Swimming with (Gentle Giants) Sharks

How to get there:
There are two ways to get to Oslob, Cebu City

Via Cebu City
From Mactan Int'l Airport, ride a taxi to Cebu South bus terminal approximately 30-40 minutes away and costs around 230 pesos. From there, find a bus that has a Bato-Oslob sign board in it and just tell the driver or his assistant to drop you off in Oslob where the famous "Butanding" is, they know the drop off points already. Bus fare is 150 pesos. Travel time 3-4 hours.

Via Dumaguete City
From downtown Dumaguete ride a tricycle to the bus terminal and you can ride any bus in there because all buses at the terminal will pass by Sibuyan Port. From Sibuyan Port, ride a fast craft to Liloan Port (Cebu City) that costs 6o pesos. Travel time is 30-45 minutes. From Liloan Port, hire a trike for 120 pesos or less depending on your haggling skills and tell the driver to take you where you can swim with the "Butanding".

Ilocos Sur: All Around Vigan

It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Though we just stayed in Vigan for eight hours only but it was a well spend eight hours. We arrived at two in the afternoon then had our lunch in the not so usual Spanish type Jolibee store. Kudos to the local government for keeping the town in it's original way. We headed first to Baluarte ( Gov. Chavit Singson's private zoo that is open to the public - will make another blog post for it). Then after Baluarte, we went to see one of the oldest church in the north, St. Paul's Cathedral where our friends had their mass. And since we don't do mass, we decided to tour around Calle Crisologo, which is famous for their cobblestone houses, by riding a "kalesa" (horse-drawn carriages) that costs a hundred bucks for a thirty minute ride around Calle Crisologo with the "manong" as the tour guide that barely understands Tagalog or English, we just made the most out of the tour by satisfying our eyes with the view and appreciating the 18th Century Spanish establishment that we had seen around and just laughed at our luck for having a guide that can't understands us. I just hope that not all "kalesa" drivers are like that. The tour had a quick stopover in the local pottery shop, on where you can buy souvenirs  And at seven in the evening, usually after the church's mass, in the town's plaza, there was a dancing fountain show, it was beautiful, actually it was the best dancing fountain show I've seen so far...with it's colorful lighting that changes color in an instant, water that looks like there dancing and singing unto you, plus the energy and the excitement of the crowd, both locals and tourists, it was so special and perfect..we told ourselves nga na it was the perfect way to end our Ilocos Region tour. 

St. Paul's Cathedral and the Dancing Fountain in the Park

If your planning to visit Vigan, I recommend that you visit it at night because the town is at its best at night, especially Calle Crisologo, the yellow light that lights the street adds more effect to the famous cobblestone houses that makes you feel like your walking in the alleys of the 18th century  minus the crowd of course.  It gets touristy at night. 

Around Calle Crisologo at Night

Tourists everywhere.

It's like in the movies, so surreal. Walking around Calle Crisologo made me feel like I am in the streets of Spain...Oh wait...I was never been to Spain! hahaha, but really, our picture did not do justice in what Calle Crisologo looks like at night, it's more than that...So, when your around Ilocos Sur, don't forget to take a look at this hispanic heritage town that will surely take you back in time.

                                                                               Xx, Ypai

Byaheng Surigao: Tinuy-an Falls

The last stop of our Byaheng Surigao adventure. An hour away from Enchanted River by van, with an entrance fee of P50. Known to be the Niagara falls of the Philippines for it looks like the famous Niagara Falls in Canada. The falls was stunning itself. But if you want to enjoy the falls, be adventurous like us. We rode a "balsa" (bamboo water raft) to the center of the falls where the water fell and it was like we were in the middle of a typhoon! The experience was so crazy! We were balancing our weights in the "balsa" for we might be outbalanced and the water is so deep and not all of us were wearing life vest! I can't merely open my eyes because of the impact of the water from the falls that falling unto us and its so cold! Extra cold for me because I was feeling feverish at that time. But the fun must go on in spite of me not feeling well and it was just crazy fun! We were all having fun.

Looking Magnificent 

The Falls and The "Balsa"

For the safety of our slippers!

After the "balsa" experience, the guide asked us if we want to go to the upper section of the falls but we have to pay him an extra hundred bucks, the group agreed. Though we found out later that it was not necessary to have a tour guide with us, you can easily find your way up to the higher part of the falls, but having a guide gave us an official photographer and that can't be bad for a hundred bucks right? According to our tour guide, you can rent a waterproof camera for P200. 

The way to the Upper Section of the falls.

The Upper Falls.

The view form the top.

To sum it up, the whole experience was totally crazy in a fun way.

                                                                    Xx, Ypai

Ilocos Norte: Sunset At Cape Bojeador

The perfect place to see the sunset when your around Ilocos Region. According to our guide Kuya Lawrence, the sun last sets in Ilocos Norte. Just notice the picture of our group below and see the magical effect of the sunset that brings an eerie feeling to the picture...it looks like it was taken a century ago!

(Cape Bojeador is facing the ocean where the sun sets) 

Before, when I still had not seen any sunset or sunrise in another place, I used to think that I'm more of a sunrise person but when I saw sunset at Cape Bojeador and compared it with the sunrise in Mt. Apo a month after, I decided that I love sunsets more. There is just something about the sun kissing the ocean and its bright-dark yellow color. It may look like or may seem like an ending, for sunsets are often associated with endings...for me, it is not. It is like, you know the day has ended and then darkness is near but deep down, you also knew that it's not the end, that there is hope in sunsets, though the sun had set, you knew that in the next day it will rise again.

sunset at Cape Bojeador

 In that very moment, that's the moment that we feel hope and should ponder upon ourselves and think about our life through the night and know that there will always be hope that comes through sunsets 'til its sunrise.

                                                                   Xx, Ypai

Chilly Sunrise Catching At Mt. Apo

I was fortunate enough to have witnessed sunrise at the highest peak in the Philippines! It was only a quarter before five in the morning, with a temperature of below 10C and I was freezing! An ice-cold freezing! But I can't miss the sunrise, I already missed the sunset the afternoon before. So, with my life saver coat literally and a head lamp, we headed up to the other peak of Mt. Apo for a better visualizations of the sunrise. And after five minutes of an exhausting hike, jog and run ( and I am not exaggerating here for we were afraid that we were too late already and trust me, it was my most tiring moment in Mt. Apo). We arrived at the peak and thankfully, no sun in sight yet. While waiting for the sun to shine, we had our devotional first and said our prayer of thankfulness for the opportunity for us to be able to be there with no harm done. And a little while after our devotional, right in front our very bare eyes, the beauty of the sun and its first ray, with clouds that at some point teases us by covering the sun while we were having our photo op. We waited for a few moment and the sun was visible again. We were just having the time of our lives taking pictures of the sun, catching its perfect fire-ball color and shape, watching and waiting for the sun taking up its time for us. It was an amazing, felt-darn-good moment. Great moment. Knowing that I'm standing at the highest peak in my country, sunrise in front of me, sea of clouds surrounding me that makes me feel like jumping 'coz it looks so soft, with wild berries on the side as snacks plus mountains and forest below me..it was just...Wow. Amazing. Awesome. No words can describe what I was feeling at that moment. It made me appreciate nature even more and in awed of God's work. 


                                 



                            

 

Made me realized that things happen in God's perfect time, there may be clouds covering it along the way but if it is bound to happen and if it is really meant to happen for you...just have faith in God and it will happen in God's perfect time.

                                                                                Xx, Ypai

Sagada: Supa-Fun Birthday Spelunking

I never expected that I will do spelunking in Sagada. I read about it many times for it's one of the famous things to do when your in there. Though it's part of my itinerary, I was not hopping that we can do it because first, I am travelling with a friend alone and according to what I've read, it needs to have at least a group of five or six for the guide to accompany you..and it's kinda scary to be in a cave with only the three of you and not to mention it's kinda pricey too. But when your being friendly and make friends to the people that you meet on the road, especially to those who have the same plan as yours, it pays off. You will find new friends, earn a lesson or two from them, share other travel experiences with them and more importantly, it will lessen your
travel expenses especially to tours that comes in group. And we were so fortunate that we found new friends along the way so we decided to do the spelunking. We paid 400/person for three guides. It is a fix rate for tour guide fees. 

The spelunking experience was fun though a bit tiring but not much. The stalactites and stalagmites and other rock formations inside the cave made me think what was the cave look like a century ago? Our guide told us that the locals believed that the cave was once full of water and in proof, he show us a shell that is engraved in the higher part of a rock, it can be true..But whatever was the cave before, let us leave it that way, a mystery and just be thankful to have seen and experienced such wonders. It's too good to be true, biggest cave I have explored so far. Anyway, it's a two cave connected to each other. The Lumiang and Sumaguing Caves. You can do the 2-4 hours cave connection spelunking or just the Sumaguing Cave alone. We did the cave connection after a couple of minutes of debate and not regretted it at all. When you let your imagination go full speed when your inside the cave, you can surely formed a lot of things and they really looks like it! 

Here are some pictures of the rock formations that can be seen inside the cave. Enjoy and use your wildest imagination!