Picturesque Plaza of Balanga

After an overnight stay in the remote and pristine beauty of Playa La Caleta, and a half day 'homestay' on boatman's house, my pregnancy-pause vacation was over! However, to maximize our day before going home, we had a quick visit to Plaza Of Balanga since bus terminals are only one tricycle-ride from it. We had our lunch there before going home and had a quick tour to mall and their church.

Plaza of Balanga is a tourist spot itself. It offers architectural beauty of their municipal office by maintaining its structural designs. Picturesque at any direction!

CLeanliness is also their top priorities. Even in Bagac, waste segregation is being practiced. Garbage cans are everywhere.

They were already practicing this ethics even before the Bill-of-not-smoking-in-public has been submitted

BALANGA CHURCH

Mother & son

If you want to know more about tourist places in Balanga, you may want to go directly to their Tourism Office to inquire. The office is located just right there in Balanga Office building.

Tourism Office of Balanga For hotel bookings in Bataan and other towns for staycation and vacations? Better check some at Travelbook.ph.
Just got to this link as they offer affordable hotels discounts!
https://www.travelbook.ph/philippines/bataan/?affid=0098&subid=Bataan001

Pregnancy-Pause-Breathe at PLAYA La CALETA

Currently in my 7months and approaching 8months of pregnancy, I have thought to have a pregnancy-pause to prepare myself again emotionally and mentally (financially is a cliche!) for the labor process and child rearing activity after giving birth.

Anxieties and fears. So many to mention, that dealing with nature is my only solution to regain back motivation and fierce. Gusto ko ng enerhiya mula sa kalikasan, gusto ko ng dagat. Ng puno. At ng Glamping! So budget ...budget..budget!

First choice was Crystal Beach Zambales because its only a few hours away from Cavite and it offers nice beach and environment for kids. However, upon googling and reading blog articles, I have discovered there's more to Bataan to explore, and thinking that this beach got its potential, we have to visit this right away before summertime and before this resort become popular for backpackers and travelers.

..and yes we did! Of course I really wanted to thank Ms. Jane (staff) of Playa La Caleta and John Ceazar Diaz (boatman) for helping us making this thing happened.

Playa La Caleta is a private resort and secluded cove owned by a businessman and was opened for public with fees of course. It is resided under the municipality of Morong Bataan but boats to PLC can be found in Bagac, Bataan. You may compare this with Coves in Zambales, but Playa has it's own unique irresistable beauty. Compared to other coves out there, you may leisurely walk on the shoreline from end to end, the distance is not that far from each other so it's very intimate. Just avoid booking on weekends as it makes the cove crowded and according to staff they can only accommodate up to 300 heads.

Another thing , your overnight stay on the cove would not be enough. There were so many activities that can be done in the island and good thing , the management preserves the beauty of the mountains and marine biodiversity. Every cottage/gazebo have its own trashcans for cleanliness. The only "kalat" that you will see are falling leaves. You may want to check more details on their Facebook page.

So what made our stay here superbly special, that we really wanted to go back?

1. We're alone on this island - We actually planned a 2D/1N stay on the island and originally on weekends, Sat- Sun. However, I 've changed my mind a week before our booking date. Since our purpose is to rest and deal with nature, I 've changed the date and made it Sunday to Monday night. Fortunately , Ms.Jane was very accommodating. She sets everything including the boat. And Yes, it was really fun because WE OWN the island! Few visitors arrived on Monday but on a day tour. So we really enjoyed our stay. Ang tahimik! Perfect!

HAMMOCKS!!! 2. StaffS and boatman are super mabaet and very accommodating - Hindi masungit and they never fail to remind us to tell them what we needed.

Eto lang.. this island owned lots of dogs. Good thing they're all harmless and they serve as "bantay" on the island with the staffs.

3. No threat for security although I wasn't able to catch a good sleep because I really doubt it. But hey! We're safe and had a great time - We arrived sunday night. So we just asked staff to cook meal for us. You will just pay 150 pesos for each set of meal. After our night swimming, we already had our dinner and rest. The only people on the island that night was us and 3 staffs. Yes, creepy!!! :)

No mosquitoes but lots of insects! Fortunately each gazebo have mosquito nets! aT ang lamig! :)

4. My son like it - Although Slip N SLide, was not available during those days and still working in progress, you will not ran out of activities to do. Kids can rent toys and they did kayaking. He also spotted some fishes swam around the area and small jellyfish. Good thing is, the water is shallow so kids can really enjoy wading and paddling.

5. We did an overnight stay in PLC and another night at the boatman's humble abode. Our story HERE. : )

Expenses. How much we shell out ? All in all, for 3 adult and a kid, we didn't spent much. Actually we only spent less than 7K for that overnight stay in PLC and a 'homestay' to the boatman's house plus additional tour in Plaza of Balanga. In PLC, we rented a gazebo that is good for 4, so it cost us 1500 per night and a we rented a banca exclusively for us for 1800php. Plus entrance, that is 200php per head.

The rest of activities are here:

UPDATED RATES OF ACTIVITIES IN PLAYA LA CALETA Just choose activities that you wanted to enjoy more your stay in the island. Actually there is also aN underwater cave spot located before the island that you can visit. Too late we knew it thru the boatman's mom. We also didn't explore Miguelito Island because there were no water on the basin and we are not into cliff jumping.

So we just maximized our stay on the island by walking from end to end. Kayaking and unlimited swimming is enough! Ganung mga bagay e sapat na! On its truest sense,this is tranquility and I, indeed, gained back my energy!

I know... Bataan will be talk of the town for backpackers this coming summer 2017 and there is more to Bataan that can be explore. Maganda pala ang Bataan! This is highly recommended for a weekend get away, because its only few hours away from Manila. So let me share some of my pics there. .. definitely will go back! MAnganganak muna ako!! :)

Julian enjoying the boatride to PLC

Our homey gazebo for a night

GOOD MORNING!This is what I really like! Morning breeze!! At tulog pa sila!!

Since its marine biodiversity is protected, there is a possibility of seeing turtles swimming around the area.

This is where the river water meets the sea

#Feels! The sun is up, the sky is blue!!! Perfect!!

Filling in the hole with more sand so the crab won't come out! LOL *tripLangNila*

Yung sobrang init,chill muna sa hammock!

Mini grocery @ Playa LA Caleta

G L A M P I N G is IN in BATAAN!

The other side of the island. River streams. There is a waterfalls hiding on that area and it will take you 2 hours to get there.

Waterguns for kids , available at the PLC office for rent

Julian can't play under the sun! Natakot sa sunburn. So nagmukmok... natulog na lang sa duyan!:)

Of course, got a chance to have my DIY pregnancy/maternal photos. I really looove it!

If you plan to have your vacation on the island , do not hesitate to drop a message on their Facebook page and inquire, or text these numbers and look for Ms Jane: 09088887668 / 09167660111 and John DIaz ( boatman) at 09501690511.

You may also afford to avail Hotels on Bataan. Good news that they're on SALE now. Take a look!

I guarantee you a day well-spent at PLC with your loved ones. SIDE TRIP HERE : https://obraengkantada.blogspot.com/2017/08/picturesque-plaza-of-balanga.html?m=1

Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar

We ended our morning in Bagac, Bataan by visiting and catching a glimpse of Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, the heritage park in Bagac, Bataan . We never paid any entrance. We just stayed and captured few pics of houses from the beach area or "aplaya". Getting inside Las Casas would take us out-of -budget and it was never on our itinerary. So just a partial view of it was satiable for my eyes, however , we were caught by a Guardia Civil! Todo costume e! Hinuhuli nya kame! Bawal Daw! So pa-picture na lang kame!

Lelay : Hala huhulihin tayo ng Guardia Civil!!!

Julius : *tulala*

Guardia Civil: Magandang Umaga Mam, Sir! Bawal po ang magkuha ng pitsur kaya po nilagyan ng bakod at guard dito sa likod

Lelay : Ok kuya papitsur na lang kame sayo ha..di na kame maglalakad hanggang dun sa dulo!

Guardia Civil : Cge po mam!

According to this Guardia Civil, many tourist do what we did that is why Las casas put a barrier in between the area. You can walk on the beach side but no picture taking. Too late we already took some pics of some houses. Hehe. Just wanna share some of it here.

Our view from afar

Footprints! These marks add beauty on what they so called "aplaya"

How did we get this view ? If you will stay on Fajardos Beach REsort , the shore was just align with Las Casas , and the boatmans' house is situated just beside the resort and near Las Casas. They're just sharing the same shore. The boatman offered her mom's house to spent our night, kase ginabi na kme from Playa La Caleta

We did "homestay" and the family didn't ask for a specific amount, but we paid 1k for a night. Nagpaluto den kame ng hapunan!Ang sarap ng sinigang ng baboy! They're very maasikaso. They left us alone on their house and the family pitched a tent on the shore. THe boatman's parents usually slept in a tent because they want their boats to get secured at night. They have 3 boats and those were named after their 3 sons. I have actually asked if this was the first time that they accommodate tourists/visitors on their house and Mrs Diaz said that we're the fourth batch of visitors that they allowed to do "homestay". I really doubt for our safety since we are left inside the house the whole night. Or something might get lost inside the house while we are sleeping at kame ang mapagbintangan.Pero sadyang mababaet daw ang mga tao dun. So parang totoo nga. Even at Playa, they're very accommodating at hindi nagmamalabis sa mga turista.

Their house is not as grandiose and not as luxurious as what you can see on a resort. It's a typical house that is neat and very homey and presko! Restroom is very tidy. At yun ang importante..hehe : )

You can also leisurely walk early in the morning, breathe some fresh air and swim on the beach for free ..and buy some Bataan souvenirs on the beach area!

That's how we let the morning pass on our 2nd day. After strolling here in 'aplaya', we took our breakfast and already packed our things off. We need to because we're still heading to the pretty Plaza of Balanga and it will take us less than an hour to get there from Bagac.

You may check details and package for Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar on their website : http://www.lascasasfilipinas.com/ , you may book it from there. Or look for agencies that offers day tours with lunch.

Just in case you are planning to explore the Coves/caves in Bagac , Bataan. Here's the boatman's contact number, highly recommended! Thumbs up! :John Cesar Diaz (Playa la Caleta) 09501690511