#mabini anilao

[azelleannenavarro]

Summertime Gala’s: Top 3 Beaches in the Philippines to Beat the Heat!

Feeling hot? Feeling like showing your beautiful curves in front of different people? (We’re all for body positivity here!) In this article, we will dive and swim the information of the beautiful beaches here in the Philippines that is budget-friendly as well as hassle-free for first-time travelers. Whether you are a student or a first-time traveler who wants to try exploring this summer, you will never go wrong in this article as we will dive into pure white sand and scenic waterview while being affordable! So grab your iced teas, settle in, and immerse yourself with these beautiful beaches! Isla Verde, Batangas

“Center of the center”. This is how Smithsonian Institute described the place in 2007 because of its rich marine biodiversity. Situated between Batangas and Puerto Galera on Mindoro in the Philippines, Isla Verde Tropical Friendly Resort is situated on a small island in the Verde Island Passage. The travel from Manila to Batangas takes approximately an hour and a half. From there, it's a quick ride to Tabangao where you have to catch a bangka to cross the strait. Many visit this island from all over the world to scuba dive the nearby reefs because of the Verde Island Passage's famous marine life diversity. This resort is conveniently located near the Declared Marine Park's edge, making it simple to snorkel among the fish and corals that are shallower. Sample Itinerary: 04:30 am – ETD Manila 06:30 am – ETA Batangas Grand Terminal, P157 06:40 am – Tricycle to Tabangao Port, P75 (P300/4pax) 07:20 am – Board MB Super Mario, P10 08:40 am – Boat to Isla Verde, P120 10:00 am – Mahabang Buhangin, early lunch, environmental fee: P30 11:00 am – Island-hopping, P375 (P1500/4pax) 02:00 pm – Boat back to mainland, P625 (P2500/4pax) 03:00 pm – Ride jeepney to Batangas City, P50 04:00 pm – Ride jeepney to Grand Terminal, P12 04:30 pm – Bus back to Manila, P157

Anilao Beaches in Mabini, Batangas

The barangay (small administrative district) of Anilao, located in the Mabini municipality of Batangas, is known as the Philippine birthplace of scuba diving. Due to its colorful underwater environment, it is one of the most well-liked short weekend getaway destinations for tourists, especially diving lovers. It is located roughly 90 kilometers from Manila City. It's regarded by many expert divers as a haven for underwater macro photography and a stunning rainbow of vibrant and unusual  species. Anilao is home to more than 20 recognized diving sites, including Devil's Point, Layag-Layag, Kirby's Rock, Koala, Bethlehem, Arthur's Rock, Twin Rocks, Ligpo Island, and The Cathedral. Additionally, the Verde Island Passage—which is known as the "Center of the Center of Marine Biodiversity in the World"—is very close by.

Crystal Beach, San Narciso Zambales

San Narciso, Zambales is home to the Crystal Beach Resort. The village named after San Antonio serves as the starting point for the Anawangin and Nagsasa coves. In addition to camping, bonfires, surfing instruction, and occasionally beach parties during events, the resort also offers surfboard rentals.

[l-aurence]

Mt. Gulugod Baboy

Mt. Gulugod Baboy is the perfect destination because of the breathtaking scenery. One of the magnificent mountains that can be seen in Batangas is Mt. Gulugod Baboy. It is located in Barangay Anilao in the town of Mabini. The province of Batangas is not only known for its beaches, but it is also known for its mountains. Gulugod Baboy was once known as Mt. Pinagbanderahan. According to historical reports, a Japanese plane crashed on this peak during World War II, but some soldiers survived. They placed a flag on its pinnacle to mark their survival. This natural gem of Mabini, Batangas, remains a favorite among outdoor enthusiasts, offering a memorable and invigorating adventure amidst the province's natural splendor.

[mwcowan]

Returned, Enjoying Life

Chapter 5 – Diving in Mabini

We just got back from a 5-day vacation to Mabini, Batangas, to get away, do a little diving, relax. Now before you get on my case about “getting away” when we’re already in paradise, there are some things that don’t change, regardless of where home is. Mundane things like paying bills, running errands, cleanup and repair around the house, etc., take up much of our time. No, we’re not shoveling snow like everyone in California, but we’re not sitting by the pool sipping Pina Coladas all the time, either.

Anyway, before I get to Mabini, a couple random topics.

(Sorta) Strange Fruit of the Day

It’s been a while since I’ve had a new fruit to write about! Georgia had heard about these but never tasted them – it’s a variety of coconut called the “Macapuno”. It’s smaller than a regular coconut, and considered special because it’s mostly filled with soft meat and very little liquid. In Viet Nam these cost up to 10x the price of a regular coconut. She found one in Mahogany Market (a super-sized farmer’s market in Tagaytay) and we hacked it open to give it a try.

Good? Well, meh, actually. As you can see it did have an abundance of soft coconut meat, and instead of water it had coconut Jello. But not a lot of flavor to me, very little coconut taste and not very sweet. We’ve got a lot of the meat, so maybe it’ll be better if mixed with some sugar or put to some other baking use.

Halo Halo

Halo Halo (Tagalog meaning “mix-mix” in English) is the ubiquitous Filipino dessert. Every first-time visitor to the Philippines is required by law to try it. I’ve done my duty and to me it’s OK but nothing I’d go too far to seek out. Others, Filipinos and foreigners alike, love it. It’s made with shave ice, sugar (or other) syrup, evaporated milk, chunks of candied fruits and coconut (nata de coconut), all layered in a tall glass, and usually topped with a scoop of purple ube (taro) ice cream. You’re supposed to mix it all up before you start eating (thus the mix-mix). Ube, BTW, is the ubiquitous ingredient in Filipino desserts. Pies, cakes, ice cream, you name it, you see that bright purple color. Getting back to the Halo Halo, it’s pretty sweet, colorful, lots of different textures.

And according to Georgia it’s a perfect breakfast food…

Mabini

Sorry to leave you waiting. Last week we drove to the Mabini peninsula, about 2-hours south of home. The area is also commonly known as Anilao (the name of the town at the top of the peninsula) and is recognized as one of the prime diving destinations in the Philippines. Although it has beautiful coral reefs and a few wrecks, it’s most famous for “muck” diving, which isn't really "mucky" but involves searching for and photographing little critters like nudibranchs or “nudies”.

We checked in for a 5-night stay at a dive resort, that per TripAdvisor was the #1 overall hotel and dive resort in Mabini. I’ve found that I can usually trust TripAdvisor ratings. Usually. This was the exception. The term “Resort” should have been left out the description, while “Dive” was competely appropriate. We’re not hard-core divers so we were looking to do a couple dives, explore the area, and spend plenty of time relaxing around the resort. We expected a nice resort, nice pool and grounds, excellent service. Not even close. After the second night we checked out and went looking at other resorts (there are 80+ on the peninsula), and found one just down the road that fit the bill nicely, an excellent French-owned resort named La Chevrerie, and for those who speak French, yes they do have pet goats.

Lovely pool and grounds, right on the ocean

Enjoying the view from our breakfast table

Not bad at all, just what we were looking for We made a couple dives as we’d planned, ate a lot, got massages, ate more, relaxed by the pool, and of course, ate again.

The first area we dove was one of the most beautiful I’ve ever experienced, a reef with hard corals, colorful crinoids, lots of soft corals, and plentiful fish. Here are a few shots from the dive.

Gotta have a clown fish or two!

Colorful crinoids, hard and soft corals

Georgia having a closer look

Up next was “muck” diving. Georgia had experienced an equipment malfunction on the first dive, nothing really serious - a buoyancy compensator with a leaky inlet valve. The BC slowly but constantly inflated, making it impossible for her to control her buoyancy. With no spare on the boat and being tired from fighting the BC, she opted out of the muck dive.

The divemaster knew there would be a small current so he planned a “drift dive”, where you just let the current push you along as you look at things, and hope that the boat follows you. This plan started out well, but soon we found ourselves on an express train, a very strong current pushing us out to sea and into deeper water. The divemaster signaled that we should turn and get out of there. I swam as hard as I could for a while, but soon tired and found that I was starting to move backwards again. I just grabbed a rock and hung on, catching my breath, hoping that the DM had a plan to get us out of there. He apparently knew that if we climbed the ridge we were holding onto and got out of the channel we’d be OK. So, after a few minutes resting I pulled myself up, rock to rock to rock. Luckily he was right, and soon we were in pretty calm water and continued a nice dive. Many “nudies”! Divers love them because they stay still while you take pictures! BTW, for this trip I’d upgraded my equipment with the addition of a good dive light on a frame that also holds my camera. Amazing what a good light does for the colors!

A sampling of "nudies" for you

Things That Will Kill You, Underwater Edition

Don’t step on this guy!

Until next time, take care!

[my-journey-in-the-philippines]

Today, Mabini, Anilao, Mt Gulogod Baboy

[womanlalaboy]

Mt. Gulugod Baboy, Batangas, Oct. 2018

Oppo A83 VSCO Cam

[connectwithjo]

Club J Dive Resort

[inmanila2018]

Fotos von der Berghütte am Strand von Anilao

[alghaisdiving]

From our trip to Philippines #nudibranch #anilao #batangas #mabini #philippines #divetrip #SCUBADIVING #underwater #underwaterphotography (at Mabini, Batangas) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsm_RPGgszk/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=dovop3tw4dgk

[whooolaanmo]

Flashback Friday

year 2014

i got it from my fb memories

yung ang ganda ng background,.. dagat akala mo eh kung saan talaga mag bebeach 😄😁 pero napadaan lang talaga kami dyan sa wet market / port ng Mabini, Anilao Batangas route to Tingloy,.. ganda lang talaga 😊

#skl

[frixion28]

Easter Sunday 2019.365-111 [Part 4] #Project365 #XPPHGrid #Fujifilm #FujifilmPH #XPhotographer #XT2 #VintageLens #LightroomMobile #LRMobile #MakeYourOwnPreset (at Anilao Beach, Mabini, Batangas) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwhgo_TA-fF/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1proe84tlgptq

[angelinajanemalabuyoc]

Can't help falli'n inlove with Batangas

" You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” it is a line from a cartoon movie Winnie the Pooh. If you never take yourself outside of your comfort zone, you’ll never know what you’re capable of in life.

Adventure can make your life longer. Beautiful sites can make you stress-free in life.

I’m excited to share with you about family travel. Family travel has brought me closer and closer to my own family.

There’s something very special about traveling with my family. It’s actually something I look forward to the most throughout the year because I know it’s a time we’re all going to be together. 

My favorite destination is my hometown. Batangas is one of the most popular tourist destinations near Metro Manila. The province has many beaches and is famous for excellent diving spots including Anilao in Mabini, Sombrero Island in Tingloy, Ligpo Island in Bauan, these areas more popularly known as Anilao. Matabungkay in Lian, Punta Fuego in Nasugbu, Calatagan and Laiya in San Juan. With its alluring shores, Batangas turns out to be a principal player in the tourism of the Philippines.

Truly Batangas is the blessed land. I would fall in love over and over with Batangas.

[womanlalaboy]

Mt. Gulugod Baboy, Batangas, Oct. 2018

Oppo A83 VSCO Cam

[teasandcoffees]

Our not-so-planned hiking trip

Last Monday, I invited one of my friend to go hiking with me on Saturday and she agreed. But because of health issue, she can’t come the last minute so I was thinking on going alone.

On Friday, I told my office mate about this and she told me, “If your friend is sure that she won’t be coming I’ll go with you” So I asked my friend if she really can’t come and she said yes. 

..Friday Night..

I told my office mate about my friend’s decision and decided she’ll come with me instead. I was actually kinda unsure about this cause it’s very unplanned and unexpected, I actually just chose the mountain to hike on Friday morning. Hahaha but yeah we still did continue in doing so. 

So, we left Metro for Batangas at 4:45am and arrived around 7:00am in Batangas Grand Terminal. From there, we rode a Jeepney bound to Anilao - it’s around 30 minute jeepney ride. Upon arriving, we rode a tricycle that took us to the registration area in order to start our hike.

During the hike, I freaking felt that I’m so out of shape. Hahahahaha I actually was thinking of giving up in the middle of it cause I’m so tired and felt that I won’t be reaching the peak soon. 

But that didn’t stop. 

After an estimated time of  2 1/2 hours of hiking to reach the peak, all of our struggles and  hardships were swept away after we are rewarded of the majestic view:

Below are some photos I took for my friend when we reached the summit:

and me:

I would like to thank our tour guide: Ate Nancy Ilao (09202198149) for keeping us company during the hike.

A spontaneous and superb trip, indeed.

Summery of Expenses (excluding food)

P390 - JamLiner Cubao to Batangas Grand Terminal and vise versa (roundtrip) P40 - Jeepney ride from Batangas Grand Terminal to Philphan Mabini Junction P50 - Environmental Fee (Barangay) P60 - Tricycle rode from Philphan Mabini Junction to Registration area of Mt. Gulugod Baboy (120 in total, 60 each) P125 - Tour Guide ( We actually shared a tour guide with a couple so that we can split the P500 guide fee to all of us) P30 - Registration Fee P30 - When you reached the summit, you will need to pay another P30 since this is a private property and the owner of the land requires hikers to pay for the maintenance of the land P60 - Tricycle ride to Gasang P35 - Gasang to Diversion P10 - Diversion to Terminal

Total: 830 

[dcpeirre]

📍Anilao, Mabini Batangas

[essieheart]

You didn’t break her, darling. You don’t own that kind of power. Not to her. 🖤 #iamtb #writersofinstagram #WeekendWanderlust ☀️ (at Anilao Beach, Mabini, Batangas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CcriiaVBhlD/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ajourneywithmeblog]

Good Morning! #vistaaplaya #anilao #mabini #batangas #philippines #itsmorefuninthephilippines #ajourneywithme #balayanbay #viewofmarikabanisland (at Vista Aplaya) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx3Orm5lgEp/?igshid=wvmp7hro0qfq