Summer in Oslob, Cebu

It was April when our family decided to go summer outing. The choices were Argao, Sogod, and Oslob. The "elders" have decided that we'd go to Oslob, but not in Tan-awan where there are whale sharks. My uncle has a friend who owns a beach house in Nueva Caceres, Oslob. And that was where we went.

May 29, 2015.

Everyone at home woke up early to get ready. We left the house at 8:00 in the morning, and arrived 3 hours later.

Bonghanoy's residence in Oslob

The place we stayed in is a two-storey house made of wood, not just ordinary wood, but an expensive wood.

The place during low tide

The beach is not ideal for swimming because of its shallow waters. But if you just want to enjoy the sea breeze and dip yourself in the water, then this is perfect. As you can see, the beach is so sandy. There are no rocks in the water, but there are a lot in the shore. One of the many things I like in this place is the gazebo. From there, anyone can enjoy the view of the sea without getting tanned. :)

The gazebo ;)

Sunnies in summer

The place is great for a family reunion, group getaway, or even honeymoon. The owners of the house rarely stay in this place, so they decided to make money out of it. Clever, right?

There are also plenty of "swaki" in the area. (To those who don't know what "swaki" is, it is a sea urchin. But, hey, not all sea urchin is edible.) My sister, aunt and I were looking for those in the sea. And here's what we gathered!

I'm proud to say that I gathered some of these.

"Suwaki" can be eaten raw. What my Aunt Malou did was she broke the outer layer and removed the insides. The insides were added with vinegar (I forgot the other ingredients she added) for better taste. The "elders" ate the "suwaki", but I did not. Hihihi. I am foreign to that food. Just kidding.

Around 9:00 am, there were a bunch of kids riding a banca nearby. I really wanted to go with them in the deeper part of the sea. I asked permission from my father if I could go with those kids. As usual, he said no (even if I nagged him to death). Tsk! Fortunately, the caretaker of the house heard my conversation with my father. The caretaker said in our language, "You wanna go diving in the deeper part? Don't worry. I have a pump boat. Mine is better than those kids'. Using the banca is dangerous." I asked him where his boat was and he said, "It's still out there in the sea. My friend is still using it so that he could fish. You still have to wait until 12:00 noon. He'll be back for his lunch." Hooray! I got what I wanted.

So if you want to go diving somewhere, just talk to the housekeeper and he'll take you there. How much? I have no idea. Why would I care? I wasn't the one paying. Mehehehe!

That's me smiling at the camera.

That's my cousin, Kuya Sean.

We were having a good time swimming in the deeper part of the sea when out of nowhere, a sea snake (or maybe it was an eel) appeared. Someone announced that there was a sea snake and almost everyone in the water panicked, including my big fat younger sister. And guess what? She hurriedly went back on the boat, and it almost lost balance! When the boat went sideways almost flipping, we panicked! Duuuh! Who wouldn't?!

The sea snake (or maybe eel)

Sun-kissed skin so hot, I'll melt your popsicle. Oh oh oh.

Picture-perfect Oslob sunrise :)

Aside from the beach, I really wanted to go to Tan-awan (which is infamous for its whale sharks), Tumalog Falls, and the Heritage Park. So sad that the "financiers" were not interested to go there.

It was Saturday when we decided to attend the anticipated mass in the church in Oslob. When we got there, the odds were in my favor. Yipeee! Why? Because the Heritage Park is just near the church! We got there earlier so we decided to take pictures!

With my big younger sister haha

That's the church in the background.

In front of the church, you can buy street food like tempura, fishball, and kwek kwek. There were also vendors selling chips.
After the mass, we still roam around the park and took pictures. There's also baluarte by the sea. Sorry for the crappy quality of the picture below. It was getting dark that time.

The baluarte

So to those who want to explore Oslob, I recommend this beach house. They also have clean bathrooms with showers. I was really so excited that I forgot to take pictures of the parts of the house. If you're really interested, you can search their Facebook page "Beach House for Rent in Oslob, Cebu" :)

The Valderrama Clan

Goodbye, Oslob. See you soon! *fingers crossed*

Questions? Comment below.

If you've been to this place, share your experience. :)

2-in-1 Day Trip: Obong Cold Spring & Tingko Beach

A month before our Intramurals, I nagged my friends on going on an adventure. (Yep, I still had to nag them because they aren't as adventurous as me.) I wanted to try canyoneering in Badian, but not everyone in the group could afford it. So I was left with two choices: Esoy Hot Spring in Catmon or Obong Cold Spring in Dalaguete and Tingko Beach in Alcoy. We chose the latter because it would only cost at least 208 pesos (food not included).

My long-awaited day came: August 27, 2015. Our meet up time was 6:30 am in South Bus Terminal. Guess what time I arrived. 8:00. That's an hour and a half past our scheduled time! Hahaha that's the perk of being the one who makes the itinerary. I knew we still had much time if we depart at 8:00, so I decided to let them wait for me.

When I arrived in the terminal, we boarded a Ceres bus bounded for Oslob. We told the conductor to drop us off at Obong Cold Spring. The travel time was two hours and 30 minutes. After being dropped off, we still had to walk for five minutes before descending the stairs that led to the area.

The moment we entered the area (That's me with the red bag)

There are available cottages there. Each costs 200 pesos and it can accommodate up to 15 people. Since there were 13 of us, each paid 16 pesos.

The spring is shallow when it is low tide. Being the "event planner", I checked the tide table first before making the itinerary. I made sure that when we get there, it would be during high tide.

The shallow part of the spring :) Ideal for kids

The right part is the deeper part. Its maximum depth is 12 feet.

Moira and me :)

That's me, guys! FYI, I still had to clamber my way to that spot.

I was swimming to get closer to the tree when a kid sitting on one of the huge rocks told me to move away. I thought he had that superstitious belief about the Dakit tree. For some reason, I decided to move away. Few seconds later, something splashed from where I was swimming. It was a kid OMG. I didn't know from where he jumped. I looked up and saw the branch! I was like "OMG THAT WAS SO AWESOME. I WANNA TRY THAT!" Yep, I really wanted to try it while the tide was high. I told my friend to go with me, but he said "Buang ka?! Pagsolo oy!" ("Are you nuts?! Do it alone.") It's not that I was a coward, you know. I was just shy. If I climb my way to the branch, the attention might be on me, making the situation awkward. (I hate awkward.) So I went home without trying that stunt. And that is one of the greatest regrets in my life. Tsk!

But I still jumped, you know. From the higher part of the rocks. Although it wasn't from the branch, it was still adrenaline pumping. :)

So if you are an adrenaline junkie, jump from the branch (see the previous picture of the branch) of the Dakit tree. Jump even if it means embracing death. Just kidding.

Seriously, jump from that branch if that's what your adventurous self desires. If you won't, we might share the same regret.

Boys just wanna have fun.

That's us. I'm the one standing on the rock.

When we went there, there was a store just across the entrance of the spring. They cook egg and pancit canton, but there was no rice available. There were only two of us who brought our own lunch: Matthew and me. The rest, they bought pancit canton. Aside from the said store, there was a vendor selling grilled banana with margarine and white sugar. You guys should try it! It was yummy. :)

We left the place at 1:30 PM. Should you wish to shower and change your clothes, there's a bathroom available. You have to pay for 5 pesos though. But in my case, I did not change clothes. Hahaha. I was still wet when we traveled to Tingko beach.

Seven of us rode a tricycle to the beach, and the other rode a jeep. I asked the tricycle driver how much the fare was. He said 15. But because I haggled, each of us paid 12 pesos instead of 15. The "slow walkers" did not make it on time to the tricycle. Lucky for them, a jeep arrived.

So we arrived in Tingko around 10-13 minutes later. The tricycle driver told us to enter the beach through the narrow passage (beside Voda Krasna) so that no entrance fee would be charged. So we did what he said.

We placed our bags on the rocky part of the beach since there was no cottage. The cottage behind (see picture below) us belongs to the Voda Krasna Resort.

VONGOLA FAMILY. Philip, Andrei, Louie, Jairo, Nadine (me), Moira, and Nur.

"I am a mermaid!", said Louie. Hahaha. Peach out, dude.

I whip my hair.

I love jump shots. So much.

Just us. Chillin' by the beach.

Selfie with Nur and Louie.

Selfie with Nur and Jairo.

When we decided to to go home, we looked for a place where we could shower and change. There was a store by the sea. They charge 25 pesos per head for the shower. We negotiated the price, since we thought it was a bit too much. In the end, we paid 20 pesos each.

It was quarter past four in the afternoon when we decided to head home.

We may have left the place, but the memories... never. :)

VONGOLA FAMILY. Picture before leaving the place ;)

BUDGET (13 heads)

85       bus fare from SBT to Obong (WITH STUDENT ID)
16       contribution for the cottage (each cottage costs 200 pesos)
5         fee for the shower in Obong Cold Spring
12       tricycle fare from Obong Cold Spring to Tingko Beach
90       bus fare from Tingko Beach to SBT (WITH STUDENT ID)
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208     TOTAL (lunch and snacks not included)