Only my second trip to the beach this year, as I am getting really old (ding! ding! ding!) and do not have the energy to travel every other week like I used to, is a trip with my favorite travel friends. Four years of amazing friendship and counting, and we are growing old, growing bigger, growing in numbers through literal multiplication and addition of kids and pets and even travel gnomes and stuffed toys, and we are looking forward to more, more of this, more of that, more drinks, more music, more friends, more laughs, more crazy pegs, more memes, more ridiculous ideas to pass the time with! Our trip this time included two toddlers, two sets of parents, couples, singles and a jack russell terrier that Lia has renamed as Bingopopoipoy. It was a one of a kind weekend indeed. We were headed to Tambaron Green Beach Resort that our friends AJ and Maya and their family owned for nearly forty years.
Going to Tambaron Island in Bulalacao, Mindoro Oriental involves taking a bus from Cubao to Batangas, a ro-ro from the port of Batangas to the port of Calapan, a chartered van from the port of Calapan to the port of Bulalacao and a banca ride from Bulalacao port to the resort. We left Cubao at 1:30am and was at the resort in time for lunch – that’s nearly 10 hours of travel for a total kilometers of 255 (or 155 miles) from Manila to the town of Bulalacao. The early morning ro-ro ride was fast enough that it only took 2 hours, so we we’re able to stop for breakfast in Calapan.
I first packed Lia an individual bag filled with her things, only to realize that for a small person, she had way too many things and that it was a better option to just bring one big suitcase filled with all our stuff, in addition to my usual backpack and camera bag. Lia now thankfully can carry her own little backpack filled with some of her most needed items, like a face towel, a jacket, a bonnet, some cookies and candies, and a bottle of water. I love that! I had recently purchased packing bags from Travel Essentials and found them to be as useful as I thought they would be. Thanks Tessa for making these wonderful stuff for travelers like us. I love them!
We’ve recently been fans of the newest fashion blogger Aaron, and well, he inspires us! Enough for us to do the following shots, while we we’re all standing by the road, waiting for our van drivers to change our ridiculously flat tire.
