Silay to Oslob: Our unexpectedly simple journey

For anyone in the world who's seen the whale sharks of Oslob on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or on a friends video, I know what you're first reaction was - "I want to do that too!"

Then come the assumptions - "It looks scary" "The water is too deep" "The whale sharks will hurt us" "Its gonna be a long trip" and "Its gonna be expensive."

Well, i'm here to tell you that I have experienced it and all those assumptions are unfounded.

First of all, unless you have a fear of water, you'll be fine. Even if you don't know how to swim, you can just hold on to the banka and you have a life vest to boot.

Second, The water is very deep but its also very salty and therefore very buoyant so even if you let go or lose your life jacket, just lie flat and you'll float. In any case, the viewing area is only about 100 meters from the sea shore. A very easy swim.

Thirdly, the whale sharks or butandings don't even care that you're there or not. all they care about is eating the krill that's being fed to them. If you get bumped or brushed by them, its unintentional and, frankly, quite an experience.

Fourth, its not a long trip at all. The key jump off point is Dumaguete. You can land at the airport or, if you're from Negros island like us, you can do a road trip. Once in Dumaguete, just take a 20 minute tricycle ride or bring your car(which will be faster) and park at the port of Sibulan. Take a 15-minute fast ferry ride to Liloan, Cebu(Php70.00) and take 30-minute tricycle ride(Php50/head) to Oslob. If you just want to see the butandings tell the tricycle to bring you straight to the briefing area and contract them to wait for you. you're only allowed 30 minutes with the giants and you'll probably only need 1.5 hours total. make sure to arrive early to avoid the crowd(around 7-8AM). When you're done, just head back the way you came so you have time to soak in the sights of Dumaguete. Make sure to sample the food as well, which is always awesome. The whole whale-watching sojourn will take only 3hours out of your time.

And Lastly - you'll need to spend about 140pesos back and forth for the fast craft, 50 pesos for the trike, and 500 pesos each for the whaleshark-watching(300 if you stay in the boat). more or less for our family of four, we spent only Php3,000. including breakfast at a small carinderia by the Sibulan port and some bananas at the viewing area.

And, in my personal opinion, Php3,000 and 3hrs is a small ransom for this experience of a lifetime.

Rest and Relaxation in Boracay

Some people love to come to Boracay for the late night parties or the island activities like tours, atv & bike rentals, jetskiing, parasailing, kitesurfing, banana boat, reef walking, etc...

For our most recent vacation, me and my wife decided to celebrate our anniversary by taking a relaxing road trip to the island and immerse ourselves in the more peaceful aspects of the place - the crystal clear waters, powdery white sand and, of course, the food!!

The Roro trip

Coming from Negros Occidental, we boarded the "Roro" ferry in Bacolod to go to Dumangas in Iloilo. Its a two hour trip which can get a little boring. But with good weather, you can either get some sleep in preparation for the long road trip ahead or take some cool photos on deck. There's usually a trip available every one or two hours. To be sure of a slot aboard the vessel, make sure to arrive at the port 2 hours before you intend to leave. There's usually space for private vehicles, but arrive early just to be sure. They usually have supervisors who decide who goes on or not. Its best to identify these people and try to get their celphone numbers so you can call or text them for your return trip booking schedule. 

During the off peak seasons, the Roros can get quite crowded, so if there's no space in their seating room, you can either stay on the deck or yo can stay in your car which might be more comfortable and cooler but can get claustrophobic with all the big trucks around you and is kind of a waste of fuel. Don't worry about food on the Roro. There is usually a little canteen that sells snacks and drinks for the trip. 

For our trip, we decided to leave on the 3AM Lakbayan Roro. We had to pay the arastre of Php375 at the Bacolod BREDCO Port then an additional Php700 for our little Hyundai Getz(yes, this type of vehicle can take the trip) for the ferry. The driver and one passenger get free passes, but anyone else has to pay extra for every additional person. We arrived at Dumangas port at 5AM. We just drove off the Roro and headed off into the sunrise toward Caticlan Town. 

Dumangas port as we were docking at 5AM

Dumangas sunrise at around 5:30AM

our little Getz all scrunched up on the Roro

Road trip from Dumangas to Caticlan

We used to take the fast craft to Iloilo City, which is what most still usually do. But it adds and extra hour to the road trip to Caticlan and I find the driving of  drivers of the vans we rent from Iloilo just a little too hurried and unsafe for my taste. I've always loved driving, so when the option to take the car on the Roro presented itself, we took that. Plus, it cut the travel time from 5 hours down to 4 hours. That's driving at a leisurely rate, which is just how I like it. But if you decide to stop for breakfast, lunch or even "pasalubong" shopping, it'll probably take 5-6 hours. 

Now, getting off at Dumangas port, and for the first 20 or so kilometers, I find that there are insufficient road signs. For the first 5 km, make sure to ask for directions. The roads heading out of Dumangas could take you as far as 50km without any indication that you're going the wrong way. I've been on this exact trip 4 times, and I still make mistakes. By the time you get passed Passi, the road signs are satisfactorily sufficient, but make sure you keep your eyes peeled, nonetheless. 

For food , we decided just to make only one stop and  have breakfast at Jollibee, Passi, which is about 50km or 1 hour's drive from Dumangas port. Coming off the boat and after waking up early, even a fast food breakfast of tapa or longanisa can be appealing. 

Truth to tell, there's not much to see along the highway on the way to Caticlan but here are a few stops we usually make that are worth the delay:

Rosas Foods - Kalibo, Aklan(3 hours from Dumangas port)

They have a very wide assortment of sausages, chorizos and other meat products prepared in a very sanitary and hygienic way. Lately, they have opened a little eatery but we still haven't gotten the chance to try their food.

Ramboy's - Numancia, Aklan(3 1/2 hours from Dumangas port)

Home of the best Liempo I've ever tasted for only Php200 per kg. You can either stop for lunch or take out and enjoy it in your hotel room in Boracay. But if I were you, get 1kg for your group to dine in and take out another kilo and have a little picnic by the beach with some beers on the island. 

Now, after 4 hours of driving, you'll arrive at Caticlan town which is where you will have to take the jetty to get to Boracay Island!!! 

We usually leave the car at the parking area right in front of the jetty port were they charge Php100 per night. Make sure to lock your car and not leave any valuables inside. Nothing untoward has never happened to us, but we always play safe, anyway. 

After you've gotten all your things and closed up your car, head straight toward the jetty port ticketing office.

Jetty to the Hotel(its not over yet) 

For those of you who think that the ferry to Dumangas and the long road  trip are the only things you have to experience before you finally plop down on your bed in a nice seaside resort, you are sorely mistaken. hehe.

When you get to the Jetty, you have to buy your tickets. You have to choose from a number of jetty companies but we usually go on Montenegro. This time however, we were kind of disappointed in the Montenegro fast craft because of the poor safety precautions during boarding and the rocky ride to the island. Its only Php30/person for the fast craft but Php100/person for the terminal fee. make sense? not to me. 

During peak season when the wind and waves are milder, there are a number of pumpboats waiting along the pier to bring tourists to Boracay island. During the time we went, however, they couldn't pass the regular route because of the big waves caused by the change in wind direction. You could go to the other pier however, if you want to ride one of these. 

Me and my wife arrived in Caticlan at around 10:30AM and bought our tickets and paid for the terminal fee. They have moderately tight security with the regular X-ray machines and metal detectors. At the waiting area, they have a TV and an information desk where you have to fill up the manifest and they'll give you brochures for the resorts, restaurants and activities available on the island. These brochures are about 90% complete and they can give you a pretty good idea of things to do and places to go while your in Boracay. 

We then proceeded to board the fast craft at around 11:00. Earlier I stated that they had unsafe boarding practices this time around. I stated this because the boat was being rocked by the waves and the deck level was around 1 meter below the pier level. So, the gangplank was pointed down at an angle, loosely lashed to the dock and the entrance portal was reduced to between 3-4 feet depending on the waves. I had my 65 liter pack on my back going in, but, at 6'4", I really had to duck and as I was entering the boat rocked down,  causing the doorway to catch my pack and push me to my knees. It was a moderately traumatizing experience. if the boat had gone down another foot, I probably  would have been seriously hurt. I even saw a terrified teenage girl try to disembark later get her foot caught in the gangplank when it slid back. the crew helped her out, but any more pressure might have caused severe damage. Needless to say, I passed my pack ahead of me the next 3 times which allowed me to duck really low. 

We had to wait about 20min before the fast craft finally left for Boracay. I'm hoping that the safety and quality of transportation to and fro the island improve the next time I visit. 

I only brought my TNF Terra 65 backpack for my clothes, laptop and shoes and a small lumbar pack for my personals and other things. My wife brought my TNF boxshot for her clothes, her camera bag and small sling bag for her personals.  A word of advice, if you can carry your own stuff, just do so. From the moment you step onto the jetty port until you leave, there will always be someone trying to make money by carrying your stuff, taking you around, or just showing the way. For this trip, we carried our own stuff but let the resort bellboy help us out when we got to the hotel. 

As soon as you reach Boracay port, you have a few options to get to your Hotel :

Tricycle 

 Php100.00 to occupy the whole tricycle only until Station 1. If you go further, you may have to pay more. Because it was just the two of us, we chose this. Remember, you paid for the whole tricycle, so make sure the driver doesn't make any stops to pick up any other passengers along the way which could crowd the vehicle and delay your trip to the hotel.

Multicab

We only spent Php100.00 riding one of these back from the hotel, but I think it was only because the bellboy knew the driver and he was headed back to the port anyway. But from the port to the hotel, I think they charge more. When we came with a big group of 20, we had to get two of these for Php300.00 each if i remember correctly. For that many people, its well worth it. 

Hotel Transfers

You can actually call the resort you're booked in in advance and ask for their company car to pick you up. This is the more convenient option but very costly. If you're travelling on a budget, you might want to forego this as you'll end up spending about ten times what you'd pay for a tricycle or a multicab.


We rode the tricycle to Station 2 where our hotel, Le Soleil de Boracay was located. It took about 15min travel to get to the little side street nearest our hotel. The driver was very competent and polite. Luckily, the bellboy from Le Soleil was also bringing another guest out, so we put our bags on his cart for the walk to our hotel which was about 200meters from the side street.

Arriving at Le Soleil, we thanked and tipped our guide Philip (who was very friendly) and proceeded to the front desk where they quickly confirmed our reservation. It took about 15 minutes for them to prepare our room so we spent our time lounging in the lobby with our welcome drinks.

After that, we were ushered to our room, which was a little ways in (around a 100m) but I had previously chosen this location for optimal peace and quiet. They did have rooms available nearer to the entrance but I was afraid the noise from the beachfront and the hotel bar might disturb our reverie.

So it was with this thought that we unpacked our stuff, turned on the aircon, opened the curtains, ordered room service, then stretched out on the two queen sized beds in the room.

Our Stay in Paradise...

Day 1

Having finally arrived at our destination, our first order of business was to get something to eat. So after waking up from our siesta, we decided to walk to D'Mall, a sizable enclave of shops and restaurants. For first-timers and even regular Boracay tourists, this is the best place to go if you can't decide on what you want to do. They've got everything from groceries, a deli, and swimsuit shops to a rockclimbing wall, a ferris wheel and street actors wearing different costumes every night (great for a photo op)

Cyma

So for dinner, we decided to try Cyma - an authentic greek restaurant run owned and managed by Filipinos. I've never been to Santorini, but I can tell you, that what we had there pretty much brought me and my wife as close to the romantic seaside village as we've ever been. Having seen Jamie Oliver prepare a mouthwatering dish of these on TLC, I chose to order the Spanakopita, while my wife had a hankering for pasta, so we shared a plate of Gambas pasta. Of course, on our first day, we had to have some sort of acloholic beverage to take the edge off, so.... I ordered a glass of their house red and my wife had a margarita. Later, of course, I wish I had ordered the margarita as they make one of the best. Just order the original flavor. The Spanakopita was delicious, the Filo dough cooked to perfection and the filling was just right. The buttered potatoes made a great tandem with the traditional Greek dish and we finished the plate completely satisfied. The Gamas pasta was good as well, a little too lightly seasoned for my taste and the shrimps were just a bit overcooked. But the sauce was excellent, and I enjoyed mopping up the last few morsels up.

Suffice it to say, with the delicious meal (which we planned to revisit) and the satisfying buzz we got from the drinks, we walked back to the hotel, full and completely relaxed. A great ending to the first chapter of our 5 chapter stay. :)

Carmela and Margarita, so happy together

Spanakopita

Gambas Pasta

Day 2

Well, let's just say that our plan to sleep in the whole morning didn't exactly pan out. I guess our dial's were still tuned in to the work-all-day frequency. We were up pretty much by 7am which is pretty late for us..... if we had work! In any case, we decided to make the most of it and went down for the first of four complimentary breakfasts. 

What's great about staying in a hotel by the sea, especially one with their dining area right in front, is that you get to see what the beach and the weather is like. So after a satisfying meal of pancakes and sausages, we decided to go straight towards the beach. It was a great day, despite it being monsoon season. And so after a few minutes of strolling along the beach, we jumped right into the relatively cold and absolutely clear water. The waves were just right, so we waded out into the middle of the ocean and just went with the flow of the water. Its a surreal feeling when you're in the middle of all that roiling water, and you close your eyes and let it gently rock you as you're floating. You're vaguely afraid that you might open your eyes only to discover yourself in   deeper and more dangerous waters. But another part of you feels at peace, like nothing could possibly go wrong. And in that moment between fear and peace, you feel free. 

the rain never fell. a picture of beauty and gloom.

The swim invigorated us further, so instead of going back to the hotel, we decided to take a walk to Station 1 to check out the grotto. You see, everyone swims near the grotto, not just for the landmark, but in that area, the sand is spectacular. If its powder all over boracay, at the grotto area.... its silk. 

Enjoying a coconut shake on the way to the grotto (you can see it in he background)

I"ve got the Grotto in my hand. 

IMO, the best landscape pic i took the whole trip

On our way back to Station 2 from Station 1, my wife just couldn't let the opportunity pass so she insisted in passing by Jonas shakes. According to them, they make the original Boracay shakes. Well, whether that's true or not, they make one mean shake!!!

Milay waiting for her shake at Jonas'

On our way to the room to change for dinner, we knew exactly where our next stop for the trip was going to be to satisfy our hunger, not just for food, but for another culinary experience in Boracay. So with further adieu, we set our sights on Dos Mestizos tapas bar and restaurant - a Spanish-themed food place with excellent food and great ambiance. 

For those who have no idea, like me before, what tapas is, let me attempt to explain it in my own simplistic understanding of the word. In Hiligaynon, we call it sumsuman or "food that goes great with beer." :)

So, after a full first two days of sun, sea and sumptuous food, I ordered myself a veeery cold bottle of San Mig Light and went to town! 

 getting ready to order by the stage

my beautiful date

el toro

Milay had wine of course

but i just couldn't say no to a cold brewski

The Revelation of Simply Living

Hey guys. I'm new to blogging, but my significant other has been bugging me to share my experiences with the world as we know it. So.... HERE I AM!! I'm a blogger from the Philippines and i've been fortunate enough in life and work to experience so many places, peoples, cultures and memories. As the title of my blog suggests, i'll try to keep everything simple and to the point, unbiased and unrestrained. But, of course, fair and merciful. I don't believe in putting people or places down just because of one bad experience. After all, to err is human.... (you know the rest). 

In my mid-30's, My eyes have only recently been opened to the wonders of the world around me. But more importantly, I am suddenly aware that I have experienced so little, but with so much opportunity to do so. And so,  for the past 6 months, i have been doing things that I have never done before, be they distant or just within my reach.  As I embark on this new journey, or quest(as I like to call it.), I want to share my experiences, and hope that I can take you on the same emotional experience that I am on. Wish me luck!! :)