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.
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| 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.
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| The shallow part of the spring :) Ideal for kids |
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| The right part is the deeper part. Its maximum depth is 12 feet. |
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| Moira and me :) |
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| 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.
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| Boys just wanna have fun. |
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| 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.
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| VONGOLA FAMILY. Philip, Andrei, Louie, Jairo, Nadine (me), Moira, and Nur. |
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| "I am a mermaid!", said Louie. Hahaha. Peach out, dude. |
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| I whip my hair. |
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| I love jump shots. So much. |
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| Just us. Chillin' by the beach. |
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| Selfie with Nur and Louie. |
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| 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. :)
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| 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)
