Tondol Anda Pangasinan

Tondol 

It was the last few days of Summer 2012 when we visit a hidden beach gem in the northern part of Luzon, Anda is dubbed as the Mother of Hundred Islands, the popular escape of Pangasinan.

It was about 9PM when I met my plus one, we met at Shaw Blvd and headed to Fivestar Cubao, there was a non AC bus going to Anda but since we wanted to catch some Zzz, we chose the AC one going to Alaminos. We started our first bus trip at around 11PM, the travel was cozy and presto I least we had a good sleep, We arrived at Alaminos with the fear of not being able to catch any trip going to Anda, good thing that non AC bus that we refused, arrived.. such a blessing, so we boarded that bus going to Anda, We reached Anda proper at wee hours in the morning when everybody sleeps, we stayed and waited for the sun at the Fivestar bus station which had few decent bench to sleep with.

And she slept again. Try looking behind those bags. :)

I made arrangement of asking few directions going to Tondol and transact with Manong tricycle driver to take us there early in the morning. We first headed to the local market to buy food and other goods for our camp, people are nice, give us free condiments, and give discounts for food that we bought. Thank you.

Pitstop at the Tondol public beach area, I asked the driver to take us further because I wanted more privacy, I asked to take us to JCT Beach Resort. I asked the caretaker to allow us to camp on beach front, of course for a fee, I transact for camp and kitchen and bath use, fair enough for its price.

Camp now set, and breakfast done. Kids were all through out the area and we were overwhelmed by their service, I felt like a boss, asking kids to help us for lunch, even our bankero help us grilling our lunch, and so lunch was done. Happier tummy, grilled pusit and bangus plus ensalada. Yum.

The first IT was going to Cory Island, a small island made o corals, pebbles, NO sand. It was scorching hot and the breeze was warm, so wee look forward to the hut on that island.

We met some fishermen resting and waiting for a good catch. we squeeze in.

Fear not, these men were gentlemen.Funny thing was these kids followed us with their rafts, oh these little men really wanted to join us. Well, that made our trip even more happier. 

Hey Look, this island is a remain of pebbles, stones and corals.

I told you, I can hardly JUMP.

And so..

Walking to the nearby small islands.

 Sailing Anda's calm shores

For whatever reason, the clouds were a little stubborn, it was just crystal bright then after few hours, the clouds warned us for the upcoming rainfall, the boatman said that it was obvious that heavy rain might come as it already showered water in Anda mainland, So I guess you knew what happened next.

But hey it never rained, not even a single drop. WTF.

So there, we just continue walking and exploring Tondol.

Holla Sun sets on low waters.

So, after Cory island and a cool afternoon walk at Tondol shores, I prepared and finished dinner, Since I was tired from our travel to exploring, I ended up drinking Tequila alone, she prepared the local grown lemon and I started to drink few shots.

It was windy and cold, of course I couldn't  finish the small bottle, I felt warmth so we decided to call it a day and sleep.

Good morning Tondol, it was a great first day, We hope for another great day!

Magandang Umaga sa iyo Tondol

Day Two.

Since our first island hopping was screwed by the fear of rain and we couldn't get any refund for a supposed complete island hopping, We just ended up walking to Tanduyong island, it was such a brave idea since we brought our mobiles and camera with us and we were told that some part were about neck deep, accompanied by the kids, we started walking. Kids were kind enough to offer keeping our stuff so we can swim, be careful, this calm water can be tricky sometimes, it has rocks, sea snakes and hundreds of sea urchins, thank God, water is clear enough to watch our steps. it was about half an hour of swim and walking until we reached Tanduyong.

We met the local and the caretaker of the islands, we took pictures and they offered local kuba crabs to try and eat. Since we only had rafts we could explore the entire Tanduyong shores, so the boatman offered his fishing boat, since we got it for free, we did use its engine, so what did we do then, of course, we rowed that big boat, all of us, thank you helpful kids.

The lovely kids that helped us and made or getaway even more memorable

Natural Waste

After walking under the heat, Holla Tanduyong!

Anda is such a hidden gem, many may have already known about it but forgot to befriend with its smiling and beautiful people, what I really love about this short summer escape is the experience of meeting young men and become short friends, the hospitality of the elderly to the simple lives of their locals, I may not always understand what they say since Pangasinan has its dialect, I knew that they never will tell anything bad to us.

It may be a short escape from the busy metro but we are glad to experience every single thing Tondol has to offer. Our stories, our smile, our travel is really worth a treasure.

Backpacking teaches me to appreciate things that other people treasures, making me treasure them as well, We will back here for sure.

We found a lot of reasons of getting back to this northern gem and will surely experience another moment worth keeping. :)

Salamat Anda Pangasinan.

Tha FAT Backpacker.

Enjoy more Tondol Snappies. :p