This blog entry has been long overdue. I finally decided to make this entry to reduce the backlogs here; before I go into another adventure with Robai this coming month.


The previous post about Cagbalete is about our journey from Manila to the beautiful island. This one, on the other hand, is about our first day in the island: what we did there and what are the things that we saw so expect a lot of pictures in this entry.


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After arriving in Villa Cleofas, we asked the owners (I think Mr. Ed) if there are any tents available for rental. He led us to one of the tents on the campsite and me and Robai deposited our things there. A couple was also at the camp site. They brought their own tents and it was so amazing kasi I think professional travellers sila. They had everything! (a burner, a small frying pan, gas) We didn't waste anymore time (because we were dead hungry) and went back to the mess hall. I ordered a dish of pork chop while Robai watched me eat (she was done eating her lunch: thank you Century Tuna Paella.)


We took a shower in the common bathroom (of course, not sabay) before we explored the island. The water was receding already, the afternoon sun was shining brightly and it  was terribly hot.  When we were finished freshening up, we decided to explore the east side of the island.


You would expect that since it was very hot, the sand would also burn our feet. Interestingly enough, it wasn't. One can walk barefoot on the shore and appreciate the beauty of the receding water without scorching your feet. And of course, we took pictures.

Sea grass (?)

We were actually in search of the delta/estuary but since ang tamad namin, we ended up laying in the sand and enjoying the cool breeze.

Believe me, you won't feel the heat kahit mukhang mainit sa lugar na yan.

This tree is underwater during high tide but since the water receded, it looks like a normal tree growing in a desert. 

A view of the beach in the eastern part of the island.

It's amazing how the beach looked completely like a desert when the water disappeared. You can walk in the sand dunes and see small fishes on puddles left by the receding water. If you are wondering whether we can go swimming here, I'd say yes. You'd have to walk for about one kilometer from the beach to go to the deep part. This, however, applies only during the low tide (usually on afternoons). The water level is normal on mornings and night times (high tide).

 sand dunes

The beach was so beautiful and quoting my best friend, it's mentally paralyzing. It was the first time ever that we were together and not talking at all. It felt like our problems disappeared with the water. We were living in an alternate reality where Manila did not exist.  All we wanted was to appreciate the beauty of the island and take in the fresh breeze of the Pacific Ocean. It was the best feeling one could ever have. 

We finally gave up on looking for the delta and decided that we still have tomorrow morning to search for it so we just decided to go to Bonsai Island before we take a nap. Sobrang tamad lang namin kasi inaantok na kami. We did not sleep the night before.  

Bonsai Island is a nearby island that is usually submerged in water. When the low tide occurs, the island becomes visible from Villa Cleofas and visitors can take an almost 5 minute walk to go there.

 On our way to the island

At the Bonsai Island...with the bonsai trees

The island is actually very small. There are several mangroves (I don't really know if they are mangroves or not) growing there and the island floor was rocky. One has to be careful when walking because one wrong step and you can slip and die. Haha. 

And of course, cam whores that we are, we couldn't resist taking pictures of ourselves in Bonsai Island. 

I think you can actually go swimming here  (see the water on the top of this picture)but the seafloor is jagged and rocky.

 A water tunnel of some sort in Bonsai Island. You can see fishes here but they're too shy to smile at the camera. 

When we were finished exploring the island, we decided to head back to our tents and take a short nap. On our way, we saw several residents searching for crabs nearby. I wanted to dry looking for one to but Robai insisted that we go back and sleep. 

 A boat on (not-so) dry land

This boat is probably Cagbalete's trademark. If you try to google pictures of the island, you'll always see a photo of this water-forsaken boat. I guess this boat is a property of the owners of Villa Cleofas. 

When we reached our tent, we took a shower again, changed clothes and slept. Robai decided to sleep on one of the hammocks near the campsite (there are many) while I went inside our tent. I'm not comfortable with other people seeing me sleep. 

A view inside our tent

Camwhore talaga

It was a good thing that I chose to sleep in our tent kasi we woke up two hours after to find out that our fellow campers were robbed. Someone stole their cash (amounting to 4k) while they were strolling outside. Their gadgets were left unharmed though. I'll tell the story on another entry. 

When we woke up at around 6:30pm, Robai and I decided to prepare our dinner, comprising of adobong baboy, rice and hotdog. As you can expect, Robai did all the cooking coz I am a moron when it comes to the kitchen. I don't know how to cook anything for the life of me so in order to avoid being poisoned with my cooking, Robai took charge. Buti na lang. :) 

Our jumbo jumbo hotdog. 

At last, dinner was served (thanks to Robai). It was delish! Or siguro gutom lang talaga kami. HAHA. After dinner, we took a shower again to get ready for bed. Lagi na lang kami nagpapalit ng damit di ba? 

Before sleeping, we decided to take a walk. We rested on the hammocks in the Talisay tree and watched the stars. 

At around 10pm, sleep got the better of me so I said goodbye to Robai and proceeded to the tent to sleep. She stayed outside for a couple of hours to lay in the hammock and talk to Neil. 

Our tent

Here are some of the other shots that I took using Rupert. I'll continue the rest of the adventure tomorrow. 

The coconut tree beside our tent. It's SOOOO tall. 

This is my second post about my Negros trip in 2011. After visiting the beautiful paradise that is Nasig-id, I was itching to travel again and explore the hidden wonders of my hometown. Being stuck in Manila for a good 3 years took a toll on me and I was itching to walk and have a change of scenery. With the suggestion of my uncle/godfather, we decided to go to Lutoban. 

Now let me tell you something first about Lutoban. Lutoban is actually a name of a barangay in Zamboanguita, Negros Oriental. Our destination is actually the place where a lake and the sea both meet. I don't know what it is called because I'm bobo about those jargons but when I asked good Mr. Google and  Ms. Wikipedia, the closest they could come up to is a lagoon or an estuary.  My uncle was singing praises about it so imagine my excitement when he said that it was close to the Antulang Beach Resort. If you don't know what or where Antulang is, it's just the five-star resort where Ryan Agoncillo proposed to Juday. Imagine that?! But aside from that, Antulang is a famous destination for foreign nationals who visit Negros because it boasts of it's beautiful coastline and rock formation and it's a pretty good location if you want to dive. :) Get to know more about Antulang, click here. 

Here are some of the pictures from Antulang that I got from the net. No, I have never been there. Ang mahal kaya. Dollars ang usapan teh. The pictures are NOT mine and are posted for information purposes only. 

Ong gondo-gondo!

Beautiful infinity pool. 

Together with my Tatay, my uncles and the rest of my cousins, we went for a drive to Lutoban (which is about 45-60 minutes away from our house). Ryan, Eldrick and myself decided to ride the motorcycle while the rest of our company rode the ever-handy tricycle of my uncle/Ninong. It was an adventure for me because a.) I have never seen a lagoon/estuary before and b.) I'll go there riding a habal-habal! 

We left at noon (ang jinit! swear!) and drove our way to the rock-strewn path towards the far-flung barangay that is our destination. I could not help admiring the sceneries as we pass by. I have never seen so many trees and fields before and what fascinated me more was that I could see horses roaming freely by the side of the road! I took pictures of them using my handy-dandy phone, Aleckses. Below are some of the shots. 

Me and Ryan. 

Eldrick behind the lens. 

A view of the beach.

It was low-tide then so we could see some fishermen standing at the middle of the sea, the water knee-high. 

The road to Lutoban

Can you see the horses? 

After a very bumpy ride, we arrived at the house of my Ninong's in-laws. I thought that was where we were supposed to go so I was so surprised when I realized that the beach was far from where we were. I asked my Ninong where we were supposed to go swimming and he smiled at me and pointed at the back of the house.  I run thinking that the beach was near their backyard and my jaw-dropped when I saw that we are way too far from our destination. The house was on top of a freaking hill and the lagoon was way below it. I asked my Ninong how we were going to get there. He shrugged and said, "Lalakad tayo mamaya." (We are going to trek later.)  

While we were resting, my cousins and I decided to wander off and check out the places near the backyard. We saw a trail and followed it and we were able to see a part of the estuary/lagoon. We didn't dip though go the water was too murky. I thought this was the place where we were supposed to swim so imagine my disappointment when I saw how dirty it was. All that heat and trouble of going there for nothing?! 

      

Jen and Sherry checking out the estuary

     

Some watery-hole near the bank.

 

Look at that dirty water and the small mangroves on the bank. 

I told my Ninong that the place seems to be really dirty and it doesn't seem fit for swimming. He laughed at me and told me that the dirty bank was not where we'll go swimming. He pointed at a bank far from the hill and said, "Dun tayo pupunta."

Now to give you a perspective of how far that place is, I'll post a picture. 

You see the other side of the bank, (look at the upper right corner where there are trees and sand), that's where we were going.

A starfish we saw at the beach. 

The mangrove trail

 h