We woke up that last morning earlier than our alarm. Our departure time from Holiday Inn that morning was 8:50am — the latest that we had to leave in the past 6 days.

Star Trooper, Darth Vader, Sayuri and Sabrina with the Lakbay Norte bus

We took our time getting ready and enjoying Mequeni’s breakfast buffet, and checked out of our hotel for the last time. Our activities in Clark that morning included El Kabayo and Paradise Ranch. Since there are only 6 horses available for riding, the group was split: half the group goes to Paradise Ranch on the Jeepney Juan (an airconditioned touring jeep), while the other half goes to El Kabayo on the Victory Liner Lakbay Norte bus.
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This morning we woke up at White Rock Resort in Subic, tonight we’re sleeping at the Holiday Inn at Clark, Pampanga.

Lighthouse Beach Cleanup

It was another very early morning, starting with a 6am check out. We had a brief tour of the resort before heading out to the Lighthouse Marina for our breakfast. We were also there for the beach clean up event, though after the usual niceties, we boarded the bus again for a ride to the port.
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We woke up bright and early in Alaminos, Pangasinan, excited for our morning trip to the Hundred Islands. As with the previous evenings, we’re sleeping in a different place tonight: Subic Bay.

Hundred Islands in Alaminos, Pangasinan

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My alarm woke me up from a deep slumber at our room at The Manor. Tonight’s accommodation is somewhere in Alaminos, Pangasinan.

Today started out relatively late at 7:30am. We were actually supposed to be waiting at the lobby already, but everybody seemed to have enjoyed their sleep last night, so by 7:30, we were just checking out and having breakfast.

Darth Vader pondering the life and times at the Empire by the Ambuklao River. And why his clone army has a very short life span.

There was a press briefing at the Baguio Country Club. Baguio is taking a different route for promoting tourism in their region: adventure travel. It’s not exactly what you would expect from Baguio, a place known for its temperate climate, fresh produce and ukay-ukay shopping.
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Today, I woke up in Tuguegarao again. Tonight though, I’ll be sleeping in Laoag, Ilocos Norte.

Our call time this morning was at 5:30am and everybody in the group made sure (or at least tried their hardest) to get some much needed sleep. We started the day with a hearty Cagayan breakfast at Director Bless Diwa’s house, of the Department of Tourism Region 2.

Sabrina at the Alcala Church

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Today, I woke up in Tuguegarao.

Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Piat

It was Day 1 of Lakbay Norte, a Northern Philippines familiarization tour spearheaded by the Northern Philippines Visitors Bureau in cooperation with the visitors bureau of the provinces and cities we are visiting. Together with writers and photographers from major dailies, inflight & travel magazines, and fellow travel bloggers Anton, Ivan, Ferdz, Estan and Melo, we are going on a 7-day whirlwind tour of Northern and Central Philippines to see what these places can offer travelers.
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