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Silliman University Farm and Marine Lab - Sep. 3, 2008
A.Y. Reyes Zoological and Botanical Garden
Apo Island, is not only a resort area and diving spot. It is also home to a community that is slowly coming to terms with living on a "protected area" and a tourist spot.
The stretch of beach facing Dauin proper is lined with boats that ferry people from Apo Island to the mainland and vice versa. Tourists could rent one for a round trip arrangement, and depending on the size of the boat, the fee could be anywhere between PHP1,500 and PHP3,000 - the more people share the boat, the cheaper it would be per person.
As all tourists to the island will land on this beach, this is where the ambulant vendors of T-shirts with "Apo Island" designs hang around. The t-shirts cost arount PHP200. It could be higher or lower, depending on your haggling skills.
Acutely aware by now of what marine loving tourists would need had they come unprepared, locals rent out life vests, footwear fit for the rocky beach of the sanctuary, and if the tourist is looking for specific kinds of marine life like the sea turtle or the jack fish, he or she can hire a local to show him/her where to snorkel for around PHP150 - 200.
Some locals, in exchange for buying their wares, would gladly guide you around the island at no extra cost. You can trust them to look after your bags as they consider it detrimental to the island's reputation (and eventually bad for tourism) if a visitor would get robbed during his/her stay there.
The small town chapel is the first thing you see once you get past the registration office. The absence of a priest's living quarters and the distance of the parish from the city allows the priest to only come around once a month. A lay minister takes over on most Sundays (presumably holding paraliturgical celebrations).
Electricity is not always available, and for potable water, the locals have to either collect rainfall or import water from the mainland. Our guide said that according to the older folk, there used to be potable water from small inlets, but said sources have disappeared with the denudation that happened before the island became a protected area in 1994.
Tilapia live within the waters where the mangrove trees are planted, but the locals only catch them for food if weather does not permit them to fish in the open sea. They don't like the Tilapia as it feeds in murky waters.
Near the Marine Sanctuary, but before the path leaves the mangrove trees, are small cottages that I believe could be rented by tourists who want to stay overnight on the island. I am not sure however if these cottages are maintained by the local government or owned by individuals.
The Municipality of Dauin holds its Kinaiyahan or Mother Nature Festival every September 10, and Apo Village makes it a point to participate every year. The festivities start as early as September 6 and the village folk were loading the drums and props they would be using on their fishing boats.
Watching their community spirit at work uplifts one's mood.
Apo Island is part of Dauin and not Dumaguete City. You get there by taking a boat from Malapatay beach. The first thing you do upon setting foot on the island is pay the entrance fee (PHP100 for non-Dauin residents) and other charges that will apply to the activity/ies you plan to do on the island. The fees go to the maintenance of the island.
Apo Island has been a protected area since 1994 and its marine life has benefited from this. It is now a popular dive site, and for non-divers like me, one can always snorkel.
The authorities decided to build a cement path going down the beach into the water ... which sounds like a good idea if one wants to avoid the sharp rocks ... unfortunately, I found that I prefer to step on the rough rocks than on the slippery cement ramp.
The fear of slipping and getting hurt by the rocks made me back out of snorkeling. Even Bee had trouble getting into the water. Once she managed that one, she was snorkeling and swimming as far as she could manage.
I decided to stay put on terra firma and take pictures instead.
According to Bee, the fish she saw at Apo Island were bigger than those in the Dauin Marine Sanctuary, but she found the fish in the latter place to be more colorful.
You could not find the pawikan, or sea turtles, in Dauin Marine Sanctuary, though. The pawikan lay their eggs on Apo Island, and locals could point you to areas where you could find one or two swimming around.
First stop today was the Marine Sanctuary in Dauin, a municipality south of Bacong and therefore a bit farther from Dumaguete City.
The beach was a bit isolated when we got there, with only a handful of men manning the post. Some of them are probably fishermen, as there is a fishing boat nearby. At mid-morning we saw a diving boat at a distance, and some foreigner who was previously walking on the shore was later seen in a sailboat - he must be a regular in the area as the locals called out to him as he passed by. There are a few shaded tables with benches, and a couple of structures with a "shower" and a toilet. It was only during lunch time that more people trickled into the beach - some students going home from school and a family out on a picnic by the sea.
The sand is a bit coarse and grey. The shore slopes gently into the water so that the water level rises slowly as you go farther into the sea. This is good for someone like me who has skipped half the swimming classes in school and therefore hasn't learned to swim.
The guard reminded us not to go beyond the rope stretched out across the sanctuary, which they need not tell me by the way as I prefer to stay close to shore.
When I "snorkeled" in Boracay, I only had goggles and would just lift my head out of the water to breath in air ... I was just at the side of the boat so I didn't have to worry about swimming. This time, I had to actually do some paddling of my own while hanging onto a lifebuoy (humor me please, that's the only way Bee could get me into the water) and had a snorkeling mask with a mouthpiece. Problem is, I had trouble adjusting to breathing in and out through the mouth, so I still ended up lifting my head out of the water most of the time, expelling water that got into my nose. I did consider junking the mask altogether, but stuck to it anyway.
A dozen feet or so from the beach, one could already see colorful fishes swimming underneath. Nearer to the rope, I saw schools of fish swimming by. Bee saw some species she hadn't seen before and got excited. She actually swam across the rope where the view was more beautiful. I got out of the water early as I noticed the water getting higher and the current getting stronger. As I sat by a fishing boat waiting for Bee to get back, her "15 more minutes" got extended by another 5 I think.
One could really appreciate the efforts made to maintain the marine sanctuary, and I wouldn't mind paying the snorkeling fee. What I found a bit funny however is that they actually have different rates for snorkeling, diving, diving with a camera, and diving with a video camera.
Bee regretted not bringing her camera's underwater casing along. I was contemplating on buying my camera an underwater casing.
Note however that this isn't one of those "resort-type" beaches. The "shower" in the small square cubicle I got into was actually a faucet raised above the head. There was also another faucet just below the waist to make it easier to wash the legs and feet. The door on the opposite side of the same structure led to a small toilet that does not have a water tank - that is, you have to pour water from a bucket to flush it. If you're in Dauin to snorkel, then you wouldn't mind such basic amenities as you would spend most of your time in the water anyway.
(Click the links to other entries for more details)
Day 1 (03-Sep-2008) - The University Town
Bee wanted to maximize our stay in Dumaguete so we chose a 7:10AM plane trip going there. Which meant I have to be at the NAIA Terminal 3 at around 5:00AM ... 6:00AM at the latest. My mom was worried that leaving the house before sunrise might be dangerous, so I dragged my brother to accompany on the trip to the airport just to make her happy.
Left the house a few minutes after 4AM since I decided to unpack/pack my luggage for one last time. The bus left after 4:30 because the driver/conductor wanted it to be at least 80% occupied. It also picked up more passengers along the way, so the delays meant I was still checking in my bags at the Cebu Pacific counter when the boarding call came.
Despite its reputation for delayed flights, Cebu Pacific landed at Dumaguete airport on time. The place looked like the airport in Kalibo, with no luggage carousel. You get to watch the men bringing the luggages down from the plane and to an area at the arrival station. Once you spot your own luggage, you only have to come forward and grab it from the staff. You still have to show your stub at the exit though, and the guard will check if the sticker on your luggage has the same number as your claim stub.
Harold's Mansion provides free airport pick-up, and waiting for us at the airport was Mang Danny with Harold's van. We contracted him for a day tour and after checking in, eating brunch, and changing rooms, we got back into the van and went to the following places:
That was a satisfying first day... used my camera a lot and my batteries almost ran out of charge by the time we got back to the hostel.
~*~*~*~
Day 2 (04-Sep-2008) - Bee's Birthday
The original plan last night was to see the twin lakes, then if we have time, check out Dauin and maybe snorkel. Mang Danny thought it wasn't adviseable as we might be too tired to snorkel after the Twin Lakes visit.
When we woke up, we realized it rained while we were sleeping and that mroe rain was in the weather forecast. It was bad news as going to Twin Lakes is not adviseable when it is raining. I suggested to Bee that we go to Dauin first since she likes snorkeling anyway. Then, if it looks like it will be a sunny afternoon, go to to Twin Lakes. Which is what we did.
The day's itinerary therefore was:
With the exception of the Boston Cafe incident, Bee had fun on her birthday.
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Day 3 (05-Sep-2008) - Apo Island
There were at least 4 of us going to Apo Island today, so Harold arranged a trip for us last night. We were at the lobby at 9AM, and found out that the other guests joining us were Tom, Jack, and Aira. The sixth person on the team is Patro, the diving instructor. Mang Danny drove all 6 of us to Malatapay where Patro took charge the moment we got on the pump boat.
It was raining again that morning so Patro wasn't sure if the boat could drop Bee and me off by the beach. If the waters wouldn't allow docking, I was keen on staying on the boat and probably read a book rather than try diving. He he he! Anyway, luck would give us sunshine by the time we approached the island and so Patro dropped us two snorklers on the beach before the rest of them headed for deeper waters for diving.
Hung around the following places on the island this day:
Left Apo around 4:30PM. Harold recommended eating at Hayahay restaurant Wednesday night, which we didn't do because we ate at Jo's Chicken Inato. Decided to try the food there tonight, but when the tricycle dropped us off at the entrance, we liked the ambiance of nearby Lab-as better and ate there instead. The two restaurants have the same owner, by the way.
~*~*~*~
Day 4 (06-Sep-2008) - Pasalubong shopping
Sidlakang Negros Showroom - Sep. 6, 2008
Harold recommended that we check out Sidlakang Negros on our first day. Bee and I decided to go there this day to shop for souvenirs and gifts. Once there, we realized that only 20%-30% of the shops are open, with the remaining 80% either under construction or awaiting for the arrival of inventory for sale. The showroom will be fully open by mid October of this year.
We enjoyed shopping and looking around the three shops that were open.
Ate lunch at nearby Nerisse afterwards. The food there tastes good, by the way. And Bee liked their garlic peanuts... a lot.
Aira, Bee and I had the same 4:25PM flight back to Metro Manila, so we met at the lobby around 3PM. Danny initially told Aira we could hitch a ride back to the airport, but there were some change of plans. We considered taking tricycles, then Harold offered to drive us there in his truck.
Cebu Pacific had a short "bring me" game during the flight. They gave away three bag tags.
By jingfrey, shot with SONY ERICSSON P1i
The first one to show a SMILE magazine got the first one, the person who had a 5-centavo coin got the second one, and I got the third one because I was the first to show a cellphone charger. Bee was actually surprised I won... I think she was more surprised to find out I got the charger in my bag.
Cebu Pacific was on time again, but our brothers were both stuck in traffic so Bee and I hung around at NAIA 3. Bee asked me to take a picture near the luggage carousel.
By jingfrey, shot with DSC-W70
Then she took this picture with my camera...
By jingfrey, shot with DSC-W70
and took a similar picture on her camera, and spent the succeeding minutes comparing the two. She ended up deciding she wanted a new camera since her camera doesn't have some of the features like mine does (starting with ISO 1000). That's what taking a photography class does, make a person want a newer camera - he he he!
Bee's brother arrived a few minutes before Jon. Jon took a taxi going to the airport, but NAIA 3 is like the other terminals where taxis from the outside aren't allowed at the arrival area, so he got off at departure area, met me at the arrival area, where we took those expensive taxis to the nearby bus station.
