Around Bicol in 3 Days

“Take the challenge.” As the Jackie Chan’s Around the World in 80 Day” movie dares, so does Isuzu’s Cloverleaf Endurance Drive: four different destinations, four types of vehicles, and four destinations.

The sea-lovers toured Mindoro in D-Max 4x2s with activities such as diving, snorkeling, and spa. The fit, adventurous, and rough-and-tumble types indulged in the beautiful and mystical Sagada in a pair of D-Max 4x4s. The Trooper was a perfect fit for a trip back in history in Tuguegarao. For those who appreciate the finer things of life were sent on a food trip in Bicol in Crosswinds.

After traveling 1,300 km, passing countless towns, non-stop eating, and a few pounds heavier, I lived to tell the tale.

Day 1 – 5:30 am

On July 16 of the year 2004, just as the sun was rising, there was an unusual flurry of activity at the Isuzu Manila dealership branch. Cars were arriving one-by-one, people milling around and moving about. Some carrying traveling bags, others decorating the Isuzu cars with flags and posters, and the rest were carrying packages. Voices, laughter and cell phone ring tones can be heard above the roar of the vehicle engines.

Suddenly, someone shouted, “Picture!” Immediately, everyone congregated into one huge group facing the camera. “Smile,” called the photographer. Everyone grinned. “Wave,” shouted the camera-wielding Gilbert Delos Reyes from AutoReview and everyone sort-of waved. In the middle of the group was an Isuzu VIP, the Executive Vice-President, Kazuhiko Sho, to see everyone off and wishing that everyone return safely with the cars intact.

With that, everyone zoomed off to their adventure. Mine was to the Bicol Archipelago for 3 days of food tripping. And what a way to start with a bag of yummy goodies in the car. Oreos, hopia, Tim-Tams, candies, Pringles and more goodies—guaranteed to break anyone’s diet.

Day 1 – 12:00 pm

Despite a full stomach from the McDonald’s Big Breakfast and from the snack bag, we stopped for lunch at KBP Restaurant in Caluag, Quezon. It’s a down-to-earth place whose food was quite tasty. One dish particularly stood out – the ginataang santol. The meat from the santol fruit is cooked with coconut milk. As Anjo Perez from The Manila Bulletin and a frequent patron of the restaurant said, “The dish tastes differently every time. It can be sweetish or sour, depending on the santol meat.”

After taking photos of the Isuzu Crosswind at the restaurant, off we continued with our drive (and munching goodies from the snack bag). As Anjo enjoyed a soothing massage from the Crosswind’s back massager, he soon dozed off peacefully. Lucky him!

Day 1 – 6:00 pm

Finally… we arrived at the Pepperland Hotel along the Airport Road in Legazpi City an hour ahead of schedule, despite the heavy drizzle and gray sky.

The hotel was lovely and maintained impeccably. I happily plopped on the comfortable bed in my cozy room. Imagine my delight to find cable channels on TV. I was able to happily watch the shows I thought I would have missed on this trip. The hotel’s ambience and service are comparable to the hotels we have back in Manila.

At dinner, Ping Arcilla of Bicol’s Department of Tourism office joined us for dinner. The hotel prepared a dinner feast perfect for the weary travelers. Naturally, the all-famous Bicol Express was present along with the region’s fabled soft-shelled crab and assorted seafood cooked with coconut milk or with tomato sauce.

A delightful surprise followed after dessert when the hotel brought a birthday cake for Tessa Salazar of the Philippine Daily Inquirer whose birthday was just a few days ago. When the festivities were over, we all looked forward to our homey rooms for a good night’s sleep.

Day 2 – 7:30 am

The majestic view of Mt. Mayon’s peak greeted us on the road. From where we stood, Mt. Mayon still had her perfect cone-shape figure for which she was famous for. It was simply breathtaking. Anjo said, “You guys are lucky. I’ve visited this place a lot of times and this is the first time I’ve seen the peak clearly. It’s usually covered with clouds.”

Mr. Ping regaled us with stories about Mt. Mayon and the surrounding towns. The name “Mayon” means “beautiful” in the local dialect. Legend has it that the beautiful daughter of the tribal chief or datu had two suitors – a hunter from her tribe and a leader from another tribe. The daughter fell in love with the outsider (just think of Pocahontas). The hunter from her tribe fell into a jealous rage upon finding this truth and killed the lovers. Mt. Mayon eventually appeared on the ground where the lovers were buried.

Mr. Ping continued on to point out the local tourist sites within the towns – the Spanish church built just by women (the first church was destroyed in Mt. Mayon’s eruption), the town hall besieged by guerillas in the early 1970’s, and such.

Day 2 – 10:00 am

A wonderful photo opportunity presented at the Sorsogon Boundary Marker. The marker was aptly decorated with gigantic figures of famous delicacies of the town – blue crab, tahong, and shrimp.

At the DPWH Rest Area, the DPWH and DOT team gave a warm welcome to the travelers. They proudly gave us native treat of puto (rice cake), suman (rice cooked with coconut milk and wrapped in coconut leaves), and blue crab. Behind the rest area was a beautiful view of the bay where the fishermen would catch the tahong and blue crabs.

Day 2 – 11:30 am

The charming Mrs. Ravanilla welcomed us at the Rizal Beach Resort at Rizal, Sorsogon. A scrumptious feast greeted the hungry travelers along the beach front. What better way of indulging in the succulent Bicol dishes than having a stunning view of the sea, sand, and sun.

Seafood was in abundance as we gorged on fresh blue-crabs, tahong, and a shellfish called by the locals as “Lips to Lips” because you have to suck the meat from the shell. Naturally, another version of the spicy favorite, Bicol Express, was on the table. Three different kinds of rice was on the table – the white plain rice, the red rice (rice with a red tinge and deemed by experts as having more fiber), and the suman rice (rice in a dark brownish red color and usually used for suman). Drinking fresh buko juice from the coconut with a straw was a perfect complement to our meal.

We had dessert of fresh fruits but the “star” of the dessert table was the celebrated pili nut. I didn’t know that there was such a thing as a pili fruit until Mrs. Ravanilla showed us the way to eat it with sugar or vinegar. The pili fruit is a bit starchy and meaty similar to a cassava or durian. The nut is hidden within a hard shell and the meat covers the hard shell. The pili fruit is an acquired taste—a bit with the pili nut flavor and starchy and bitter. The group decided on a landslide that it tastes best with sugar rather than vinegar. The husband of our gracious host, gave a skillful demonstration of cracking a raw pili nut from it’s shell with the bolo (a large Philippine butcher knife). I tried my hand at cracking the pili nut but to no success. Oh well…better luck next time.

Day 2 – 3:30 pm

A day filled with scenic sites of lush rice farms stretching until the distant mountains, the scenery changed from farming to undomesticated. Going deeper into the mountain, we passed one of the few rain forests preserved by the government. Untamed vines sprawling everywhere, grandiose trees upright and strong in splendor, and untouched by human civilization except for the paved road. The paved road led us straight to Lake Bulusan, a salt-water lake.

The first thought that came to mind was the movie Jurassic Park. The lake with the beautiful and abundant trees on the mountains as backdrop and no sign of any human contact was the perfect setting for a horror movie. I could just imagine a Brachiosaurus passing by with a pterodactyl hovering in the sky.

Day 2 – 4:30 pm

Oh no… we arrived at the Philippine Ceramic Plant at Tiwi at 4:32. Two minutes too late. The plant has closed for the day with all the workers gone. Oh well… that still didn’t stop us from buying lovely ceramic items.

Luckily, Timmy Naval knew how to lift our spirits up… she treated all of us to the halo-halo special at JDC which claims to be THE ORIGINAL halo-halo. Mr. Ping attested to the restaurant’s claim. He said that all the others are fakes.

The halo-halo lived up to the expectation of being the original. It was brimming with cream, nata de coco, corn flakes, and gulaman but what makes it special is the shaved ice which just melts in your mouth. Yum yum!

On the way to the hotel, Anjo was scouring the streets for a vendor selling VCDs. He wanted to watch it during the long trip back home. After much scurrying around, he had no o such luck…

Day 3 – 8:00 am

First agenda of the day: visit Mercedes’ Fish Market.

This was no task for the weak stomach. As fishermen dock their boats, basketful of fishes were dumped on the concrete as people started bidding for the day’s catch. Blue crabs were piled on one spot, assorted fish on the other, and even a huge 50 foot manta ray lay by itself at the center. A part of the day’s catch are packed in ice and sent to Manila.

Vice Mayor Brenda Salalima and some of the local councilors warmly greeted us. “If you were here around 6 am, you could have had fresh barbecued/grilled seafood breakfast.” I guess time does start earlier here than it does in Manila.

The welcoming committee described how the “Kadagatan Festival” on the first week of August is held. All the fishing boats we saw will be decorated for the regatta parade along the sea. “Beautiful” was how they described it. As I perused at the program of activities, the committee certainly planned for a full week. There was a marathon, next a coastal clean-up, beer fest, games, concerts, floats, street dancing and parades, beauty pageant, and fireworks display. Sounds exciting!

Anjo came back to the Crosswind with a huge smile on his face! He was able to buy 2 VCD movies.

On the way home, I was happily watching the VCDs at the backseat. Just one tip though: Don’t ever watch a movie while on the fabled Bitukang Manok (called by the very winding road). It’s guaranteed to give a big headache.

Day 3 – 7:30 pm

Lunch was at the Bulwagang Salakot Restaurant. The homey interior was a welcoming sight after miles and miles of concrete road. The food was really good and we practically devoured every dish.

The food trip ended at Le Soufflé at The Fort. We were the first team to arrive. One by one, the other teams came in, everyone hungry, tired, but smiling. Each team was assigned to buy a pasalubong for one team. Our team bought hammocks for the Sagada team while the Sagada team gave us native baskets. The other teams gave each other longganisa and pocket knives.

Ken Takashima, the Vice President for Marketing and Sales, was happy that all came back safe and sound and so did the Isuzu vehicles. After swapping adventures or “mis-adventures”, it was called a night.

t was my first time in Bicol and certainly, it won’t be my last. There are still so many things I want to see/do – such as whale watching, firefly watching, and mountain climbing. The Crosswind was undoubtedly up for the grueling challenge of taking us around Bicol – through the mud and rain – and it didn’t fail. Some features were all the more appreciated during the trip such as the back massager and the VCD.

The whole experience was memorable but after a long road trip, there’s no place I’d like to go to but home and I’m sure everyone else agrees. After all, we can’t go on gorging like that all the time.

Special thanks to all those who made our stay special. A huge round of applause to Timmy Naval, and the entire Isuzu Philippines Corporation team for an extremely well-planned and fun activity despite it being a logistical nightmare.

By Tiffany Go | Photos By Ulysses Ang