Conquered the Hundred Islands! Just 7007 more to go! LOL.

Two days before my first mountain-climbing adventure, I went to Manaoag, Pangasinan with my mom and Nikko to visit the National Shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag and hear Mass. It was a 4-hour long ride from Manila to Manaoag. I told my mom that we should head to either Baguio or Alaminos after because it was a better idea than to travel back to Manila after staying for just two hours in Manaoag. Baguio City is just an hour away from Manaoag and Alaminos, where the famous Hundred Islands were, is just two hours away. None of us have been to the Hundred Islands, so it was the better choice.


We stopped by Dagupan City first to have breakfast at Silverio's, a cool restaurant by the lake.

It was noon time, when we got to Alaminos but surprisingly, it was not too sunny. The weather was just perfect for a day swim and island hopping.

We rented a medium-sized boat for the day. It was a Thursday so luckily, there were only a few tourists around.

The boat package included stop-overs in three major islands, Governor's Island, Quezon Island and Children's Island. It was on top of Governor's Island where you could get a good view of the islands. Meanwhile, Quezon Island's fine white sand and clear waters are what makes it ideal for swimming and sun bathing.

100+ steps to get to the awesome view!

The very courteous boatmen also took us to an enclosed area in the middle of the sea for snorkeling. What I love about this place is how the government and its locals are protecting and trying to rehabilitate the islands and the sea. There were still live corals and I saw a lot of cute and unique fishes.

Our last stop was the Cuenca Tunnel.

It was such a fun day with Mommy and Nikko. I remember when I was in grade school, Hundred Islands was always in my textbooks. Now, I got to see them in actual and they were really amazing. :) Seeing them made me realize how lucky I am to be Filipino and how special the Philippines is to God, the Creator.