Day 0 (Friday)
I decided to join the Pangasinan getaway just a couple of days back. Since it was a crazy week, didn't have time to pack. I wanted to buy a new snorkel set before heading off home to pack. I got sidetracked because there was a farewell dinner for I, whom I went with to Boracay last year. Social obligation, as they said.

I totally forgot about the snorkel by the end of the work day, and pretty soon we found ourselves having dinner at Saisaki. We got uber excited as they GAVE us pretty animal stuff toys with our drinks. As for the food, didn't care much for their shrimp tempura. I did like the vegetable tempura, I got a second helping. Bad idea, as that made me stuffed like my toy lion. I was no longer able to check out the Kamayan feast after that. Just had ice cream and ube/leche flan con yelo (hehe). Everyone was still in ok mood, until we got our bill. The blasted toys cost us P160 for our drinks while a regular drink was only ~P60. What a scam! At no point while serving us, did they ever mention that those toys did not come with the drink for free, which was the impression we got, after they served it even without asking us if we wanted the toys or not. So the next time you go to Saisaki (Dads or Kamayan), be sure to clarify everything they put on your tables, lest hidden charges kill your dinner for you.

After that very expensive dinner, I went home to pack. I was off to our meeting place a little after 11, and was there shortly before midnight. The whole gang of 8 was complete and since we were supposed to leave by 2, only the driver of the 2nd car went to take a 3-hr nap, while the rest sang their hearts out.

Day 1 (Saturday)
We left Marikina at around 2:30AM in 2 cars - one small van and one sedan. I think we had a couple of bio and yosi breaks, and we finally arrived in Alaminos around 7AM. I sampled the Alaminos longaniza during breakfast, and it was a bit on the salty side, but yum.


After freshening up and changing into our beach outfits, we set out to the Hundred Islands National Park. It was a bright sunny day for a boat ride along the Lingayen Gulf, and it was awesome to see all those islands of different shapes and sizes. We tried counting but we stopped after it was clear there was just way too many. (Incidentally, I can now happily tell my U.S. counterpart that I have already seen 100 of our coutry's 7100 islands.. Harhar). There are supposedly 123 islands during high tide, and 124 during low tide. There are three islands that have been developed for tourists: Governor's Island (on it sits a lone house that is supposedly turned over from one governor to the next), Quezon Island and Children's Island (a resort with several huts for visitors to rent). We proceeded to Papaya Island, and from the time we arrived until the time we left - we had the island all to ourselves! Although there were some rocks and plants on the seabed, the sand was white. We went snorkeling, swimming and just horsed around on the beach. Except for our laughter, there were no other noises around us. Heavenly.

On our way home, we dropped by Padi or Cuenco Island, where there was a short cave, cutting across the island. That was our last stop, before we headed back to Bgy Lucap in Alaminos. We stopped by the town to take some photos on the wharf, and checked out the pasalubong items (nothing extraordinary, though).

Soon after, we were off to Bani, another town on the way from Alaminos to Bolinao (our final stop), which is the hometown of J. The huge ancestral home was amazing, and his tita had lots of stories about Pangasinan. After a snack of turon and soda, we then travelled to Bolinao, which was some 30mins away. We stopped at St. James, an old Spanish church, typical of most old towns. Then we headed to the resort, which was another 15mins away. It was sunset by the time we arrived, and we got there just in time to get some nice sunset shots. Yey.

Dinner was again sumptuous. We hang out at the hut on the 2nd floor, feeling the cool breeze on our skin, and awed by the beauty around us. There is nothing like listening to waves as they splash the shore. Absolutely wonderful. We were all tired by then, as none of us really had decent sleep since we left Manila, around 20 hours before. But, nothing could stop us from having a couple of beers at that point. We played a game called Top 3, which is basically going round the table for each one to name their top 3 for a category chosen, like top 3 crushes at work, top 3 most beautiful at work, top 3 worst-dressed male, top 3 worst-dressed female, etc. Hahaha. It was fun.

(Day 2 and pictures to follow :))