Dumaguete-Siquijor (Part 1)

--------------------------------
On Random Impulses, I
Negros Oriental
Central Visayas
06 to 09 September 2013
--------------------------------

February... March... April... May... June-- okay, stop. Just. STOP. This can't go on.

My thoughts immediately went to Davao but ditched the idea altogether when Dave, a colleague of mine in the ER, mentioned something about his vacation leave on September. As it turned out, he was going to Dumaguete and that if we wanted to join him, we were welcome.

Long story short, I bought a ticket-- punched-through any minor infarction encountered and crushed any form inhibition that dared cross my way-- and waited for weeks to pass.

July... August... and, finally, September.

definitely not my crazy Sagada Group, but I love them anyway. :)

-------------------------
Day One
06 September 2013 
-------------------------

Dave picked us up from the Dumaguete Airport and rode on a motorized pedicab bound for Lee Plaza. We stayed at Asia NOVOTEL and rested for a while before heading out the streets for a quick tour. It was Friday and, as with all cities on a Friday, things were livelier so it was ideal to walk along the streets and just let it all sink in.

Yes, we were indeed far from the hustle and bustle of Metro Manila but to be honest, I still couldn't shake it off. Something personal was bothering me but I decided to just not spoil it and enjoy the moment.

The accommodation was pretty decent and reasonably priced for a big group. There were several technical problems encountered (the shower suddenly coming off from the wall, the lights in the comfort room malfunctioned, and the classic 'sink won't drain' problem among others) but I do think those things were forgivable and, anyway, they attended to the problem real quick.

the room.

wifi! :D

After we've rested, we went out for lunch at Neva's Pizza, Pasta, ATBP. Big servings; food was delicious AND cheap but, as I would discover soon enough, food in Dumaguete was really cheaper.

while waiting.

after lunch inside a pedicab with Glenn to my left
and Dave at the front.

Out of curiosity, we headed straight for the famous Sans Rival Cakes & Pastries shop to get something sweet. They didn't have a branch out in the Metro so it was kind of a novelty-- hehe-- and anyway, we didn't mind it one bit since everything was just a couple of blocks away from the hotel and we were still kind of full. Walking, we figured, would be nice before dessert.

Silvanas: it's a meringue-like pastry with cream-fillings

With dessert done, Dave took us out for a walk around the Plaza's perimeter.

the plaza with Rizal's statue.

Dumaguete Cathedral Church
St. Catherine of Alexandria

The Campanario de Dumaguete

In view: The Campanario de Dumaguete

Silliman University Entrance

Silliman Institute Building at the Background.

by the bay, at night

The Sisters of Saint Paul de Chartres! :D
the kindly SPC nuns will be disappointed if they find out I've
forgotten this bit of history about my old school. Hahaha.

at Rizal Boulevard, enjoying the weekend street food extravaganza
of balot, tempura, and fish ball. :D

From Rizal Boulevard, where the national hero was said to have walked when he still lived, I think we hiked a good two kilometers to reach Hayahay Treehouse Bar and View Deck for dinner and booze.

love this jazz band. i hope to hear them perform again.

And, may I just add, ever since we stepped on Dumaguete soil, we've done nothing but eat, eat and eat. Can't help it. Food was cheap. :)

We stayed until it was past 11pm, took a pedicab back to the hotel and slept for tomorrow's activity. It wasn't jammed with lots of things to do, but we had to ride a boat so we needed to leave early. XD


-------------------------
Day Two
07 September 2013 
-------------------------

First up, I ordered coffee from the front desk to fire-up my system while I waited for Dave to gather himself and wait for his soul to come back from dreamland. Haha. We bought breakfast for our still-sleeping companions, hoping that they'd all be prepared already upon our return; unfortunately, they didn't, so we had to wake them up to catch up on boats heading for Apo Island.

From Dumaguete City, we had to ride a jeep bound for Zamboanguita. Travel time is less than 30-minutes. At Zamboanguita, there's a desk there where you need to register for the trip and pay fees for entering and boat rental. It didn't take long. A few minutes later, we were well on our way towards Apo Island.

The Boats

On the Boat with the Banka's El Kapitan :D

Josh is having too much fun. XD

floating on a tub of blue gelo.
This reminds me of my trip to Anawangin Cove. XD

And, finally....

yes, we can't believe it ourselves.

this barely needs editing.

Now, because my camera wasn't water-proof, I wasn't able to take pictures while snorkeling. It was just me, Dave and Francis because the others were afraid to go out in the sea since most of them didn't know how to swim-- Josh was the exception. He was a better swimmer but he just didn't want to go out in the heat of the sun. Anyway, we were lucky enough to have encountered two very big sea turtles-- one was feeding themselves on the vegetation below, and the other did a very good job at scaring me by suddenly appearing next to my face when I took a dive down. >_<

I still laugh at myself whenever I remember how I panicked out of nervousness.

Rested for a while by the hut; food wasn't at all that appealing plus it was ridiculously expensive. It's a good thing that I wasn't feeling hungry. Must be the adrenaline.

We left our stuff by the hut and trekked our way up to the top of the island. 

the long way up.

The path was already cemented so it wasn't really that much of a task. It's just a matter of endurance which I fear was slowly dwindling by the year. Ugh. I need to get back in shape.

pose to rest. haha.

After fifteen or so minutes of walking under the scorching heat of day, we managed to arrive at an open hut surrounded by trees. There, Dave, Glenn and myself waited for the others to catch up.

Bringing a towel or a scarf is a great idea. XD

We let the others rest in the shade when they obviously didn't want to go on anymore. Dave, Glenn and myself continued further up the hill to check if there was anything worth seeing at all. Turns out, there weren't-- just a great stretch of sea beyond the island.

We wanted to climb that thing but it already looked dangerous.
In the end, we chose to be responsible adults. Hahaha.

We returned to the hut where they stayed and told them there was nothing spectacular to see. We rested again for a few minutes more, then headed back to the beach for some refreshment and to clean up.

we befriended someone along the way. we named him Hachiko.

Not sure why, but the dog seemed to have taken a certain liking for our little band of lazy Manileños. From start to finish of the hike, he walked along with us-- stopped when we stopped and caught up when we sped along-- as if he had personally assigned himself as our official Tour Guide Mascot. When we asked the locals about his master, they said that it didn't matter because everyone knew anyone and everything in the island-- dogs included.

That's a very curious thing to say. XD

By the beach-- while the others rested by the hut again-- Dave, Glenn and myself decided to walk to the other side where the water was cooler and the beach was sole-friendlier. I didn't bring my camera. Good thing Glenn and Dave brought their phones as an alternative.

By 3 or 4pm, we were back in Dumaguete City proper. As usual, Dave, Glenn and myself decided to be the last one in the group to clean up. While waiting, we went out into the streets for something to eat since we didn't eat anything in the island. It was a quaint university food stall just a few blocks away from our hotel. I forgot the name of the place already but from what I could remember, for as low as 50 pesos, you'd get a complete meal. :D

Dinner at around past 7pm or so at Moon Cafe, along Silliman Avenue. Again, big servings; cheap AND very delicious. I think I might have gained five pounds in just one sitting.

After dinner, I was set on dropping on the bed to sleep when Dave asked if anyone would like to tag along for some booze because he was going to meet up with friends. Naturally, I jumped on my feet when Glenn decided to go; so did Josh and Pam. Francis and Pat both decided to remain by the hotel to rest up for tomorrow's activities.

It was probably unfair to compare it with Hayahay Treehouse Bar and View deck, and it was most certainly unfair to compare the performing bands since Jazz was a bias of mine first and foremost-- but I really thought it was fine. Yesterday's place was better, but it wasn't at all that bad either. We met up with Dave's friend; talked a bit, enjoyed the moment laughing along with Glenn, got slightly tipsy, finally wracked some nerve to flirt with someone, went back to the hotel and dropped dead on the bed to sleep the night away.

Tomorrow would be packed with activities, no doubt. We were headed for Siquijor. :)

[Dumaguete-Siquijor (Part 2)]