Marinduque (Day 2)

Dalahican Port, Lucena City

It was my second time  to go to Marinduque. The first time was way back 2006  and exploring Marinduque was one of my first travels in the Philippines. Although the first travel was only good for two days, the memory lingered and I wanted to relive the memory and so I went back but this time for four days!

How to Get There

Board the bus to Lucena (Dalahican). The terminals can either be found in Gil Puyat (Buendia-LRT station) or in Cubao. Bus companies servicing the route are Jacliner, JAM, DLTB or Lucena Lines.

Using the aircon Jacliner bus, the fare from Cubao is P227.50 or 138 kilometers to Dalahican Port, Lucena City. From Buendia, the fare is P220 or 133 kilometers. From Sto. Tomas, Batangas, fare is P129.

Using Lucena Lines ordinary bus, fare from Cubao is P159 and from Sto. Tomas, Batangas fare is P87.

In case you boarded by mistake the bus with the signage only of "Lucena," you have to make another ride going to Dalahican Port. Triccyle ride is P160.

Travel time from Cubao to Dalahican is 3-4 hours depending on the traffic. 

Arriving in Dalahican port, you have to ride the boat going to Marinduque. Using the fast craft, fare is P280-P312 and travel time is 1.5 hours. But the fast craft is not available if the weather is not good. Using the Ro-Ro,, travel time is 2.5 - 4 hours and fare of the adult is P260. Terminal fee is P30.

Arriving in the port, you have to board a jeep going to the capital (Boac) and the fare is P60 and travel time is 20-30 minutes.

Accommodations

I made a separate blog for this one and here is the link - 

http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2015/01/hotels-in-marinduque.html

Boac Cathedral

DAY 2

at the back of the pick-up

Day one in Marinduque involved a bit of city tour and looking for the best and/or the cheapest hotel in Boac.


The following morning, even though it was raining, we (Sofia, Marinet and her father) boarded the pick-up truck en route to our destination.

I seated at the back of the pick-up in order to enjoy the ride (though it was raining) and to get the best view of the town.

I did not mind the rain at all!

dry river bed

From Barangay Laylay, Boac, we traveled to Bocboc, Mogpog for 45 minutes.

We had to stop several times to coordinate with the locals and ask for directions.

The view in this tour was different. 

I saw a river but I did not see the water flowing in the river!

jump-off point

Finally, we arrived at the jump-off point.

Good thing Marinet's father was kind enough to bring his pick-up, otherwise it would have been a longer trip to the falls.

Everybody was excited and enthusiastic upon our arrival at the site.

nearing the falls

After 10 minutes of walking towards the falls, we reached our first stop for the day -

Paadjao Falls.

Paadjao Falls

After seeing the falls, I forgot the 45-minute raining ride and  was mesmerized by the sight of the falls.

Top view of Paadjao Falls

I climbed to a higher area to get another shot/angle of the falls and my effort was rewarded!

After staying in the falls for 45 minutes, we decided to go to our next destination.

boarding the boat to Maniwaya Island

This time the ride was longer. It took us 1 hour and 45 minutes before we reached Sta. Cruz Port. The price of the boat was P3,500. But I rented the smallest boat for P2,000. Boatman - Diosdado "Daddy" Rovedillo (contact no. 0909-113-1257). But our actual boatman was Mang Albert but he has no cellphone.

At Sta. Cruz Port, there is daily ride to Catanauan or General Luna, Quezon (10:00 am) and travel time from Sta. Cruz to Quezon is 2 hours.

There is also a boat going to Mindoro in Gasan, the boat leaves 11 am. 

After nearly 2 hours of  boat ride, we reached the our second stop for the day.

Maniwaya Island

The island has several resorts that you can choose from. But we were not there to stay, we went there to explore the island.

And so we walked around the island.

But because of the bad weather that day, we were not abe to see the rock formations of the island.  There is always next time for this! Neither we were given opportunity to see the Palad Sandbar.

Church Cave or Simbahan Cave

After reaching the port, we headed to our last destination for the day - Bathala Caves! The caves are located also in Sta. Cruz.

Spelunking in the Bathala Caves is a must-try experience in Marinduque! The Bathala caves is complex network of seven caves but only four of the caves have been explored. Only three are open to tourists.

The Simbahan Cave is the biggest. The Phyton cave contains snakes or phtyons. The third has an underground river. And the fourth houses human bones believed to be the remains of |World War II soldiers. 

Entrance fee is P50/pax and the guide fee is P300.

inside the cave

Spelunking is not new to me. In fact. I have been doing this activity for years. But I still got excited after seeing the interior of the Church Cave.

Phyton Cave

Last stop was the Phyton Cave, everybody was exhausted that day and we went back to Boac. Three major tourist spots in one day was more than enough to bring happiness in my adventurous heart. Thank you Marinet and Sofia!! =)

Hooray for Paadjao Falls!

 It is Really More Fun in Marinduque!

Schedule of boats in Marinduque

RORO (Montenegro)
Lucena - Balanacan
4:00 am
12 Noon
12 midnight
4:00 pm

Balanacan - Lucena
8:00  am
4:00 pm
12 Noon
8:00 pm

RORO (Starhorse)
Balanacan - Lucena
6:30 am
2;30 pm
11:30 pm
7:30 pm

FASTCRAFT
Lucena - Balanacan
2:00 am
10:00 am

Balanacan - Lucena
6:00 am
2:00 pm

Montenegro Reservation 
Lucena - (042) 373-7084 / 0925-889-1169
Marinduque - 0915-994-5518 / 0917-892-2336 / 0929-776-9802 / 0933-169-1399