An Overnight Stay at Naga and Legazpi

I was in the Bicol Region last Friday for work.  We stayed overnight at Naga then traveled to Legazpi early on Saturday to visit our branch office and then see the majestic Mayon Volcano.

This trip gave me an opportunity to use this Cath Kidston travel bag that I got as a gift last Christmas.   It’s very roomy and easy to carry.  But it would’ve been better if there were wheels under so it could be easily lugged around the airport.

As we were booked on a morning flight to Naga (via Air Philippines), I decided to take my breakfast at the airport (NAIA 3) and chose Mrs. Fields because (1) there were few people eating there and (2) I miss their cookies.

I ordered their meal set of coffee, sandwich (chicken sicillian) and chocolate cookie.  At P265.00, it’s bloody expensive!   The chicken sandwich was good but I expected more than just a chicken spread.   And the cookie that came with it was super sweet.

View from our plane – patches of green fields and the long, snake-like shaped Naga River:

We stayed at the Avenue Plaza Hotel – a very beautiful hotel along Magsaysay Avenue and is easily accessible to historical shrines (the Penafrancia being one), shopping and dining centers.

The hotel is about 5 years old only and is sparklingly clean both inside and out.

I love our room!   The ultra soft pillows and comforter were very inviting for sleep!

Because we’re staying overnight only, we had a packed scheduled which began immediately after checking into our hotel.   There was no time to check out the popular gift shops at Naga and Legazpi, and hoard those famous abaca bags and pili nut products.

Thankfully, our host for the event gave me a gift:  an abaca bag with a beautiful flower design made of native materials too.

Lovely and crafty flower details:

The next day, we had a quick breakfast and traveled to Legazpi to finish the last part of our work and then see the Mayon Volcano before flying back to Manila after lunch.

Unfortunately, it was very cloudy that day that we weren’t able to get a good view of Mayon Volcano.  Not even its peak could be glimpsed with the thick clouds hovering around it:

We viewed it from the Lignon Hill Nature Park, which stands just behind the Mayon.   If you want to have a close, good look of the Volcano’s perfect cone shape, you can do so with a 5-peso coin which you need to drop into this standing binoculars located at the top of the hill.

Meanwhile, the other side of the hill offers you a good view of the Legazpi Airport.

We stayed at Lignon Hill for a bit while, hoping that the clouds will clear and grant us full access at Mayon Volcano’s peak.  But it wasn’t meant to be.  Still, I loved being able to see 2 prominent landscapes from the hilltop by just turning around hehe.

The hilltop itself has a nice landscape too, with a snack bar and souvenir shops.   I wasn’t able to check these though, cos I was busy enjoying this sight:

If only time was not a constraint, I’d love to stay longer and wait for those clouds to clear.   Mayon Volcano’s peak is already showing by the time we left the place for the airport and I promised to return to Legazpi (with AJ this time) to try my luck again with Mayon Volcano, and to make that much desired trip to the Penafrancia Shrine and the weaved bags’ factory!