A 6-hour drive from Makati, we arrived at BOLINAO, PANGASINAN. We took Subic, Clark, and Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) route. We brought our own car so we can move easily around the town. We brought snacks, water, utensils, cooler & plastic ware because we want to save some money too.
First thing we did was visit St James the Great Parish Church which was built by the Agustinians in 1609.
We tried Binungey, a popular delicacy in Pangasinan made of sticky rice soaked in coconut milk and cooked inside a bamboo, and it tastes like "Suman".
We arrived in the Bolinao town proper at 07:00 AM so we decided to eat our breakfast at a 24 hour eatery named "Adora's". We also bought cooked food for our lunch because it was cheaper and efficient as we planned to have a picnic lunch at the falls. After eating our breakfast, we went to the Patar Beach to look for a place to stay. It was 30 mins away from the town.
We stayed at Ilog Malino Resort. Thank you so much to Kuya Roy for letting us checked in as early as 8:00 AM. He gave us a warm welcome and a big smile. He said that the room is available anyway so he allowed us. It was a room good for 4 people but we don’t have a choice it’s the only room available at that time and the call of Mother Nature was really hard to resist. (tahahahahha) The room cost PHP 3,500 with aircon, television, 2 Beds, a huge cabinet and a toilet.
We have checked other resorts but we preferred Ilog Malino Resort because of the swimming pool, the deck, karaoke, restaurant, beach front and the warm welcome of the staff. They also allow you to bring your own food inside the resort.
After preparing our stuff we drove our way to Cape Bolinao Lighthouse. It was just 15 mins away from where we were staying. There's no entrance fee but they won't allow people inside.
There were 3 caves in Bolinao but the natives said that the best is the Echanted Cave so we chose to go there. The entrance fee is PHP 150.00 each and PHP 50.00 for the parking. The cave holds emerald green and cold fresh pool of water. Its depth is estimated to be around 3 ft to 6 ft. It also houses a trail of hundreds of corals that more look like rocks. According to local people and tour guides, millions of years ago Bolinao was under the sea due to the discovery of fossilized giant clams around the area.
We then proceeded to Bolinao Falls 1 to ate our lunch in one of their cottages, cottage rate is 200 php and and an entrance fee of 50 php. Bolinao Falls 1 is the biggest amongst the 3 falls so we stayed here for a while and enjoy the water and cliff diving.
After our tour, we went back to the resort and get some rest. We were awake since 12:00 AM and we felt so exhausted with our tour. We arrived at the resort around 3:00 PM and we planned to take a short nap and wake up around 5:00 PM to enjoy the sunset and the beach. When we woke up, we just realized that it was already 3:00 AM! Tahahahahaha! We overslept! We were planning to go to Hundred Islands on that day but it was really raining hard so we opted to stay at the resort and wait for the rain to stop. And, yeah it stopped after like an hour but we decided to stay instead and enjoy Patar Beach. Probably, we will just schedule a different date for our Hundred Islands escapade.
Walking in the sand is a challenge because your feet will sunk whenever you step on it. The sand is compose of mini pebble that is why the composition can easily break whenever you step on it or when water splash on it. There were also few areas that are rocky or The abundance of sea grass that covered the ocean floor makes the beach slightly unattractive but as Kuya Roy’s said it is a sign of a healthy sea. There were a few areas with a lot of Best to wear surf shoes to avoid stepping on anything sharp or slimy.
Take note that we didn't explore the other tourist spots in Bolinao, since a friend told me that the other entrance fees are overrated like in the caves so we just took a rest the whole day in Patar Beach. It's your discretion if you want to explore more. :)
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