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It was 7 days, 1798 kilometers, 9 Conventions and Visitors Bureau (CVBs), 8 provinces in 4 regions, 26 people on one bus on a trip around Northern Luzon. This is the Lakbay Norte Familiarization tour held January 24-31, 2010. I’ve always wanted to do a horseshoe loop of north Luzon and I was glad I was able to do it with the help of North Philippines Visitors Bureau. It was packed, tiring but also fun and exciting. For those who would like to try the similar route, this would be a great reference on what to expect.

It is Sunday, the last day of our 7-day Lakbay Norte tour. It seems most of us have exhausted our wardrobes that we started wearing some of the shirt giveaways we got throughout the trip. I get to curl up more on Holiday Inn’s comfy beds longer as our call time isn’t that early. We still have a few activities for the day and as soon as we finished breakfast. The group was once again split into half to do some horseback riding and a jeepney tour.

5:00am I came down at White Rock’s lobby and joined a table that turned into some sort of internet café. I think I only had at two and a half hours of sleep and opening my laptop seems like a heavy task. Its day 6 of Lakbay Norte tour and I still wish I could have tried those other rides at Treetop yesterday. But I already got used to having only portions and a taste here and there. Besides this is a familiarization tour. The point is to get “familiar”.

“10 minutes! 10 Minutes Everyone!” I heard Ivan yell in the bus as we sped through the bus exit to head to our rooms at Islandia Hotel in Alaminos. They said to no longer wash up but I can’t stand the salty grime and sticky hair after swimming on ocean waters at the 100 islands. A quick shower and throwing in clothes, gears into my medium sized duffel bag and I’m on the go. I’m sure it’s more than 10 minutes but hey it’s a long road going south to Subic so I better get comfortable in the bus as much as I can.

It’s our 5th day on our Lakbay Norte Bus which is fast becoming our mobile home after staying inside it on the road for days. On my little corner of the bus I already know the idiosyncrasies of my reclining seat, how our bus help Kenneth know I prefer Fit & Right Pine Orange and like the spice of Labzter snack than Tempura, and how I can efficiently arrange my stuff whenever we leave and board the bus. We got a few more days to go and this time, we found ourselves in Lucap for the Hundred Islands Tour.

Day 4 of Lakbay Norte finds us waking up to the cool crisp mountain air of Baguio. It’s always a pleasant experience to just breathe in the pine fresh atmosphere in this highland city. Our group stayed at the uber-comfortable chiropractic beds of Microtel. From there, we moved to Baguio Country Club for our briefing and much sought after breakfast.

It’s time to slow down after an adrenaline filled morning with the 4X4 thrill ride and sandboarding at Paoay Sand Dunes. As we head back, we stopped by the glimmering Paoay Lake. Again it’s a place I’ve been to several times but it must be the time and the lighting because I have never seen the lake as tranquil as this.