Roundtrip from Batangas to Calapan City via Fastcat Ferry

Very clean and organized

See the picture above? See how clean it is? Not to mention how organized the seating arrangement is.. This is the first impression that Fastcat Ferry gave us while aboard and bound to Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro. 🙂

Last December, we got to visit Calapan City for the second time. During our first visit, we got to experience for the first time to ride a Ro-Ro vessel, via Montenegro Lines. And coming back to Batangas, we rode the 2Go vessel, which was formerly Supercat. But for me, the best ride you can take to Calapan City is via the Fastcat Ferry. It’s faster than the usual Ro-Ro vessels, as travel time is one and a half hour, instead of three hours. The ride is also more tolerable than the 2Go vessel, as we barely felt the waves even though it’s just a bit bigger than a 2Go vessel.

Upon arrival at the Port of Calapan

We rode Fastcat Ferry on our way to Calapan City and also on our way back to Batangas City. We just can’t get enough. 🙂 It’s definitely more convenient. The snack bar also has more choices for passenger. More than just the usual instant noodles. There are sandwiches and hot meals, mineral water, coffee, and variety of canned and bottled beverages. There are also souvenir items of Fastcat for sale.

snack bar

Most of all, we love the seats and the view from the seat. 🙂 From my seat, it felt as we were on a cruise as we glide smoothly by the sea.

Taken at the Calapan Port

Tickets are reasonably priced at Three Hundred Pesos each.

tickets of our companions

Come ride the Fastcat Ferry if you are going to Calapan City. You won’t regret it, promise. 🙂 You can check schedule at their website. They abide strictly by the schedule and passenger and cargo limit, so be early for a sure seat.

Re-visiting Calapan City during Christmas Season

It was a trip we thought would never push through.

We planned the trip as early as the first week of December. It’s a work-related trip with our clients who need to have a meeting and settle matters at the adverse party’s main office in Calapan City. However, there was super typhoon at that time which was supposed to make landfall in Oriental Mindoro. Thank goodness there was minimal damage as the typhoon weakened and became a tropical storm. On the second week of December, I was the one unavailable, plus there was low pressure at that time. Finally, we were given a chance to push through with the meeting on the third week of December. And we were blessed to travel on a good weather even though December is known as “tag-alon” month, or the month when waves are huge, and not favorable to travel by sea. Our journey to Calapan City is very much tranquil; there were no turbulent waves.

Peaceful sea

FASTCAT FERRY

We went to Calapan City via the Fastcat Ferry. It’s a Ro-Ro vessel but with limited seating and cargo capacity, so it travels quicker than the usual Ro-Ro vessels. Travel time is one hour and thirty minutes. I will post a separate blog entry/review regarding this one, as I can say we loved every moment to and from Calapan City via Fastcat. 🙂

THE VERY FESTIVE CAPITOL BUILDING OF ORIENTAL MINDORO

We went to Calapan City last year to attend a wedding. Due to the limited time, we were unable roam around Calapan City, as the wedding took place in Benilda ng Bancuro Resort in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. This particular trip gave us a chance to explore Calapan City with Atty. Juno, one of my law school best friends. She invited us to stay at their house in Calapan City after our work is done.

One of the places we got to visit is the very festive Capitol building of Oriental Mindoro. According to Juno, every year, different government agencies in Calapan City create their own Christmas exhibits at the Capitolio, so that the Capitol compound would be glistening at night with all the Christmas lights and decorations.

This is how the Capitol building look during daytime.

Capitol Building of Oriental Mindoro

And this is how it looks at nighttime.

So many Christmas lights

Check out the “Frozen” Christmas exhibit at the Legislative Building.

One of the most popular Christmas exhibits

We saw various Christmas exhibits that night, ranging from Minions, Hello Kitty, Barbie Doll house, Super Mario brothers, Sailor Moon and many more Disney characters. The Christmas exhibit proved to be such a hit to children, families, and groups of friends. There were many people that night, taking a stroll at the Capitol compound, having selfies or groufies. There were food stalls selling popcorn, shawarma, and grilled barbecue. It’s such a festive atmosphere, plus add the December night chill. Epic. 🙂

The various Christmas exhibits gave impression to tourists like us how much the local government of Oriental Mindoro would want to extend the festivities to the people.

THE BEST LASAGNA AT CAFE MEOW

That night, we also got to taste the best lasagna in town, at Cafe Meow. The sumptuous meals, the coffee, and the wine experience at Cafe Meow compels me to write a separate blog entry about it. 🙂

with hubby, Atty. Juno and her beau at Cafe Meow

FOOD TRIP IN CALAPAN CITY

The next day, we got to explore more the city for some food trip, pasalubong and souvenir shopping.

We had brunch at Wil’s Diner, a sports bar and restaurant which serves one of the best buttered chicken we have ever tasted. I was unable to take pictures as we immediately dig in once it was served. Crispy and garlicky, the buttered chicken is such a winner. 🙂 We also ordered grilled tanigue and sinigang na hipon.

After buying some suman sa lihiya, banana chips, pastillas, ref magnets, and souvenir shirts, we had some halo-halo highly-recommended by Atty. Juno at Isel Ian’s Halo Halo. 🙂 The ingredients for the halo-halo are on display and you can opt to have all the ingredients mixed in your tall glass (for 100 pesos) or you can choose to leave out some. There are 12 ingredients, but I only chose 8 ingredients as I do not like beans that much. The halo-halo is topped with ube, leche flan, and ice cream scoop of your preferred flavor. There’s milk on the side and sugar syrup. I am not a big fan of halo-halo but this one made me crave again for halo-halo, as of this writing. 🙂 You’ll get your money’s worth. The eight ingredients that I chose for my halo-halo only costs 50 pesos.

THANKS TO CONCEPCION FAMILY

It would have been a plain work-related trip had it not been for the invitation from Atty. Juno to spend the night at their wonderful home in Calapan City. Thanks to her, we were able to explore the city proper, got to taste the most amazing foods at homegrown restaurants in Calapan City, and discovered where to buy souvenirs. It was our last out-of-town trip for the year, and one of the most memorable. Atty. Juno’s parents are our godparents during our wedding and the warmth of their family is incomparable and never-changing, way back during the early 2000s when I first met them. Her brothers treat us as if we were siblings. I am forever thankful for their family, who have always been there, at the happiest and lowest points in my life.

Thank you so much.

Aboard Montenegro Lines and 2Go Vessel: The Batangas City-Calapan City Experience

It was my first time to ride a Roll-on, Roll-off (Ro-Ro) vessel. Way back in 2004, I have experienced riding a passenger vessel bound to Aklan with my law school friends. We had a good time because the ship has so many amenities, including a mini-theater. Riding a Ro-Ro vessel is different experience, as you would experience a laid-back pace of  the vessel, since it’s carrying not just passengers but huge vehicles as well.

My hubby and I were bound to Calapan City to attend the wedding of the brother of one of my law school best friends. We asked around what’s the best mode to go to Calapan City. A friend said that if we wanted a quicker travel period, then we should ride the 2Go vessel (formerly Supercat). And that if we wanted a slow, leisurely travel, then we should try a Ro-Ro vessel. And so we decided to try both: To ride the Ro-Ro vessel on our way to Calapan City, and to ride the 2Go vessel on our way back to Batangas City.

So this was taken at the Batangas City Port, when we were about to board the Montenegro Lines.

At the Batangas City Port

I highly recommend riding the Montenegro Lines vessel, as compared to the other Ro-Ro vessels docketed on the area. This is not just based on our experience, but also from the recommendation of our Mindoro-based friends. The vessel has an air-conditioned area where the passengers can lie around, sleep, watch television. The other area is open air, where there are also seats for those who wanted to enjoy the view all throughout the travel time, which is approximately three (3) hours. We also climbed the open deck for a better view. 🙂

Afternoon travel

Overall, we had pleasant experience riding the Montenegro Lines vessel. We experienced what we are aiming for: to have a long leisurely trip and to enjoy the view. 🙂 But for me, the best view is when we arrived at the Calapan City Port. This is the view that greeted us.

Calapan City Port

On our way back to Batangas City, we opted to ride the 2Go vessel, since it’s already late afternoon and we would love a quicker travel period. It’s not my first time to ride the 2Go vessel. It was formerly named Supercat, and I got a chance to ride a Supercat vessel bound to Bataan way back in 2010. Sadly, the Bataan-bound Supercat vessels were no longer in operation. 😦

It was already late afternoon, and I was anticipating a quicker travel period going back to Batangas City. The shot below was taken by my husband when the 2Go vessel (which we will be riding) was arriving at the port. The ticket for the 2Go vessel is much more expensive, but there were snacks offered during the trip. We were also each provided with our own lifejacket. Since the 2Go vessel is smaller than a Ro-Ro vessel, the ride is not that smooth. In fact, since it’s already late afternoon, we experienced being tossed by the waves during our initial journey. However, somewhere in the middle of the trip, the waves calmed down. But I could not forget how tough it was going to the rest room. I almost lost my balance. It was such an adventure. 🙂 The advantage of riding the 2Go vessel is the shorter travel period from Calapan City to Batangas City, which is for merely an hour. Plus, it was like riding an airplane, since there are snacks provided and friendly vessel attendants.

Weekend Journey at Oriental Mindoro, Overnight at Benilda ng Bancuro Resort

Oriental Mindoro, the rice granary of Southern Luzon.

It’s not my first time to visit the island of Mindoro since I managed to be a beach bum at Puerto Galera way back in 2003. But the trip to Calapan City early this May is a first for me and hubby. We visited one of my closest friends in law school together with other law school buddies.

There are two ways of reaching Calapan City from the Batangas City port. First, via 2Go passenger ship (formerly Supercat), which is an hour ride from the Batangas City. Second mode is via Montenegro Lines (or other “Ro-Ro” Roll On, Roll Off ship), the travel time of which ranges from two to three hours.

We opted for the second mode, which is via Montenegro Lines. We want the open-deck experience. And you would not regret the longer travel time for views like these:

Upon arrival at the Port of Calapan, this is the sight that will greet you.

We were fetched from the port by our “ninong sa kasal”. 🙂 We got to see more of the city on our way to their house.

From Calapan City, our caravan went to Naujan, Oriental Mindoro where the Benilda ng Bancuro Resort is located—which is the venue for the wedding of my friend’s brother.

The municipality of Naujan is almost an hour away from Calapan City. The Benilda ng Bancuro Resort is one of the major tourist attractions in the said municipality. At the entrance of the resort, you will see this.

You will also see this at the front, beside the resort. This is allegedly the home of the owner of Benilda ng Bancuro.

This delightful resort boasts of ornate woodworks, a huge (glowing) pool, huge statues, and Spanish-inspired structures and accommodation houses.

Refreshing to swim on the glowing pool

Spanish-style

The wise monkeys

 

As they say, if you are getting sick of the sun, sand and crowded beachfront, then try a weekend at Benilda Resort in Brgy. Nancuro, Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. You get lots of space to think, relax and dwell upon things. And night swimming at the “glowing” pool is as refreshing as spritzing on your favorite citrus cologne.

On our way back to Batangas city, we tried the 2Go passenger vessel for a quicker travel time.

It’s like riding an airplane, with ship attendants giving out snacks during the trip, and the waves creating some “turbulence”. 😀