Philippine Travel Notes

This topic started with this article There are 6 and all are towns. Whew! Still in the province of Ilocos Sur (you probably have noticed, almost all towns in this province are named after saints) is the town of Santa Cruz. A farming fishing community with a long coastline, this town does have a waterfall frequented by tourists and residents. Next there is the town of Sta. Cruz in the province of Zambales (Region 3), and like above, also faces the south china sea not to be outdone in terms of beaches. There are even the Hermana Mayor and Hermana Menor Islands each having its own airstrip! This town has a cave, a cold spring and a fish sanctuary while they remain in the Guinness book of records as having the sweetest mango in the world. Hmm. Then there is the big town of Sta. Cruz in the province of Laguna (Region 4A) by the southeastern edge of the Laguna lake. Being the provincial capital, this town is more of a commercial center where folks get supplies going to the various tourism so...

This topic started with this article What about Buenavista?! Well, there are FIVE towns in this country that bears that name, so be careful lest you get lost! The name means “goodview” (Buena=good, vista=view). So probably the Spaniards and whoever else named these places saw some grand scenery from these places. First is Buenavista in the province of Quezon (Region 4A – CALABARZON). This town is in the southern part of the province called the Bondoc Peninsula that kisses the Ragay Gulf. This one has a wide land area but nothing much for the erstwhile tourist! The 2nd Buenavista is in the island-province of Marinduque (Region 4B – MIMAROPA). This town is the southwestern end of the island and has hot springs, sulfuric spring resorts and waterfalls. The 3rd Buenavista is the northern tip of the island-province of Guimaras (Region 6 – Western Visayas). This is the entry point to the island from Iloilo City esp when the waters are rough. The wharf on this town was built by Gen Douglas Mc...

The ‘Last Frontier’ region of the Philippines! Region 4B (sometimes written in roman numeral as REGION IV-B) is MIMAROPA and that stands for the provinces of MI ndoro, MA rinduque, RO mblon and PA lawan. Note that Mindoro is actually composed of two provinces – Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro. In the past these 5 provinces were actually part of the big Region 4 called Southern Tagalog – which was more recently chunked into two separate regions namely Region 4A (CALABARZON) and 4B (MIMAROPA). While the claim “The Phlippines’ Last Frontier” would usually mean the province of Palawan, my opinion is that it might as well include Mindoro, Romblon and Marinduque. I am almost certain that in the next years, Palawan will even become a bustling metropolis while the other three islands, especially Romblon and Marinduque might still retain much of their natural allure! Its just an inference and there’s nothing wrong about calculated guesses hehe! While many of the great 'tourismic...