Bulusan Lake

About 630 kms south of Manila, 350+ MASL and at the heart of Bulusan Volcano National Park (BVNP) lies the Green Lake Bulusan. This is one of Ravenlock's fave place since its just a few kilometers away from his home town, a place where he can relax and escape from the tiring urban life. It’s a nature trip, tropical rainforest surrounds the lake, you can hear bees humming while they collect nectars, you can hear sounds of “duli-duli” (cicada) all over the place and from time to time, different kind of birds can also be seen flying around the lake. A cement path is built around the lake for visitors who want to trek and enjoy the scenes.



Kayaking is also available in the lake.



The lake is currently managed by volunteers from Aggrupation of Advocates for Environmental Protection or locally known as the Agap-Bulusan.

From Sorsogon City, the lake is accessible either through the town of Irosin, passing the towns of Casiguran and Juban. From Irosin, it is another 10 kms to the site. The other is passing through a very scenic route overlooking the Pacific Ocean through the towns of Gubat, Barcelona and the poblacion of Bulusan town.

Rizal Beach

The nicest place in Gubat and famous to its surrounding towns throughout the Bicol peninsula, is one of the best picnic spots for locals and visitors alike. This underdeveloped haven with 3 kilometers of fine ivory sand is perfect for a swimming beach. Although the sand is not as white as from Boracay’s, it’s good enough to let it touch wet swimsuits and skins.

There are resorts available in the area where travelers can spend their days and nights, relaxing and exploring at the same time. The most known resorts are Rizal Beach Resort and Vera Maris. Cottages can also be rented if overnight is not on the plan during stay.

The presence of strong winds along the beach made its waves good for surfing and skim boarding which are becoming popular among the locals nowadays.



Best time to visit is during summer days of course, March till June.

Gubat North Central School (GNCS)

Ravenlock found himself wandering around the premises of Gubat North Central School, his very own elementary school, his playing field when he was a kid. He felt nostalgic; spending six years of childhood in this place is hard to forget, especially when you were used to run on its grounds chasing classmates and dragonflies, that was 16 years ago.



Most of structures were still the same; the canteen, library, stage, and the encinas hall, it was as he can recall except for some renovations needed, the ceilings were falling, glass windows broken and worn out walls. The sheds beside the stage were gone and the concrete seats circling the trees around the center field were also missing. If only he had the resources, he would restore those things right away.



As Ravenlock and his companion (Lockspade) walks around taking pictures, having the feeling that they were pro photographers (hehehe, asa naman tong dalawa), a familiar face approaches them, Ma’am Funtalba, one of the elementary teachers. Surprised to see them, she asked what are they up to and so they told her that they were just fooling around and have nothing to do (that was the truth).

Ma’am Funtalba told them about the worn out buildings and she was hoping that they could do something about it, like raising funds for restoration projects. They were touched and promised her that if they had the chance, they would gladly help. Ma’am offered them “meryenda” (snack) but the two big guys went shy mode and told her that they were full then started strolling around again as if they were on a tour.



At the rear part of the school, Ravenlock discovered that a “kamagong” (mabolo) tree is still there, and it has one of the most exciting fruits he used to eat when he was a kid. It is needed to rub the fruit on a grassy area (or you can have other method) to remove its hairy part exterior before you can devour it. Lockspade wanted the fruit very bad but they leave it as is since they don’t have the guts to climb the tree anymore.

As they leave the place, Ravenlock was glad that he visited although somewhat saddened for some structures were falling apart. He promised to himself that someday he will do something to restore the schools good looks.