Lobo, Batangas

Ah summertime. Almost everyone thinks of going to white sand beaches, but here I am stunned by a beautiful pebbly beach with crystal clear waters. With no mud and sand to blur the waters, I swear I have never seen more water clarity than what I have found here.
Don't be discouraged by the pebbles (except if you love beach volleyball :p). No you won't be able to make sand castles. I invite you to balance pebbles one on top of another. hahaha. They may look tough but they're smooth and did not hurt my feet at all. It was like I was in a river with smooth pebbles, but with salty water haha.
Only here did I get the courage to go to the deeper part of the sea, because I could see everything swimming underneath me. (but I still panic and swim my fastest to the shore when I see an unknown sea creature hahaha)

I have never been a fan of going to beaches with lots of people. So I never really liked Puerto Galera, nor did I go to Boracay. I like my beaches serene. The Lobo beach gave me that. Lobo is not exactly the name you'll hear when vacationers think of beach. It's nowhere near as commercialized as Boracay, but I think it's a great advantage for Lobo. It has been able to better preserve it's natural beauty.

Batangas has two lighthouses. One named Cape Santiago in Calatagan (I've been there before and my family and I enjoyed a secluded beach), and another named Punta de Malabrigo in Lobo. The locals call it Malabrigo parola. It has been around since 1896.

I have a funny story to tell. I mentioned a while ago that I panic when I see sea creatures right? Well, as I was swimming with my dad, I saw this lovely sea urchin. I screamed "suuuper beautiful sea urchin belooooow" but still swam my fastest to the shore. hahahaha. my dad caught it for me in his mug (yes he was drinking coffee at the sea shore. coffee at the seashore. haha) Don't worry. We did not hurt the lovely urchin. We just took this quick photo and put him back in the water. I swam to the deep part of the sea again just to put him back where no one will step on him.

For this summer getaway, I wore nothing special. Just a navy blue straw hat I bought at a garage sale in Australia, a randomly branded striped dress, my mom's vintage red vest, and sandals I got for 300 pesos. :D Get the nautical look for less. :)

If you plan on visiting this lovely place (I must admit I am having second thoughts about sharing, because it would mean more people would come there. hahaha), you have to take a bus from Manila to SM Batangas. If there's no bus directly going to SM Batangas, you should get on the bus going to Batangas City and get off at Balagtas. From there, you should take a jeepney going to SM Batangas and tell the manong tsuper (driver) to tell you where the Lobo bound jeepney terminal is. Get off there at that terminal and ride the jeepney heading for Lobo. yaaay! There at Lobo, there are plenty of tricycles you can ride to go to the beaches. If you want to go to where I went, ask people how to go to the parola. There aren't as much people there. That's where I went swimming. You can even camp for free there if you want ;)