To the West Side…of the Philippines!

I was born, raised and lived in Manila, my dad who worries a lot did not gave me a chance to travel outside Manila, (i was stucked specifically Mandaluyong) during my younger days, so have dreamt of visiting places.

Got lucky to marry a man with province, where he really lived and grew up there, and as we grow old together, he showed me the hidden beauty of his province, where city people like me can find peace, relaxation and fun as well.

PANGASINAN is one of the provinces in Region 1, and with my 15 years being married to a man from this province, one of the best place he brought me is in BOLINAO… it is located in the far west side of the the province, I think this is the end of the land mass of our country in this side.

We stayed in Rock Garden Resort, is located in Brgy Arneldo, Bolinao… its resort has its swimming pool for adults and kids with a beach front cottages, though the beach front does not possess the powdery white sand that we are expecting, the water is clear and peaceful, kids can enjoy playing within the shore but be a bit careful with some small corals within the beach.

the entrance going to the beach side of the resort

My kids manage to caught starfish half alive-half dead, but they had fun taking photos with it and they send them back to the water afterward.  In the shore you can see small fishes in different colors.  I am not very good with fish species that's why I can not name what kind of fish it was, but in came in colors, blue to blue green, a bit of yellowish and some like orange like fishes, small crabs can be seen as well running in the shoreline…

the beach from a far

peaceful water, where kids can play

I used my phone taking this photo from a waist deep water of the beach
this shows how clear the water that I was able to take this "flower-like"
creature under the water.

Starfish in the seashore

Alger having fun in water

i also let go of this starfish after this photo, it is still alive
and hopefully it is still alive until now.

Mia also poses with the starfish

the swimming pool in the resort...

after the morning swimming by the beach and in the resort's pool, we asked the local receptionist what else can Bolinao offer, they gave us a map which lead us to the (i think) tip of pangasinan's land in this side.

we past by rough road with water and boats on our side, it seems that the road we are passing is a deserted one, but along the way these are what we discover…

a place where the river and sea meets...

entrance to the enchanted cave, according to the locals
these are fossils of giant clams, they say that this area was previously
submerged in sea water, but due to climate change and other factors,
this mass of land raises and become this enchanted place

going to explore what t\his enchanted cave can offer their guests

anothe fossil of giant clam where they put a small bench for guest to
rest upon while climbing the "hill" like location of the cave

stairway to enchanted cave

the majestic and enchanting cave with underground river,
this is a natural underground river, it means it is fresh water
they say that the water temperature is opposite the temperature outside the cave.
The water is so clear and the area is now protected to maintain the natural beauty
and cleanliness of the cave.

behind us are the stalactite and stalagmite, but some are already
discolored due to those people who touches them even with contant
reminder that it should be touched.

outside the cave, they make a man-made river also can be use to
swim with a relaxing style of nature

they put some hammock as additional attraction cause you can relax on it
while being with nature

along the way, we also passed by this lighthouse they name as Cape Bolinao
lighthouse.

as we near the end of the road, the real surprise of nature's beauty awaits us… we reach this open to the public beach, i cannot say it's unihabitated but, i can say it is still virgin… virgin from commercialization and what it can offer to people "from the city" is a haven of relaxation and peace of mind as you dwell and be one with nature… the beach's sand is as powdery as the one in boracay, the color is white to beige to pinkish kind, and the water is bluish-green, clear and cool… the waves are quite high and surfers will surely fall inlove with it…a true paradise and one of God's best masterpiece.

at the shore of Patar, White Beach

daddy's turn to take photos with the kids

The waves for a far… it's quite big  and looks like another
surfer's paradise

the row of open cottages within the public white beach of Patar

God's one of the best creations...