Day 2: Tito's Roadtrip Travel Guide to Bicol

Woodland Beach Resort in Donsol exceeded our expectation.  The modest accommodation was compensated by the Villa Style building, well maintained gardens, an adjacent spa, swimming pool, restaurant, bar and the beach.  Also, its walking distance to the Tourism Office that regulates the Whale Shark Encounter.

Day 2

Our Day started early with the breakfast we ordered the night before.  A quick tricycle ride brought us back to the Tourism Office where we settled our fees, watched the video tutorial and await our boarding.

Dons Whale Encounter Boat Ride

Unlike Oslob, where the Whale Sharks are being lured to your boats, in Donsol, we adjust to the Whale Sharks feeding pattern.  Fins and Mask are helpful to catch up with these gentle giants.  Tours can take up to 3 hours.

We were not disappointed during our visit.  After swimming for a few minutes, we were back on our boats and to the boarding station.  We were surprised that the encounter was done in two hours.

Lunch at Woodland Resort

We decided to extend our stay in Donsol, instead of spending the night in Naga as originally planned. This gives us another day to explore the nearby islands on the Burias Straight.

The remainder of the day was spent at the pool, with a crash course on Free Diving.

Thank you to friends for the free diving lesson

Since the weather improved, we decided to take the more than 1 hour drive back to Legaspi hoping that Mayon Volcano would grace us with her appearance for dinner.

We arrived in time for sunset on an elevated location close to The Oriental Legaspi.

Passed by Legaspi in time for Sunset 

We were not only rewarded with the best view, but the buffet at The Oriental proved to be a value for money.  The spread included seafoods, complimented with an acoustic band, and a fire dance production just before we left.

Buffet Dinner at The Oriental Legaspi

We only had a few more hours remaining before the bar closes when we got back to the resort.  After a few rounds of very lethal serving of Long Islands, we retired to our beds for another day of adventure.

Day 1 : Tito's Roadtrip Travel Guide To Bicol

Its hard to admit, but we're maturing.  Not just in terms of age but also on the way we travel.

At this point we have reached the Tito's level.

How do you know when your a Tito Traveller?

1. When you have enough clothes to last you a month for a 5 day adventure!
2. When you bring a trolly to the beach.
3. When your baon includes a loaf of bread and coffee for morning emergency!
4. When your sunscreen SPF is enough to match the ozone layer.
5. When you won't take bullshit from anyone.
6. When you will get your money's worth no matter what.

These are my realisation during our 5 day road trip to Bicol.

We planned ahead to reserve our Holy Week for this adventure.

As agreed, we left Manila, Tuesday night to avoid the crowd headed south.

Day 1

Legaspi

Just before midnight of Tuesday, we hopped on a friends car for a 12 hour drive to Legaspi.

Thinking that most of our days will be spent in Donsol, we made sure to stop at Small Talk Cafe to sample the best Bicol favourites.

1st Stop (Starbucks SLEX)

We made a few stops along the route, changed drivers in Gumaca, and arrived just in time for lunch.

Our Lunch Feast at Small Talk Cafe

Our lunch included boneless crispy pata with bicol express, shrimp sinigang, pinangat and chicken adobo sa gata.  A welcomed reward after the long drive.

It was a bit cloudy when we reached Legaspi and the Mayon Volcano was hidden from sight.

After lunch, we proceeded to our resort in Donsol, which is more than an hour away from the city.

Donsol

Upon confirming our reservation at Woodland Beach Resort, we went directly to the Tourism office to book our Whale Shark Encounter Tour and Fire Fly Watching Cruise.  These are operated by different groups, and has different offices.   The Firefly Tour does not need to be booked advance because sightings is available whole year.

Woodland Resort in Donsol

Beach at Woodland Resort in Donsol

We finally checked in around 4PM, got settled, rested a bit before going back to Pilar, the adjacent town for the Firefly Cruise.

Firefly River Cruise in Pilar

We were among the first group taking the river cruise.  The sun is just setting, and were rewarded with amber skies as the night approaches.  It was hard to capture the fireflies in action but we were taken to a mangrove that looked like christmas trees filled with these flickering creatures.  

After more than an hour, we were back at the dock and drove back to Donsol for dinner.

Our guide recommended Barracuda for their seafood, which is just beside our resort.

At the entrance of the restaurant, we were greeted by a frantic lady, we now call Madam Barracuda.

Their Menu is literally a chalk board being passed from table to table.  The restaurant is full, and were running out of food options.  Madam Barracuda, seems to be manning both the kitchen and front of the house and forces you to order whatever she has prepared.  Since, our drink order is still being prepared, we decided to just leave and try the restaurant at our resort.

Dinner turned out great at Woodland Resort.  We ordered our breakfast the next day in time for our early departure for the Whale Encounter.  After a quick massage, we finally settled on our beds for our Day 2 adventure.