Our first stop was the Valugan Boulder Beach. There's a part of the island that juts out into the sea that has a bit of a Jurassic Park feel to it, like it was ancient and mystical.
And unlike most other beaches, the shoreline here is littered with large smooth stones that give this place its name. We didn't really go into the sea but this location was great for taking photos.
Our next stop - the Japanese tunnel - was the item added to our itinerary due to our extra time. The Japanese tunnel is a small cave that was used as shelter and a hideout from Japanese invaders during World War II. A few folks didn't want to venture into the dark cave but naturally, my family and I wanted the full experience so we all went in.
The views that greeted us on the other side of the cave were spectacular! (Of course you could have just walked around the cave to see it haha but then you would've missed the adventure. Also, there's a unique effect when going through a dark tunnel then coming out into the light. :))
To soak in more beautiful scenery, we headed to the PAGASA station where we had a lot more photo ops. This was the last stop in our morning tour as we headed back to the hotel for lunch and to get cleaned up for the rest of our afternoon tour.
After lunch, we got back into our jeepneys and headed to the exquisitely beautiful Rolling Hills. The views here were jaw-dropping!
The wind was blustering and you had to be careful as you walk over the hills to avoid being blown down the slopes. I experienced a few gusts strong enough to challenge anyone's balance and footing. But the effort really pays off when you get to enjoy the fantastic scenery.
Biggest surprise of the day was when we ran into Bo Sanchez on top of the hills. What are the odds? Naturally, we had to take a photo. :)
We then drove a short distance to the Basco Lighthouse. We climbed to the top, took more pics in the area, and we stayed to watch the sunset and take more pics. (Plus we had another Bo Sanchez sighting here hehehe.)
To cap off a long and memorable day, we had a wonderful dinner in Fundacion Pacita. I can't recall everything that we had - I know we had fish, vegetables, and pork confit - but I know there was a lot of food and everything was good! We also had time to go around the premises and take photos of the art pieces created by global artist Pacita Abad.
I didn't get any sleep the night before because I worked til past midnight to make sure I closed everything out before I took a few days off of work and our flight was at 5:30 A.M. So when we got back to the hotel, I took a shower and fell asleep. I definitely needed the rest to gear up for Day 2.
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