Bantayan Island + Virgin Island

Bantayan Island, Cebu

In the wee hours of the morn, 4 am, we headed to North Bus Terminal, hopped on a bus to Hagnaya Port and maximized the much needed sleep for about 4 hours. Bus fare does not exceed P200 I think.



We arrived at San Remegio and boarded a ferry (1 hour) to Sta. Fe, Bantayan Island. In San Remegio, we passed by a lot of historic buildings... and you probably know by now how I feel about history if you're a frequent reader of my chronicles. If not, check my previous gushy travel posts here.

Reminds me of Thailand's Tuktuk. 

Having travelled at least half of the country, I have developed a fascination for the unique style of public transportations - tricycles particularly. Planning to do a post about this when I get enough pictures and have gone to a lot more places.

//Can you imagine how much profit each driver would earn every full ride?

Pardon the haggard faces. This was our third day in Cebu. Third day of going home around 12 am and getting up at 3 am to catch the bus to the ends of the island. We tried hard maximize our time to go to all the places in my itinerary and eat all the lechon and local delicacies we could.



Cheap eats because budget travellers. I tried my first octopus (P35 for a big serving good for 2-3 people) here! My love for tentacles was sated and my braces managed to hold on hahaha.

From the big gate of the docking port, walk straight for awhile and you'll see this on the left side.



We rented 2 motorcycles from the locals for less than P300 each. It looks like I'm driving fast but in reality, I was so slow that people who saw me driving were chuckling. Plus, I was like calling out to Atsi Hanna the whole time about how scared I was of accidentally running over somebody, attacking a house or heading straight on to another vehicle. I am a hazardous driver. Beware.

I feel like we've been conned with the motorcycles because it does not work properly (?). That or my friends and I are just used to driving perfectly working motorcycles and not something that you have to tweak or pray over to work.





Bantayan Island was actually one of the places that suffered the brunt of Typhoon Haiyan. You can still see what it left in its wake especially in residential coastal areas.

//We weren't able to really go explore much of Bantayan because we had to catch the last trip back to Cebu proper... -.-

Virgin Island, Cebu

From Bantayan Island, we rode a bangka to Virgin Island. The bangka usually costs P1200-1500 but we've got super awesome haggling skills so we rented it for only P800 for 2 islands - though we were not able to go to the other island because we enjoyed this one a bit much.

Follow me and my non-existent love life haha

Rentals:
Snorkels: P100/hr

Rubber Boats: 500/hr or P200/hr

Rowboats: P100/hr

Swimming Floats: P100/2 hrs or P50/ 2 hrs

Towels: P100

*deposit of P200

Cottages: P300, P500, P800 or P1000

Table and Chairs: P300 (extra chair: P50 each)

Virgin Island rates as of December 2014. The island pretty much caters to foreigners. I don't think I encountered any Filipinos there except for the staffs. //Pretty much Manila pool rates






I especially like staring at the last picture every free time I get. And imagine that I was back there feeling the sun and not stressing over accounting. Uni is stressing meee #SummerFeels

Accidentally deleted the raws TT_TT I thought that when you click "delete from disk" in Lightroom, it would delete the copy but nooo the original gets deleted. I cry because I've been doing this since late last year and I just realized this now. I'm just still so thankful right now that I actually keep this blog so not really everything is lost (unless Google decides to shut me down).

I tried my very best to get a darker skin tone. Or have that bikini tan line. It lasted for a few days - too good to last long lol

This post finally ends my December 2014 Cebu series! I can finally start on Negros Oriental posts. Planning to finish posting my December posts before June but I doubt it. I also have like 3-5 restaurant or cafe posts on queue right now -.- And the torture of studying does not end 'til first week of June.

Watch in HD!

Sibonga, Cebu: Monastery of the Holy Eucharist | Oslob, Cebu | Cebu Video Diary | Cebu City

Sibonga, Cebu: Monastery of the Holy Eucharist

I've had my fair share of religious places. I thought the Monastery of Transfiguration in Malaybalay, Bukidnon and the Divine Mercy Shrine in El Salvador, Cagayan de Oro (tallest in the world!) was as good as it's gonna get in the Philippines. Boy, was I proven wrong when I saw this shrine in Cebu.

In our "true" itinerary that I've made, not considering the time constraint, I've actually planned to visit all these little towns like Barili, Carcar, Badian, etc. Upon realizing the physically impossible feat of doing all that in under 5 days plus a probable side tour to Bohol/Dumaguete, we decided to just stick with one place outside the city proper (It takes around 4-5 hours travelling TO one of the places in our list that is outside the city proper).

For this day, we only planned for Oslob but as we were getting back to the main city, my friends decided that we should push one more place in our list. We only knew the name of the place and not how to get there but nevertheless, we hopped off the bus as it approached Sibonga (ride the bus from South Bus Terminal if you're coming from the city proper).

Where the bus passes by or drops you off is pretty much their town proper already. We asked for directions and we were advised to take a habal-habal (motorcycle) to the place. I think fare should not exceed P100/person unless you are being conned. From the town to the shrine takes more than 10 minutes if I remember correctly because you are going to apparently really get dropped off on top of the mountain!

I suggest you wear appropriate clothes - no short shorts or sleeveless. Do not follow my example or you would have to make-shift your jacket into a skirt.

Also, the Shrine closes at 6pm. Sadly we arrived with only 30 minutes to spare so we had to speed tour the area - a great disrespect for such a solemn place if you ask me.

When I saw this view, I thought I was witnessing the construction of a castle or a Disneyland on top of the mountains because of the throngs of families in the place. Big? Massive? Humongous? I can't think of a bigger word to describe it.

See my hand in the last picture? I got some photos from Atsi Hanna

My friend has been here way back and as you can see, construction is still on-going and I believe will be for quite some time as only donations are used for its construction (?).

The Monastery of the Holy Eucharist or as the locals call it, Birhen ng Simala, is run by Marian Monks (Marist here!). Devout Catholics often go on a pilgrimage here (non-catholics are also welcome).

Replica of the Virgin Mary on top of the altar

The inside of the monastery is so solemn. You have to actually take off your shoes in order to get in to some parts of the area especially when you want to see the miraculous statue of the Virgin Mary. I did not take a picture of the Virgin Mary as I felt like it was too intrusive and disrespectful for the place.

They have this hallway full of big cabinets that hold letters and other things testifying the greatness of the Lady. There's also a wall for the history of the shrine which is pretty interesting especially since you get to read the miracles and the prophesies the Virgin Mary has done.

They also have this hallway which showcases Mary's statues dressed according to her title (there was even a statue dressed in qipao).

You could offer prayers (candle colors based on what you are praying for) or have anything religious blessed. I got my grandma a rosary bracelet in her birth month color.

The makers have certainly outdone themselves. The place itself is architecturally impressive but the faith of those who go there are much more. You could truly see the sincerity of the devout.

//I was struggling with the settings in low light so most of the pictures inside and outside (We arrived around 5:30pm) the Shrine is blurry. Please forgive this noob photo taker.

Oslob, Cebu

 

Oslob, Cebu

When people say 'Oslob', undoubtedly the knowledgeable ones would immediately think of whale sharks. And yes, I must say that this trip wouldn't be complete without whale shark swimming but at the same time, I would say that there is more to Oslob than whale sharks.

The view going to Oslob was especially spectacular. I passed by twice. The second time was when I was going to Lilo-an to get to Dumaguete (this would be for another post). 

You'd get to pass by A LOT of old churches - I badly wanted to get off the bus - and the cliff views of the sea left me speechless. I imagine the Mediterranean would be as beautiful.

First stop was my Atsi Hanna's (the other chinky-eyed) bucketlist and pretty much main reason for going to Cebu: Whale Sharks

I forgot the name of the resort where we went to but rest assured, all the resorts offer whale shark interaction for the same rate as regulated by the local government. Also, go to Oslob early as whale shark watching lasts 'til 12nn only.

As of December 2014 rates:

Watching - P300

Snorkeling - P500

Diving - P600

(Rates for foreigners are higher I think)

Piece of advice: Learn how to swim or you'd miss a lot (or so says the hopeless swimmer)

I was scared that the whale sharks would bite a chunk of me despite of being scrawny but that was just me being paranoid. They're so chill. They just swim around the bangkas, baited by food obviously, and pretty much fattens themselves up. They're endangered (Oslob currently have about 5-7 whale sharks) so touching is not allowed but I got to touch two of them accidentally. Slimyyy.

The original plan was to go to Sumilon Island after and avail the P1500 package but the night before, we realized we were running low on the chis. //That's why I'm definitely going back and visit Sumilon

We ate at a karenderya for lunch. I spent around P50 (Travelling on a budget 101). Then hired a habal-habal to take us around other sites in Oslob.

Quite a long and steep walk before you reach the Tumalog Falls. I was feeling so paranoid that I'd topple over and roll all the way down. I practically grew up in mountains and it was that steep for me.

I didn't dare take a dip because I'm a goat and goats hate the cold. No matter how enticing. No matter how it's the most beautiful falls I've ever been to. The goat in me will not yield.

//I wasn't able to upload an attempted full shot of the falls, because my OC was kicking when I tried to mix a portrait with all the landscape shots. There are also other falls (and a cold spring) in the area that we weren't able to visit.

Cuartel

Forced my friends to visit the historic sites because the History Geek made the itinerary lol. Also sucks that even the locals wouldn't recommend, more like quite hesistant, to visit the historic sites (WHY?!). 

You could also visit Oslob Museum at the back for free and enjoy the picturesque park. 

Nuestra Señora de la Immaculada Concepcion Church

The town was having their fiesta when we went there hence the banderitas. 

Baluarte

Oslob is around 4 hours from Cebu City proper. It was late when I realized it but I guess it's better to visit Oslob as you make your way to Lilo-an to Dumaguete. 

//Gawd, do I suck at travel blogging.