April 27, 2019 – My second day in Camarines Norte… Waking up
with a huge smile on my face as Sir Mike of KATOOGA.PH said, “We are going to
swim!”… After a sumptuous breakfast at
our Jaschelle Inn, I packed the most essential things that I need for the
trip…
I loved to be at the front seat,
together with the driver. I would always have a better view of everything
that passes by… The one-hour drive is not that exhausting because a lot of
never you will see in Manila, are here… the Greeneries … proud trees along the
rode… the majestic flocks of birds… these are rare in the busy streets in
Manila… You can smell the how fresh the air in this part of region…
Upon reaching our
destination, the town people of Paracale, Camarines Norte greeted us with warm
smiles! The town people-Paracalenos are
richer than me! I noticed that everyone are sporting some kind of silver and
gold pieces of jewelry… Their smiles
shone brighter because of the gold and silver all over them…We got to be welcomed in the one of the simplest municipal
hall I’ve ever been… Simple yet all of what you need our all there… Kudos to
the Mayor of Paracale, Camarines Norte – Hon. Lourdes V. Briguera and her
staff…They are one of the living proof that it is all about the best public
service… not just by words but of what you see in action… Mr. Mark Gil A
Zamudion, the Municipal Tourism Officer Designate oriented us what within the
town of Paracale, Camarines Norte…
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| The Island of Maculabo is just one of the gems of Paracale, Camarines Norte... The very fine white sand can easily fly away by just a breeze! The small community is head by Baranggay Captian Alma Ramos... She is very nice like here people. greeting us with warm smile... You can see how sincere their smiles thorugh thier eyes... the pictures speaks a lot of words... It was like a paradise of words... As it is rich of everything they have in the simplest ways... I would love to assigned here to teach children... I really will even without anything in return... Lullabies by the waves... I was like jumping for joy I can 't wait to get off the boat... :) |
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| From the Grotto that island is the Maculabo Island... See how it stands their majestically... even from afar you can see how the seashore of the island have that glimmering lining with its fine white sand... |
Paracale… There were once some people who asked what was the
name of the town… The town people didn’t understand the foreign language and
they thought that they were asking what they were doing… what were they
doing??? They were digging canals… literally! And so Para cale means “canal
digger”.
And so as the orientation went on, I learned many things
from Sir Mark and these are the following:
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| This land is rich in gold and silver... On it rehabilitation, the town mayor had ordered the mining to be stopped for awhile to let Nature heal herself ... |
1.
Paracalenos are ultimate “GOLD DIGGERS”… and
silver too… The town is teaming, not only of bountiful harvests of both from the
sea and farms, most of all from GOLD and SILVER MINING… Gold was discovered 400
years ago in this town and ever since then this is the primary way of earning
of the Paracalenos… As of now the gold
and silver mining industries are under rehabilitation. They have a good mayor
indeed! If you think of, in five years’ time the gold and silver will double
up… the mayor ordered this to let Mother Nature heal herself. And so what do they have for jewellery
industry? Well they have enough gold and silver just before they have the
temporary ceasing of mining…
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| The home of the Infamous "Inay Candi" |
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| Under renovation but still still for over 400 years... |
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| the old and new mix all together... |
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| You will speechless after being here... |
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| It is just wonderful to be here.... |
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| I paused for awhile before I made a snapshot of this picture... You can feel the inner peace within... |
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| I am very blessed to touch the hem lining of her dress... |
2.
The oldest church in Paracale, Camarines –
PARROQUIA DE NUESTRA SENORA DE CANDELARIA PARISH AND SHRINE… The over 400 plus
years old parish church was said have been constructed with the use of egg
white… eggshells… and some hays… Imagine how many eggs had been used in
building this first church in Camarines Norte… (I was thinking about ice creams
and leche flans and some dolce de leche should had been made from the egg yolks).
The white wash parish church is the home of the “Inay Candi”. The patron said
to be miraculous and was adorned with real gold crown and pieces of jewelry. As
of now the real crown and jewelries are well hidden somewhere secret…
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| See how innocent they play... The Pulangdaga is just so lovely to visit... |
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| One of the beaches viewed at the Grotto... |
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| My smile says it all... I really had fun in here at Maculabo Island |
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| Pulangdaga is very pupolar here in Paracale, Camarines Norte... You don't have to ride a boat to get here... From the town at the front of the church you can ride a tricycle for a fare of 20 pesos... |
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| The Beach with Pulangdaga, which offers accommodations from families and as well as of large number of beach goers... |
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| Tag-O-War by the beach??? Well Why not... this time Man Versus Boat... at Maculabo Island |
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| Thanks to Ms. Shie Andrade of Pulangdaga Calaguas Adventures for this boat ride for 500 pesos for each... |
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| Here in Maculabo Island, dogs are very friendly too... She literally asked my to swim already and enough pictures already! Yes she swims too!!! |
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| And here I am having fun... I started living my life smiling here! You will not just learn to swim in here... You will also learn to appreciate life itself... |
3.
The White Sand Beaches-The beaches of Paracale,
Camarines Norte were awesome… As I tole everyone else I had been in beaches but
I never enjoyed them because I was too afraid to get tanned too much… But the
beaches of Paracale are the exemptions and for the first time I enjoyed
beaching around!!!... “Bakal Beach… Gumaus Beach… Pulangdaga Beach Labnig
Beach… and Macolabo Island… They are all amazing… mesmerizing… these beaches
will hypnotize you to live here… When you get here you will say what I have
said… “Can I stay here forever?” … The very fine white sand beaches a is the best thing ever to set my foot on… The
powdery feeling was there! You can run barefooted with no worries… The
Paracalenos are very disciplined and responsible people, they do their part to
take care of every inch of the town and beaches… The beaches are very clean…
Very much of tranquillity and adventure at the same time is in the beaches of
Paracale, Camarines Norte…From Infamous Pulang daga Beach, the home
of the great accommodations in Paracale, we took a boat ride… I love the boat
ride… It was the first time I had that in my life and it was the best! I sat at
the front… I ignored every warning of being at the front seat… In spite of the
all sorts of Viking’s/Perfect Storm’s/Cast Away’s sea experience, I will do it
again and again…. It was not the scary to witness such phenomena of CONDENSATION at the sea… For me it is a must to experience one!... It was like raining
upside down! Oh the rain was upside down! Here in Paracale you will want to do
that again and again… (By the way, we were informed that the Governor
apologized that we encountered one but it more of a privilege to have that here
at Paracale, Camarines Norte)… Overlooking the Macolabo Island you will be
grateful to appreciate such magnificent island filled with rich vibrant color of greens from the trees and greeneries around that you may only see in other
countries… As in WOW!!! Looking down the
water you can see how clear it is… The waves… They sparkle… The sun doesn’t
hurt at all as the rays of sunlight kisses the waves… The twinkling glimmers… They
are like stars at the broad daylight… It was surely a splendid scene on the
boat… blue sky… white clouds… sandy beach… crystal clear water… overall
HEAVENLY!We had the whole afternoon of fun and
adventure on the beach… I loved how the waves cradled my lost soul… The sea
frolic is fascinating as it quickly disappeared at the shore of Maculabo
Island… The saltiness of the water was very nice… the soft and sometimes loud
whispers of the wind tickled every inch of my soul and as I floated… seeing the
blue sky with very white cottony clouds up about… I thought I am very blessed
to be here… I trusted the waves to cradle me to sleep… knowing this is how to
be peaceful HAPPY…You will also say, “Please let me stay
here…”
The salty breeze of the wind at sea still
lingers in my dream…
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| The best to roam around Paracale is by ATV ride... |
4.
The ATV
Adventure- ATV means All-Terrain Vehicle… RRC
ATV Motors, headed by Mr. Xian, is in partnership with the resorts all over
Paracale, Camarines Norte. They offer ATV rentals, so you may experience some kind
of extraordinary ride all over the places from the seashore to the top where
you can find the grotto… The splendid sight of the whole Paracale riding an ATV
is a must in Paracale, Camarines Norte… You would really wished summer in
Paracale never ends… Riding ATV is not just riding… it is more of falling…
falling in love with the whole 360 degree sight!Please refer to my facebook post for videos of our ATV ride...
https://www.facebook.com/rissa.capalad/media_set?set=vb.100007857730986&type=2
https://www.facebook.com/rissa.capalad/videos/vb.100007857730986/2303138619958040/?type=3
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| The Grotto sight as the sun went down that day |
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| The Grotto... They said the a large number of devotees come here for a pilgrim as they believe... I believe it so because upon setting my foot in here, I felt peace... I almost cried... |
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| one of the breathtaking sunset in my life... I had been so busy not living I forgot how beautiful it is to just sit and wait for the sun to set behind the mountain... here at The Grotto , it is really worth of everything... |
5.
The Grotto- By ATV ride, we reached to the top
where the Grotto stands… Sir Mark said the every Holy Week healers, sickly
people and others come up here because of their beliefs that the Grotto is
miraculous… I breathed slowly as I took peek on the bars of the with the
grotto… then closed my eyes and made some wish… I wished everyone well… I felt
more peacefully as I turned my back… watched the color of the sky changed… As
the sun sets by the mountain… the silhouette of the whole Paracale was a great
sight! You can have that an very different way by riding an ATV while
stretching your hands up in the sky… You can say, “Summer… please don’t go yet…
not yet”
I packed my things… I headed on
the waiting…, our driver asked me, “How was the day in Paracale?” I replied, “I
had spent __ of my life not living my life to the fullest… Paracale made me
start my first day…”
There are way pretty much to discover and explore in
Paracale, Camarines Norte… like the Old Parola… Palanas Falls… and for this Please contact Sir Mark Gil A.
Zamudio, The Municipal Tourism Officer Designate, through this number : 09384087859
Thank you very much Ms. Shie Andrade of Pulangdaga Calaguas Adventures for our Boat Experience... You must try this with them... They are really professional... pretty much safe and in good hands!
Also to Mr. Xian Mancenido for the outrageous and the extraordinary ATV ride to all over Paracale...
And to the Maculabo Island Baranggay Captain Alma Ramos for our very welcomed accommodation in the island.
Kudos to Hon. Lourdes V. Briguera-mayor LGU PARACALE... You di a rreally good service to your town and town people...
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| I would really love to stay here in Paracale, Camarines Norte... |
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| Thank you very much Paracale, Camarines Norte |
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