Category: Osmena Peak

Chocolate Hills and Loboc River Cruise in Bohol

April 2019

Bohol was our next stop. It is accessible by ferry/fast craft from Cebu City. There is also a seaport in Argao where we took the Light Ferry to go to Tagbilaran, Bohol. There were several carinderias at the pier and food is affordable. It is always better to eat first before boarding because food in the ship are usually expensive and choices are very limited.

Passengers in the ferry were not too many so we got to choose where to sit either facing the tv if you want to watch a movie or a window seat with a good view of the seascape. For a while we preferred the window seat but when the scenery got monotonous we moved closer to the tv to enjoy the show and later moved closer to the exit to easily get off upon arrival at the next port.

It was a bit late when we arrived. We awaited a bit for the taxi that was contacted beforehand and went straight to the accommodation we have pre-booked. Although the room was cheap, they did not serve food so we looked for a place to have dinner and wandered around until we got to The Bee Farm. Food in the place was very expensive because it was a touristy place. We just tried their ice cream with unusual flavors added with honey. Luckily we discovered a carinderia just outside the facility which offers really sumptuous “lutong bahay” meals at affordable prices. We learned that employees of the Bee Farm resort were dining there.

The following day we had to leave early but there was no one at the front desk so we just checked ourselves out leaving the key by the table and just got ready for the day’s adventure. we hired a taxi to get us around Bohol. Our itinerary included the site of the Blood Compact (between Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and Datu Sikatuna) where a commemorative monument of the event was erected. It was a historical event dubbed as the “First International Peace Treaty” that’s why it was given importance in our history books.

Another must visit in Bohol is the Tarsier Conservation Area, where the tiny primates may be observed closely. I remember ET (of the Steven Spielberg Film), an alien that really looked like a tarsier. Of course we got some tarsier stuffed toy/body bags as pasalubong for the pamangkins.

Also a ‘must do’ in Bohol is the Loboc River Cruise. It must be scheduled about lunch time as the tour includes an all you can eat buffet of delectable main courses as well as desserts and drinks. It was definitely a relaxing but stomach-filling activity and at the same time sort of cultural immersion because the tour includes viewing cultural performances by the community. This tour is highly recommended by local tourists because it also recreates childhood experiences with children bathing in the river and swinging and diving from tree branches into the water.

Another addition to the itinerary was the canopy walk in Bilar man-made mahogany forest which covers 2km stretch between Loboc and Bilar and we’re fortunate that there were not too many photobombers that time.

Obviously a visit in Bohol would not be complete without dropping by the world famous Chocolate Hills. Our tour in Bohol culminated in this geologic wonder shaped by nature. What we have seen in Osmena Peak and Chocolate Hills are only few of nature’s astonishing forms. We should never cease appreciating these magnificent structures that abound in nature. We only have to look around and marvel at the goodness and abundance that we have been blessed with in our country.

Osmena Peak, and Coal Mountain, Argao, Cebu City

April 2019

The only places we really wanna visit in Cebu are the Osmena Peak and the hometown of one of our colleagues in Linut-od, Argao. Fortunately my colleagues were like-minded people who also preferred to take a vacation in a laid-back place where you get to breath fresh air in verdant surroundings. I had wanted to go to Osmena Peak even then I just wasn’t able to find time before, until recently when we booked our tickets early. When the day came, we took a bus from Roxas City to Iloilo and boarded the plane to Cebu. It was already evening when we arrived in Cebu City.

Traffic congestion was really bad as the taxi we boarded ferried us to the South Bus Terminal. The driver of the taxi was trying to convince us that he can actually take us straight to Argao faster so we don’t have to take a bus anymore. We were not convinced as taxi drivers in Cebu usually take advantage of passengers. After a while we got to the terminal and had dinner before proceeding to where the passengers were. There was a very long queue and we were told that there was only 1 queue for all trips no matter which bus we will be boarding so we just took our seat and waited ever so patiently. It felt like waiting in queue took longer than the trip itself. Then it was our turn to board the bus en route to Argao which leaves at 12:00 midnight. The trip to Argao took approximately 2 hours. Our friend’s cousin was also in the same bus and headed to the same town we were headed so we did not get lost at that unholy hour.

we slept for just 2 hours because we had to leave at 4:00AM to get to Osmena Peak before sunrise. Although it was really tiring we got up when the alarm sounded and headed to the mountains. It was cold at early morning because the elevation was increasing and it was really windy at the peak. It was a very easy climb but for my friends it was kind of challenging because it was their first time hiking on a mountain.

By midday we visited a university in town to meet former colleagues of our friend and we got to see their facilities. We then proceeded to the mountainous barangay of Linut-od, the 2nd farthest barangay 23km away from the town. It is where the Coal Mountain Resort is located. It offers a very refreshing retreat in a remote area of Cebu, far from the noise and smog of the city. It took almost an hour of bumpy ride through narrow, rough and dusty dirt road. Houses were few and far between and both sides of the road were typically covered with wild vegetation. There were also cultivated areas where there were houses.

The mountain resort is owned by the family of the Vice-mayor of Argao, originally just a family vacation home. Later, they accommodated tourists who want to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Indeed it was a very quiet and relaxing place overlooking verdant mountains but with comfortable hotel standard rooms and amenities like swimming pool, internet connection and they also serve reasonably-priced although limited choices of food.

Cebu is known for its historical significance, old catholic churches, shrines, religious festivities, busy streets, guitar, mango chips and otap. There are actually remote areas in Cebu that are really worth exploring, and we discovered many more wonderful things about Cebu during this trip.