Exploring Sorsogon

I never actually knew a place called Gubat my whole life, 'found it funny the first time. To pronounce correctly the word Gubat here, you'd have to stress it with the second syllable "Gu-Bat". It is part of Sorsogon, Bicolandia found in the South-eastern part of Luzon along the coast of the beautiful Pacific Ocean.

We were dropped by the UV at the designated drop-off point at the heart of Gubat, then met with Ophel at a fast food chain then rode a jeepney to Gubat market, walked a few meters more and got to unload our bags in their humble, happy home :)

The only "gubat" I know pertains to "forest or jungle" locally in the Philippines so in my mind I was expecting an urban jungle atmosphere. And spending two days in yet another beautiful destination in my own country filled another piece of my Philippine travel mind puzzle! haha :D

It was not a coincidence that the town fiesta was happening when we arrived. It was all pre-planned a year ago pre-booking days. So this was the first time I celebrated St. Anthony de Padua's feast day :)

Ate Ophel woke up early with her family to prepare all this! Great and glorious + generous servings of everything. My favorite was "rellenong talangka" or Philippine stuffed crab yummmeh!!

After lunch, we walked to a parish all the way from Ate Ophel's home some 150-200 meters away. This Church was named after their patron Saint Anthony who is also known as Anthony of Lisbon. He is a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order. 

facade of St. Anthony De Padua Parish, Bacon, Sorsogon

The Church's construction began in 1778 during the Spanish Colonial Era in the 18th Century, as their captain was urged by his fellowmen to build a worship place for God. Several reconstructions were made since then given natural disasters that hit the town.

left side of St. Anthony De Padua Parish, Bacon, Sorsogon

I'd appreciate it more if they hadn't painted any part of the structure. For me, the more natural, the more beautiful buildings are.

Ate Ophel, Me and Coco (with Rod behind the camera)

My travel ritual when I'm visiting Churches, I buy religious images to add to our altar collection at home. My grandmother is pleased with these as we've collected cute replicas all over the Philippines.

Tourists on a hot day, walking around town = looking for something cold critters! We went inside Gubat market to enjoy some core-shaking desserts! The halo-halo was generally cheap and full of yummy toppings like sago, gulaman, pinipig, banana and moooore! Typical pinoy treat!

The souvenir hat I bought for only P80 :)

Beach!! What is a summer destination without beach?! Glad Gubat municipality has one of these. A whole stretch for everyone - free!
This beach has become a famous surfing spot for enthusiasts of the sport. With it's cream beach and endless beach, surely a place to be if you live in the area.

Getting closer, I notice that the passageway is narrow for such a wide beach, you'd barely notice it from the road unless you know what lies beyond the beautiful green shrubs.

Oh happy day :)

We enjoyed it for a while.. but we had more travelling ahead of us. We traveled via tricycle but I found it amusing that these units could accommodate more passengers I thought possible, cool!

This trip was quite short 'cause we had so many more Sorsogon destinations lined up one minute to the next. There's never time wasted here in Bicolandia. 'till next time guys! ;)