Tag: Philippines

Summer in Oslob: Whale Shark Warning and Tumalog Falls

Environmentalists and conservationists reading this are going to shake their heads knowing that there’s one more tourist who swam with whale sharks in Oslob. For those planning to do the same, I’m not going to discourage you to do it. But you should know that according to a study by LAMAVE Foundation, a non-profit organization that conducts research on the ocean and its inhabitants, tourists shouldn’t support swimming with the whale sharks or butanding in Oslob because the practices of the boatmen modify the behavior and migration patterns of whale sharks which might affect their survival in the long run.

I’m not trying to be activist-y about the whole thing since that would be hypocritical of me. But I’ve decided not to provide details of the activity that will help you plan your itinerary. You’ll have to check out other travel blogs for that. I also won’t include photos of me swimming with a butanding to avoid glamorizing it.

Generally, I don’t mind sea creatures as long as they don’t come near me so I was excited and anxious to see a butanding up close. Our boatman said that the whale sharks we saw that day were young. The baby whale sharks were around twelve feet long and I could’ve easily fit in their mouths so an adult whale shark would be legit scary.

Small boats carrying tourists were lined up in one row while one boat guided the whale sharks back and forth along the row. I followed the whale sharks as they swam which wasn’t easy. They created a strong current behind them every time they swung their tail fins and the fins I rented were pretty useless. I panicked when they did a 180-degree turn forcing me to be face to face with them. But they didn’t care for anyone except the boatman feeding them plankton. It was amazing to see such huge creatures acting like domesticated pets.

I would love to swim with whale sharks in the “proper, sustainable way.” In other butanding watching sites, there’s only a certain time of the year when you could spot them. But in Oslob, there’s a hundred percent chance of a sighting. And even if you chance upon them in those other sites, you still need, at least, amateur diving skills to get the same experience as the one in Oslob. So I understand why tourists would flock to Oslob for convenience.

After swimming with whale sharks, we went to Tumalog Falls. The motorcycle ride to and from the falls cost Php 150 while the entrance fee is Php 20. You could ride a motorcycle from the entrance to the falls for an additional fee. We decided to walk since the administrator said it was only 500 meters away.

Tumalog Falls was majestic and somewhat otherworldly. My boyfriend said it looked like Rivendell, where the elves in Lord of the Rings lived. The fine, misty water fell in a shallow and muddy water basin. It looked magical especially when beams of light escaped from the leaves of the surrounding trees and hit the water.

We washed off the salt from our bodies in the refreshing, cold water. After a while, we were freezing. Also, it got a little creepy when we had the falls all to ourselves so we went back to our inn, ate breakfast, and left for the city.

The whale sharks distinguish Oslob from other municipalities in Cebu that have better beaches and food so I don’t know if Oslobanons are in any particular hurry to find a more sustainable way of managing the activity, especially if that would mean a decrease in their income. Tumalog Falls is not enough to entice people to visit the area because, aside from a lack of facility, the water basin is too muddy to swim in. In the end, it’s going to be an issue of the preservation of the butanding against the livelihood of the locals. Best of luck, Oslob.

Read the first part of my Oslob trip.

You might also want to read Welcoming summer at Bantayan Island; Bantayan Island Day 2: The Quest for Caves

Summer in Oslob: Sumilon Day Tour

If I haven’t gushed about Cebu, then let me have a moment to do that now. I love Cebu. I’ve only had good memories there. I’ve been visiting the province at least once for the past five years and I can’t get enough. Cebu has two things that I like about Life: good food (specifically, lechon) and beaches.

Most beaches in Cebu are accessible, not secluded places that you can have all to yourself. But that doesn’t make them any less special. I welcome some semblance of civilization in the beaches I go to because you have internet and higher chances of eating good food.

Oslob is one of those non-remote places located in the south of Cebu and it’s popular for its whale sharks. Many blogs I’ve read when I was researching for this trip opted to swim with the whale sharks on their first day. It’s better to do the whale shark activity very early in the morning so that there are fewer tourists. But my boyfriend and I were coming from Cebu City and we refused to rush ourselves to get to Oslob in time for that so we decided to schedule the whale sharks on the second day of our trip. We went to Sumilon Island for our first day instead.

Sumilon is a private island and its only resort is the Bluewater Sumilon Island Resort. For people who aren’t willing/can’t afford the resort’s overnight room rates like myself, they offer day tours. We went to Sumilon because Oslob itself doesn’t have a proper beach. Sumilon Island brags of a beach sandbar and we’re always game for one.

View of Sumilon Island from the dock at Bancogon

To get to Sumilon from Cebu City, take a bus going to Tan-Awan or Oslob (Php 150 for an air-conditioned bus) at the South Bus Terminal. We left at around 5 A.M. and arrived at our destination three hours later. If you want to go straight to the station where the ferry to Sumilon Island docks, you can ask the bus driver to drop you off at Bancogon. We decided to drop off our bags in our “hotel” first before going to the dock.

We stayed at MB Sunrise, which was along the highway, in a fan room (Php 800) that could accommodate three people. MB Sunrise is not a hotel. It’s more of an inn. It’s a big-ish house with rooms they rent out to tourists. Their location is strategic because it’s only a few minutes away from the dock going to Sumilon Island, the whale watching area and Tumalog falls. However, I don’t recommend for you to stay there if you’re not into roughing it. The fan room doesn’t have its own bathroom. I wouldn’t have minded sharing bathrooms with other guests except the bathroom was located outside the actual house and IT HAD NO ROOF. If someone looked out of the windows at the second floor, they could see you pooping. If you will stay at MB Sunrise, maybe get an air-conditioned room because these rooms have a private bathroom. Also, bring a malong or some sheet you could place on top of their bed sheets because if you have sensitive skin, you will cringe at the bed sheet situation.

We rented a motorcycle to take us to Bancogon. The day tour to Sumilon Island is Php 1,500 on weekdays and Php 2,000 on weekends and holidays. This is another reason why we opted to put Sumilon on the first day. We arrived on a Friday and were able to avail the weekday rate. The day tour includes boat transfers to and from the island, lunch, use of swimming facilities, towels and snorkel gear. If you want to time your arrival to their boat schedule, you can check it out here.

At Bancogon, taking a selfie

We missed the 9:30 am departure so we had to wait for the 11:00 am one. They provided a free drink at the dock. The dock itself was not too shabby. They have comfortable beach chairs and clean restrooms. Lounging at the dock while waiting for the next ferry with the hot breeze blowing on your face was a welcome change after being cooped up in a bus.

We arrived at Sumilon Island in time for lunch and we were ecstatic because we haven’t had a proper meal since we left Cebu City. I assumed that the set lunch would only be one plate of food with everything on it but it was served family-style. They even provided two additional menu items on top of the set meal which was pretty great. The food itself was just okay but the fact that we were offered more than we expected and ate while overlooking the sea made up for the bland food.

The things you could do at the island were trek, kayak and swim, and we did all of them. We did the trekking first. We thought the trek would be easy because the receptionist said it would take only 45 minutes. However, the path of the trek is mostly jagged rocks. The island was probably underwater a long time ago that’s why the rock formations are that way. Good thing we took walking sticks that were available at the start of the trek. We needed them for more stability because if we made a wrong step and fell down, we could’ve easily cut our knees or the palms of our hands on those sharp rocks. The view at the top is not something to rave about. The trek ended at the beach and when we saw it, we gratefully submerged ourselves in the water because it was so hot that day.

Entertaining myself with walking sticks
Look at that clear blue sky and bright sunshine and imagine how fucking hot it was that day.

We went kayaking after. The area for kayaking was a small swamp with murky water that reminded me of the Dead Marshes scene from Lord of the Rings.

“The Dead Marshes. Yes, yes! That is their name. This way. don’t follow the lights.”

Afterwards, we got snorkeling gears and went back to the beach hoping to experience the famed sandbar. I guess it was high tide because we saw none of it. The beach itself was not as powdery as I hoped. There were corals on the floor that hurt your feet if you step on it.

If you look closely, you’ll see that I’m wearing flip-flops to avoid hurting my feet.

We also tried their swimming pool which was as much of an experience as all basic swimming pools go. By five o’clock, it was time to wait for the ferry again.

Despite the island being lackluster, I would still recommend the Sumilon day tour because that’s the closest thing to a beach situation you’ll have in that area of Cebu. The beach in Oslob is more suitable for diving and not dipping. And if you just want to chill, Sumilon is a good place to do that.

Happy day tourists

Bantayan Island Day 2: The Quest for Caves

Must eat: Bantayan danggit, a less salty yet more flavorful dried fish than the ones in Cebu City

Our goal on the second day of our Bantayan Island getaway was to visit Ogtong cave and swim in freshwater. It’s not that we were tired of swimming in the beach but more because of I want to experience swimming inside a cave. Sadly though, swimming in the cave is only allowed for checked in guests at the Ogtong Cave Resort. According to the receptionist, this is a DENR directive to preserve the quality of water inside the cave. Walk-in guests can still enter the cave for 100 pesos and take pictures inside. The entrance fee also includes swimming rights to the resort’s pool if you really want a dip in the water. We decided not to see the inside of Ogtong Cave anymore if we didn’t get to swim anyway since there’s one more cave in the island that’s said to be bigger than the one in Ogtong. This cave is located at Bantayan Island Nature Park and Resort which is 30 minutes away from the main beach area.

We had a hard time deciding whether we will push through visiting that other cave because we found the price a little steep (500 pesos round trip). One thing about Bantayan: getting around the island will burn your travel money fast. If you can avoid riding the tricycles to get to where you’re going, you can save a lot. For those who can ride a motorcycle, you can rent motorcycles in your hotel or at one of the stalls along the main road on an hourly or daily charging. They also rent out bicycles which is what we did. Bikes are 35 pesos per hour and 150 pesos per day, which is not bad considering a 10-minute tricycle ride will already cost you 80 pesos. If there’s one thing I regret in our trip, it’s not renting out bicycles from Day 1 not only because of the money we could’ve saved but also because it was so much fun and freeing getting around the island on a bike.

The road to Bantayan Island Nature Park and Resort is not paved so we were bouncing inside the sidecar throughout that ride. Very hard butt massage we experienced on that trip. We visited on a Monday and lucky for us, that’s when they rehabilitate the water so no one is allowed to swim. We were butt massaged for nothing. But since we were there anyway, we decided that we might as well see the cave for a 75 pesos entrance fee. And it was a letdown. I thought that there will be some spelunking involved but it was basically just a hole in the ground with some water in the bottom.

Cave at Bantayan Island Nature Park and Resort

We ended our day on a low note BUT I would definitely go back to Bantayan and next time I won’t stress about seeing and experiencing all the things the island has to offer. I will just stay on the beach, drink a cold mango smoothie, probably read a book and ride my bike out whenever I get hungry. Here’s a photo of Sisig-Stuffed Squid from Zubuchon to make us all happy:

YES.

Read the first part of our trip to Bantayan.

Welcoming summer at Bantayan Island

I have visited Cebu multiple times last year yet I only got to see its beaches this year. I went to Moalboal last January which is in the southern part of Cebu. But to start off the beginning of summer, I decided to go up north and visit Bantayan Island.

Bantayan is five hours away from Cebu City if you include the waiting time, so if you’re planning to go there, I suggest you wake up early and ready your butts for prolonged sitting. To get to Bantayan Island from Cebu City, go to the North Bus Terminal and take the bus bound for Hagnaya. The air-conditioned Ceres buses cost 150 pesos. I love riding provincial buses because you’re forced to listen to cheesy songs you wouldn’t willingly listen to like April Boy Regino, Air Supply and Freddie Aguilar. But for people with low tolerance for this, definitely bring something to entertain yourself because it is a long ride.

The bus ride takes almost three hours, the last stop of which is at Hagnaya port where you will purchase your ferry tickets to get you to Santa Fe port. Our bus which left at 6:20 am arrived just in time to catch the 9:30 am boarding for the Island Shipping Ferry. A ticket to Sante Fe port is 170 pesos plus 10 pesos terminal fee. This will not be first class accommodations so be prepared. Basically you’ll be sitting on long plastic chairs for an hour, hopefully not nursing sea sickness.

Once you get to Santa Fe port, you will be bombarded by porters and tricycle drivers offering their services to take you to your hotel or better yet suggest a hotel where you could stay in. We researched for hotels in Bantayan and liked these three based on pictures and reviews: Anika Island Resort, Ogtong Cave Resort and Cou Cou Bar, Hotel and Restaurant. We went to our first option Anika Island Resort because it’s the hotel directly in front of the beach. We were lucky and got their last available courtyard room which is 1500 pesos per night.

Beachfront of Anika Island Resort. Photo courtesy of Mr. Lopsided.

Anika Island Resort is one of the main reasons that I would want to go back to Bantayan. I was very impressed. Even though their courtyard room is tiny, it is still very comfy and cozy. I always love it when I get to stay at a hotel or resort that uses white bedsheets and they had that as well. Plus the room is very clean and all the appliances are working. I also love their attention to detail because they have showers outside and a faucet on the foot of the stairs so that you could wash off the sand before you climb up to your room. And there’s always a staff of Anika cleaning the beach from seagrass that washed up on the shore unlike the other resorts in that area.

Bantayan Island boasts of sand as fine as powder and they were not kidding. It is the kind of sand that you could easily wash off, sand that doesn’t hurt your feet or knees, sand that’s almost as soft as clay when it’s wet that you can attempt to make a ceramic mug out of it. I could just lie on that soft sand all day and bake under the sun. Just one thing though, the water smells a little like gasoline by late afternoon, probably because of the ferries that dock at the Santa Fe port.

Super fine and soft sand at Bantayan Island

We capped off our evening with dinner at Ogtong Cave Resort which is 20 minutes away from Anika by pedicab. A pedicab or padyak, as the locals call it, is just a bicycle with a sidecar attached to it. You can also take a tricycle to Ogtong Cave Resort for a faster trip but we decided on a pedicab for a change of pace. I really enjoyed this pedicab ride because it epitomized life at Bantayan – slow, relaxed and quiet. The night was cold but comforting, and the moon shone brightly, its light peeping every so often in between the leaves of coconut trees. The smell of grilled fish pervaded the island. And the road was quiet and dark broken only by the sounds of motorbikes driving by or the barking of dogs.

Anika Island Resort at night.

If you want a relaxing summer vacation, Bantayan Island should definitely be one of the places you should consider visiting.

Read Day 2 of our trip to Bantayan.