Romblon Travel 101 : How to Get There

Manila to Batangas Pier

Take a bus of JAM. JAM terminal is located in front of Victory Liner and right along the corner of Timog Ave., and EDSA. A regular rate for air-conditioned bus (some busses have wi fi) is P175.00, P140.00 for student but you need to present ID. It is estimated 2 – 3 hours travel considering the traffic.

From Batangas Pier, you need to secure a ticket and the terminal fee (P30.00) going to Romblon

Note: If it is passenger season (esp. Semestral break and Undas, Yuletide Season, 1st – 2nd week of Start and End of Classes and days before Biniray Festival. It is a must to be prompt to secure ticket(s).


Montenegro Shipping Lines Inc. (723-8989/ 723-7975)

It departs in Batangas Pier to Odiongan and Romblon every Monday, Thursday and Saturday at 5:00pm.


1. Batangas Pier to Romblon, Romblon(14 hours travel)

Batangas – Romblon Journey Rate (as of October 2012)

Economy Accomodation Fare – P954.00/person
First Class Accomodation Fare (Deluxe) - P 1255.00/person
Mabuhay Class Accomodation Fare – P 1446.00/person

Romblon, Romblon to Batangas

Secure a ticket near the Romblon Port (Aura and Audrey Enterprise) on or before the date of travel. Montenegro vessel leaves Romblon at 2:00 pm every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

Note: If the vessel will travel directly to Batangas Pier (without stopping over in Odiongan Port), the fare will be lowered.

Montenegro SLI also departs Batangas Pier to Odiongan, Romblon everyday except Tuesday at 5:00pm.

2. Batangas Pier to Odiongan, Romblon (9 hours travel)

Batangas – Odiongan Fare Rate (as of December 22 2012)
Economy Accomodation Fare – P762.00/person
First Class Accomodation Fare (Deluxe) - P 914.00 /person
Mabuhay Class Accomodation Fare – P 991.00/1143.00 /person


3. Odiongan, Romblon to Romblon, Romblon (4 Hours Travel)

In Odiongan port, Take a jeepney/mini bus heading to San Agustin Port( 3 hours travel). It cost P120.00 in an ordinary jeep. You need to secure your ticket to Romblon, Romblon in San Agustin port before 6:00am because the RoRo, also a Montenegro vessel (M/V Ma. Querubin) will depart at exactly 6 am and arrive to Romblon, Romblon at 6:45 – 7:00am (1 hour travel). Ticket cost P96.00 plus the terminal fee of P10.00.

M/V Princess Annavell

1.) Batangas Pier to Romblon, Romblon

The M/V Princess Annavell is a smaller vessel as compared to those of Montenegro. It departs Batangas pier at 4:00PM every Thursday and Saturday. It arrives Romblon at 7:00 am. It is more likely to arrive first in Romblon Island than Montenegro.


Economy Accomodation Fare – P700.00/person
Deluxe Accomodation Fare - P 840.00/person

What's Behind the Marble of Romblon, Philippines - Grandeur, Beauty, and Culture

As God showers His goodness to the world, Romblon is one of many places that bucketed magnificence in its environment and its locals.

God's distinctive graces in the nature of Romblon, Romblon.

Romblon is strategically situated at the center of the Philippines. It lies between the province of Marinduque way up north, Panay Island in the south, Bicol Region in the east, and Mindoro and Palawan in its west. Romblon is a cluster of 20 islands which consists of three major islands, Romblon (Provincial Capital), Sibuyan and Tablas.

Click to see the Philippine Map

Its strategic location serves as the gateway for ferries and other marine vessels traversing to the southern part of the archipelago.

Romblon Island alone possesses God’s grand and distinctive arts. It is renowned for having the abundance and quality marble. It sole bears the title " The Marble Capital of the Philippines" and " The Marble Country". A lot of things in the island are packed with marble. From numerous monuments and figures down to materials for construction of buildings, roads and houses, marble in Romblon is everywhere. It also became part of the lives of the locals. Yep, that includes me. It offers livelihood also for Romblomanons aside from fishing and farming.

However, Romblon is not just marble. It is not just a Romblomanon artistically sculps blocks of marble. Romblon also takes pride of its abundance of nature and historical stories.

For it is surrounded by waters of the Sibuyan Sea, It is depleted with picturesque scenes of islands kissing the horizontal blue seas. It is filled by fine and unspoiled white sand beaches and crystal clear waters, carpets of coral gardens teeming with tropical fishes and other marine species which are perfect for diving enthusiasts.

Magnificent rock formations, dolphins, inland historical treasures, numerous marble monuments, captivating mountains, rivers and waterfalls, islets, lush forests, caves, and other panoramic views are also present in Romblon.

Here are the list of some attraction that a Romblomanon, and of course Filipinos should be proud of.
1. Alad Island - boasts its pristine white sand beach and crystal clear waters and marvelous rock formations.
2. Tiamban Beach - It is indubitably considered to be the eye-catcher spot for both local and foreign tourists.  It shows off its fine white sand beach that stretches along with its nearby beaches (Margie and Bonbon) to the Bang - Og Island. 
3. Fort San Andres and Fort Santiago - is an centuries-old Spanish fortresses built out of coral bricks and blocks to protect Romblomanons from the ravage of Moro pirates.
4. Cobrador Island - features the finest white sand beach in Romblon, Romblon. It also known for having Ilaya Cave and ample of majestic limestone formations. 
5. Mt. Bontoc - famous for having gentle to engaging trail up to the peak and favorite place for scouting activities.
6. Mt. Lagting - Romblon Island's  highest peak (444 m) that offers a wide and marvelous vista of Sibuyan Sea, Mt. Guiting Guiting and the neighboring islands of Tablas and Sibuyan.
7. St. Joseph Cathedral and Belfry - a Baroque-inspired and the oldest church in the province which was built by the Recollect Fathers in 15th century out of coral blocks. 
8. Agbanabat Cajimos and Calabogo Lighthouses - provides a wide panorama of Sibuyan Sea.
9. Romblon Town - towering over modern edifices are centuries-old bridges, houses, St. Joseph Cathedral, Fort San Andres, and century trees.

10. Agnay, Mapula, Alad, Sanctuaries - some of the Romblon's sanctuaries that carpeted with bountiful coral reefs teeming with amalgamation of marine biodiversity.

P.S. Thank you to Ma'am Marj for sharing most of her pictures to me. 

Movie Review: Helen of Troy (2003)

Characters:

Sienna Guillory as Helen
Matthew Marsden as Paris
Rufus Sewell as Agamemnon
John Rhys-Davies as King Priam of Troy
Maryam d'Abo as Queen Hecuba
Emilia Fox as Cassandra, Princess of Troy
James Callis as Menelaus
Daniel Lapaine as Hector
Nigel Whitmey as Odysseus
Stellan Skarsgård as Theseus
Joe Montana (actor) as Achilles
Katie Blake as Clytemnestra
Craig Kelly as Pollux
Manuel Cauchi as Paris' Father
Kristina Paris as Iphigenia


Running Time: 177 mins.

(c) Universal Studios

The movie, Helen of Troy revolves around the journey of Paris way back home after he was sent away from empire because Cassandra foretold that he would someday be the reason Troy will burn and fall. He was then sent to Sparta as emissary and fall into most lustful and beautiful woman in the world, Helen, who went willingly with him to Troy. The Judgment of Paris (choosing the bribe of Aphrodite, to have the fairest woman in the world, Helen) became the reason why the famous Trojan War sprung between Troy and Sparta which lasted 10 years.


Menelaus, wanted to bring Helen back to Sparta so he seeks for partnership with his brother Agamemnon.
Not being portrayed in the film, Agamemnon took advantage for the "abduction" of Helen, Menelaus' wife. So he agreed to join forces with Menelaus to launch an attack to Troy with a enormous number of armies (50,000). Menelaus wanted to get laurels and bring his wife back but Agamemnon only wanted Troy. Greed was the value being flared by Agamemnon.


The film, Helen of Troy, from the title itself, The most beautiful and lustful woman in the world. I don't think that the role of Sienna Gullory (as Helen) fits to what the mythology is being described her. My opinion, Sienna got the charm and sexual appeal but there is a lack of internalization. But somehow, It keeps its spirit to the Homer's Iliad. It has really a lot differences compared to the latest movie "Troy". Helen of Troy is more somewhat detailed and understandable in its way. The sequence of events moves coherently and based on true essence of Homer's Iliad (it must be). Unlike in 'Troy', It incorporates the story of how Helen went to Menelaus after Theseus was killed. It also incorporates the participation of Gods (Hera, Athena and Aphrodite) which brought out the color of the story and the participation of Clytemnestra. It captures and embraces the actual event that happened long ago. It should have been better if they maximize the use the panoramic views of battle arenas so that audience can see how enormous the armies are long ago. The movie also used a wide array of modern sound effects which made every battles realistic and embraced to the true essence of mythology. The actors and actresses portrayed their role very well,especially to Agamemnon and Cassandra. The participation of Cassandra really gives me a hint what will happen next in the story after she foretold the future of Troy.


The love story between Paris and Helen is just like the quotation, "Love can move/break mountains". Their passionate love to one another is intense, they have a little awareness what will happen to the future of them, and the people of Troy. It deserves 7 stars out of 10. It is a movie that is worth watching for.