Yesterday, Ivo and I set out for Infanta, Quezon Province, expecting to stay the night there and drive back some time today. The ads looked great but maybe we should have done a bit more research on exactly what to do and where to eat and stay in Infanta.
Even though Infanta the town turned out to be a bit of a bust (after a four-hour drive, two of which were just getting out of Metro Manila!), we had a great day, full of surprises and beautiful scenery, culminating in a 2.5 hour trip back to Manila on a different mountain road; and a fantastic meal at the Spanish Restaurant Flores in the Fort to help us recuperate.
Click on “Read more” below to see a few photos of our day:
We discovered this beautiful church in Morong by driving down a tiny road that only just accepted the Land Rover. It was built sometime in 1621 after the first church burned down.
Near the beach we saw a sign “Balagbag Falls” lying on the ground by the side of the road. We asked a lady if there were any falls and she pointed up the hill and charged us P20 to park the car!
Even though Infanta the town turned out to be a bit of a bust (after a four-hour drive, two of which were just getting out of Metro Manila!), we had a great day, full of surprises and beautiful scenery, culminating in a 2.5 hour trip back to Manila on a different mountain road; and a fantastic meal at the Spanish Restaurant Flores in the Fort to help us recuperate.
Entering the town of Morong in Rizal
Ivo had a Come to Jesus moment in the church
Beautiful old trees line the road in Laguna Province
Laguna de Bay from a point just beyond Tanay in Laguna Province
Sometimes the roads were a bit crowded--but you just wait until
everything moves out of the way
After a four-hour drive, we finally reached the Pacific Ocean. This was a surfers’ beach
but we decided against trying the waves--too many rocks out there
The swimmers told us that the water was malamig so we didn’t
go looking for our bikinis...
....and the kids thought we were very funny
We started looking for somewhere to stay. We had a nice cold beer at this resort
but we didn’t fancy our chances spending the night in a hammock
Infanta itself was a busy town full of tricycles and motorbikes but no obvious places to stay and, in spite of looking down various streets, no obvious places to eat
This was one of our dining choices but we decided to head for the fishing harbor where we thought we might get some grilled fish straight from the ocean
The fishing harbor was so beautiful; but the only thing that they were not cooking
in the little stalls around the harbor was fresh-caught fish!
By this time, the sun was setting and we decided to head home.
We took a fantastic new winding road through the mountains that took us
straight into Manila in about 2.5 hours.
We headed straight for a Spanish restaurant in the Fort where black squid ink paella and chorizo was washed down with a good red. A perfect end to a perfect day. Ivo did all the driving and a guy who sounded like Elvis Presley was our “guide" on Ivo's iPhone GPS. It is more fun in the Philippines.
No comments:
Post a Comment