We arrived at Vista Playa around 7. After breakfast at a carinderia nearby, we changed into our swimwear and got into the boats. 

The group getting off the van

The view from Vista Playa

Walking on the shallow shores towards the boats

The gang is ready for some sand and sun! Off we go!

After a couple of minutes, we found ourselves in Borawan.

Borawan

Whoever named this beach Borawan must never have gone to Boracay nor Palawan (since the name Borawan is coined from these two places) When one of our travel agents asked if we were amazed by the beach, all I could say is that it was okay.I didn't even take a dip because the water was full of things I couldn't identify. There were some activities like rappelling but I didn't feel like it. After walking for a bit, we sat and listened to some music, all while taking photos.

beach time baby!

You can do some rock climbing

Climb that rock to your heart's content

You can rent kayaks and pedal boats. None of which we tried.

the most fun part of being in Borawan is the photo taking

Or you can stare into the ocean. That's fun too.

A little while later, we went back into the boat and headed to the next beach, Puting Buhangin.

Puting Buhangin

It would have made more sense to name this beach Borawan, although still not at par with the two favourite tourist spots. The water was clean and clear and the sand, not as powdery as Boracay or Palawan's, but is more white and more grainy than Borawan's.

Welcome to Puting Buhangin, guys!

They've got enough huts for everyone

The ladies' toilet. You'll have to bring your own light when you go because it's so darn dark in there

The men's toilet

The grill

Shower rooms

A jug of water for bathing costs php50. Yes, you have to pay for the water

A variety store. An item costs an arm or a leg

Rented tents will fit three persons. Just be as still as a log when you sleep.

We had a great time swimming here. Unfortunately, that's about the only thing we could do at Puting Buhangin. That, and exploring Kwebang Lampas.

The rocks are spikey so you have to be very careful

The other end of the cave

When the tide is high you can swim inside the cave

There was this tiny moving thing

We were there already by 10am so you can imagine how bored we got after swimming and talking and more swimming. When night time came, all we did was play some tunes and read our social media feeds. The reception here is very good. There is no power source though so you might want to bring your power banks. Bonfires aren't allowed so some groups lit some candles instead. If we have known it would be like this, we could've at least brought some entertainment. 

Morning came and our backs and necks were complaining. None of us had thought to bring any sort of mat or pillow. If you're going, you should bring one just in case your tour agent doesn't, that is, if you hired any.

We woke up like this

All ready for a swim after breakfast

We had to do a bajillion tries before finally landing the perfect shot

Nothing beats swimming in the beach with fraaaands!

We strolled a bit on the beach, took more photos, had our breakfast, and packed up. When our boats arrived, we had to stuff all our things in it quickly because it began to rain hard. It was still raining when we got to Dampalitan Island.

Dampalitan Island

We didn't opt to swim here in Dampalitan Island because the water was very low and the it was already bordering on the rocks and corals and thingamajigs and I have no idea who would want to swim in the midst of all that. So we walked along the shore and yes, we took a lot of photos.

Hurrah! Time to abuse that SLR

Did I mention that the water was really shallow?

I have never seen such long sea weeds before

The short visit ended and we all headed back to Vista Playa. The weekend vacation was over. It was time for us to go home.

Time to head back to our exciting lives, people

On our way home, we got to visit Kamay ni Jesus and Nagcarlan Underground Cemetary.

Kamay ni Hesus

Nagcarlan Underground Cemetary

And that concludes our two-day getaway at Quezon! You can check out this site for the tour package we availed.

Photo credits: Rem Calumba, Allaine Adriano, Wendy Fraginal