Bicol Road Trip 2021: Day 1

Bicol Road Trip 2021: Day 1

Intro

After 3 years, my family and I got the opportunity to travel back to Albay - my father's hometown. What's special about this trip was that it was my first time to drive solo to Albay which is an 11-12 hour trip. My dad and mom were already at Casa Nicerio, our home/farm in Barangay Bariw in Camalig. 

Although my siblings will be joining us on our trip, we still decided to bring only one vehicle instead of going on a convoy. Aside from that, we will also bring our pet ducks, Maya and Chick-Chick to their new home. Luckily, all our luggage and ducks fit at the back of the pickup. 

As part of the travel requirements to enter Bicol Region, we had an antigen test a day before our trip. 

Day 1: July 17,2021

Off to Albay

As planned, we left at around 3:30AM to avoid traffic and also to reach our destination early. According to Google Maps, our 445-kilometer journey would take around 11+ hours. 


Of course, we had our family photo taken

Our trip was traffic-free until we reached San Pablo, Laguna. This is due to a vehicular accident in the area. It took us almost half an hour before we managed to proceed on our journey.

Breakfast time at Atimonan Zigzag Park

Atimonan Zigzag Park - Atimonan, Quezon

We reached Zigzag Road in Quezon Protected Landscape in Atimonan, Quezon at around 7:30AM. We decided to eat our packed breakfast in Zigzag Park which is also inside the Quezon Protected Landscape. 

Since I finished my breakfast first, I took the time to walk around and explore Zigzag Park. I was also able to revisit the Quezon Protected Landscape Herbal Pavilion AKA Quezon Herbal Pavilion which was just in front of Zigzag Park. The first time that I got to visit it was during the Experience Quezon Media Tour last 2016. We didn't stay long though, we left Zigzag Park at around 8AM.

Time to resume our trip to Bicol!

From Atimonan Zigzag Park, our trip to Bicol was smooth and problem-free. We had made several stops along the way to empty our bladders and also to do some stretching. 

The Gateway to Bicolandia Arch

As expected, there was a checkpoint at the Quezon-Bicol boundary. However, the checkpoint officer only asked us about our destination and let us through without any more questions. 

Driving through Pan-Philippine Highway A26

During our toilet stop at a gas station in Polangui, Albay we received a call from my mom to inform us that they will meet us in Andok's in the poblacion of Camalig. They will accompany us to Camalig's Health Information Center.

Met my dad and mom at Andok's Camalig

We followed my parents to Camalig's Health Information Center

Reached Camalig's Health Information Center

We were asked to register and present our requirements

Ella even met a new friend

We reached Camalig after 45 minutes and met our parents at around 2:50PM. From there, we proceeded to Camalig's Health Information Center to register our visit and present our Antigen Test Requirements.

Time to go!

Stopover: Let's Special Pinangat

Welcome to Casa Nicerio

From there, we drove back to Camalig town proper to buy pinangat at Let's Special Pinangat then continued home to Casa Nicerio, where after unpacking our stuff and resting, we got to explore our farm until sundown. 

Exploring Casa Nicerio












Good night from Casa Nicerio!

Our Albay Road Trip 2021: Day 1 ended after dinner as we chose to call it a day early so that we have the energy for our next adventure tomorrow. See you guys!

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Location: 5J7J+88F, Poblacion, Camalig, Albay, Philippines

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