Here's the the day two itinerary of my Cebu Solo Backpacking Adventure.
The advantage of spending the night in Oslob were:
1. I wouldn't wake up earlier and travel 3.5 hours at dawn to get to Oslob (assuming I came from Cebu City)
2. I can take the first batch for the whale shark encounter and save up lot of time
I woke up at 5:30AM and prepared for the activity. The daily schedule of the whale shark encounter is from 6:00AM to 12:00NN. Note: do not put sunscreen as they will ask you to remove it later on. This is one of the don'ts during the encounter.
Before I left the home stay, I asked Ate Venny for direction to the briefing centre. She said that I have to walk left, facing the Tan-awan Elementary School, until I reached the briefing centre. She gave me a waisip tip: avoid going inside any resort so I won't be charge an entrance fee of P100.
I followed her instructions and after 10 minutes I was already at the briefing centre. The briefing was a discussion regarding the do's and don'ts while having the activity. After the briefing, I went to the cashier to pay P500 for the snorkelling activity. The boatman gave our life jacket, snorkelling gear and guided us to the open sea. I suggest that you bring your own underwater camera. It will save you some money! But if you do not have one, they can lend you a camera for a fee. :)
The guides will take you to the whalesharks and ensure that you have a good photo with it. I didn't have mine since I was busy documenting the activity. I'm not sure if you can see the video I uploaded.
The advantage of spending the night in Oslob were:
1. I wouldn't wake up earlier and travel 3.5 hours at dawn to get to Oslob (assuming I came from Cebu City)
2. I can take the first batch for the whale shark encounter and save up lot of time
I woke up at 5:30AM and prepared for the activity. The daily schedule of the whale shark encounter is from 6:00AM to 12:00NN. Note: do not put sunscreen as they will ask you to remove it later on. This is one of the don'ts during the encounter.
Before I left the home stay, I asked Ate Venny for direction to the briefing centre. She said that I have to walk left, facing the Tan-awan Elementary School, until I reached the briefing centre. She gave me a waisip tip: avoid going inside any resort so I won't be charge an entrance fee of P100.
I followed her instructions and after 10 minutes I was already at the briefing centre. The briefing was a discussion regarding the do's and don'ts while having the activity. After the briefing, I went to the cashier to pay P500 for the snorkelling activity. The boatman gave our life jacket, snorkelling gear and guided us to the open sea. I suggest that you bring your own underwater camera. It will save you some money! But if you do not have one, they can lend you a camera for a fee. :)
The guides will take you to the whalesharks and ensure that you have a good photo with it. I didn't have mine since I was busy documenting the activity. I'm not sure if you can see the video I uploaded.
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| That's our guide having a close encounter with the baby whale shark. |
It was a 30 minute activity. Short but it demanded much of my effort. Since I have to swim, take a picture/video of the whale shark and avoid tons of jellyfish. After the activity, I headed back to the home stay, took a bath and prepared myself to my next destination, Badian.
Yeah, I skipped breakfast because I needed to be at Badian by 9:30AM.
Yeah, I skipped breakfast because I needed to be at Badian by 9:30AM.
From Tan-awan Elementary School, I waited for bus going to Bato. The fare was P20-30. From Bato, I rode an ordinary bus going to Cebu and told the bus conductor to drop me off Matutinao Church, Badian.
Prologue (haha). Before heading to Cebu, I read blogs to find cheaper tour guide fee for the canyoneering activity. Fees ranges from P2,500 to 1,000. And here's the cheapest fee that I found. I communicated with him and we had this deal:
Contact Person: Ronald
Number: 0905-968-2225
Negotiated fee: P1,200
Inclusions: Guided tour, life jacket, helmet, dry bag, and aqua shoes
I sent a SMS to Ronald telling him that I'm on my way. When I reached Matutinao Church and stoop down the bus, Ronald's friend was already waiting for me. I left my backpack at Ronald's House and geared up for the activity. He introduced me to Neo, my guide for the day. Neo suggested that I eat breakfast to gain strength for the long activity. I ate pancit in an eatery near the church and took along a bottle of water with me.
From the church, we road a motorbike (habal-habal) going to the jump-off point, Algeria(approx. 45 min). I paid P20 for Algeria's environmental fee. We were walking for about 10-15 minutes when I heard the rush of water. I felt nervous and excited at the same time. And when I saw the first jump. Oh-em. I told myself, what am I doing here. Haha! It took me a lot of breathing and encouragement before I took the first jump.
I will let the photos speak for themselves.
From 10:30AM to 2:00PM - Ticked off canyoneering in my bucket list. Hooray! :)
From the first level of Badian Falls, we walked for about 30-40 minutes and headed to Ronald's house. Oh, there's another P20 environmental fee upon the exit of Badian.
Took a bath, prep my things and headed to Cebu. I told my guide that I'm heading to Cebu and he told me that busses pass by in front of their house (advantage!).
Badian to Cebu is about 3.5 hour ride. It's a good time to have a long nap.
Upon reaching Cebu South Bus Terminal, I rode a cab going to Roseate Pension House Cebu. I made a reservation through their site, http://www.roseatepensione.com a month before going to Cebu. There's no fee for the reservation. You just have to fill in the form in their website and wait for the confirmation.
I received a message from Airasia that my 4:00PM flight was cancelled and I had a new flight at 8:00PM. It's good that Roseate only charged a P50/hour extension fee so I wouldn't worry over my things while exploring Cebu City.
I think the place is very strategic as it near (2) Crown Regency Hotel, (3) Mango Square Mall and (4) Larshians BBQ, the places i intended to visit during my city tour.
I checked in at Roseate's and took an hour of rest before taking my well deserved dinner.
There's only one thing in my mind for dinner. Zubuchon's lechon! I made sure to visit this restaurant every time i visit Cebu :)
After dinner, I decided to have dessert at Razon's. I tried their famous halo-halo which I wasn't able to capture in a photo.
After a sumptuous meal, I headed back to the hotel and had a rest.
It was a great day indeed! :)
Here's a summary of my itinerary:
Prologue (haha). Before heading to Cebu, I read blogs to find cheaper tour guide fee for the canyoneering activity. Fees ranges from P2,500 to 1,000. And here's the cheapest fee that I found. I communicated with him and we had this deal:
Contact Person: Ronald
Number: 0905-968-2225
Negotiated fee: P1,200
Inclusions: Guided tour, life jacket, helmet, dry bag, and aqua shoes
I sent a SMS to Ronald telling him that I'm on my way. When I reached Matutinao Church and stoop down the bus, Ronald's friend was already waiting for me. I left my backpack at Ronald's House and geared up for the activity. He introduced me to Neo, my guide for the day. Neo suggested that I eat breakfast to gain strength for the long activity. I ate pancit in an eatery near the church and took along a bottle of water with me.
From the church, we road a motorbike (habal-habal) going to the jump-off point, Algeria(approx. 45 min). I paid P20 for Algeria's environmental fee. We were walking for about 10-15 minutes when I heard the rush of water. I felt nervous and excited at the same time. And when I saw the first jump. Oh-em. I told myself, what am I doing here. Haha! It took me a lot of breathing and encouragement before I took the first jump.
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| That's me. Taking courage on the first jump. |
I will let the photos speak for themselves.
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| Just like a cave only it's on the outside! |
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| Tra.la.la.la A walk in the park? LOL. |
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| Excuse my legs :) |
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| strong current and I'm trying to hold it for this photo. haha! |
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| Caught in Action. |
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| Feeling the third level of Badian Falls |
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| Chill lang. Parang di pagod. Haha! |
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| Posing on the bamboo bridge? Pak! Para sa ekonomiya! |
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| Second level of Badian Falls: the last jump! |
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| View from top of the falls. Took me minutes to finally have my last jump :) |
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| First level of Badian Falls. No jumping! :) |
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| Kuya Neo (in blue) was my guide for the activity. He ensured that I was safe while enjoying canyoneering. |
From 10:30AM to 2:00PM - Ticked off canyoneering in my bucket list. Hooray! :)
From the first level of Badian Falls, we walked for about 30-40 minutes and headed to Ronald's house. Oh, there's another P20 environmental fee upon the exit of Badian.
Took a bath, prep my things and headed to Cebu. I told my guide that I'm heading to Cebu and he told me that busses pass by in front of their house (advantage!).
Badian to Cebu is about 3.5 hour ride. It's a good time to have a long nap.
Upon reaching Cebu South Bus Terminal, I rode a cab going to Roseate Pension House Cebu. I made a reservation through their site, http://www.roseatepensione.com a month before going to Cebu. There's no fee for the reservation. You just have to fill in the form in their website and wait for the confirmation.
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| I grabbed this from Roseate Pension's Website |
I think the place is very strategic as it near (2) Crown Regency Hotel, (3) Mango Square Mall and (4) Larshians BBQ, the places i intended to visit during my city tour.
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| (1) Roseate Pension House |
I checked in at Roseate's and took an hour of rest before taking my well deserved dinner.
There's only one thing in my mind for dinner. Zubuchon's lechon! I made sure to visit this restaurant every time i visit Cebu :)
After dinner, I decided to have dessert at Razon's. I tried their famous halo-halo which I wasn't able to capture in a photo.
After a sumptuous meal, I headed back to the hotel and had a rest.
It was a great day indeed! :)
Here's a summary of my itinerary:
