Busy Bee in Burdeos

Due to persistent pangungulit of Liza and her sister Willie, thank you sis, my butt was able to reach the beautiful town of Burdeos!

One of the five municipalities in the Polillo Group of Islands, Burdeos boosts geographical wonders such as islets with white sand beaches, rich coral formations, waterfalls and limestones caves. Its luscious forests and ecological sanctuaries serve as a habitat to some of the countries endemic but critically endangered fauna and flora such as the Philippine Cockatoo, Butaan Tree Lizard, Polillo Tree Frog, etc.

This is my third journey to Polillo Group of Islands- been to Polillo and Patnanungan, thanks also to Liza, and Jomalig, courtesy of my dear friend Iori.

For this trip, I was part of the eleven volunteers who helped facilitate various activities organized by Liza, in coordination with the local government of Burdeos. The team is compose of "mother hen" Liza, me, the Cristobal flower-flower girls Willie, Ana, Judith and best buds Cherry and Hilda, father-and-son Saar and Kaseem, and wild dudes Jon and Leo.

Our activities include:

Paper jewelry workshop for the ladies.

Art contest and face paint exercises for kids.

River clean-up and waste audit. Plastic bags, again, is one of the top litters.

And mangrove treeplanting in Barangay Cabungalunan.

And yes, yes, Ani also joined us. This is her first trip to Quezon, yey! Since Raymond buses going to Real (jump-off to the Polillo islands) have small compartments, I was forced to dismantle Ani and put her on a bike bag. It was also my first to assemble and dismantle Ani on my own. No choice hehehe. Great tips from bike guru Shyo.

Bike itinerary involved a visit, and of course swim, to Tamulaya Waterfalls located in the town of Polillo, the 16-km bike ride in the muddy Polillo-Burdeos national road and quick bike wash in an unnamed river.

Other highlights of the busy weekend: swimming and camping at Ikulong Island, visit to Sitio Puting Bato Cave and the dark-dwelling bats, spider and pygmy frog,

snorkeling at Aniwan Island, takla (crayfish), Willie's adobo and grilled fishes for lunch/dinner, meeting the wonderful people of Burdeos, and bonding with old and new friends.

Still planning to bike around Real but the weather turned bad when we arrived at the Ungos Port. So sad.

Well, another reason to go back hehehe.

Burdeos, Quezon 04.01-04.11

Going to Burdeos? Proceed to Ungos Port in Real, Quezon. If you are coming from Metro Manila, you can take the Raymond Bus going to Infanta, Quezon. Bus terminal is located at Sampaloc, Manila City. From Ungos Port, take a boat to Barangay Anawan, Polillo. It leaves at 9am in the morning. Disembark at Barangay Anawan and take the jeep going to Burdeos. Another option is to take the Burdeos jeep from the town of Polillo.