LOVERBOYZ AVENUE: LAKAD PAMANA: NORZAGARAY tour

Happy Sunday ladies! today, I'll bring you somewhere , to a town rich in

natural resources and endowed with natural beauty. with beautiful ladies almost

anywhere you look, it is just located in Bulacan...today we go to NORZAGARAY.

How do I start this? by part? or to just tell the whole story like a diary? ok ok..

like a diary I guess... so please bear with me ladies. because this will be a long one!

As media bloggers, we were treated to a whole day of fun and relaxation just a few

hours away from the busy Manila. I was one of the lucky few to get invited by Mister

D, Lakad Pamana, I met Mister D and sir Roy Vincent Santiago.

early at 6:45am near SM HYPERMART Monumento and we proceeded to Mcdonalds

trinoma to met our other blogger friends. from trinoma, we drove another 40 kilometers

to Norzagaray via Commonwealth and Quirino Highway. and by 7am we arrived at

NORZAGARAY also called Garay.

its very interesting to know that the Nissan Urvan is a tough pasenger's van. and can

tackle the rough terrains of Norzagaray. another interesting fact, the owner is a member

of the Nissan Urvan club Philippines.

Originally a small barrio during pre-Spanish times named Casay, Norzagaray is

now a rising commercial place in Bulacan. It is also gaining popularity for its

tourist destinations, thanks to the mayor, Mayor Alfredo Germar, in this blog

report, the LOVERBOY joins Mister D, Lakad Pamana and dBarkadz for another

day of nature tripping in one of beautiful areas of Bulacan only a few hours away from

North Caloocan, called Norzagaray.

Our first stop was the historic Pinagrealan Cave located at Brgy. Minuyan,

Norzagaray, Bulacan. it is suggested that this is where we would have our early

breakfast on our next trip here. we met 3 biker enthusiast there one of them

already has spelunking experience because its his 3rd time to enter the cave.

I saw one of them equipped with LED lights and helmet.

to enter this cave, you need to have number 1, guts, number 2. strong legs

number 3. determination and last, number 4. not afraid to get wet in waist

deep water.

Remember your highschool history class? it is said that during the Philippine

revolution this cave is the headquarters of Aguinaldo and his men as they fight

their enemies, it was the site of secret meetings of the Filipino revolutionary

forces during the war against Spain in 1896. it also played host as a Katipunero

hideout.

Now look and observe, from the pictures, this Cave, including its subterranean

network of caverns may extends long, very long, to a kilometer deep perhaps?

the trail was easy from the start, the first few meters is the easy part, when you

have sufficient LED lighting and have buddies to go with you. you may encounter

some bats fly by you to check you out. but am so lucky there arent any spiders! haha!

by the way, bringing along a flash light or any means of illumination is a must!!

because you wont be happy when all the lights are off and you see nothing but

dark shadows! we have been told by our guide that further inside the cave runs a

refreshing clear stream of spring water. its ankle deep at first, but as you go along,

We were told that there were a few parts where you need to wade in waist deep

water. and this scares me! So.... We only explored a small part of the cave’s length.

and decided to stop when we reach the first crystal and saw some vandals(marks)

made last 2003. Our tour of Pinagrealan Cave took a little more than 30 mins

Another potential spots for tourism is the area where the Angat River Hydroelectric

Plant is located. NPC constructed the biggest plant here, this hydroelectric plant,

covered with virgin forest which is a nest for wild life. haven for bird watching.

at night, It has a cool climate. it is a city situated in the wilds.

At Quirino highway, the road started to rise gradually. there were short climbs,
In Barangay Bigte, Norzagaray, after around eight kilometers straight from the
intersection, is Ipo Dam... and its our next stop called the IPO Watershed:

now this Ipo Watershed is part of a larger water system which includes Angat
and La Mesa. It serves as the major water source of Metro Manila.
thats why in the battle of Ipo dam during World War 2, the Japanese thought
of poisoning the whole system, and Norzagaray was also burned, that explains
why there were no ancestral houses around.

by the way , another thing, unless you make prior arrangements, you may not be
allowed inside the Ipo Dam area. in this tour, we didnt go down the bottom of
this dam.

These pictures were taken during our trip at Ipo Dam in Norzagay, Bulacan.
It was a day trip out-of-town, and this is our next stop after the Pinagrealan cave
spelunking adventure. I've heared there are people who do rapelling there,
but we didn't witness one.

[VIDEO of Angat dam] [Video of Angat Dam atop the viewdeck]

We didn't stay long since we need to meet the mayor, so we proceeded to our
next stop and check out the Angat Dam.

We spent PHP25 each for entrance through Kapitana, after we signed our names

in the barangay hall and ordered tilapia which didnt arrive on time, as nwe enter inside,

we saw the watershed area but the bad news was we could not take photos of the

dam itself for security reasons! so That was a big disappointment, just like in La

Mesa ecopark.

The Angat Dam Watershed Reservation is nestled in the southern part of the vast

Sierra Madre Mountain range. a few things to consider though that Not all , not

everyone can see the place. you cannot enter as you please, without permit

its a critical area, and this being a high risk dam, security is very tight. we were just

lucky that we were with Roy Vincent Santiago, a supporter and friend of the mayor.

and as bloggers, we were granted access and permit to explore inside the
ANGAT FOREST AND ECOLOGICAL PARK

we passed by the viewing deck, for some picture taking moments with the group

we saw a school,to our amazement and a basketball court, further into the compound

we all went off our nissan urvan, and went straight to the viewing deck,

shot by Allan Pardilla Martinez

Standing on this viewing deck, you see the guesthouse now conveted to a museum

you can also see the beauty of nature. It is one moment when one realizes that there

are still beautiful places to see and that the world still has many things to offer.

From the viewing deck, the visitor sees the lush greens of mountains beyond

mountains. It is really stunningly beautiful. specially when you are with your sweetheart!

image by JamKi

two words to describe this dam? Stunningly Beautiful. yeah! like the girl I saw

on our way haha!

When one looks at the dam from the viewing deck, it can be the most scenic

mountain view in this part of central Luzon! it offers the most breathtaking view

of forested mountains from afar, the only persons allowed to roam around are the

native Dumagats who consider it as their kingdom where they freely hunt wild

boars for food and fish tilapia using spears in the river. now after this, we went to

our next activity... meeting the mayor!

we had lunch thanks to mayor's generosity.

After visiting the mayor and having our group pictures taken our next stop is

Bakas Resort. we learned in this tour that we will drive a few kilometers downhills

to Bakas River which is part of Angat River system, known for its calm waters and

large limestone rock formations.

One of the busiest spots in the locality, particularly during summertime,

Bakas is situated or is a portion of the Angat River, which is noted for its big natural

white stones along the riverbank, the green scenery surrounding it, the fresh air,

and the cool and the calm flowing current. Metro Manila residents and others

coming from distant towns oftentimes visit the place for relaxation.

The well-known Bakas is located at Sitio Cañacan, Barangay Matictic.

to view Bakas River click here

[BAKAS RIVER DIVING] [Bakas River video]

Bakas has a literal meaning of footprint or mark, and according to legends, the

large boulders here were footprints left by the giant Bernardo Carpio.

It is a very interesting spot where the foot markings of the legendary Bernardo

Carpio and his pets can be found. The place presents a lush green scenery,

with fresh air and cool, clean and calm flowing current.

BAKAS RIVER rescue on stand by

The river water looks cool, just what we needed for the blistering summer heat.

(I didnt swim though) Taking a swim in Bakas needs an individual to be a good

swimmer, even if rescue if around on stand by... because of the 30 ft waters,

and huge limestone rock formations, one mistake would lead you dead.

inside, you will notice a lot of visitors from Novaliches, because the river as free

entrance and the cottages are for rent for Php200, We stayed in Bakas for an hour

before heading to our final destination, the resort where an Eiffel tower replica stands.
this is the Adventure Resort located in Bgy. Tigbe , Norzagaray Bulacan.