The Great Escape to Hundred Islands in Alaminos City, Pangasinan

Our initial plan is to visit Puerto Galera in Oriental Mindoro but due to tight staffing, we ended visiting Hundred Islands in Alaminos, Pangasinan - which I think is also a blessing in disguise because I  thought it's quite perfect for a team building, awarding and other activities. I was pretty much delighted when the team agreed to go there instead of traveling roughly ten hours going to Puerto Galera.We rented a van and it only took us roughly four hours to reach Alaminos Tourism Office. The trip was pretty much awesome.

Meet our Team! (Photo credit: Jen)

Hundred Islands or Kapulo-puloan/Taytay-Bakes in Pangasinense is a protected national park in Alaminos City, with islands totaling 124 at low tide and 123 at high tide. I learned about the place back in my elementary days in Bicol so when I relocated here in Baguio to study at UP, I considered it part of my travel wishlist.

It's boarding time. We used this motor boat going to the Quezon Island. Photo credit: Mia

The New Policy at Alaminos City Tourism Office
The Alaminos City Tourism has implemented a new regulation regarding motorboat reservation so we had to follow it. The new policy states "In relation to the implementation of the City Ordinance No 2013-10, otherwise known as the Alaminos City Tourism Code of 2013, effective February 1, 2015, the City Tourism Office will strictly implement NO MOTORBOAT RESERVATIONS among motorboat associations. All walk-in guests who are not staying in hotels/transients/homestays must get their motorboat/s lined up at the City Tourism Office."  Our original plan is to just rent a boat going to Governor's Island but it didn't push through due to the said policy.

At the City's Tourism Office we were oriented about the new pricing plus the do's and don'ts. We paid Php80.00 for the environment fee and Php3300.00 for the boat which is good for our round trip transpo and island hopping. Original cost is Php3500.00. The new pricing surprised us big time because we were expecting  around Php1500.00 for the boat fare alone.

The Boat Expedition
Although there were some gigantic waves that greeted us on our way to Quezon Island - which significantly increased my body's insulin level - the ride was still amazing and I'm glad that everyone arrived safe. We're fortunate that our bangkero who's probably at his late 40s is an experienced driver. Travel time from the Tourism Office is approximately thirty minutes.

Smile is all over despite the rippling waves. (Boat owner should change their life jackets because some were torn and I don't think they will still function properly.) Photo credit: Jen.

We arrived at Quezon Island past five in the afternoon. We approached an old man (I forgot his name) and we showed him the receipt as instructed by Reymalyn at the tourism office. After reviewing our receipt, he also informed us about the do's and don'ts at the  island. He told us that eating "just anywhere" at the island is prohibited so we got a table for Php300.00  where we can eat. He also suggested to pitch our tent (Php200/tent) near the shoreline.  We did what he exactly had told us, and before the sun set our tent was all set and all good! After fixing our tent, we started cooking for dinner and we were done by around eight in the evening.

Sunset at Hundred Islands. Amazing, isn't it?

Our home for our overnight stay.

After some photo shoots, the team decided to sleep but I stayed at the beach for a while and swam despite the relatively cold water. I had so much fun swimming but when I noticed that everyone's preparing to sleep and the lights at the second floor of the building where we had our dinner were turned off, I left the sea and prepared myself to sleep. I decided to pitch another tent for Mia and Paul so that they will be comfortable sleeping. I set-up my alarm clock and slept - extremely excited of what awaits us the following day. (to be continued...)