Tuesday, March 18, 2014

The Apuao Island Experience

What is fascinating about Apuao Grande Island? Everything! I just call it Apuao Island for short...coz the name itself is Grand enough to describe! Apuao Island is located at Camarines Norte. This one magical piece of land is pretty amazing because of its preserved natural beauty. I am very blessed to witness its serene resources and vast treasures. Many thanks to Biyahe Lokal headed by Yani and Jed for bringing us here. This is one of those weekends I will never forget. 


I dont wanna carry a bulky and heavy dslr on this trip... (yeah surprising for a photographer ey..) Yeah., i just wanna pack light. So i just brought my trusty Lumix LX5 and my new GoPro Hero3! Tiwala na lang sa kanila for great pictures! I planned to make a short video for this trip. The GoPro Hero3 shall do its magic and yeah.. she did! What an awesome gadget. If you're an outdorsy person.. you got to have one of these...

I always wanted to have this photo but it was never possible. Im planning to do this once again but next time, it would be better if there are fishes around.. :)


The GoPro Hero 3 is crazy awesome! I would never imagine taking these pictures with my DSLR... look at that underwater selfie.. Yupp.. i look like a douche bag with this photo but what da hell! It's fun doing it! :D



Now off with the beach photos damn it! Man this beach is just.... ugh. awesome. Well its no that powdery like the ones in Boracay or in Panglao. Its not that fine than the ones in Calaguas....


It's everything in between... Sakto lang!!! Its just gooood. I intentionally made that driftwood look like a hand .. i dunno if you can see it.. It's like im receiving some sand from the heavens or something.. haha baliw lang.  I dunno.. It's one of those things that I love doing. :)


 Went on a stroll and check out what's around and as i noticed... this beach doesnt have any coconuts beside the shore... instead there are pine trees all over! For a moment it kinda made me confused coz i thought pine trees only grow in cold areas. But in these scorching heat, there they are... all green and alive.


I just thank the heavens above for giving us a really nice weather that day. Sky is blue.. clouds are like a da vinci painting... It's just perfect! The waves going to the island is relatively fine.. Everything is smooth...Such a wonderful trip..



The best thing about this island....we all have it for ourselves!!!! Yes! Except for some locals who live nearby of course! But for us tourists.. we're all alone in this vast, sandy wilderness! This is different compared  to places like Boracay or Puerto Galera na parang EDSA Dos sa sobrang dami ng tao! (we're there are lots and lots of people).

This place is just serene, calm..secluded. You have all the peace and quiet that you wish! This IS truly an escape from the hustles and bustles of the city! 



This is where we set camp. Just beneath the trees...

this is how they transport water and other stuff...pretty old school huh?


Life here in Apuao Island is very simple. Electricity is limited. Most of the time you just hear the sounds of the waves....the birds flying around...sound of the trees swaying as the gust of the wind embraces its leaves... The locals have their own fish pens... Photo above is kuya whom i forgot his name, harvesting dinner for us...



Island food! Fresh fish, vegetables and some delicious pork liempo! :) Sarap!



Time for some island action and we went for some island hopping.... managed to do some creative shots that doesn't look creative at all.. :| haha.  I just want to document this.. coz im a sucker for things that usually taken for granted.. like this one over here.. to me, it looks beautiful...


...and this. Yeah its a splash of water but to me its something... Or maybe i just dont see these things like these happening everyday. Whatever it is, its something that I appreciate...



Enough with the cheesy stuff. The best thing to do when island hopping is to drink some booze as you go along...  I guess Biyahe Lokal prepared really well for this trip. We had enough Beer to calm our senses.... Beach and Booze? Always a perfect combination... 

We had a couple of shots as we cruise the waters of Camarines Norte... The view is good enough to appreciate.. Busog na busog na nga yung mata mo sa ganda ng nakikita mo....sabay iinom ka pa ng sobrang malamig na beer... Replenished inside out..


I always do this "buwis buhay" shot and thank God i haven't lost a camera yet (wag naman sana). I really like this angle i wonder why. It gives you a perception of things to come....of the unknown.. and the journey behind it. It's kinda deep you know but yeah.. yeah sometimes im like that. Specially when im hungry. Yeah the sea is deep.. so better grab a tight hold on that camera.....



Beautiful....simply Beautiful. Can't find the right words to describe it....


this is my favorite photo from the trip. i actually joined a photo competition and submitted this as my entry.. I actually have a slim chance of winning but what the heck. Theres no harm trying. Anyway., i love this photo so much. Para bang nasa harap mo yung diyos? Tapos sasabihin mo na lang sa kanya na.. opo, napakaganda po talaga...Salamat. 


what a way to end your day...


I woke up the next day really early....why? Let's just say, my back ached.. and i just found out im sleeping on the sand! Haha! I guess i had a lot of drinks that night and left me lying somewhere... then i woke up with this view.. Its a blessing waking up in the morning, what more if you wake up with a stunning view like this!?  It's like automatic.. i grabbed my camera and took a photo. It's breath-taking.



 then i woke up with a tattoo! wtf?! :D

the next day...

It's time for phase two of our trip and we're on our way to Bagasbas Beach to Surf! Yeah this will be my second time to go surfing and i am quite excited! I went out of the van to buy some drinks and saw this watch tower with the waves on the background. It instantly caught my attention! I didn't managed to fix the horizon....this is a photo downloaded straight from my camera...(just placed a watermark using photoshop). I just love this nifty little camera. I love you Lumix! 

What a great day to ride the waves my brotha! Feeling ko naman magaling ako mag-surf! Haha. Well im not that good but i'd be really happy if I stood on the board for a few seconds.. :)

photo by Jed Rosell
and guess what I did! Heres the proof! Thanks a lot Jed for this really nice capture! Asked him if he can take video clips of us riding the waves... and damn he made a really good job. I screen captured some and here it is! Thanks Jed!




Jo, my good friend, also rode the waves like a pro! Look at that form! \m/ I guess we we're "stoked" if thats the right term! :D Good job Jocy! :)




After surfing, we went to this restaurant called the Tippy Toppy. The name itself is kinda funky and they said that food here is really good. So we gave it a try. 

I ordered their delicious Liempo with Laing! Damn the laing is to die for! Sarap sobra. It had a fresh pineapple on the side for dessert. :)


Also tried their famous delicacy called the "mango ginumis" and wow.. this is really good. It's like shaved ice cream topped with mangos, pinipig..some milk and gulaman.. its good! really good! you have to try this. Perfect for the summer heat..


I also tried their delicious creampuffs...I have to admit its sweet but its really good. I love the filling! Its so creamy and delicious. One of the best creampuffs i ever had!


This group is just amazing... ang saya lang nung weekend. Hope to see these guys once again in the next trips. Many thanks to Jed and Yani for taking us here at Apuao Island. It's quite an experience. This is my first beach trip of the year and it was worth remembering. 


 It's been what, 2 weeks passed and i still hear the waves.. i still feel the sand between my toes...every moment was cherished...what an experience.. i wanna go back...



If you want to visit Apuao Grande Island, schedule your group trips thru Biyahe Lokal! Contact them thru their facebook page. These guys are the best! I'll leave you with this really nice sunset photo that i took.... 




Here we go! This is the video that I made from the Go Pro clips. Hope you like it. This is actually my 2nd time to make a video and I made it in a day or 2..  i know its still crappy though and i hope someday i'd be better doin this with practice :) Thanks again Biyahe Lokal!  


Till our next beach trip!  

2 comments:

  1. "It's been what, 2 weeks passed and i still hear the waves.. i still feel the sand between my toes.." <---- the natural high

    Great post, man. Solid!!!

    ...pati yung tattoo talaga. hahaha. gumising ng may tattoo na sa umaga. haha. epic!

    Thanks sa pagsama, Mac. Sa may Calaguas may spot ako na pinagso-snorkeling-an, lots of fishes at buhay na buhay ang marine life. Lapit lang sa campsite natin dun.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Salamat Jed! Grabe sobrang nag enjoy lang talaga ako sa Apuao Trip natin. Sarap bumalik!

    nakupo! sige sige gawin natin yan sa susunod! Mag snorkling tayo! :)

    ReplyDelete

I appreciate it if you dont spam. Thank you.