Camping In

Over the weekend, the kids were ecstatic about the father and child camping that Mama Sez talked about that they continued the experience at home...inside the house, that is.

After some begging, we acquiesce as the two older kids gave persuasive reasons: (1) it's a long weekend as Monday was a holiday here in the Philippines; and, (2) so that their two younger siblings can join them inside the tent and also get the feel of camping out...er, in.

We used to pitch it for them but this time they did it themselves with some help from their caregivers. They even were the ones to teach the latter how to do it. Well, they had it all-- camping in the comfort and safety inside the house. But a bonfire...that's another story, it cannot happen this time.

We have camped out as a family a couple of times inside our yard after we bought the tent as a gift for our older son a couple of years ago...and we did have a small bonfire, barbecue, storytelling and lots of eating to complete the experience.

The long weekend passed with a tent in the middle of our living room and the older kids sleeping there at night. Of course, there was some resistance when it was time to put it away. I gave them the assurance again that we would camp out at least one time during our summer vacation. We just had to locate a suitable site in any one of the places we'll be visiting.

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Sohoton Cove, Siargao, Surigao Del Norte

As planning for our road trip becomes more detailed, we also need more information about specific places, points of interests, accommodations, etc.

Since there is limited number of ferry trips between Lipata, Surigao City in Mindanao and Liloan, Southern Leyte in Visayas, timing is critical. I have yet to verify my most recent information that there are only three trips to Liloan, i.e. leaving Lipata at 3AM, 7AM and 12noon. Initially, the ferry schedule I got had four trips in a day, including one in the afternoon. So I need to verify this until before we leave as I imagine schedules can easily change for many reasons...reasons that actually would not matter anymore if you didn't know and your travel plans got screwed up for depending on it.

Anyway, while trying to getting info about the ferry schedule and Surigao in general, I stumbled upon good write ups about Siargao Island. I found out that Siargao is not only for surfer dudes and dudettes, there are also hidden treasures for nature lovers like me. And that treasure is Sohoton Cove of Bucas Grande, described by this blog as "an emerald maze of inlets and verdant forests" accessible only during low tide.

I got even more excited about non-stinging jellyfish that congregate in Sohoton Cove from January to September.  So I guess we're in luck.  The kids would surely love it as one can actually touch and play with these jellyfish.  Great, isn't it?

Now, if only we can insert another day to the original schedule...hmmm well see...

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It's Road Trip for Us, Air Trip for Lolo

As the start of our Island Travel Adventure nears, we are now less than four weeks away, some decisions had to be made regarding our travel arrangements.

One of the formidable challenges in this whole project is having to consider concerns of/about individual family members.

Our two school-age kids have been warned ahead of time that they should not have any backlogs in their school requirements as we're leaving on the same week their classes end. There's a not-so-subtle threat of risking being left behind should they fail to accomplish everything before our date of departure.

Our two younger kids, a tot and an infant, have no scheduling conflicts. We anticipate that they would have more requirements to be met on the actual road trip. Things like being in the car for more than an hour could be a big challenge. So we're carefully planning our strategies.

Our children's Lolo or grandfather who's been living with us in the past months would need special arrangements. He cannot endure the long road trip, so he has to travel by air. On top of that, he needs to be accompanied by an adult as he's not confident to travel alone anymore.

So, we need to ask our scholar to accompany him. We've asked her to plan her school requirements around our trip and she decided not to attend summer sessions so she can be with us in this family vacation. It looks like, instead of assisting us during the road trip to Luzon, she would be with Lolo all the time.

So we made arrangements with an Uncle to accompany us on the road. He immediately agreed as he can then spend the Holy Week in his home town and then he can return to Davao City after. So we're very thankful for him as there's a third adult to depend on for driving and other concerns as well as look after the kids during the road trip.

As for us, we also need to make arrangements with our writing commitments and issues/responsibilities that we would leave behind for two months.  Actually there's so many of them, that we should really make a physical list of things to do with corresponding deadlines to aid us with preparations.

So it's settled. Lolo will fly in to Manila with our scholar on March 24 using the plane tickets we bought that triggered all of these. We will do the road trip to Luzon with four kids and an Uncle. We're looking at March 23 as the ideal date to leave from Davao.

We appreciate the suggestions we received when we asked about what option to take between road trip and air travel with many different combinations, including sending the family car via Superferry.  Your feedback helped us see many viewpoints before making our decision.

As for now, the decision on the sticky issue related to the six non-refundable but rebookable (with penalty) plane tickets can still be postponed. The choices are whether to just forget about it and charge to experience *ouch!* or rebook (and pay about P4000 or $85 plus fare difference) to a distant date in the hope that we can eventually use it. What do you think?

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Island Travel's Blog It Contest

Attention Bloggers! Wanna earn easy money?...Blog It!

Yes, Island Travel also has a contest specifically for bloggers.

For a couple of minutes in front of your computer, you'll have a chance to win $5 in a raffle and/or $5 for having the best blog promoting any of the three contests at Island Travel.

It's so easy.

Just click on this link or the icon above and grab an icon code promoting one of the three contests. Stick it in your blog post and write anything to attract your readers to join the contests. The full explanation is found in the site you link to so you don't have to worry about details.

Hey have I told you that you have three chances of winning if you blog the three contests separately? You can even have additional entries if you have another blog or website where you post announcements about these contests. When you're done, just email the link to islandtravelphilippines[at]gmail.com so we can validate your entry.

Easy, isn't it? So blog right away and beat the competition to the draw!

Of course, you can also join the other contests.

Here's a sample blog promoting Guess Where We Are Challenge.

Here's to a GREAT SUMMER ADVENTURE!

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Island Travel's Guess Where We Are Contest

NOTE: This is a sample blog post to promote the first contest: "Guess Where We Are" Challenge
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CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!

The newest travel blog, ISLAND TRAVEL, is giving away between $2-$5 per challenge just to guess where the island vacationers are. They will be posting photos and blogs from the places they've been while they're on the road for 60 days. In certain blog posts, readers will be "challenged" or asked to guess where they are based on a specific photo as a clue.  So if you are good at naming places in the country or been around to many Philippines tourist destinations, this is your chance to earn some easy money.

Anybody can participate after signing up as a follower in either Google Friend Connect, Twitter or Facebook, or subscribing via email. Prepare your paypal or BPI accounts just in case you win (other payment options may be requested as well).

The challenges will be spread throughout the sixty days of travel, so there are many chances to win.  So visit Island Travel daily starting March 22 and meet each challenge head on.  Remember, the most accurate answer wins.  Therefore, although being first to take a guess helps, having the most accurate answer is still best.  You may also post more than one answer for each challenge, but post it in separate days.

For more details, visit ISLAND TRAVEL KICK OFF PROMO.  By the way, bloggers can win some cash also, click (put the link to your other post here).

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Note: You can either blog the three contests together or separately.  I opted for separate blogging in this example (plus the next two to be posted next time) to maximize the number of chances to win in the raffle draw because one blog post=1 raffle entry.

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Win a Free Boracay Vacation Package by WOW Philippines Travel Agency

Win a Free Boracay Vacation Package by WOW Philippines Travel Agency

WOW Philippines Travel Agency, Inc. is celebrating it's 5th year in business during July of 2010, and we would like you to have a chance to celebrate with us, so we have decided to give-away a FREE Boracay Package complete with 5 Star accommodations at the luxurious Le Soleil de Boracay Hotel on Boracay Island. The lucky winner will win the following Boracay vacation package.

Vacation Package Inclusions:
- 5 Days / 4 Nights Luxury 5 Star Accommodations at the Le Soleil de Boracay  Hotel
- Flights to Boracay from Manila to Caticlan Airport on Philippine Airlines
- Island Transfers - Door-to-Door from Manila to the resort and back to Manila
- Three (3) Meals each day, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
- Boracay Activities - Horseback Riding, Island Hopping, Glass Bottom Boat
- PLUS - 5,000 peso Spending Cash

Read More Information: http://www.boracay-packages.com

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Island Travel Kick Off Promo

On March 22, our family is set to start our grandest vacation ever. Besides doing it for the first time, our summer family vacation entails driving thousands of kilometers, riding six ferries, crossing many islands and visiting even more towns and cities all over the Philippines in 60 days, such that the experience ought to be shared with as many people as possible.

How can we do that? By offering a "kick off promo!"

The promo consists of three contests that can be participated in by various communities.

1. "GUESS WHERE WE ARE" is a contest open to all.

During our Island Travel, we will be posting blogs and photos of the places we went to.  In certain days, we will pose the challenge "guess where we are."  Anybody can give one guess per day by commenting on that particular post/photo and win between $2 to $5 depending on the degree of difficulty of the challenge.  Answers (=guesses) to a particular challenge may be posted in the comment box until declared closed by admin.  Challenges will be spread throughout our 60 days of travel around the Philippines.

The person with the most accurate answer wins.  For example, the photo used in the challenge was taken in front of Davao City Hall.  Dennis was first to post the answer "Davao City."  Brenda and Matt were the 7th and 10th to post, respectively, but both answered "City Hall of Davao."  Brenda would win the prize as hers and Matt's answer is most accurate plus she posted it earlier than Matt.

Anybody can join in the fun as long as these two simple requirements are met to facilitate identification and payment of prize: a) must follow Island Travel blog as a google follower, Facebook Networked Blogs follower, Twitter follower, or email subscriber (see buttons below); b) must be ready to provide email address, and paypal or BPI account numbers for payment of prize.  If you prefer other means of payment, please contact admin at islandtravelphilippines[at]gmail.com to inquire. 

For bloggers, here's a sample blog post for this contest: ISLAND TRAVEL'S GUESS WHERE WE ARE CHALLENGE that you can use for the BLOG IT CONTEST below.

2.  "BLOG IT"  is a contest open to all bloggers.

To join, bloggers should blog about this promo and use the buttons at the right side to refer their readers to this page.  As there are three contests ("Guess...", "Blog It" and "Blog that Photo"), you have the option to write just one post detailing the three contests or three separate blog posts to introduce the contests individually to your readers.  One post is equivalent to one raffle entry.  A blogger can have up to three entries (=posts) per blog.  If a blogger has more than one blog site, he/she can still write posts for the other blog sites and get more chances to win.

What are at stake?  For the raffle, two $5 prizes are to be given away.  Another $5 will be awarded to the best blog post in terms of quality of the post and quantity of visits generated by the post..

So join now and beat the others to the draw.  When your blog post(s) is (are) ready for inspection, kindly send an email to islandtravelphilippines[at]gmail.com.  This contest is open now until May 15.  Winners will be announced before the month of May ends.

Here's a sample blog post for this contest: ISLAND TRAVEL'S BLOG IT CONTEST

3.  "BLOG THAT PHOTO" is a contest also for bloggers.

We expect to be posting many photos of the places we'll visit and faces we'll encounter during our Island Travel adventure.  We don't want them to go to waste, but instead we want to show them to as many people as possible.

Since "a picture paints a thousand words", we want you to take those words from the photos and write it as a post in your blog site.  You may choose any of the photos posted from the start of our travel to the end.  There's no limit to the number of entries (=posts) you can submit. The last blog post entry should be done on or before May 31.

The only requirements are: a) put the "BLOG THAT PHOTO" contest button prominently on your blog post; b) attribute the photo(s) you used to the specific page(s) you found the photo(s) in this blog site; and, c) email islandtravelphilippines[at]gmail.com each time you post so that we can check it out.

What are at stake?  The best "blog that photo" post will be awarded $15.  The second and third placers will receive $10 and $5, respectively.

How do we determine the winners?  This is a two-stage contest.

i.) After May 31, we will choose the top ten "blog that photo" posts based on quality.  Did the blog post do justice to the photo selected?  Is it free from careless errors in writing?  Is it appealing to the general public?  There is no minimum or maximum length of posts as these depend on the subject (photo) and the style of the blogger.  We will leave that up to individual blogger's judgment.

ii.) After the top ten are identified, these will be voted upon by readers and followers of Island Travel.

So join now!  With these three contests, there's a chance for everyone to participate and win!

Here's another contest: Island Travel Promotional Video and Contest

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About Us

Papa Sez and Mama Sez are on their second decade together. In fact, one of those milestones they are celebrating during this Island Travel Adventure is their 11th Wedding Anniversary! And they will be on the road on this date!

They have graduate degrees in the biological sciences and have worked in the academe, industry and business in various roles from Research Assistant, Manager to President of their own company.

The past year, they opted to concentrate on rearing their young brood, with their two youngest still a tot and an infant. It has been the best year of their married life. It was an opportunity to be with the kids when they're most impressionable; and this is also from knowing that The Years are Short.

It was a time for retrospection and introspection, and to decide on the here and now to influence the future. During this period, writing about what they've found out and what they're learning produced the following:

• Papa Sez on HubPages
• Mama Sez on HubPages 
• Parenting Journey 
• Fatherhood Adventures  
• WannaBeHappyNow.com
• Daily Happiness Tips
• Daily Laughs
• Daily Thank You 
• Happy Quotes Happy Images

They're obviously enjoying their blogging and see the many possibilities in the internet.

One of the best insights in their study about happiness is that "Money can buy you happiness, if you spend it on experience, not stuff", which was elaborated in Happiness is an Island Travel Adventure.  This insight was also key to their decision to embark on this summer adventure for the family.

Join them in this road trip and experience how it is to travel with four kids in the islands of the Philippines for two months!

Be sure to follow them on Twitter or Facebook, or you may opt to receive updates via email or RSS by subscribing at the bottom of this page.

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Our Travel Plan

The general idea is to take a leisure drive to Los Banos, Laguna in Luzon Island from Davao City in the Mindanao Island, spend most of the vacation time in Luzon, and then drive back through the opposite side of the country.

We will go north via the Eastern Nautical Highway through Leyte and Samar islands, and Bicol region.  This is the same route taken by Philtranco buses that ply the Manila-Davao route.  On our way back sometime in May, we'll be going through the other side of the country via the Western Nautical Highway...hopping to Mindoro from Batangas, then to Panay Island (where Boracay is located), then to Negros Island, and finally back in Mindanao entering Zamboanga del Norte in the northwesternmost tip. This means we had to ride the ferry that connects the islands six times during the trip.

While in Luzon, we'll explore the Southern Tagalog provinces of Laguna, Batangas, Cavite, Quezon and Rizal; some Metro Manila tourist destinations; Central Luzon particularly Tarlac and Pampanga; and Northern Luzon, especially Pangasinan, Benguet and Isabela.

To learn a little more details about the trip, read Mama Sez's The Countdown Begins or view the Travel Map and/or Travel Calendar.

We will post our travel journal and photos here in this website during this whole trip.  So please check back for updates or subscribe via email or RSS.  Friend us or follow us on Twitter or Facebook.  You may use the buttons conveniently located at the bottom of this page.

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Why We're Doing It

Have you ever felt at some point in your life that the right time has come for you to do something beyond the ordinary?

For us, now is the right time to fulfill our dream of taking the family to a road trip for two months and explore the many beautiful places in the Philippines. It's quite liberating!

Hmmm...it's as if we've been shackled all this time and we've just been freed. Well, it's almost like that. Read more about why it felt that way in this hub Happiness is an Island Travel Adventure that also tackles a powerful insight about "buying experience, not stuff."

The timing is also right.  We're starting the journey towards the beginning of summer when our older kids get off from school.  Factors such as work commitments, age of kids, money and attitude that's been preventing us from taking the trip are now just about right as well.  Papa Sez elaborated about these factors in a blog post Our Summer Family Vacation: An Island Travel Adventure.  Family milestones, celebrations and commitments also came into play as explained by Mama Sez in The Countdown Begins.

We see this island travel adventure as just the first of the many that we're gonna be doing as a family.

So why are we doing it?  The short answer is because we want to and because this time we can.  Isn't that FUN?!

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Welcome

We've been dreaming of this road trip for many years. Now we're finally taking the plunge!

The nationwide island traveling party is composed of our immediate family, i.e. two adults and four kids ages 10, 7.5, 2.5 years and an 11 month-old baby. An uncle is traveling with us in the van, while grandpa and his caregiver will be joining us in about half of the time in Luzon.

We will write and post photos about our day-to-day adventure in this travel blog, and utilize our Facebook and Twitter accounts for more frequent updates. So join in the adventure by following us or subscribe via email or RSS. We have placed the icons at the bottom of this page for your convenience.

You can learn more about us in the following pages: Why We're Doing It, Travel Plan, and About Us.

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Travel Calendar

LEGEND:
Yellow- SOUTHERN TAGALOG AREA
Orange- CENTRAL LUZON AREA
Violet- NORTHERN LUZON AREA
Tan- BICOL REGION
Green- VISAYAS ISLANDS
Gray- MINDANAO ISLAND

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Philippine Map

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