Bicol Express Day 2: Sun-less wakeboarding at CamSur Watersports Complex

April 26, 2012. 04:00++ PM. 

Touchdown Naga City!

after almost 3 hours ++

no, it's not Mayon on the background. It's Mt. Isarog, accdg to the taxi driver.

Camarines Sur is a province of the Philippines located in the Bicol Region in Luzon.  Its capital is Pili and the province borders Camarines Norte and Quezon to the north, and Albay to the south. To the east lies the island province of Catanduanes across Maqueda Channel. --from Wikipedia


Main language: Bicolano.
Famous for bicol express and laing. :]




The van terminal is right across SM Naga. It was about 4:30PM when we finished buying supplies. We initially made reservation at Camarines Sur Watersports Complex [CWC] but we weren't successful in contacting them to confirm our reservation. We tried to find the CWC shuttle but according to the SM Naga guard, it was no longer commissioned for the day. Our options were to either to commute via jeepney then bus then tricycle, or hire a taxi going there. We did mentally weigh the options, comfort VS price - comfort won. The road to CWC from SM Naga looked familiar. Only to find out that we passed by that road on our van ride from Daraga, Albay. It would have saved us time had we told the van driver to drop us by CWC. Dang!


Whacky Tip:  Make sure to book ahead and request confirmation from receptionist or hotel.
Duh! Well, we kinda learned it the hard way. Puff.

It was almost dusk when we arrived CWC. The parking lot was packed with luxury vehicles and people. So ganito pala ka sikat ang CWC, I thought to myself. We were so fired up and ready to wake only to find out that our reservation didn't push through! The whole complex was booked for 3 days by an international fraternal organisation we shall call FM. Anak ng bakang bali! Mukhang sa daan kami matutulog nito! A bellboy, Kuya Arnel, was kind enough to help us decide what's the best  for us. According to him, all the other pension house/hotels around the area are fully booked. We huddled over the receiving area and discussed our options. 

Option 1:  Proceed with the next item on our itinerary. Go to Sabang Port and look for a hotel/pension house to stay in for the night. Take the first trip to Caramoan.

Option 2: Go back to Naga City Proper and find a hotel to stay overnight and get back to CWC in the morning.

Option 3: Wakeboard in CWC. Worry about the place to stay later.

Since we're fearless, desperate, too lazy to go back in the morning and hate passing an opportunity like, we took option 3. Let's wake beybeh!

Mt Isarog on the backdrop.

Wake park for pro's on the background.

I'm not a fan of wakeboarding. I can't get over my  near-death almost follow-the-light moment the first time I tried it. Plus I don't like the part that my feet are strapped into the board. But these girls' hormones are so pumped up that they didn't let my discouragement experience hinder them. 

Time check: 6:00 PM. 

Wake away!

Mixed Emo: Scared. Excited. Hungry.

Wipeout+Face plant. OO, ako po yan. Underwater.

Beginner's wakeboarding area. Asukal nalang ang kulang, parang Nescafe 3-in-1 na!

Not bad for first timers. Long rides on their first 3 tries.

1 out of 5 tries. Fail. Puff.

During the 30-min break, we took the opportunity to ask the staff if they know a place for us to stay for the night. We're good with a home-stay option, anyway that's going to be about a few hours since we're going to leave by dawn. But Daddy Jess was smiling on us. Kuya Arthur and Roland, complex staff, were kind enough to let us stay in the complex until dawn. No room nor warm bed for us to lay our dead-beaten bodies. But knowing that we already have a safe place to stay and bucks to save, we can't complain.

rinsing off the chocolate-mud-cake kind of water from the wake park.

Unfortunately, Lago Del Rey was already closed so playing off of bouncers and inflated water slides were no longer options.

Our hosts. Diyos Mabalos! [Bicolano for thank you.]

 Time Check: 1:54 AM. 

April 27, 2012

[written account using bok-bok, my travel journal]

The girls are fast asleep now on top of the billiard table. Good thing I brought my sleeping bag. From the SOUND they're making, it seems like they really had so much fun. I'm so proud of them for being so good in wakeboarding. [unlike me, lol] Wipeouts here and there but it never stopped them from trying again and again. Daddy's pride, so to say, seeing these girls do long rides even on their first tries.

 Now here I am, a bit tipsy from our socials with our Bicolano hosts. It amazes me how warm they are despite our language barrier, and how eager they are to help us despite the fact that we're strangers. I guess that's how we meet friends. We're all strangers at first. But by some weird cosmic strings and divine influence, we connect and set alignment until we reach equilibrium. We reach a common stepping stone and agree on something. And that, starts our journey..as friends.

Tomorrow is going to be a long and exciting day. Caramoan's gonna be waiting. Whacky* out --

..to be continued.

Whacky Notes: [EXPENSES]

Night Wake [hourly rate] = 525.00 / 3 = 175 each
Lifevest and helmet rental [deposit:500.00] = 270.00 / 3 = 90.00 each
Accomodation = 0.00
Socials [booze] = 150.00

Whacky Adventures* recommends:
Camsur Watersports Complex
Landline: (054) 477 3344 / (054) 477 3349
Mobile: +(63) 917 8954156 or +(63) 999 8893697
http://www.camsurwatersportscomplex.com

Bicol Express Series:

Roadtrip up north [teaser]

Day 1: Vamoose! to Camarines Sur, we go!

Day 2: Arya! Dolphin sightings on the way to Sorsogon
Day 2: Larga! Multi-stop over Sorsogon to CamSur

Day 2: Sun-less wakeboarding at CamSur Watersports Complex

Day 3: Caramoan bound: Getting to Caramoan in 1 piece.

Day 3:  Caramoan West Peninsula Villas

Day 3: Spending one lazy afternoon in Caramoan
Day 4: Caramoan Islets 1: Long wait finally over!
Day 4: Caramoan Islets 2: Long wait finally over!

Day 5: Sea to Summit: Caramoan Island  to Mayon Volcano
Day 5: Mayon Volcano from Cagsawa Ruins