I was casually browsing Facebook for some streaming updates from different pages I am subscribed when I stumble upon this very familiar Bicolano terminology – Bicol Air Express. No,  I am not talking about the favorite chili-rich dish in Bicol, it is a local airline which was launched in December.

BICOL AIR EXPRESS now can fly you from Legazpi to Virac in Cataduanes and in Masbate. South West Air Corporation makes a breakthrough in the airline industry as they finally started serving tourist who want to visit the island provinces of Bicol Region.

Launching in Virac was held in December 7, in Legazpi City on December 12 and in Masbate on December 15, 2011. The three launches highlighted SWA guarantee of safe and on-time flights for all its passengers. It also promotes the boutique airline’s promise of providing a unique flying experience punctuated with a courteous in-flight crew.

To kick things off, a tropical event was held at Twin Rock Resort in Virac, Catanduanes to celebrate the island’s feast. The resort a prime destination that BAE will promote as the company aids in enhancing the image of Catanduanes as one of the main Tropical Island destinations in the Philippines. Countless guests, including Catanduanes Governor Joseph Cua, turned up in their beach outfits and were treated to an array of local delicacies with non-stop entertainment throughout the evening.

The Legazpi launch, on the other hand, was a different form revelry as guests showed up in their grand cocktail dresses and suits for the party held at South Road Bar in Pepperland Hotel. Highlight of the night was the presentation of the Aircraft, along with footage of the actual successful landing at the airport. The event was well attended as no less than Albay Congressman Al Francis Bichara and Department of Tourism head Nina Revilla with former Department of Tourism Director Nonie Calleja were present. To show his support to the airline, Cong. Bichara encouraged his constituents and all Bicolanos to support the Boutique Airline.

Capping the grand launch was a simple gathering held in Masbate. Despite the BMC conditions not allowing the plane to arrive in the city, the team from BAE managed to successfully push through with the event. A short program was held, which included a ceremonial ribbon cutting led by executives from BAE.

I had an inside info that they are also covering Naga City in March.

Images are all courtesy of Bicol Air Express, via Facebook.

Back to back post at Digitalspidey.com

Mayon Volcano is famous all over the world for it’s perfect cone shape. However, the Volcano has been very active these past few weeks and could actually erupt any time soon.

The whole Bicol region, especiall Legazpi Albay, is on full alert and people within the 6-kilometer danger zone have been evacuated.

This video was taken last month on a fine sunny day of Mayon Volcano. During that time, there were already a lot of tremors and the volcano is already spewing molten magma (lava) and smoke/ashes.

Travel advisories have been sent out and it is not advised to go on trips to the Bicol region right now.

My recent trip to Cagraray Island in Albay is one of the most fun ever in years. There are lots of stuff we can do on the Misibis Bay Raintree and one of them is driving around the island with an All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV).

We took this video while driving around Cagraray and this part was taken on the hill top where you can see the entire island and the other islands around it. We’ve been recording a lot throughout the trip and we used the Sony Handycam HDR XR200 which takes full 1080p HD videos. While a digicam with HD video recording could have also done the trick, Sony’s Handycam gets ou full 1080p videos and can store as much as 120GB of video in one go. Perfect for long trips since you also get good battery life.

Here are some more footages of Misibis Bay using the Sony XR200:

Haven’t had this much fun with travel gears for a long time. Taking the Sony Cybershot DSC-T900 was the right choice as it’s small and lightweight, plus it can take HD videos at 720p. See a video tour of the Misibis Bay Raintree at Cagraray Island in Albay below.

They say pictures tell a thousand words so these videos should be enough to describe the place.

I originally wanted to bring my dSLR with me as this is a trip I thought I should never miss but I gave the point-and-shoot Sony Cybershot a chance (it was a huge risk). I thought as long as there was enough sunlight, I should be able to get decent pictures.

The HD video recording is also a big come-on as I will be able to take footages my other cameras could not do at that resolution.

The Sony Cybershot TSC-T900 comes with a Marine Pack which you can use to take photos and videos underwater. I went snorkeling one afternoon to test it out in the sea but the water to too cloudy so I couldn’t see anything underwater. Fortunately, the swimming pool is open almost 24 hours a day and we were able to play with the camera even at night.

Participants of our Synergy trip (members of the media from print and TV) volunteered to do this little experiment — shooting a video underwater at night. It did not disappoint and everyone had a fun time.

The Misibis Bay RainTree is a newly developed resort found in the island of Cagraray, Albay province. The whole island is about 480 hectares and about 60% of it will be developed into an eco-park, hotel and resort.

The island is about 60 minutes away from Legazpi Airport via land and just 30 minutes via fastcraft which is operated by the resort. There are daily flights via Cebu Pacific from Manila.

The hotel-resort is maintained by Discovery Suites and features over 3 dozen separate bungalow to 2 and 3-story condos surrounded by a sprawling 4-feet swimming pool. There are more guest houses being constructed during this soft launch.

There are a lot of activities to do within the beach resort alone. There’s an entertainment room, a game room with billiards and table tennis, and even a playground for kids. If you like the outdoors, they have all-terrain vehicles (ATV) you can use to go around the island.

Water-sports are aplenty as well — big water floats (similar to the ones in CamSur), kayaking, jetski, wakeboarding and snorkeling or diving.

Accommodations are top notch — each guest house has one big master bedroom, and 2 single beds that serves as the living room. The houses are walled in glass all around with just draperies you can pull down if you want privacy. There are two 32″ LCD TVs, a ref and a huge bath tub.

Most of the guest houses are accessible to the pool. Hotel service is an A+ with options for a butler service and plenty of attendants going around attending to guests’ needs — apple juice and assorted nuts at the front desk, ice cold water and cookies at the pool, mango-flavored ice candy at the beach, and cold face towel and face spray in the afternoon sun.

And best of all, there is free and fast WiFi all over the resort — from the rooms to the recreation areas and even as far as the beach-front. Of course, the place does not come cheap either. Daily accommodations start at a whooping $385.

I originally wanted to bring my dSLR for this trip because I heard the place is great. However, I decided to just bring along the new Sony Cybershot TSC-T900 which is way lighter but takes pretty good pictures as well (all the photos here were taken with it). It also has an HD video recording capability so that’s an added bonus.

Here’s sample 360-degree footage of the beach resort I took with the Sony Cybershot TSC-T900:

On my over-the-weekend trip to Legazpi City in Albay for a talk, we were able to visit a few historical spots and one of them was the sunken Church of Cagsaua.

Although the weather wasn’t really cooperating with us, I was able to take several pictures of the place. A steel plaque was affixed by the Philippine Historical Committee on the outer wall of the church tower in 1954. It says…

Church of Cagsaua

The Spiritual Administration of Cagsaua from 1587 to 1595 was under the Parish of Camalig. An early church was burned, 25 July 1636, by the Dutch who ransacked the tonws bordering Legazpi Bay. This church, built after 172 by Fray Francisco Blanco, O.F.M., was buried by rocks and lava during the eruption of Mayon Volcano on February 1, 1814.

Decided to incorporate their town as part of Daraga. The first centenary of the destruction of the church was commemorated, February 1, 1914, with a huge pilgrimage to the ruins where a high mass was celebrated.

It was raining real hard and the Mayon Volcano at the backgroud was still and quiet with clouds looming at the peak.

Mayon Volcano, the country’s most active volcano, and known worldwide for its perfect cone, has been emitting lava the last week and may erupt soon. Its most destructive eruption occured in 1814, burying a whole town and killing 1,200 people. That church belltower we now often see in photos of Mt. Mayon is the only thing that remains of the town Cagsawa.

For travellers in the area, and those planning to visit, note that the area is already being evacuated of its residents. While it may be a chance-in-a-lifetime to capture Mayon in eruption, don’t let that lifetime be cut short. Stay safe!

[Photo: BBC]

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