Going South

Dining
While eating home cooked food remains the best option, dining out is still the most practical alternative for a day or two trip out of town to relax and unwind. Be prepared though, especially in an unchartered territory. Surprises are good but they don’t bide well with an empty stomach. If possible, play safe in making choices, or forever hold your peace. Alex Kafe was published many times over as the place to eat when in Argao. That must be the reason why the food doesn’t come cheap. Main dishes start at Php 40.00 and its good for one person only. Most of the items on the menu are not available (like fish stew and fruit shakes) so make do with a substitute. Beware of Chicken/Beef Mami. It looks and tastes like Lucky Me instant noodles (with one whole egg added).
Never underestimate the power of suggestion. After devouring enormous information about Argao’s “torta” as a “must eat”, a stop at Chitang’s store was necessitated. As publicized, it was a cupcake version, about 6-in in diameter, topped with raisins, grated cheese and a dusting of refined sugar granules. At 30 apiece, it is a filling “merienda” (took me three sittings to finish one) .

Sleeping
Abella’s pension house is a steal at Php 1200 a night. The two-bedroom apartment is fully furnished. The bedrooms are air-conditioned and come with a king-sized bed and a closet. The living area has a television, a mini-refrigerator, a stove, dining and cooking utensils. For a big group, it is best to stake a claim early on for a comfortable space on the bed for catching zzzzs at the end of the day.

Swimming

The beach is only a ride away from the pueblo. The narrow strip has black and white pebbles of assorted sizes lining its bottom (therapeutic to the athritic feet) and the sun-warmed water is so clear that it's impossible not to be tempted to get in even for an hour or two. Regretfully, by sundown, the beach was deserted; pitch dark and nary a star lit the moonless sky. A handful of locals skim board nearby while fishermen cast their nets the last time before calling it a day.

Trekking
There is only one way to Bugasok Falls, apparently designed for “habal-habal’ to pass through. It is less challenging for an experienced hiker but it proved tough for a non-four wheel drive vehicle and its driver. The hike trail to the falls was not well trodden. It looks like only a few wanderers have visited the place. But it’s well worth the time and the exertion seeing the silent waters drop through a gap on the stone gorge which is said to serve as port to a magical golden ship that visit the place on occasions. The locals are accommodating and “taking advantage of the clueless tourists” must be unheard of in the place. Buko, freshly picked sold at Php 5.00 apiece, was a fitting thirst quencher to cap the adventure.

Visiting the Past
San Miguel Arcangel is said to be the second oldest church in Cebu. It also houses one of the 14 pipe organs in the country. A feeling of being back in time is almost real especially sitting on old carved wooden pews near the altar. You could almost imagine señoritas batting their eyelashes to the young friars beneath their fans. What they did to the altar images was an eyesore to say the least. The priest, apparently, has a completely different notion of preservation or rehabilitation. It’s a good thing the façade looked untouched.

Side Trip

Marian Monastery, Simala, Sibonga

Bas Relief on Argao Church facade

Calm before the rush, Bugasok Falls (atop the stone gorge)

Boljoon...where the mountain meets the sea
centuries old Boljoon Church

Bohol again...

from coastal moalboal to the mountain springs of kawasan

The downside of going with a big group is the seemingly endless waiting. We (Pats, Ems, Pacer and myself) were already at the Citilink bright and early but it took 2 doughnuts, a chocodrink and half a liter of water to pacify our stomachs before the rest of the gang (Tokiwa boys and girls) turned up. All fourteen of us crammed inside the van that ply the area with one pair of sweethearts sharing one seat for the roughly two-hour trip to Moalboal. Despite the inconvenience, we still paid Php 80.00 each.

When you come to think of it, it is better to be packed with somebody you know rather than sit on a bus next to some shady character.
We were met by Opao at the highway while Evs got busy with lunch which justified the relative difficulty of our trip. The meal consisted of chicharong bulaklak, tinolang manok, rice, cola and bananas as big as my arm. The Abangans were also instrumental in our availing a sizable discount at Clarita's Lodge. All fourteen of us were allowed to share the twin sharing room for the night. The inn was located at the end of a long stretch of beach resorts and can be accessed from Moalboal market via a tricycle that charged Php 6.00 per head.It has a pugon where we prepared our meals and a veranda overlooking a small patch of sand and swimming area where we enjoyed our food.
Next to it was a discohouse but that was out of our schedule which consisted mainly of swimming until we're wiped out. When we're out of the water, we walked around the area and looked into what other resorts had to offer.
There's a countless number of accommodation to choose from and most are dirt cheap given the extent of the amenities they offered.
One signage in particular caught my eye and it said "He who all here enter abandon all hope (to walk out sober)."
In the morning, when the tide is low, a completely different and astounding sight greeted the early birds; like corals of all shape and color, sea urchins and starfish.
High tide was slow to come so we said goodbye to the innkeeper and jumped into the PUJ we hired (Php 10.00 per head) that dropped us in Badian, at the jump-off point to an uphill hike to the Kawasan Falls. The trail to the three major falls were all navigable but we chose to frolic in the frigid waters of the second falls. We rented out a bamboo raft for Php 90.00 which took us to and through the cascading waters. Something drew out the kids in us that had us dare jumping off from one of the smaller cascades and into the swimming basin. But afternoon came too soon and we had to leave. We all slept on the bus ride back to Cebu.

hambongan...lived to tell the tale

indeed...during the last hour of our trip back to buyong from a 2-day tryst in the islands of bohol, we all thought that we were already on our way to meeting our creator.

we left hambongan an hour later as planned, deciding to snorkel at the sanctuary which the locals boast to be the best place for said activity. the amazing treasures that greeted us in the underwater kingdom held us spellbound that we only realized later that an hour has already elapsed and it was time to leave.

the trip back started okay with the waters mildly rough...rough but manageable that i squatted 3 seats from the edge of the prow...for a spell, our small banca rocked a bit (a little less frightening than enchanted kingdom's log jam)...but when mactan island was already in sight, the waves seemed bigger, and stronger...our navigator was a fine one, adjusting our speed and direction, riding the wave and veering away from it before it reaches its crest and completing its cycle...crashing wildly back into the sea...with the thought in mind that waves twice as big as our banca is a common thing, i was perfectly calm, talking animatedly with joan and lira until i saw verna move back and held onto the sides with both arms asking for a lifevest...i donned my lifejacket then, sat still and waited for our end...

but God is good, we're back...unscathed...another reason to be grateful

hambongan...calm before the storm

shooting the rapids...pagsanjan falls

I lived a third of my lifetime in and around Laguna but I have never been to the world renowned Pagsanjan Falls. I was short of falling off my seat when sis extended the invitation to come. The objective was to guide two of her Korean English students, Brad and Angela (Park Inkyu and Choi Hyun Mi), to the area for the weekend and to see them off for their exit from the country (via Clark).

I literally ran from the house to the airport. Earlier, our Entrepreneur class had an excursion in Bohol. We almost didn't make it to the Pier in time for our ferry trip back to Cebu. A hearse marched before us in Panglao and the wait almost took forever (or it seemed).

The flight going to Manila was uneventful. I was met at the airport by sis and niece Lyla. It was a long way to Pasig but I opted to stay there if only to reunite with cousins and nieces whom I have seen last in 2000 when lolo passed away. The driver attempted to quiz us of our familiarity with the area. I kept mum the whole time as Pasig has never been a part of my homes away from home back in college. God is good! We arrived safely but clearly taken advantaged of.

On my first morning there, we left with Fatima who dropped us at the mall on her way to the office. We took the MRT (my first ride-it was still under construction when I left Luzon for good) in going to sis' Hotel in Ermita. They (sis and her two Korean ESL Students Angela and Brad) were already set to go. We took a taxi to Buendia for the Southbound buses. The airconditioned trip to Los Baños cost Php 80.00.

Except for the Robinson's Mall in front of the Catholic Church, everything looked pretty much the same in Los Baños.

We went directly to ACCI Dorm (inside the UPLB Campus) and checked in for a night's stay before taking a jeep going to South Supermarket where Ate Jenn (the same who adopted me during my stint at CMI in San Pablo) agreed to meet us.

Going to Pagsanjan wasnt difficult. The resorts that offer "shooting the rapids" excursions were only a short walk away from the hi-way. At the town center, PUJs can be hailed right in front of the Jollibee store where we had a rather heavy lunch.

The rates presented to us were the same as published in the town's tourism website.

With our (ate jenn's and mine) combined weight, our bangkeros were quite challenged in navigating the bangka, especially upstream.

There are two stops upstream for meals where vendors would ply their wares and convince the tourist to part with their money playing on

There was nothing special about the falls itself. The amazing part though is that one needs to ride a small boat upstream to get to it. The boulders fazed me so much; it renewed my amazement to the creator who so designed it.

Almost back at the resort and about to disembark, I sat back right in when I felt a cramp as big as my fist on my left leg. It must have been the cold (we didn't bring a change of clothing) and our sitting position that didn't allow much leg movement that caused it.

a wedding in dumaguete

December 18, 2004 was the wedding date of my high school classmate, Richard Ginete. I was lucky it was set on the first day that the office shut down for the holidays. Days before that, I agreed to meet Rollen and the other guys (George, Jet and Ritchie) at the Pension house where we will be spending the night.
I took the Cebu-Santander-Dumaguete Ceres route. Still feeling the effects of the bottomless draft beer I imbibed in the Company Christmas party only hours before I was due on the road, I slept for the most part of the Cebu land trip.
Ceres left the South Bus Terminal at 3:00 a.m. It was already light when we reached Santander (which took about 3 hours). I struggled to keep my eyes open when I saw the majestic old houses along the highway in Oslob on my right and the sparkling clear sea water on my left. But sleepy as I was, the next time I knew the barge crew was shaking me awake to collect my fare (Php 35.00 for a 30 min ride that it took to cross the sea separating Santander, Cebu and San Jose, Negros Oriental).
When the bus was back on terra firma, I endeavored to keep myself awake for fear of missing my stop. The konduktor had the driver drop me off at the Bethel Guesthouse. Wow, that was easy.
I met the groom at some beachfront resort. Apparently I was one of the early birds except for the the best man, Toke, who arrived from the US days earlier for the event and Marlon, the groom's older brother whom I almost failed to recognize for all the weight he'd shed from triathlon.
Lunch was uneventful. We (Rollen and family, George and Mabel) ate at Manokan (?) which was just a stone's throw away from the Guest House where I promptly slept as soon as my back hit the downy mattress.
A non too gentle dent on the mattress roused me from a much needed nap. It was Jet, who was intent on my joining the living, with Ritchie on his wake. It was already past four and there was only enough time to prepare for the wedding.
Having practically grown together, I never expected Richard to be so sweet. I got misty-eyed when he articulated his vows to Anne. I guess, I never really got to know my friends enough to see through their juvenile blunders.
The following morning, I barged into the boys' room and demanded breakfast. I learned that they went out for some beers at the boulevard the previous night while I caught up with my much needed sleep.
Jet, our guide for this trip, brought us at the local market, just behind this old bellfry where we had stewed fish and rice. Coffee followed at Dunkin Donuts a few blocks away. We had one picture taken with the Silliman U church behind us shortly before we (i reluctantly) left this seaside haven for a long trip (5 hours) home via Mabinay.