Pangasinan Trip: Puerto Del Sol

My friend Anne and her husband Georg are in the Philippines for the holidays but she decided to stay mostly in Pangasinan which is her hometown and where her family are living. Anne and Georg got married back in 2011 but work got in the way of me being able to join them for their special day. So when Anne asked me and some of her other friends if we could join her and Georg for a picnic in the Hundred Islands, I had to go to make up for missing their wedding.

The plan was for us to meet up at the pier at 1030 A.M. Since Pangasinan is about 5 hours away from Manila, I figured it would be better for me to just stay overnight somewhere near Alaminos the night before. That way, I wouldn't have to wake up too early. Anne suggested that I stay in Puerto Del Sol in Bolinao, which she said was the only decent resort in the general area. I had been there before and I thought it would be more convenient for me to stay in a place that I had stayed in before so I booked a room for one night.

My plan was to leave Manila early that day so I could check in around mid-afternoon. Also, I didn't have good directions to Puerto Del Sol because their website was down. The best instructions I could find online were not very specific, but I banked on the fact that I had driven there before (albeit a few years ago) and I could always stop and ask for directions. Thankfully, the instructions I got were good enough. However, as I left my house at 2pm and stopped a couple of times for a nature break and to get coffee, it was 8pm when I finally arrived (yes, a gruelling 6 hours of driving). I immediately went to the restaurant to have dinner. I was famished!

The downside of staying at Puerto Del Sol is that the TV has only three channels: ABS-CBN 2, TV5, AND GMA 7. There wasn't anything interesting to watch so I just read a book and listened to my ipod until I finally dozed off. But not before I took a photo of the pretty cool light fixture in my room. :)

By the time I woke, I only had time to have breakfast and take a few photos of the resort before driving back to Alaminos. I didn't have a chance to enjoy the beach...

...or the pool (although in my last trip to Puerto Del Sol, I did spend quite a bit of time in the water).

There are quite a few things to do in the area like go to the nearby lighthouse or visit the Enchanted cave. I also wanted to see and take photos of the Bolinao church but I didn't have time. I'm thinking of maybe visiting this place again, maybe with family or friends, and spending more time here not only to enjoy the resort but also have a more enriching experience in Bolinao.