Experiencing Camarines Sur: Trip to Siruma

This is another TBT from our previous travel. This is our Naga Experience last June 27-June 30, 2012 with a side trip to Siruma, a coastal island and a lesser known place in Camarines Sur but still with so many things to offer.

This is the second part of our 3-days-2-nights Exploring Camarines Sur.

Originally, we planned on either going to Caramoan or Legaspi City. But we were a bit short on time and J wanted to experience Siruma also. What/where is Siruma?

Back story of how I found out about Siruma (again, I would be posting full details about this next time):
Last March 2012, I (together with another friend of mine) was lucky enough to score a good-paying job at a provincial hospital located at Siruma, Camarines Sur. Grabbing the chance, we went for the interview at CWC in Naga (since it offered free accommodation and we really wanted to try the wakeboarding) and accepted the job. So, that’s how I found myself weeks after in a secluded, far-off coastal place, 5-6 hours away from Naga (depending on the road condition) in a place known as Siruma.

Siruma is that little spot on the upper area

Anyway, Siruma is a fourth class municipality in the province of Camarines Sur, which has a population of approximately 17,050 people (2010 census). It has 22 barangays. You can go here either via land or via sea.

How to go to Siruma via Land Travel:

• Ride a bus going to Naga City.
• Alight at the CBD Bus Terminal in Naga
• Hire a tricycle to take you to Queborac Terminal (the terminal where the jeepneys going to Siruma/Tinambac are located). This is just 8php/person, if you’re just one, pay 16php.
• Locate the jeepneys going to Siruma. IMPORTANT TO NOTE: there is only one travel time to Siruma from Queborac and that is at around 9-10 am. This is again, dependent on the weather and road conditions.
• Prepare for a bumpy, adventurous ride!

How to go to Siruma via Sea Travel:

• Ride a bus going to Naga City.
• Alight at the CBD Bus Terminal in Naga
• Hire a tricycle to take you to Queborac Terminal (the terminal where the jeepneys going to Siruma/Tinambac are located). This is just 8php/person, if you’re just one, pay 16php.
• Locate the jeepneys going to Tinambac. Tell the driver to drop you off at the pier station in Tinambac.
• Hire a boat at TInambac Port. IMPORTANT TO NOTE: there are no regular boats going to/coming from Siruma so if you are going to take this route, most likely you will be hiring a private boat which costs around 500-1000php. This is again dependent on the weather conditions. If it’s rainy, do not take this route since the boats are very small (almost like a fishing boat) and the travel time takes around 2 hours.

We opted to go via land travel since I’m already used to traveling via this route. Travelling to Siruma is an adventure itself. Half of the roads going there do not have any pavement. And since you’re just riding in a jeepney, expect it to be very very bumpy. Sometimes, if it’s raining, the pathway would be soft and muddy and the jeepneys would sometimes be stuck. So, travel time is really dependent on the weather conditions haha. Luckily for us, at that time it rained a bit but not enough to cause really deep muds on the roads so our travel time was just approximately 5 hours. We left Naga at around 11:00 am and arrived at Siruma at around 5:00-5:30 pm.

One of The Jeepney Going to Siruma

The Road Going to Siruma

Unfortunately, when we arrived there, there were no electricity haha. We stayed at the provincial hospital since one of our friends is on duty there. We did get to explore one of the many beaches found in Siruma, the Magayon (in English, beautiful) Beach. We did not swim though but just walked around and take pictures.

The Hospital Where We Stayed In

Magayon Beach

Simple yet beautiful beach

Rock Formation

After that, we went back to the hospital and called it a day (the electricity went back at around 4am haha).

Next up, the day after in Siruma, Camarines Sur.

Read more:
Experiencing Camarines Sur: Arrival at Naga and Wakeboarding at CWC
Experiencing Camarines Sur: Exploring Siruma and Return Trip to Manila

Read More»

Experiencing Camarines Sur: Arrival at Naga and Wakeboarding at CWC

This is another TBT from our previous travel. This is our Naga Experience last June 27-June 30, 2012 with a side trip to Siruma, a coastal island and a lesser known place in Camarines Sur but still with so many things to offer.

This is the first part of our 3-days-2-nights Exploring Camarines Sur.

We got a promo fare via Cebu Pacific for this trip. The plane was supposed to leave at 12:15pm, but again, tradition has it that if it’s Cebu Pacific, it will be late. We were delayed about an hour. Anyway, the trip from Manila to Naga is very short, approximately 45 minutes.

Boarding Our Flight

J won one of the CebuPac Games!

Naga Airport

Naga is found in the province of Camarines Sur near the center of the Bicol Regions. It is 377km southeast of Manila. It is home to the largest Marian pilgrimage in Asia which is the Our Lady of Penafrancia. It is also most known for being the Wakeboarding Capital of the Philippines. Since it's quite near Manila, you can opt to go here via bus, terminals located along Alabang, Pasay, or Cubao. Travel time would be approximately 6-8 hours at night and 12 hours during the day. You could also take a flight going to Naga which is the faster way.

When we got to Naga, a van from Camsur Watersports Complex was waiting for us to pick us up and bring us to the hotel. We rented the Villa Del Rey Containers which was 1,200php/night. It was a fun accommodation because it looked like cargo containers hehe but the inside was nice, a bit small but just right for 2 persons. And it’s near the wakeboarding area so that’s a plus but it is a bit far though from the lobby. There are other rooms available inside the CWC, just check out their website.

The Villa Del Ray Containers

Funky Looking Accomodations

Other Accomodations

After depositing our bags to the room, we headed straight on to the CWC clubhouse for our late lunch. We ordered the Laing Pizza and the Potato-Bacon-Bowl thingy (I forgot the exact name). I have tried the Laing Pizza before (my first time here in CWC, which I will also be documenting next time) and it was just superb that I had to force J to order it as well. And it still has not failed. It was spicy and very flavorful. The Potato bowl was also very nice.

Laing Pizza

Potato-Bacon-Bowl Thingy

After the scrumptious meal, we headed on to try the CWC wakeboarding. Again, I’ve already tried it before but I was still nervous for my 2nd time. We tried the Winch Park, which was the beginner’s lake and just paid for an hourly rate. We got lucky because there were only a few people at the beginner’s lake and the kuyas were very kind and let us ride even though our hourly rate was up. kudos! You can find the different rates here.

Wakeboarding Lake (Not the Beginner's Lake)

The View Surrounding the Wakeboarding Area

J's Wakeboarding Attempt

Quite Successful. Clap for you!

My Wakeboarding Attempt

Not Successful at all haha.

The wakeboarding experience was fun! It was very challenging and very hard. I thought all you have to do is just hold on to the rope and balance, but no! You have to think of the position of your hands, your feet, your body, basically everything. I was not able to cross the whole beginner’s lake (and I also wasn’t able to cross my first time lol). It was very tiring especially the part where you would fall in the middle of the lake and you would have to swim all over to the starting line. I think that’s where our body aches came from, not the wakeboarding itself haha. After the wakeboarding, we headed back to the clubhouse to eat and then had a refreshing night swimming in their pool.

And that’s it for our first day in Naga! Next up, our trip going to Siruma!

Camsur Watersports Complex (CWC)
Provincial Capitol Complex, Cadlan, Pili, Camarines Sur
Contact Nos: (054)477-3344, (054)477-3349
Mobile Nos: 0917-8954156, 0999-8893697
Email Address:: villadelreyreservation@gmail.com

Read more:
Experiencing Camarines Sur: Trip to Siruma
Experiencing Camarines Sur: Exploring Siruma and Return Trip to Manila

Read More»