My lifelong dream is to see all the amazing 7,107 islands of my country from Mavudis in the north to Sibutu in the south. So far, Vigan City is my farthest north, one of the most well-known places in Ilocos Sur famed for having preserved Spanish colonial and Asian architecture. Down south, my farthest until 2003 is the municipality of Laoang in Northern Samar, one of the three main islands in the Eastern Visayas.
It took me 13 years to break my record. Cebu became my new farthest south in 2016, which is just about 300 kilometers from Samar towards the southwest, one of the major islands of Central Visayas. I flew from Manila to Mactan on the 18th of October, my first domestic flight, and stayed in Cebu City for a two-week business trip. Cebu City is a splendor in the south, with a culture that is different from where I grew up, I almost felt like I am in a different country, as I sometimes forget I am stepping into the same soil of my native land. The people are all warm, hospitable, and amiable, but it's a little awkward roaming around because there's almost no one I can talk to in straight Tagalog, my local dialect. I find it strange that people are more comfortable responding to me in English, which Cebuanos are adept at, and I am amazed at their fluency as if English is their major tongue. No wonder why a lot of foreign nationals in Southeast Asia come to Cebu to study English as their second language.
Since it's the weekend and we didn't have to work, my colleagues who are locals of Cebu City, invited me to tour around the must-see places on the island which, as they say, a guest should never leave without seeing. The five of us woke up early and rushed to a 24-hour Jollibee restaurant, our meeting place, before the break of dawn. There's just one catch, however. No one among them is confident to drive the car and I am the only one, an out-of-towner, who can.
I offered to take the wheel so we can see these places which are famous to foreign visitors and Pinoys alike even if I am very new to the place. I was told that it's easy to find our destination as all I needed to do is to drive southwestward through the national road. Tourists and foreign visitors, however, can take a bus from Ceres Lines at the South Bus Terminal for just P150.00. There are regular trip schedules every day and it's not difficult to find a bus to get you to Oslob, but I recommend getting an air-conditioned bus for just a minimal extra cost as they are way more comfortable than the non-aircon ones.
1. Oslob Whale Shark Watching
When people go to Cebu, more often than not, one of the main reasons is to go to Oslob to swim with the whale sharks for a photoshoot. Oslob is one of the municipalities of Cebu Province located at the southern tip of the island, 137 km away from Cebu City. The place became a worldwide sensation in 2011 and whale shark watching began as a popular attraction yet sparked some controversies due to its booming tourism business.
The "show" starts at the crack of dawn and it ceases at noontime. Note that admission is only until 11 am that's why guests must be within these time frames because they don't give extensions should visitors arrive late. The place is protected by the local government alongside strict monitoring of Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines (LAMAVE), a non-government organization dedicated to the conservation of marine megafauna. It took me 4 hours to drive from Cebu City to Oslob as we had series of stopovers and side trips in each town we pass by. One vital task that we had to accomplish is to buy the famous Lechon in Carcar City for our lunch, and for spontaneous photoshoots on eye-popping sceneries and tourist spots along the way.
We arrived at 10:12 am and we proceeded to the parking area. Surprisingly, their parking space is full and there's no room for one more sedan (it's the weekend, so it's already a given). It was a race against time so my colleagues alighted in a dash to pay our entrance fee while the parking attendant is leading me to a nearby makeshift parking space. We paid P500 each while tourists are charged P1,000, which includes a 30-minute boat ride and the rental for the life vest and snorkeling gear. A compulsory briefing is being held for about 5 minutes to discuss the rules while in the "interaction area" such as the (1) prohibition of touching and riding the sharks, (2) keeping at least 6 feet distance from the sharks, (3) prohibition of wearing sunscreen [rinsing off is required if guests have already applied sunscreen], (4) no flash photography, and some other rules.
We were the last to embark on the outrigger boats so we still had ample time to pull ourselves together. The boats are designed to accommodate 15 guests but since it was the "last trip" for the day, we were only 6 on the watercraft which felt like an exclusive ride. The "interaction area" is only less than 5 minutes away from the shoreline.
In only about 40 meters from the shore, we joined the other 4 outrigger boats who came ahead of us where they all form a single line. A one-man canoe awaits at the other end and signals the boatmen that the "show" begins in a while. He then started dishing out thawed shrimps of large quantity to the gleaming water and suddenly... just like Tinker Bell sprinkling pixie dust to the sea... something magical happened. Three behemoths emerged from the bottom of the ocean and started slurping their meal creating a whirlpool of seawater and shrimps that get sucked into their letterbox-shaped mouths. Goosebumps!
Our boatman signaled that we can start jumping into the water and so we did. My colleague and I stayed within the borders of the outriggers for a while enjoying the spectacle, as we almost lose our breath in amazement with how these sharks don't seem to mind the proximity of humans swimming in the water with them. These gigantic fishes grow as much as 35 feet and they certainly look like tourist buses wallowing in the ocean. They move in a slothful swim at a 45-degree angle as their tails touch the seabed while the smaller ones stay in one place motionless as if they are enjoying being extremely admired by tourists. It was a jaw-dropping experience.
We stayed for a few more minutes at the surface until I decided to swim underwater so I can join the others who are already enjoying the moment. It was a bit overwhelming to see that there are more whale sharks below the surface of the water gliding around and underneath the boats. They seem not to care about the presence of humans in the water that they just swim aimlessly and you end up dodging them to keep the 6-feet distance so you don't touch them. I took off my life vest so I can swim deeper that I may be able to start taking snapshots of these gentle swimming giants. But as I submerged just a few notches from the outrigger, I saw one of the whale sharks swimming towards me with its mouth wide-open that looked like it could swallow me whole without munching. I got scared to death and I hurriedly swam to the surface and jumped right into the boat.
Whale sharks are filter feeders and they don't eat humans. They are docile and there was never in the history of mankind that their type has ever attacked a human, or ate one. They are monsters in size but they feed only on plankton and very small fish. These were my realizations and disappointments when I figured out that I came back to the shore with no pictures of me swimming with the whale sharks underwater! We enjoyed the rest of our adventure by having endless photoshoots on the coast instead.
2. Tan-awan Cangcu-ay Beach
The fun doesn't and shouldn't end in Whale Shark Watching so we moved to a different private beach resort not far from the place. Just 950 meters away from the bus stop, we drove for a minute (a 15-minute walk) towards the northeast and we parked by the roadside at the entrance of Tan-awan Cangcu-ay Beach Resort.
Cangcu-ay Beach is a private swimming destination that can be accessed through Villa Modern Deluxe, a famous resort in Brgy. Tan-awan. We descended through a few hundred steps from the entrance gate at the roadside to reach the cottages. It's a private resort so fees are expected. The rates are always changing depending on the season so it's best to check out their website to inquire about the updated rates before coming over. When we came in, these are their current rates:
Day Tour 10am-5pm: (Adults) weekdays P120, weekends P150 | (Children) P50
Rooms: P3,500 | P4,500 | P6,500 (limited to 4 pax/room)
Tents: P1,200 (limited to 4 pax/tent)
We occupied one of the nipa huts and enjoyed an al fresco lunch like an exquisite and sumptuous banquet overlooking the sea. We feasted on the Cebu Lechon we bought at Carcar City and paired it with puso, a kind of rice wrapped and boiled in a triangular casing made of woven coconut leaves. Luckily, there is no corkage fee (a term used in the Philippines not relating to wine bought from outside, but a universal label to describe any merchandise bought from other establishments but are consumed elsewhere) since the resort doesn't serve food and grilling equipment is provided for guests who opt to cook their meal.
While everyone's resting after a satisfying meal, I took the opportunity to take a walk by the long stretch of white sand with my camera with me. I was blown away by the picturesque view of Oslob's deep blue sea while the sandstone boulders that serve as breakwater are jaw-dropping landscapes that took my breath away. Anywhere I point my camera lens to creates perfect photos that I can't help taking selfies with these views as my backdrop. Amazingly, there are tons of activities that can be done in the resort, like destressing in a hammock by the huge rocks, diving at the cliff from a makeshift diving board, or wallow by the shoreline during the low tide while enjoying the serenity of the blue sky.
We stayed and enjoyed the cool, shallow water for 3 hours. We had fun taking photos as well as swimming in a private resort that looked like we paid for the whole place since we were the only guests on the beach. October is the off-peak season in Oslob and there are only a few tourists that visit the place since the wet season in the Philippines falls from June to October. Having only 2 seasons in the country, the best time to see Oslob is during the dry season from November to May, but Cebu is in its most crowded month in January because of Sinulog, its annual cultural and religious festival. Today's weather was perfect though!
3. Tumalog Falls
We packed away without rinsing off as we are going to carry on swimming to another famous place in Oslob. We drove further to the northeast for another 2 minutes (9 minutes walk) and after 800 meters, we turned left to a secondary road at Tumalog Falls Rd. We drove for another 2.1 km through very steep roads with sharp-angled trails and after less than 10 minutes of a gripping journey, we reached a road junction that leads to the entrance to Tumalog Water Falls. Private vehicles are not permitted beyond this point so we parked in the designated area and gathered our swimming gears to get going.
From the junction road to the Tumalog Falls, there is another 400 meters trek for tourists to pull through but thanks to the official passenger vehicles called habal-habal (mototaxi), they await commuters at their hack stand to bring them to the site for only P50 for a return-trip or just P30 if you prefer a single-ride. We opted to reach Tumalog Falls on foot, however, so we can enjoy the breathtaking view surrounding it. We slithered helplessly down the slope where the very steep road is inclined at 30° and it took us about 8 minutes to reach the site. We headed to the entrance booth at the bottom of the road and paid a P20 fee for the conservation and maintenance of the cultural site.
Tumalog Falls is one of the points of pride for the Municipality of Oslob and this remote location was made famous in 2012 when the movie Avatar was rumored to have used this scenic view as the backdrop for its planet Pandora. Although it was not officially confirmed by James Cameron and its production, many tourists came to see the amazing bioluminescent shades of blue in its waterfalls and are all convinced where many considered its factuality.
The water cascading from its summit wasn't as dense as it usually is during the season of heavy rains so the plunge pool is a bit shallow. However, it is not advisable to visit Tumalog Falls during the dry season as there is only drizzling water from its overhang. The type of waterfalls people experience in Tumalog varies as it's dependent on the time of the season they visit. One thing to take note of is that the water in the basin is relatively cold, which is perfect for the hot, tropical weather in the Philippines. Since the majority of tourists who come to Oslob go straight to Whale Shark Watching in the morning, it's best to come to Tumalog Falls at those times to avoid the sea of people who come here in the afternoon. We were lucky, perhaps, that there weren't a lot of people when we came so taking snapshots without photobombers isn't an issue.
The waterfalls are not the only highlight in Tumalog since this tourist spot is already one peculiarly grand and sublime scenery in itself. Surrounding it are hellishly dense bamboo trees which provide shade to the area aside from the fact that they serve as a perfect backdrop for jungle-themed photoshoots. Many of the tourists range over a cave that can be found somewhere on the left side which we weren't able to explore as we were planning to visit one last site before we call it a day --- the Church of Birhen sa Simala, a pilgrimage site in Sibonga which is also a popular religious and tourist destination.
One to two hours of stay in Tumalog Falls is perfect enough to enjoy the fantastic gossamer scenery and the sparkling water at its basin, especially if other tourist spots are on your bucket list. Not to worry, restrooms are available for rinsing off and other toilet facilities. In case guests forget to bring or run out of toiletries, a local mini convenience store (called sari-sari store) is readily available nearby where necessities like shampoo, soap, bottled water, and refreshments are being sold.
It's 4:21 pm and we were ready to go but instead of walking back to the parking area, we decided to try riding the habal-habal. Since our colleagues are locals of Cebu, we tried haggling with the mototaxi drivers in their dialect but it was an embarrassing failure. The P30 per person flat rate is their fixed price for a single-journey ride. We hopped in and braved the really scary and very steep road, but the drivers are reliable on passenger safety as they are experts in maneuvering their vehicles.
These amazing views lingered in my head for a long time as it's undoubtedly one of the best places that I have ever been to in my life. There are a thousand reasons to come back to the place but one thing that is certain is, to make sure I'll have an underwater shot with the whale sharks in my return!