Our holy week in Mariveles, Bataan (2011)

It has been a tradition of my sister and I to walk from our home (Caloocan) to Lourdes Grotto during Holy Wednesday and attend the mass. We normally spend 6 hours to get there by foot.  For some reason, we stopped after I got married. For the last 3 years, during this season, my husband and I would just stay home, watch movies, and rest.

This year, we were invited to spend the entire holy week in Mariveles, Bataan by our good friend, Iris with Ace, Katz and Kay. There's no definite itinerary, we'll just hang-out, check how the residents will be celebrating this holy season, and check-out places from there. We were billeted in a 2-bedroom townhouse, just in-front of the church, courtesy of Iris' relatives. We were given a HUGE discount, we just paid PHP2500 for our entire stay (3D2N). Our meals were ALL for free. :D I know, best things in life are free and "DISCOUNTED". :))

Initially, we planned to visit Dunsulan Falls on our way to Mariveles and have our lunch there but it didn't push through as we left Manila 4 hours late:D But it's a good thing, though, as we were able to finish BLIND SIDE.

We arrived at our host's (Delos Reyes) house in Mariveles around 4-5PM (fine! I forgot!) Spent the rest of the day (or night?) eating, drinking booze and meeting new acquaintances, including Benedict (Iris' uncle BUT much younger and our host for the entire stay).

The following day (Black Saturday), we went to Lusong Cove, a 15- min boat ride from the port. Stayed there from 9AM to 3:30PM. We only swam for about 30 minutes and decided to just stay by the shore and drink SML. The sight of the beautiful blue ocean and white capped waves together with the trash left behind were disappointing. By 3:30PM, when we were about to board the boat, we noticed that the sea was very calm and water itself was already free of trash. Something to do with the tides hahaha...


We went straight to Delos Reyes' farm. Found a small river and stayed there for 2 hours, pretending that its too deep when in fact its just a knee-high :))


On our last day, we spent the entire day at the CAMAYA COAST. We were hesitant, at first, on listening to the Camaya's agent with regards to the lots and condos available in the resort. In the end, we were very eager to ask questions as it turned out to be an interesting and inexpensive investment. Spent 3 hours listening and visiting the available lots/condos/model houses. Magnificent view from the top! Around 3PM, we were able to enjoy the BEACH. Its like a HUGE swimming pool!!!

It's our last day, and believe or not, we wanted to stay for another day!!! Another great experience, looking forward for more!!!