My First Ever ULOG: Sweet Escape to Mariveles Bataan!

Spending summer in the Philippines means having to endure the strikingly hot, dry and sometimes humid weather. Prepare to get all sweaty especially when going out! It is during this season where sleeping in a non-airconditioned room becomes a challenge for me whenever I am spending the weekdays at the dorm. I always end up waking up way earlier than my alarm and finding myself soaked up with sweat!

On the brighter side though, summer would also mean more travels, fun, beach trips and adventures with families and/or friends to cool the body, mind and spirit. It is during this season that the beautiful beaches and islands become a perfect place to relax and to have fun under the sun!

Watch the Video Here:

One of my previous summer beach trips is at Mariveles, Bataan. I was with my boyfriend and our friends during this trip and the organizing of the tour was headed by @littlemissmicah. Since we were 10 in a group, we chose to avail a package tour where we were given an itinerary which was followed during the entire 2days and 1night adventure.

We left Bulacan at 3:30AM, picked up some friends along the way and was able to arrive Bataan at around 8AM with stop over.

We were accompanied in one of the resort's room where we will stay, left our things, changed swimming clothes and then proceeded at the Mariveles Port to start with the Five Fingers Cove tour.

Emerald Resort where we stayed in

The Mariveles port where we rode the boat going to the Five fingers cove

I asked our tour guide once because I am curious about why it was named Five Fingers. I was told that Five Fingers is a series of coves that look like five fingers which is spread out when looking at it from the map. The cove to cove hopping includes: Apatot Cove, Talaga Beach, Tinanlakan Cove, Pulong Kawayan Cove and Nagbintana Arch. You can do several activities in here including snorkeling, cliff diving, swimming, rock climbing and the best part, picture taking!

We went first to Apatot Beach which boasts a seemingly beautiful fine sand and some rock formations with amazingly stunning view everywhere you look.

We took as much pictures as we could. The only problem here is that there were not much trees to give you shade that's why after taking photos, we went back to our boat as it's getting really hot.

Our next stop is at Pulong Kawayan cove where we did some swimming and snorkeling. Underneath the pristine waters is a school of fishes similar to that of sardines run in Moalboal Cebu. It's a good decision that we brought our full face snorkeling mask with us. You'll see a short clip of me swimming with the fishes in the video. We even saw a big jellyfish with no sting. Its texture is smooth and jelly like.

Going to the next cove

We also went to Tinanlakan cove by the Natsu Lagoon which is a cliff diving spot with cliff heights of 10, 15 and 40ft! If you're looking for thrill and real adventure, then this is the one for you! I didn't dare try to jump because you cannot do it with your life vest on and I don't know how to swim but some of my friends did it. Your spiderman skills would also be required here since you need to overcome the obstacles(in form of big rocks) to be able to take photos at the top.

We took solo and group photos afterwards in Nagbintana Arch where a majestic rock formation could be seen. My boyfriend saw this as an opportunity to do some photo ops while we were playing in the water.

After the tiring cove to cove hopping, we returned back to the resort, ate our late lunch, took a bath and then rested for a while before proceeding with the next itinerary.

At 4:30PM, we left for our last itinerary for the day. I have little to no expectations with these places that we will be visiting probably because I've never heard of it before. I've tried to google it too before the trip and I thought there's nothing really special about it.

Surprisingly, this became the highlight of the whole trip. We arrived just in time to treck and to witness the beautiful sunset on the top of the mountain. It was a tiring treck but reaching the peak would make you forget about being tired.

photo of us going to the top

the view from the top

The San Miguel peak which looks like a toblerone

I am left in awe of its beauty and it's all I ever needed to refresh my mind and my spirit and to recharge the drained part within me. With the place' picturesque view, you can capture perfect moments here. I've seriously enjoyed it here even without doing anything. We took some photos while waiting for the sun to set and it was the best natural filter ever!

With the view of the sky and the sea, with the cold wind that brushes against my skin, with my friends and my boyfriend beside me, I felt complete. What a perfect way to end the day.❤

Just before it gets dark, we started going down and went afterwards to the Lighthouse. This is a fully functional lighthouse which serves as a guide to fishermen and sea farers of Sisiman Bay. This is definitely a great subject for photographers who want to capture stunning photos.

Our second day's itinerary is at Laki Beach. We woke up 5:30AM to get there early but we were overwhelmed when we got there because the sun is already striking hot at almost 8AM and there are a lot of campers/tourists.

We didn't really expect that but we just enjoyed ourselves since there's nothing much we can do about it. Laki Beach suddenly became popular when it was featured on some posts. My only concern is the trash that were left on the island. I wish that the tourists would be responsible enough to keep their trashes and help maintain the cleanliness of the island.

Here are some photos from our 2nd day.

Why You Should Consider Traveling to Bataan

Bataan is just around 2-3 hours drive from Manila and considering the number of activities that you can do here, I'd say that this is worth the travel. Bataan has so much more to offer and a trip here would let you marvel at some of the beautiful spots within the province. It's definitely a place to visit and explore!

This is my first ever #Ulog entry. It took so long for me to do my first ulog because I wanted it to be something special, about something that makes my heart happy. It's been a while since I have written about my travel blogs and I'm happy I did it for my first Ulog. ❤

Photos are all mine

Much love,