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| Our Lady of Nuestra Senora De Candelaria Parish Shrine |
I seldom heard Paracale before, I got interested on it after
watching the Metro Manila Film Fest entry “Oro” that was based on a town in
Bicol
region that has gold reserves, but the film is not made in Paracale.
So, After
Bantayog Festival 2019 coverage we got a chance to
explore this Golden Paradise of Camarines Norte, and to our surprise, this is truly
a hidden gem waiting to be expose soon due to its all in offering for tourism,
from historical sites to beautiful beaches they have it, this is for a fact
that they serve as a gateway to Calaguas Island, another popular island beach
in Camarines Norte.
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| Our lady of Nuestra Senora De Candelaria altar in Paracale |
After a briefing from the Municipal Tourism Office headed
by Sir mark Gil Zamudio, we proceed to this small but beautiful historical 408
year old Church of Our Lady of Nuestra Senora De Candelaria, it is undergoing
renovation as of this writing but Zamudio told us that they are preserving it
the way it was used to be in the past many years, they are adopting some modern
technology in doing the renovation without touching the base of it, it actually
enhance the original structure.
One fascinating about its patron that they called “Inay
Candi” is its dress and accessories, it’s all adorn with real gold, Paracale is
a known Municipality in Camarines Norte that has Gold deposits until now, they
are considered as one of the leading towns that produces Gold after Benguet and
Davao.
Our next destination is a popular City beach of the
locals and the port going to Calaguas, it’s called Pulangdaga beach cove that offers
wide long beach front perfect to enjoy summer, the name is not about a red rat
but it talk about their dialect and the characteristic of its soil, which is color
red in nature.
Pulangdaga has resort to stay in case you wish to stay
overnight, and what exciting in going here is the golden trail where the grotto
is located in a top of hill, wherein 360 degrees view of Paracale is the main
attraction. In order to go up here is to avail the ATV and Boggy ride offers by
RRC ATV Motor, the rental for ATV is P900 that can accommodate two persons,
while the boggy is at P1,000, and it is negotiable if you book by group. They have
5 ATV Motor and 1 Boggy for rental.
“We called it a golden trail, basically easy to moderate
course lang sya, ang pinakadulo is yung grotto and there is an option to go on
a much difficult trail which we call a hard trail, so far yun pa lang attraction
meron kami and we are trying to develop pa to make it a full trail, for those
na hindi naman sobrang hard core and don’t want to go out, we also have our ATV
track inside Candelaria Beach Resort.” RRC ATV Motor operator/owner Christian Dennis
Mancenido explain.
The trail for a beginner will take around 20 minutes to
go up, it seems easy but you don’t have to be chicken since the reward is once
you reach the hill top, the view is amazing and beautiful indeed, it is worth a
try, an adventure that is rewarding at the end.
They just start their operation in Pulangdaga last March
2019, they have showroom in Sto. Domingo, Vinzons in case you’ll be interested
in purchasing ATV units. You can contact RRC ATV Motor at smart number 0929.4785771
and via globe is 0916.5409945, or search them in Facebook via RRC ATV Motor.
Our next stop is to explore the island of Macolabo, it is
now open for tourist who wish for a day tour of swimming and want glorious skin
tan, just be ready yourself for the waves in going to this island, it can be a
roller coaster ride that’s why make sure to have your life vest on.
Macolabo Island has a small fishing community, there are no
resorts or restaurant in the place so you need to bring in your food and
drinks, if you wish to stay overnight you have to request that ahead so it can
be arrange for home stay program of the community.
One thing great about Macolabo is the soft, white powdery
sand they have plus the crystal clear green waters that surround it, it’s like
a lost paradise found by you and only you, swimming area is also perfect with
matching waves that joins you in playing with sun up.
According to Zamudio, they are offering this destination
just recently as added attraction for Paracale, if the waves is good it will
take only 30 minutes from Pulangdaga Beach going to Macolabo and vice versa, the
said tourism product is still being develop to cater more tourist and locals in
the future.
If your interested to visit Macolabo pls coordinate with the
Municipal Tourism Office thru Sir Mark at Smart number +63.0938.408.7859 or
thru his staff John Harvey at 0977.787.4979.
For boat rental we recommend the one manage by Ms. Shie Andrade, it is big and safe to navigate that mighty waves of Paracale, you can contact them for the rates going to Macolabo or even to Calaguas Island thru their Facebook page, here is the link for
boat operator, or just send a message to Ms.
Shie Andrade FB page
Other Beach in Paracale includes Bakal Beach, Gumaus Beach
and Labnig Beach, all white sand that offers panoramic view, and of course the
experience of getting away from a busy City Life.
The Paracale Tour is in cooperation with
Katooga.PH and the Municipal Tourism Office of Paracale.
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