Kawasan Falls

Tragic news about the site moderator.

Lambug Beach, Badian: I Still Go Back

I’ve been to Lambug Beach in Badian so many times I’ve lost count. It still is a favorite place to get away from the city. It’s a no frills zone. Nothing fancy but a white sand beach that’s too shallow for swimming on low tide but doesn’t necessarily disappoint on high tide. It’s not the best beach around but people like me seem to be drawn back to its shore. I haven’t thought of it really but now it’s clear to me why. It gives me the peace of mind I’m looking for in a beach. It’s well secluded, not too many people and hanging out under the shade of a coconut tree til one falls asleep appeals to me. I have probably spent more hours napping there than swimming and that’s okay. When the tide rises, a dip is enough to make the 3-hour bus travel worthwhile. I will always go back to Lambug. It has no pretentious resorts. And the locals understand that’s what people go there for – some peace and quiet without caring much of the spend meter.

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It’s been a while

Yep. I haven’t posted anything in two months. But that doesn’t mean I stopped taking photos. I got tons of them.

So here’s to February!

Terrazas de Flores, anyone?

I first saw a photo of it on a Facebook page. No one seemed to know where it was. The only information I got was it’s somewhere in Busay. I didn’t consciously cook up a plan to go there anytime soon. I had however, kept a mental note to visit soon. Knowing me, soon can be the immediate weekend or it could be next year.

The opportunity came when one boring Sunday, I found myself going up to the mountains of Busay on my motorbike. A quick stop at the side-road viewing deck for sweet corn and I was good with lunch. I was waiting for my soda when a car stopped asking for directions to Terrazas de Flores. I intently listened to the lady giving instructions how to reach the spot and learned it was not too far from where we were. A few minutes and we were on the way.

Ten minutes past, we saw Malubog Elementary School. Across it is the Terrazas which you should not be able to miss. A sign board is quite conspicuous but it’s on the other side of the road when going up so the school was the better marker. We parked by the sideroad. There’s free parking inside though one has to pay an entrance fee of 100 pesos per head.

Terrazas boasts as the first botanical garden of its kind in Cebu. It’s logical to develop such a garden now if you have that extra land teemed with grasses. The Sirao Flower Farm was so hyped last year (and until now in fact) that each weekend, people swarm the farm for photo ops and selfies. It was inevitable then that people will be looking for some place else for a better selfie spot. Taking a selfie is just so hard now without having a photobomber in the background. This new garden nearby is giving everyone an option, with a cafe for an afternoon rendezvous for those who have extra bucks to spare.

Terrazas is not trying to be Sirao Flower Farm. It grows a different variety of flowers. None of the celosias and sunflowers. And none of the sprawling mountains in the background. Instead it is a well-trimmed garden on a gated hill-side with clear foot paths and terraces of well-curated flowers and plants. There are areas all over the garden where one can chill and talk over pastries and coffee privately. The coffee shop sits midway up the hill giving a nice view of the garden.

I didn’t count how many varieties of flowers were there but there were many. If I am not mistaken, Terrazas hasn’t gone full blast yet and it’s obvious they are still developing some of the areas. In fact, we were not able to pay the entrance fee as the cafe was filled with people and the fee was to be paid at the cafe counter. That however, might change soon. That being said, Terrazas still gives you a respite from the stress of the city. Well, I can’t wait when all the flowers bloom together. That would definitely make place burst of colors even more.

With people lining up at the cafe counter, we decided to skip buying anything. Maybe next time.

That Cangcua-ay Beach on Instagram

It’s been a month or so since I’ve gone to the beach. I’m not much of a planner. Sometimes, not planning doesn’t go well. Often however, it works just fine with me. I tend to lower expectations when I go out. And going somewhere unplanned, you don’t really have much to expect. Except that you’d hope the sun shines and wherever you find yourself in, it will be worth the time.

We boarded the bus down South of Cebu a few Sundays ago at dawn, having decided a day before to visit Oslob. It wasn’t clear where exactly we’d end up until we were seated inside the bus. Beach was the plan.

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After a quick breakfast at the town’s public market, we headed down to The Ruins, also known as Cuartel, after a short walk around the church. Oslob’s church is pretty from the outside and you’d wonder how it must have looked like inside before it caught fire years ago. There was also a mini museum nearby where vintage memorabilia dating back to the Spanish years are on display.

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Oslob is a sleepy town. Every now and then, one would notice tourists walking around who must have just dropped by on their way or after the more popular activity in town, swimming with the whale sharks.

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I’ve ticked off swimming with whale sharks years back, so we’re sticking to the original plan – the beach. And we found one along the highway after asking around where that popular Cangcua-ay beach is. Yeah, that one that’s making its rounds in Instagram for quite some time now. We hopped on a bus and dropped off along the national highway where a few resorts were lined up.

The cheaper option, I believe, from the resorts in the area was the one we chose. Entrance fee is 120 pesos per head with no extra fee for a cottage. I find the resort’s name very generic and one might have a hard time finding it in google. Cangcua-ay Private Beach Resort, that’s how they call it. The problem with that name is Cangcua-ay is the name of the whole area where all the resorts are. But I’d assume bus drivers are familiar with the name so it’s best to tell them where to be dropped off.

The good thing was, there weren’t a lot of people when we arrived. A team, probably working at a call center, was prepping to go home after an overnight stay. All in all, I think there were only 4 cottages that were occupied. It was a weekend so we were expecting alot more people but ended up having the beach all to ourselves. We didn’t get to have that similar photo on the beach with a pink floater. We could have borrowed from the next cottage who had one but were too shy to ask.

The water was crystal clear. That’s a given when you go to beaches down South. It’s a ten-minute walk down to the cottages. Be prepared for some walking down steep stairs. It’s twice the effort going up but I didn’t really mind.

Here are some Cangcua-ay snaps. I man the camera so the guy on the photo is definitely not me. Haha.

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BnW Day 93

“You fell in love with a storm. Did you really think you would get out unscathed?”

-Nikita Gill 

Bloom

Blom where you are planted. 

Palm

Last Saturday and Sunday were roadtrips on my motorbike which meant trees and trees and more trees.  This one particularly caught my eye when at one point I looked up. I had to stop for a moment to capture this pretty tree.  Summer is almost here indeed.  Or is it here already?

I thought the image was cool enough for a collage.  Would be nice to have a shirt with this print on. #popart

iamlaagan

Dead Tree

Chanced upon this dead tree yesterday. I am not quite sure if it’s dead really or maybe it’s just hibernating or something. It sure did look pretty against the sky. It stood alone too. Makes one think how lonely it is to be alone. Then I remember a passage I read somewhere – “The strongest ones in the world are those who stand most alone. ”