Philippine Travel Notes

This topic started with this article There are three towns that bear the same name and those are located up north, middle part (almost Visayas) and down in Mindanao. Hmm! Claveria is a town in the province of Cagayan (Region 2 – Cagayan Valley). This is the northern-most town of the island of Luzon that faces the Babuyan Channel. A fantastic place to visit for sights, sea, sand and sun. This will be your best rest area if daring to skirt the northern tip of Luzon east to west or vice versa. There are also the lighthouse and a waterfall by the sea! The next Claveria is a town in the province of Masbate (Region 5 – Bicol). It is actually the southern half of Burias Island. Just across from Sorsogon. This is also a nice place to visit for sandy beaches white or otherwise. The little islands across this town are little paradises. One of those islands has a very wide shallow area of white sand with nearby coral reefs for the insatiable snorkelers! The last Claveria is a town in the province...

This topic started with this article Kalayaan. Oh freedom! Thou shalt be the name of many things! It’s good we’re just talking about towns so there are only two in the whole country! One is a town in Laguna (Regiona 4A – CALABARZON) and the other is in the island province of Palawan (Region 4B – MIMAROPA). The former is sitting on the eastern edge of Laguna Bay and is interestingly composed of just 3 barangays! Oh yes, that is where you are supposed to find the “Lukayo” – a tradition of long ago slowly disappearing due to the hypocrisy of catholic priests, that transcended into what most Filipinos now call "moral standard" and even transcended into how laws are made in this country. Should you be interested, remember this... the Lukayo tradition has already been a practice of our forebears even before the jesuits came! Oh of course, this little town is more known to the business community for power-plant topics than anything else! Then again many of us know that this town als...

This topic started with this article There are also two towns! However, one sports the name “Jose Panganiban” while the other is just plain “Panganiban”. Jose Panganiban town in the province of Camarines Norte (Region 5 – Bicol) is that town jutting out to the Pacific Ocean. And while it is a major fishing port, it also has its share of beaches. And there is an inactive volcano called Bagacay. Now the other Panganiban is in the island province of Catanduanes also in Region 5. It is on the north-eastern tip of the island facing the Pacific Ocean. Ah yes, this town is where you’ll find the little heard-of Catanduanes Island Beach Resort. There are other white beaches, a waterfall, dam, lighthouse and even a small airport! But hey, though both towns are in Region 5, their names are in honor of two different Panganibans! The one in Camarines Norte is in honor of Jose Maria Panganiban y Enverga – the propagandist and guerilla leader during the Spanish regime, while the one in Catanduanes is...

This topic started with this article There are also two towns. One is in Quezon Province (Region 4A – CALABARZON) along the pacific seaboard and facing the Polillo Islands. Nice secluded beaches here, and off the beaten tourist tracks. Of course this place is part of the "Lambanog Capital". But the long stretch of coastline is most prominent in my memory. Ah the winds from the sea are quite a treat! There are modest resort in this blissfully rural coastal town. The other Infanta is in the western portion of the province of Pangasinan (Region 1 – Ilocos) kissing the south china sea and where you’ll find the Balaki Islands. This town is along the now-getting-famous scenic route of the western seaboard from Zambales to Bolinao. Oh both towns got their names in honor of “Infanta Queen Isabel of Spain”. See?! Even these two towns are related to the places named Isabel and/or Isabela!

This topic started with this article There are two! One is a town in the nearby province of Bulacan (Region 3 – Central Luzon) and is a bustling fishing and farming town owing to its proximity to Metro Manila and being strategically located on the shores of Manila Bay. It is also one of Bulacan’s border towns with the province of Pampanga. Well, it is part of the historic province, so it has its own share. Start with the church of St. Anne, then there are old era houses dotting the town some are labeled with the names of heroes who previously owned them. There is even a beach - but that's the waters of Manila Bay hehe! The other Hagonoy is far south in the province of Davao Del Sur (Region 11 – Southern Mindanao) and is also a coastal fishing town but facing the Davao Gulf instead of the murky Manila Bay! You can go bananas in this place as like its neighboring towns, banana plantations are vast. Oh there's a new inland resort called seagull! Am not sure if it was from Hagonoy ...