It started with an out of nowhere text message from my former lover candidate demoted to a-friend Sharlyn, asking me if I wanted to go along with her to somewhere, where to? I had no idea, she just said "to the beach". In a country surrounded by beautiful beaches it seems like a stretch just to choose a destination in that moment of spontaneous wanderlust. However, upon considering the time allotted (just 2 days of weekend) and the tight budget I had in my pocket. I thought about Zambales and Pangasinan. Both places were just about 4-5 hours away from Manila and serviceable by many bus firms in the city. In the end, I decided we should just hop in the bus to Bolinao, Pangasinan. With another friend of mine, Lauren joining us, our "menage a trois" roadtrip was on.
A Spontaneous Weekend in Bolinao
Midnight Bus Ride to the North
We left Victory Liner in Cubao aboard a bus bound for Alaminos, Pangasinan at about 11:45 PM Friday night. The bus terminal were filled with Baguio bound travelers about to join the Panagbengga Festival revelry happening that same weekend. We arrived in Alaminos by 4:00 AM and waited for a few minutes to board another bus to Bolinao for another hour of journey.
At Bolinao, we rode a tricycle which took us to Patar Beach (another 30 minutes travel time) where we settled on a backpacker resort simply called as "B". Ditching rest, we just ate a quick breakfast, a lightning fix and a short walk around the resort then we proceeded to our exploration of Bolinao (we hired the same trike we rode coming in for 250 pesos - whole day).
Patar Beach & Cape Bolinao Lighthouse
It was low tide on the shore but the coral bed and other small sea creatures created this wonderful effect of crater like landscapes on the sea floor. We also dropped by the Cape Bolinao Lighthouse, which was erected by the Americans in 1903, standing 351 feet and providing a panoramic view of the surrounding waters of Bolinao.
A few distance away from the lighthouse one can finally walk with their bare feet over fine crystal-meth like white sands of Patar White Beach. It was there where we took a swim. I practiced on my slowly improving swimming skills while Lauren rekindles her love for swimming while swearing she should have taken swimming lessons as a little girl.
Quiet Time, Beach Hangouts, and Sunsets
It was great just hanging out by the beach, drinking beer and just having crazy conversation with my friends Sharlyn (who is in the midst of a break-up - her 57th) and Lauren (who swears she doesn't get drunk nor tipsy-Okay, no contest there :P ).
We settled at the furthest part of the beach as to stay away within hearing distance of those having karaoke session. I mean, you go to the beach to have some quiet time and then you end up hearing loud off-key pitches of Parokya ni Edgar songs.
We had lunch on the beach, "sinigang na malaga" sans any vegetable. Sad I know, however, in a place like that, who needs gourmet and well cooked food hey. We just sat there until sunset and hoped time moves ever so slow just to prolong our stay there.
We drank that night and talked about everything ranging from sexual topics to other topics that were eventually annotated with sexual meanings. The ratio of sexual related stories told that night was like Sharlyn's 5 to my 2 and to Lauren's 0.5.
River Kayaking & Historic Churches
The next day before leaving, we dropped by Punta Riviera for some river kayaking along a portion of Ilog Malino, the river that eventually meet the sea. Not after getting lost and ending up on the opposite side. While kayaking I kidded Lauren about a crocodile living in the river and good enough she believed me for a few seconds before we spotted a bunch of kids swimming nearby.
After having lunch at the resort, we went home but not after dropping by the Church of St. James, which is among the oldest churches in Luzon.
There goes another great weekend. Back to work right now and awaiting another spontaneous itch to get out of the city.
- Explore more destinations across Pangasinan.
- Discover spontaneous travel stories in our Travel Guides collection.
- Find your next weekend escape in our Nature Trips archive.
