Majestic Mayon

This is the trip we will never forget: This perfectly-shaped cone land mass is truly jaw-dropping. I can sit outside the balcony and just stare at it. I walked down the streets and have a good glimpse of it. It is like having a 55-inch LED TV in 4k resolution and Mt. Mayon is playing in it. Astounding, really.

How to get here:

We boarded Cebu Pacific at 0445H and was at the tarmac airport of Legazpi before 0600H. Travel time is 45 minutes. It is accessible by some 10-hour land travel because this is still in Luzon.

Where we stayed:

Jirah’s Inn is pegged at PhP850 a night from the Airbnb mobile app. This place is surprisingly has close to 5-star rating considering it is near the port area of Legazpi. The outside looks old, and the streets going there is a half-lit. We stayed there for 2-nights and after entering the premises, it was clean inside, their rooftop boasts of an overlooking of the sea and Mt. Mayon. From their deck, you can see the how splendid the volcano is from afar. Also worth noting that the host accommodated us at an unholy hour of the morning (0630H). My 2-star perception became an instant 5!

Where did we go:

Here is where we messed up: Because this trip is a straight-out-of-our-work trip, we were tired. After the super enjoyable 3.5 hour Lava Wall ATV tour courtesy of Your Brother ATV, (0910) 338 1283 (contact person: Jun) we went back to our hotel and a supposedly quick rest became a 7-hour snooze. We woke up around 07:45 PM. Our Legazpi city tour has to be postponed for the next day and our planned Sorsogon tour will be cancelled. There are many tourist spots in Albay but because of the schedule conflict because of our sleep-deprived bodies endure on the daily grind in Metro Manila, we made our second day a laid-back one.

We woke up around 8:00AM and decided to try her brand-spanking new snorkeling fins I bought in Manila for our anniversary, so we headed to Bacacay, still in the province, but first we ate a hearty breakfast in a nearby carinderia.

Coron-coron Beach is a 30-minute van commute from SM Legazpi. The driver was courteous enough to drop us near the beach. We did not actually go to the Coron-coron but nearby. One resort offered us the same black sand shoreline for a hefty PhP800 for the Entrance and cottage. We tried to haggle because we will just be swimming in the sea for only 3 hours but the staff declined. We thought the same with Coron-coron. We managed to get to the beach without entrance and pay only Php150 for the cottage!

After the beach, we went the Cagsawa Ruins after the late lunch at DJC's (more of this later). This is a popular tourist destination so expect some crowd. PhP20 per person entrance fee.

Other tourist spots in albay are: Lignon Hill, Sumlang Lake, Vera Falls, Daraga Church, Puro Beach where the word "LEGAZPI" is located, Kawa-Kawa Hill and many more.

Where did we eat:

1st Colonial and DJC Halo-Halo. Must-try, period. 1st Colonial is home to the famous Sili Ice Cream. They have many branches in Legazpi, but the one we frequented is in Ayala Mall. DJC is where the best Halo Halo in town served.

How did it fare.

We spend around PhP10,000 including airfare, accommodation, tour, lots of food and souvenirs for this 48-hour trip. A bit expensive, for me, considering we only managed to squeezed few tourist destinations.

PhP3,600 - Cebu Pacific Round Trip airfare with 20-kg baggage allowance

PhP1,600 - Jirah's Inn 2-night accommodation

PhP3,600 - Your Brother ATV Tour (Lava Wall)

PhP2,000 - food and souvenirs.

PhP 500 - Fare to and from our hotel to the places we have been.

#Legazpi #Mayon