Nieco's Beach Bumming Experience 1: Travel Camotes (part 1)

Introducing.... The Nieco's Beach Bumming Experience.



This 2012, before everything blows out of proportion, naiisipan kong gumawa ng parang isang travel experience, parang travel blog na rin. Pero hindi ako sure kung makakaya ko. Simulan natin sa kick off ng taon, ang Camotes Island!

Tira Soundtrack!

Camotes Islands are a group of islands located east of the mainland (Cebu). It's composed of 4 islands - Poro, Pacijan, Ponson and Tulang. Ironically, Camotes Islands do not have kamote or sweet potato as its abundant delicacy, instead it boasts of to-die-for beach fronts, rich marine ecosystem and fresh clean ambiance. These islands though a bit far from the mainland is not as  shy as you think it is. Last year, they were awarded the prestigious 2011 UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction. As a Cebuano and Filipino, that's something to be proud of.


This is my second time in Camotes Island. The island is the closest place to my heart because of the richness of the sea and unlimited supply of fresh clean air...away from the suffocating (weh?) dew of the city. 


Destination: Camotes Island
Along with 4 girls (Oo, ako lang ang lalake sa trip na 'to. Parang bugaw lang noh?) and body full of excitement, we quick-stepped our way going to Camotes Island right after shift. From the city, you need to take any PUV going to Danao City where the port going to Camotes Island is located. We took a 1-hour bus ride and before we knew it, touch down Danao City Port. Lucky for us, Shuttle Ferry had some kind of promo. Fare got dropped down to P100.00 from P180.00. Talk about savings. Hoh!

TABIAN: STATEMENT SHIRT. PERIOD.

I don't know if the discount was a blessing but the supposedly 2-hour boat trip became a grueling  4-hour wait. Bored? To death!

PIA: Hindi naman talaga ako nakakatulog sa mga ganitong byahe eh. *zZzzZz*
Tabian: Gutom! Gutom! Gut@#!@#!@!!~%#%^. Grrrrrr!! *she-hulk mode*
Osang: .... *drama*
Rhyzee: ... *reflect-reflect*

After super fun 4 hours, TOUCHDOWN CAMOTES. Sa kabutihang palad, naka-book na kami ng van. Nag-offer pa si Manong Driver na i-tour kami kinabukasan. Total Damage = 2,500. Oo nga pala, nakalimutan kong sabihing ang tanging 'PUV' ng isla eh ang 'habal-habal' o yung motorcycle. Charge varies from 50-200, depende sa layo. So kung iisipin, naka-jackpot na talaga kami sa van. 


AGENDA 1: FOOD!
Walang Jollibee, McDo o KFC ang isla. Ang tanging alam na fastfood ng mga taga-rito ay ang Baywalk BBQ. So off we go to Baywalk para sa lafangan sessions.

Kainan na!!!! Halatang hindi gutom.

AGENDA 2: RESORT. NIGHT RECREATION.
Gabi na kami ng nakarating sa resort. Ang planu eh mag-vi-videoke sana at magpasikat sa mga locals pero pukinijamby inulan kami kaya pahinga lang muna sa resort lang muna ang episode with matching noms-noms sa side ng tequila. Kumuha kami ng 1 room na non-aircon at agad-agad prenipare ang tagay. lol. TOTAL DAMAGE: P900.00 (room good for 2) + 300 (extra heads) = P1200.00. D gaanong productive ang gabing yun. Sobrang na drain ang energy sa putrik na 4-hours boat ride. Amp. Ngunit ngayon ko lang na realize, kahit anong pagod pag may alcohol ng nakahandusay sa harapan mo, tiyak lalarga din ang kasiyahan. \m/

Shots c/o sa 'Ngiti' ni Tabian.

AGENDA 3: TOUR.
Holy Cave
Entrance Fee: P20.00
Spelunking is another term for cave exploration. With the right guide and gear, it would be the best experience. Well, ours wasn't. The 'Holy Cave', as what the 'discoverer' called it is an underground, well, cave full of stalactites and stalagmites that 'looked' like images of Saints and Holy ones. I personally didn't quite get it. *Pahinga muna sa kaka-ingles* Tingin ko, depende naman kasi 'yan sa tao kasi meron talagang may very creative imagination at meron ding skeptic na di makaka-gets kung ano ang imahe. Sadly, isa ako sa kinda skeptic. Sabi ng Manong Driver/Island guide, dinala niya kami dito kasi magaling daw magkwento ang guide. Hindi raw aprobado ng baranggay ang lugar bilang isang lehitimong tour destination. Hindi ko na-gets bakit pero puting-pusang-gala nakuha ko din pagkatapos. Amp!

'Excited.'

Walang helmet. Walang gloves. Walang sapat na lighting instrument. At pasensya na, walang nakakapanindig balahibong happening sa loob. Kaya pala hindi aprobado ng baranggay ang lugar kasi hindi siya gaanong ligtas. Pero sobrang naging SAYA ng experience. Pansinin ang sumunod na larawan. :)

Fun or Fun-ished. Ang Saya ng mga pagmumukha namin ano?

*Resume English* The best part was that we were able to mingle with foreign tourists from UK and France. *joke!* Ang saya kasi ang hirap na ngang huminga sa ilalim at gumapang sa mga pasisikip na daanan, unti-unti ka pang nawawalan ng dugo dahil sa kaka-english. no choice pre kasi ehins sila nakakaintindi ng Pelepeno. Chaks!

Fresh air, at last!

Let's do a little exercise. Subukan mong ilagay ang ulo mo sa loob ng plastic bag. Ang hirap huminga ano? Tanggalin ang plastic bag. Oh diba, sobrang happiness?! Yan ang naramdaman ko pagkalabas. Nawala lahat ng pagod at ang mga plano kung paano paslangin ang cave guide. Unang naisip ko eh ang sayang mabuhay. Yahoo!


Bakhaw Beach
Entrance Fee: P5.00
Matapos ang pamatay'ng cave exploration kuno, it's time to noms-noms and chill by the beach! Ohyeah! Ang Bakhaw Beach ay isang public beach, syempre, white sand na pinong-pinong-pino. Over-looking siya sa isla ng ewan-ko-kung-ano. Ansarap ng sampal ng hangin sa mga pisngi at ang kagat ng init ay insakto lang. It was like heaven after that horrendous experience. (Kung maka-english naman oh). Nagkaroon din kami ng time na mas makilala ang Briton na si Eless at ang Prances na si Mariel. Chika-chika, chika-chika, swim-swim, chika-chika = gutom. Bow.

umulang ng PUKEMON ng araw'ng yon.

Best in bukaka: Mama Pig. Best in facial expression: BB Pig

Buho Rock
Entrance Fee: P15.00
Buho Rock Beach Resort is located on the cliff-side. It has no shoreline so to get to the beach, you have to go down its famous 1-million-gazillion steps. Goodluck nalang kung may call of nature o bigla kang ma-e-ebs. Main Attraction: Cliff Jumping. Hindi pweding hindi ko ma-try. After 36 years of waiting and 48 days of walking to take the edge off (feel ko nagamit ko na ang 64 ways para matanggal ng kaba), we finally jumped off. Yan ang isa sa mga disadvantage ng pagiging only boy ng trip, ikaw ang dapat mauna sa lahat ng hamon. Hoh!

Bukilat Cave
Entrance Fee: P20.00
Unlike our other cave exploration experience (Ulgh!), visting Bukilat Cave was rather pleasant. It's not as difficult to get into as stairs were already built to ease entry. The spot is also accredited by the local government so the area is well-maintained and safe for tourists. By the way, no need to get your hard caps, gloves or headlamps on. Because Bukilat Cave as natural light coming in. The ceiling has holes in them, while the bottom area has water which, you guessed it right, is suitable for swimming. According to our guide, the water level in the cave matches to the tide changes in the sea. If swimming is what you want then it's betterER if you visit the place when the tides are low (joke!) high.

newscaster lang teh?

Hello Pusod!

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