Cebu City Tour

Before I go back to Bohol next week, I'd like to finish this series first. Marami na kong backlog sa office at ayoko ng idagdag pa to. Charot! Ako na ang tamad..

Please visit my previous posts on my Cebu-Bohol-Leyte Trip:
                   Teaser
                   Bohol Day Tour
                   Malapascua: The Pleasure Runs Deep
                   Kalanggaman Island: The Hidden Paradise

As I've mentioned on my Kalanggaman and Malapascua Entry, the whole day Cebu City tour was spoiled dahil na rin sa mga hindi kanais-nais na kaganapan sa islang yun. We were supposed to try everything what Cebu can offer but we only have 6 hours left. Inabot kasi kami ng nakaririmarim na 5 hours bus ride from Malapascua to City town proper. Define "Nanlilimahid" talaga. Muka na naman walis ang buhok ko. I can actually draw the Map of Cebu on my legs. Ganun katindi. 

Since we are bound to go back to Manila on that same day, we have our luggage with us. Dyahe magbitbit. We don't have a place to stay to put all of those so ang matinding diskarte was... to check in everything at SM baggage counter. Style ko na yan noon pa. You might want to try it too.

Dahil nagkakarambola na ang tiyan ko sa gutom at past 12noon na kami dumating, we headed straight to the newly opened branch of CNT Lechon near SM Cebu.

CNT Lechon

I feel for all Biggest Loser Contenders nung binigay sa kanila ang challenge not to eat it. hahah! I really can't resist this temptation. Who can? Kalimutan na ang sarili. Wuhuuu!

Maglalaway talaga lahat ng naka-pila habang nakikita ang botchang Lechon na yan. lol! Ang sarap dilaan ng salamin promise. hahaha! now I know why this is famous. Forget about the sauce dahil unang una, wala sila nun, suka lang ang meron. Pangalawa, I don't think you'll be needing it. That alone is superb.

I just want to comment on how they serve their clients. Sensiya na umaariba na naman ako sa reklamo. hahaha! Since first time namin, we have no idea. Walang sistema. Nagkalat ang tao sa counter. Walang price list. Lahat self service. Dalawa ang counter kaya hindi mo maintindihan kung san ba dapat pumila. Aantayin ba ang Lechon o kahit walang Lechon magbabayad na? Ang sakit sa ulo. I just asked the staff kaya ko nalaman na we have to get priority number on the counter pala and wait for our turn para makapili ng Lechon part sa mahiwagang salamin nila. Ang classic dun, wala din naman silang mic sa counter kaya naglipana din ang tao. Sa susunod ha! Paki ayos please. Kung di lang masarap yan e.

After naming makipagbakbakan sa hapag, we're ready to go. Aja! 

Cebu City is known for abundant historical landmarks. It is where Christianity pioneered in the Philippines. At sino pa nga ba hindi nakakakilala kay Magellan? Naman o. Ay sha! kanya na ang Cebu. =)

Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, (1595)

Basilica De Sto Niño, 1565

I thought Baclayon Church of Bohol was the oldest. Mas matanda pa pala to. Whew! May mas tatanda pa ba?

There were a lot of candle vendors outside. Surprisingly, the candles come in different colors. Really cute. Each has its own meaning. People buy them depending on their intentions. Look what I got...

Pink for Love Life (ayiiii! ganun talaga! kasama yan), Yellow for Family, Red for Sto Niño

The red one is the most important. Default na daw yan kasi bale wala ang wish mo pag wala niyan. I'd like to buy all kinds but I don't have enough money left. Gusto ko sana yung pampayaman, pampa-stable ng career, pampa-lusog ng pangangatawan, pampa-puti, pampa-sexy, pampa-gana. Char! hahah! Besides, we still have a lot of places to visit. Mayayare ako pag pinakyaw ko lahat!

Ayon sa aking mapa..

(Yes I created a map sabi ko nga diba? Kung ang iba ay project ng anak ang piniprint sa office, ako yung mga parapernalyas ko sa mga trip tulad nito.)

Just a few steps away, you'll be able to find the ever famous Magellan's Cross.

 
Ilan pa lang ang naccross out ko sa mapa ko but my mom and brother were dead tired. Isama mo pa ang matinding init ng araw. Bakas na sa kanila ang katamaran. hahaha! When we arrived in Fort San Pedro, they just sat at the receiving area and decided to just rest there while I'm inside. I paid for P30.00 ata para sa  entrance. (Sorry I'm really not sure)

Fort San Pedro is like a mini Intramuros. The difference is hindi kwentong Kastila't Hapon ang makikita mo. Si Magellan ang bida dito at kung pano nadiscover ang Cebu.

Kung gano rin naging pugad ng mag-boypren ang Intramuros, hindi rin nakaligtas ang lugar na to. Ang sarap nilang sabuyan ng asin! hmp! Mang-ingget ba! BUSET!

Sumuko na rin ako after this. Isa pa, ayokong maging disaster ang ending ng seryeng ito. Ilang araw na rin naman kaming pagod kakabyahe. For our finale, since we still have time before our flight, I just treat my mom and brother to watch XMen First Class sa SM Cebu. Buti na lang it turned out to be a great movie. Yes, dumayo kami ng Cebu para manood lang ng sine. hahaha!

All in all we had so much fun pa rin kahit maraming aberya. Anyway, this won't be memorable without it. Natupad ko ang dream ng kapatid kong makasakay ng airplane, nadala ko ang mother ko sa pangarap niyang destination, what more can I ask for. 

Next summer vacation niya ulit. We'll be planning a family trip again. Sana kumpleto na this time. Hanggang sa muli!

Kalanggaman island: A hidden paradise indeed!

The picture says it all. Agree? No wonder why I instantly became a fan. Now I wanted to arrange a trip to Leyte next year to search for another hidden paradise. I strongly believe na meron at meron pa yan. If this is not enough, go ahead read the rest.

As I've mentioned in my previous post. This was not part of the plan. But since it was offered to us by Kuya Arca to have lunch there for only 600 per pax, plus hatid sa Maya port, why not choknut?! So the initial Malapascua loop was scrapped.

After going back and forth Malapascua because of all the talk shit of Kuya Arca and the boatman that resulted to disastrous malfunction of the boat, finally we reached Kalanggaman past 12 noon. We were so hungry. And because we were so lucky that day, there were no available nipa hut left for us. To make the trip more memorable, because we just arrived on the island, that's when they started cooking as well. Ang saya saya hindi ba?

Rona and her boo started bragging about it since she didn't expect this to happen. Hindi daw siya na brief e. lol! Masyadong maraming broken promises si Kuya Arca. Others, including us, was just enjoying the view. I hated what happened. Sobra. We all felt the same way but what should we do? Sayangin ang oras kakadakdak sa mga tinamaan ng magaling na mga taong yun? Hell no! Enjoy na lang. Damn! I really wouldn't mind if I got tanned here. Would you?

Kalanggaman... so near yet so far

I forgot to ask the history of this island and why it was called such...dahil ba muka siyang mga pulutong ng langgam sa malayo? lol!

Getting closer

Malayo pa lang may napapa-wow na ko talaga. Specially when I saw the water that surrounds the island. Uber tempting. Rona said, ganyang ganyan yung tubig ng Calaguas. So feeling ko naman nakarating na rin ako dun. Tama nga si Marx, Shit! "Parang toothpaste!" wuhuuuu!

I can't help but take a lot of pictures. Ngayon lang ako nakakita ng ganito. Too bad maraming tao. I thought I can have the feel as if I own it. After picturan, swimming galore na!!

After several hours, we were able to eat finally... sa boat. Wala nga kasing cottage. I thought we can drink that fresh buko juice that we paid for, unfortunately, ni hindi man lang kami pinagbukas ni kuya. The grilled fish that should be perfectly partnered with soy sauce with kalamansi and onion SANA was never prepared. Nilagay lang ni kuya sa plato. So pano namin kakainin yun? kanya kanyang kagat sa sibuyas ganun? Kanya kanyang ngasab sa buko? Ibang klase.

It's past 2pm already so we decided to leave the island. May aberya na naman. Shit kelan ba matatapos to?!?!?! hindi daw kami pwede umalis ng hindi nagbabayad ng 150 each at 500 para sa foreigner sabi ng hinayupak na mga bantay! Kuya Arca never mentioned this fee. All we know, we paid everything to him. So we were all mad. Rona and her boo didn't bring any amount. Bakit kami sisingilin e ni hindi nga kami nabigyan ng cottage? Nakikita nila kaming nakaupo sa sand at hindi man lang kami inofferan ng table.So para san ang lintik na bayad na yan?!

Von was the one who confronted the punong bantay. I was surprised to see their reaction "Sige! kung hindi kayo magbabayad, iba-ban namin yang bangkero nyo dito! hinding hindi na siya makakapagdala ng tourist dito? gusto nyo ba yun?!"

PI talaga. Kami pa kinonsensiya. Shempre ayaw namin yun no. Nakakahiya naman sa bangkero. Na settle siya sa 300.00. Next time na lang daw magbayad na kami para na lang walang samaan ng loob. Paksiyet silang lahat!

Sabay may epal =)

If you were to ask kung babalik pa ko? Sa Leyte baka, sa Kalanggaman I would think twice. It's ironic to see a lot of nice pictures of the island but the people we encountered and the experience we had was the worst.

FYI. Hindi kami nakauwi that day because we just knew that Maya is a 3 hours boat ride from Kalanggaman. We're the luckiest if we can catch the last bus to Cebu City. Shempre, we didn't took the risk. Also, they still have Malapascua loop to do. Gagabihin sila if magpapahatid pa kami sa Maya.

We just stayed on the Malapascua for another night before heading to Cebu City the next day. Check out my Malapascua entry.

Malapascua: Pleasure runs deep (Part 1)

Check out my previous post to complete the journey (HP?! chos!)

After a very tiring Bohol Day tour, next day we left the city and started an even more stressful, pain-in-the-ass (literal), dusty 4 hours travel time to discover the beauty of Malapascua Island.

Patikim

Break. Bago pa ko ma nose-bleed. Dahil tinanghali kami ng gising sa pagod sa Bohol na yan, nagmamadali na kami umalis. Naiwan ko nakasaksak ang dyaskeng charger ng D10 ko sa Cebu Guesthouse. Though I brought the other cam, it has no charge and it's SD is not working. So in short, wala siyang silbe. Kahit nakakahiya, bumaba kami sa bus para kunin ulit. Whew! We spent 350.00 for the taxi back and forth. What a waste. Lesson: Ok lang magpakapuyat sa pageempake, wag lang may maiiwan. ayt?

Back to the story. We rode a Ceres bus going to Maya port in Cebu North Terminal. If you prefer Bantayan Island, ride a bus with a sign Hagnaya port. Dispatcher of the latter almost fooled me that I can also ride Hagnaya bus going Malapascua. Dadaan din daw yun. "Tseh! Lokohin mo lelang mo!" It really pays when you do research before going to unfamiliar places. Fare is only 163.00 each for non-aircon bus. Sorry to tell you pero there are no aircon buses going there kaya you don't have a choice. Don't forget to bring tons of snack dahil 4 hours ride ito mind you.. Make sure to reach Maya port on or before 3PM or else you will have to rent the whole boat going to Malapascua by yourself for 2000.00. You only have to pay 80.00 if you were able to catch the regular schedule. The earliest boat from Maya will depart at 7:00am.

May improvised map ako o. hihihih! Effort yan! kaya hindi ako maloloko. hmp!

up close

Tip: If you don't want to get sunburned habang nasa bus pa lang, umupo sa left side passenger seat. Mas madalas ang araw sa kabila. Nanghula lang kami papunta e. Aba malay ko ba kung nasan ang araw na yan. Ayun dun ako napwesto. Doble-Kara tuloy ako. hihihi! Dun ka naman sa right side pabalik obviously.

Dahil we left the bus station at 8:30am, we arrived in Maya exactly after four hours. Mahihiya ang walis sa buhok ko. Ang tigas. hahaha! Epekto ng gabok. Surprisingly, halos puro foreigners ang kasabay namin sa boat. Nakakatuwa. Wala pa man proud na ko agad. Siguro nga sobrang ganda ng destination namin.

Maya port

After 40 minutes, touchdown sa one of the top 10 beaches in the Philippines. Woot woot! 

Awww.. bakit ba ko napwesto sa gilid ng bangka!

I was amazed by it's fine and powdery white sand. Ang ganda talaga. You will be welcomed by a lot of porters. Unlucky us because Kuya Arca was the first to approach us. Makilala nyo rin siya. Stay put.

Malapascua means "Bad Christmas" in Cebuano. Based on my research, Spaniards were the first to land on that island on a stormy Christmas Day in the1500's. What sets Malapascua apart from other beaches in the Philippines, it is a home for thresher sharks. It is now becoming a diver's haven. Bat ganun.. excited sila sa sharks. Ako hindi.

Sabi ko nga, dukha mode kami so I immediately asked kuya for the cheapest lodge house para saming 3. He leaded us to Blue Coral Resort. Actually, nagpabook ako dun few weeks ago but I failed to deposit a reservation fee so forfeited siya. My mom said kasi, off peak naman kaya ok lang dun na maghanap. Their rates are very reasonable. You can get an elegant (yep it's elegant, mukang de-aircon) fan room for as low as 1500 for 2 persons. Ok na sana kaya lang 3 kami. Additional 300 daw. When I talked to ate on the phone nung nag inquire ako nun, we agreed that she'll give the room for 1500 saming 3 na. Pass na ko. Dun na lang kami sa much cheaper. Then we transferred to K5 Bamboo house. Fan room is only 500.00 para saming 3 na yun. May CR pang sarili. But don't expect the elegance I was talking about a while ago. hihihi! May mosquito net na nakasabit sa bed. Siguradong pagpyestahan kami ng lamok. hahaha! Hindi ako nagkamali.

Tomguts na ko. Ang jobee palabok na binaon ko ng apat na oras, nakakatuwang hindi pa panis. Nagkanda-tapon nga lang ang sauce sa plastic. Sa ngalan ng gutom, pakiramdam ko siya na ang pinakamasarap na palabok. Solb! 

Kuya Arca approached us after we ate. He offered a boat rental around Malapascua for 600.00. Samin ng tatlo yun. It is the usual rate. Don't be fooled by others who are offering more than that. I advise you should bring your own snorkel set. Though you can rent it for 100.00 each, pero iba pa rin yung sayo na alam mong safe at sterilized. We agreed to do it tomorrow morning around 8am.

My mom slept while me and my brother roamed around the beach. Totoo nga. Para kang wala sa Pinas. (Before you react on my statement, ibig ko lang sabihin dun, nagkalat ang mas nakakaraming foreigners kesa pinoy. As in.)

ikaw na ang nag back-flip hahha! galeng!

Define "nangingintab"

I was shocked when they started pulling this boat

Ako ang kinakabahan para sa kanila. Pero when I saw that locals were very still upon watching them, siguro nga kanila yung boat. Mind you, hindi sagwan kundi pala ang gamit nila pagpapaddle. Amazing kids!

View from Blue Coral Resort

You can have a great view of sunset and sunrise when you check in here. So for me, 1500 rate is good enough.

Napagod din ako. I slept. Hanggang sa nakaligtaan ko na ang sunset. I promised to catch the sunrise the next day. We ate at Ging Ging's resto for Dinner. Aside from they serve cheap yet great-tasting food, the waitresses are very accommodating, nice flower farm, pero meron at meron pa rin akong bad comment. Ako na ang maldita. May kampon ng mga langaw na umaaligid. Pleeeeaaase! I'm not sure if the ingredients were prepared clean if those creatures were present. Ako ang nahihiya sa mga guests. Lalo na kung ibang nashon. Nevertheless, dun pa rin kami kain ng kain hahaha! Dun lang ang cheap kasi na marami ang servings.

Fail ulit. hahaha! Mas matimbang ang antok kesa sa sunrise.

When I woke up Kuya Arca was at the door. He was offering another island. Kalanggaman na daw kami dumeretso. May kasama ng lunch. We should pack our things and check out  coz they will send us off to Maya port right after island hopping. I already knew about Kalanggaman Island so natuwa ako kasi kahit wala sa plan, I'd be able to see that hidden paradise. I asked him about the snorkeling spots that we agreed upon yesterday. He just said, meron din daw dun na mas magaganda pa. Mixed emotions ako. Though hindi niya kami pinilit pero parang napwersa kaming mag alsa balutan at iwan ang Malapascua. Hinayang na hinayang ako dahil nagtulog ako the day before. So sige mukang ok naman ang offer ni kuya. 900 daw kasi yung original na rate nun per person. Bonggang discount na nga daw kami. We almost paid in full plus the rental for 2 snorkeling gear. 300 na lang balanse namin. We hurriedly packed our things and ate our breakfast. Kuya said he will pick us up at 8:30am.

8:30am na, wala ni amoy ni kuya. My fault, I forgot to ask for his cell #. Bothered na ko, mukang na-denggoy kami. Past 9:00am when he came and asked us to go to the beach where the boat is waiting. Nakakainit na agad ng ulo. We saw 2 cute couples waiting as well. Buti they came from the metro too. Mapapahinga tenga ko sa Cebuano dialect. hihihih!

We're patiently waiting for the boat. Wala pa pala. Taliwas sa sinabi niya kanina na inaantay na kami. Dumating na ang boat after 10 minutes so we boarded. Hindi pala sasama si  kuya at ipapaubaya nya kami sa bangkero niya. I saw that they only have 1 snorkel gear. I paid for two so I asked kung nasan. Naghanap pa si kuya ulit. Pagbalik, pati rin pala yung kasama namin asked for two so naghanap ulit. We left. When we talked to the boatman about the island hopping, ang alam lang ni kuya, Kalanggaman lang. Separate bayad daw yung sa Malapascua loop. So balik sa port at hinanap si Kuya Arca. So ok na we left ulit. I forgot the other reason why pero bumalik kami ulit at hinanap si Arca. Kamalas malasan naman, the engine stopped. Nasira daw kakabalik balik so naghanap pa ng kapalit na boat. Past 10am na kami naka-alis. We arrived on the island at 12noon. I will skip Kalanggaman first as it deserves a separate post.

Preview of Kalanggaman Island

I'll just make it short na kasi nobela na to wala pa man. What happened was, we didn't go home that day. We just toured Malapascua loop instead dahil sa mga di inaasahang pangyayari. Feel-good vibes magbalik ka. Choink!

If you're curious about Coral Garden and what lies underneath.. ito sila.

Suplado ang fish!

find mimo here!

Walang habas na kaka-picture. Nahilo ako promise.

Crown-of-Thorn Starfish (salamat sa effort ng pagreresearch Christian! hihihi!)

According to him, the creature can paralyze you within a minute and will kill you eventually. I forgot to ask if there's a first aid pag napagtripan ka niya. Good thing, hindi siya lumulutang sa water. As in dun lang siya. Palakad lakad ng kaunti.

Parang mga flowers ang coral..

thorns

Keribells? Honestly, corals there were great.. subalit, ngunit, datapwat I'd still prefer corals of Coron. Sawry! Wala pang pumapalit sa puso ko when it comes to underwater world. Siguro dahil hindi sila masyadong makulay but it was nice. I enjoyed it as well hindi maikakaila yun.

We moved to another site where a WWII shipwreck is visible. That's when I appreciate the other side of Malapascua the moment we made a turn. We saw the ever famous light house.

Walang ano ano, talon na daw kami at nandun na ang ship. Wala naman ako nakita. Walang habas ang kakakampay ko. Siguro mga 10 meters siya from our boat. Nakakapagod ha.

Wala ng eerie factor. Binomba daw kasi siya kaya hindi na buo. Puro scrap. Napuruhan siguro ng hapon. hahaha!

Saw that foot? Yes! malapit na siya sa surface ng water so be careful.

Malaki siya talaga and it's worth the dive (feeling diver)

Finally...ito ang Perfect moment

We ended that day with cliff diving. Yes and no. Yes you read it right. And no it wasn't me. I was glad Rona and her boo tried it. Nainggit ako after. hahaha! Pero no I won't try it soon. Mahal ko pa buhay ko. Kuya boatman was the first one. Actually first time niya din daw yun. Makapigil hininga talaga. hahaha! Inaabangan namin kung lulutang pa siya at kung hindi ba nagkaron ng Red Sea. After a few seconds, buhay naman siya. So Rona's boo turn naman. I'm not sure kung ano ba siya basta foreigner. It was another success. Nung si Rona na, iba ang nangyari. We thought she's ok kasi nakalutang naman siya. We were clapping and all until we heard her groan. She slammed her ass on the water surface. Number 1 rule daw in diving, dapat straight yung body mo whether ulo or paa pa ang unang bumagsak. Nakaka-awa siya promise. Parang sahig din ang binagsakan niya e. Ganun daw ang impact nun.


Don't worry, nakalakad naman siya pauwi. Kami, dahil, nagcheck out na kami, hindi namin alam ngayon kung san kami pupulutin. The bamboo room is occupied already. Good thing kuya Arca has as relative with worth 600.00 fan room din. Pwede na rin. Pero sobrang layo nya sa kabihasnan. And the path way is not well lighted. Hindi ko na matandaan ang daan papuntang Ging Ging. Salamat sa tone toneladang Memo Plus Gold na tinira ata ng kapatid ko at natandaan niya kaagad.

We left the island at 7am the next day for Cebu City Tour naman.Sana napagtyagaan nyong basahin.. hihihi! Thanks lakwatsero! Your blog helped me a lot.