I found my Honey in Sorsogon - Day 4

Time travels faster when you are having fun :P

Can't believe, this is our last full day in Bicolandia.  With a day left to our Bicol holiday, we tried to squeeze in a day tour to Sorsogon.  Sorsogon is famous for its stunning sceneries and emerald blue beachlines.

Posing right next to a giant pili-nut at Sorsogon Baywalk :D 

Barcelona, Sorsogon

The town was named after Barcelona, Cartonia (Spain) after a Spanish official saw some similarities between the two.  

The Ruins

Across the Ruins is the century old Barcelona Church, which is one of the oldest in the Bicol province.  

Next stop is the Paguriran Beach

A rock islet with a natural pool formation.  During low tide, you can literally walk towards the island.

I was a bit disappointed that we were not able to dive and get ourselves wet, but promised to come back soon and spend at least 3 days in Sorsogon just to enjoy the beach and the crystal clear water.

Lunch was at Balay Buhay sa Uma Bee Farm

Bulay Buhay is an agri-tourism farm-site with lodging facilities.  This is the place to stay if you wish for peace and quiet.

  

A natural spring pool comes as a bonus.

Bulusan Volcano Natural Park was supposed to be our last stop in Sorsogon, however it was still only partially operational due to Covid restrictions. They were only allowing limited guests at a time to enter and wait time is about 1-2 hours.  Another disappointment, still another reason to come back to Sorsogon.

There are still so many to discover in Bicol, 4-5 days is not enough to fully experience it beauty.  

With the country opening its ports and loosening travel restrictions, plus the reopening of Bicol railways, we will definitely start frequenting the beautiful Bicolandia!

If you missed Day 1-3, please check the links below:

Welcome to Legazpi Day 1

The Best of Albay Day 2

The Best of Albay Day 3

Welcome to Legazpi - The Best of Albay - Day 3

Day 3 of our Bicol vacation starts with a quick trip to 

Lignon Hills

It is the 2nd highest point in the city of Legazpi, rising about 512 feet overlooking the Mayon Volcano and the Albay Gulf.  The view on top (even after the 3km walk) was worth it.

Next stop is Daraga Church.

Our Lady of the Gate Church or more commonly known as the Daraga Church is located on a hilltop with a majestic view of the Mayon Volcano. The people of Cagsawa transferred their town center here to avoid the eruptions of Mayon Volcano and flooding of Yawa River.

Daraga Church is famous for its Baroque architecture.  Its façade and walls are made out of volcanic rocks, coated with lime for protection from deterioration.

From Daraga we travelled about 14kms to our next destination located in Camalig.

Solong Eco Park

It is 6.5 hectares eco-park known for its outdoor activities such as hill trekking and spelunking.  

We were assigned a park guide who helped us reach Solong Crystal Cave through a great deal of hiking.  The uphill climb was a real challenge, while the about 10 minutes stay inside the cave felt like you are inside a sauna. Must have lost 10lbs (or more).  

(Perfect end to all that climbing.... refreshing buko juice)

Farm Plate

Our next stop is the Farm Plate. It is huge Instagrammable farm for picnics and just to breath in fresh air.  

Socorro's Lakeside Restaurant

Hands down one of the best meals we have had in Bicol is here at Socorro's Lakeside Restaurant.  If not for the long wait (which we were not prepared for, otherwise we should have grabbed a bite at the Farm Plate) I would have rated it A++.  Two hours wait time for hungry people (after a hard day of hiking and spelunking at the Solong Eco-park) is an outrage (uhm, you know what I mean).

We ordered big time and finished everything... (What? We were hungry!)!

(Socorro's Fried Rice, Bagoong Fried Rice, Ginataang Laing, Crispy Bicol Express, Mixed Seafood in Chili Sauce, Honey Glazed Chicken)

Sumlang Lake

Must try activities at Sumlang Lake includes aqua activities such as balsa and kayaking.   

While in the area check out the Nappa Food and Craft Pasalubong Center.

If you missed our Bicol Trip Day 1 and Day 2, you may click on link below:

Welcome to Legazpi - Mayon Volcano (Front Seats) - Day 1

Welcome to Legazpi - The Best of Albay - Day 2

Welcome to Legazpi - Mayon Volcano (Front Seats) - Day 1

My father's family hails from Bicol but they have long moved to Manila, even before I was born. 

I recall visiting my father's home town just once.  I was so young then about 10 and I only remember bits and pieces of our short vacation.   We never got to visit back,  due maybe to our busy schedule and well the fact that it more than 400km away.

So the land of Mayon Volcano has always been in bucketlist.  We actually started planning about 2 years ago, but planning was unfortunately halted by Covid19 Pandemic lockdowns.

Last February, we (my husband and I and my younger sister who was barely 5 when we went to Bicol) finally took off the road to Bicol.

Sharing with you our 5 days/4 nights DIY Bicol frolics.  

DAY 1 - MANILA TO BICOL 

We left Rizal at 4:30am and reached our first stop (breakfast) at around 630am.

Breakfast was at Taza Mia at Tagpuan Villa Escudero, San Pablo City.   

We ordered breakfast set meals which comes with brewed coffee. Food was very good and filling, perfect for a day on the road.  

There is a McDonalds across Taza Mia and before hitting the road again, we decided to get take out breakfast sandwiches in case we get hungry.  This was a good thing as we were not able to find much restaurant to our liking.  We ate our take outs on the way and skipped lunch.

Our First Glimpse of the Magnificent Mayon Volcano via Camalig By-Pass-Road.  We would be seeing more of her in this Mayon blog series...

Legazpi is only about 13kms from here.  We intended to dine at Balay Cena Una, but was disappointed learning it has been closed since the start of the pandemic.  Not sure if it has already opened as of writing.  

1st Colonial Grill

Famished (skipping lunch) and driving straight with just bathroom breaks wasn't such a good idea.... we are elated to find ourselves at 1st Colonial at SM Legazpi. 

We ordered (Top-Bottom/Left-Right) pancit bato, tuna sisig, bagoong fried rice, ginataang santol, bicol express and of course their not to be missed Sili Ice cream (that comes on different levels of spiciness)

Check-in at Lotus Blu Hotel

Our residence in Bicol for the next 4 days

We arrived at Lotus Blu at around 6pm.  There was a mishap on the room assigned to us and was too late to correct it on our first night since the hotel was apparently packed. They were apologetic though and moved us to our preferred room the next day.

The room is basic, but we rested well. There is no pool and we did not see any lounge except for the lobby seating at the ground floor.  Breakfast is set meal with very few options.  

Housekeeping was very efficient, they kept the room spic and span and replenished our supplies.  Location wise, Lotus Blu is spot on.  It is a short walking distance from SM Legazpi, outside but near the city center which means less traffic.   It was a good jump off point for tourists.

Got  this photo from TripAdvisor,
I was not able to get a picture of our actual room as we were too tired from our days travel.

Day 1 ends here. Follow our Bicol Holiday Day 2 by clicking on the link below.

Welcome to Legazpi - The Best of Albay - Day 2