The church was buried when Mayon Volcano erupted, and today, the belfry still stands, with the majestic but elusive Mayon Volcano in the background. During our visit, Mayon was, predictably, hidden in clouds. Despite the cloud cover, we made the most of our day. We embarked on an exhilarating ATV ride around the tourist area, which gave us a different perspective of the lush landscape. For lunch, we met up with some family friends,...

El Nido and Puerto Princessa, Palawan The Stressor My trip to Palawan was not without its complications. The Philippines was not part of my Southeast Asia travel plans. But when I found a low fare to the Philippines, I decided to add the Philippines to my epic Southeast Asia 2018 trip. El Nido had been on my travel radar for a while. Since there's no airport in El Nido, I booked a flight from Manila to Puerto Princesa with Air Asia and a separate package tour through Asia Travel that included the transportation to El Nido and a hotel.  I also booked a hotel in Puerto Princesa through Booking.com. I pre-paid everything that was booked through Asia Travel.   The trip to El Nido from Puerto Princesa was long (6 hours), but not as bumpy as I expected.  The road was paved, winding with lush scenery. However, the stop to get food was far in between. We arrived in El Nido tired and hungry to find our pre-paid hotel room not only ready, but the hotel was fully...

It's More Fun in the Philippines Part 1:  Trekking in Sagada Not long ago, Sagada, one of the municipalities of Mountain Province, was isolated and essentially an unchartered frontier. It became famous for its hanging coffins and coffins found in the crevices of limestone rocks. For this reason alone, most people find Sagada a fascinating place to visit. Today, tourism in Sagada is going through crazy rapid growth, not only because of its ancient culture and undiscovered beauty but for inclusive mountain adventure – trekking, hiking, caving, spelunking. And it seems that the municipality of Sagada tries to capitalize on its mountain playground. All visitors in Sagada are required to register with the Government Tourist Bureau and pay forty pesos for registration. Visitors must hire a registered tour guide. The price for tour guide services, tours, and activities offered by different tour operators are pretty much the same. Most tour or trek starts at The Church of St. Mar...

My interest in exploring the northern part of the Philippines started from looking at a piece of art at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, California.   Among the display of ceramics and pottery engraved with gold and other decorative stuff,  a wooden carving of a male figure squatting on a platform with the lower arms on top of each other, resting upon his knees, caught my eye.  According to the docent, the wooden sculpture was called "Bului" which literally means "granary guardian" in the "Ifugao" tribe dialect. The carved wooden sculpture was set on a platform on top of another platform, a mortar.   Our docent explained the significance of the wooden mortar (which was used with the pestle, to separate the husk from the rice, sort of rice mill) and linked the story to the Rice Terraces in the Cordillera Mountains of the Philippines built 2000 years ago by the “Ifugao” tribe. So two years and three hundred kilometers north of Manila later, we explo...

The last four years of my life sounded like the female version of Tim McGraw’s song “Live like You Were Dying” (you can google the lyrics) with a slight variation in that I went traveling. And it was during those travels where I went mountain climbing, hiking, sailing,scuba diving, zip lining, ballooning and did things that I would not ordinarily do. In fact, this whole blog started with the theme:  1000 Places to See Before I Die. I took a trip after trip after trip, after trip, and in the age of extreme travel, I pushed on against greater obstacles. Take my kayaking trip (previous blog), for example, I pushed on to paddle more than five miles despite the sore back. In short, I went too fast that I felt I had to take a vacation from vacation. There still are many travel plans in the year ahead that include cities, mountains (the Himalayas), oceans and nature in general. However, a recent R&R trip to an island getaway opened my eyes, at least, in terms of traveling sty...

The Bicol Region was one my best kept travel secrets that I didn't want to share.  But the discovery of the whale-shark in Donsol, Sorsogon, made the Bicol Region one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Philippines.       As our plane touched down in Legaspi City, we were greeted by the beauty of Mayon Volcano - an active volcano in the province of Albay, on the island of Luzon.  It is renowned as the “perfect cone” As we drove to Barcelona, Sorsogon (our home-base), the clouds started to hide the tip of the volcano. The following day, a lengthy jeepney ride from Barcelona, Sorsogon took us along the length of the Pacific Ocean and deserted coastline to the town of Bulusan.  Our vehicle was the only  one on the road as we climbed over the mountains with thick vegetation.  The occasional jeepney revving noise was drowned out by the buzzing crickets and birdsong.   Bulusan Lake is a scenic crater lake at...