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Silliman University Farm and Marine Lab - Sep. 3, 2008
A.Y. Reyes Zoological and Botanical Garden
Orange-yellow buildings.
They're probably the first structures to catch anyone's eye when on the boat approaching Apo Island.
The locals would point you to go leftward if you're facing the registration office and walk past the cliffs, which by the way would have water dripping down its rocky face all day if it had been raining the previous night. You eventually find yourself in some sort of sand pocket and think you've reached a dead end.
Look closely at one corner and you'll find a passage hewn out of the rocks.
Go through that passage and you'll find yourself in a cove where Apo Island Beach Resort is.
The resort is well known to, and caters mostly to divers. In fact, diving fees could be found at the back cover of their menu.
They serve food on shaded tables along the beach where you can watch the sea while you eat. The servings are enough for one person. The food tastes good but the menu isn't extraordinary. The choice of cold drinks are limited since electricity is still not always available.
The Baluarte, or the large formation of rocks jutting out to the sky, gives the cove partial shelter, and that is why guests at the resort have an awesome view of this magnificent landmark.
The sand is white but not fine. The shore slopes slowly to the sea, inviting one to first wade into the water, and then take a swim.
The birds called Maya would be hopping along the shore, and there's this dog who decided to accompany me while I walked around taking pictures.
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.
Things have been going so fine this day that there has to be a glitch somewhere.
We asked Harold to recommend restaurants in Dumaguete City. One of his recommendations was Boston Cafe. Bee and I decided to eat there this evening. Bee called Harold on the phone and was given directions how to get there. While they were talking, Harold would interchange Boston Market with Boston Cafe.
The cafe was supposed to be walking distance from the hostel, and one of the Boston Cafe flyers we found pegged on the corkboard (people could peg flyers and calling cards on the corkboard to advertise services and establishments) even had a map of the place ... it was at the corner of Hibbard Avenue and E.J. Blanco, and along Piapi. Bee and I stopped by the front desk to once more ask directions.
I didn't mind walking but Bee would rather take a tricycle, so we did. The driver didn't speak Tagalog or English and worst, didn't know where Boston Cafe was. He was driving in what we thought was the opposite direction so we told him to stop and we flagged down another tricycle driver to ask him if he knew where Boston Cafe was and if he could tell our driver how to get us there. We still ended up lost so we told the driver to drop us off at the Mercury Drug Store.
Bee was already stressed out but I still managed to keep cool even when it started to rain hard. We decided to ask directions from the people in the drugstore. One of the customers spoke perfect taglish (he he he - I never thought I would be joyful to hear someone speak taglish) and she immediately recognized the name as she associated the cafe with pizzas. She told us to tell the driver to park in front of Foodnet, a place every tricycle driver in Dumaguete is familiar with. We thanked her profusely as she stepped out of the drugstore with her kid in tow.
We waited for the rainfall to turn into somewhere near a drizzle (but not quite) before stepping out and flagging down another tricycle with instructions to drive us to Boston Cafe which is in front of Foodnet. As we stepped out of the tryke, there was no doubt that we were in front of Boston Cafe, but the spa and Bamboo Wall that Harold said were landmarks to look for were nowhere in sight.
Boston Cafe looks like a country inn from the outside that I was a bit surprised to find out from the menu that it served Italian food like pizza and pasta.
The chairs had big backrests but didn't look sturdy that Bee requested to be given a different, stronger chair. The waitress obliged and pulled a heavier wooden chair from the outside.
While we were looking over the menu, I couldn't help but ask the waitress if Boston Cafe had a another outlet. She said that they have a branch along Piapi.
Bingo! 
Anyway, I jokingly pointed out to Bee that the moral of the story is: the next time someone says a place is walking distance, we walk.
We ordered a pizza because the lady in the drugstore seemed to think the pizzas here tasted good. We also ordered pasta and salad.
It's a good thing we ordered pasta and salad. They used the right mix of herbs and spices on those dishes. The pizza was a disappointment. I only ate one slice and Bee didn't even finish the slice she took. It's like eating 3M pizza.
According to Bee, the dough wasn't good to start with and they didn't use mozarella cheese. I had a problem with the toppings, but she was right, it starts with the dough. We ended up asking the waitress to pack the rest of the pizza so that we could take it back to the hostel and give it to the lady at the front desk. We figured the staff would like the pizza since they recommended the restaurant.
Bee had earlier asked the waitress where we could eat dessert as the Boston Cafe menu didn't have dessert. She recommended eating at nearby Sans Rival. Unfortunately, Bee and I were too full for dessert when we finished our pasta and salad. Sans Rival Pastry Shop of Dumaguete is actually well known.
Harold had invited Bee and I to Reggae Wednesday Night at Hayahay Restaurant. Bee was coughing bad and didn't feel like stepping out.
Around 9PM, I decided to call Jon and consult him regarding Bee's non-stop coughing. By a series of questions over the phone, Jon decided Bee had bronchitis and recommended that we buy Tuseran which will address both her cold and incessant coughing, therefore allowing her a good sleep. As usual, Bee was self-medicating and had been trying out different medicines - changing medicines if one doesn't work. She said she would eventually move on to trying Tuseran even if Jon hadn't recommended it. He he he.
We stepped out of Harold's Mansion in order to buy the medicine from a pharmacy. Since we were already out, we also decided to eat out.
Jo's was closing down when we got off the tricycle, but the staff were accomodating enough to let inside. Only the grilled chicken (or barbecue) was still available from the menu, which was okay since Jo's is actually known for the chicken barbecue.
We were led to the second floor where we ate at the open-air terrace. We would have liked to eat at the closed off area but they already shut down the air-conditioning.
The chicken bbq is meant to be eaten by hand, which is why Jo's had washstands on opposite sides of the room. They only have detergent soap though.
If you want to eat using a spoon and fork, just request a pair from the waiter/waitress.
This is a live chicken. I wonder what it would think if it found out what the restaurant is famous for.
The chicken was indeed delicious, and that's largely due to the marinade they use. After we finished eating, washed our hands and paid our bill, the staff showed us out through a side door. The main doors of the restaurant were already closed.
Apparently, that particular restaurant in Dumaguete City is the original, or first, Jo's restaurant. The Jo's in Cebu is just a branch.
Back in Dumaguete City, but before driving us back to Harold's, Mang Danny stopped by Panda Ice Cream Haus and told us to try their fried ice cream ... which Bee and I haven't tasted before.
I thought it was like the "hot" ice cream that was popular around Manila when I was a kid. It wasn't.
Although Panda's is the first place where I heard of and tasted it, fried ice cream is actually found in different parts of the world. Panda's serves the Asian variant, which is ice cream "wrapped in special dough" (most likely similar to batter used in tempura), and then deep fried fast.
You have to eat it before it totally melts inside the fried dough... otherwise it gets messy to eat. If you want to try it, lots of people recommend ordering the pandan flavor.
Although popular for the fried ice cream, Panda mainly sells the usual ice cream that you scoop onto a cone or cup. The available flavors incorporate fresh fruits grown in Negros Oriental and nearby provinces. Panda boasts that its ice cream has low fat and less sugar. The ice cream house also sells its own pastries and soya milk.
The Panda website: www.pandaicecream.net
Panda actually has its own jingle - cute.
Bee bought Mang Danny a fried ice cream before we left the ice cream house.
~*~*~On a separate note~*~*~
This sign made Bee chuckle ... simply because we've been into at least three cafes/restaurants in Dumaguete City this day and ALL of them have this sign at the counter.
Bee is inclined to think that there may be people in the city who tend to skip paying. Alternatively, I think that people there are used to having a waiter/waitress taking their orders and delivering their food to their table, and ofcourse the customer pays after eating ... in my version, the sign is a way of telling customers that the particular establishment employs "self-service", which includes ordering and paying first at the cashier.
Mang Danny parked near Rizal Park and I got out to take a few pictures of the Dumaguete Belfry. Bee was too tired to step out.
In 1811, the St. Catherine of Alexandria Cathedral was built and beside it, the belfry - also called the Campanario de Dumaguete (belfry).
The bellfry, made of coral and brick, was restored in 1987, during which the garden and grotto of Our Lady of Perpetual Help was added at the base.
Based on older pictures I found in the "Fortress of Empire" book, I think people lit up candles and said prayers at the base of the Campanario. I guess that the stands for candles in front of the grotto were placed there after the 1987 restoration.
When lighted up at night, the belfry looks beautiful.
I am not sure if the building below is connected to the Cathedral as it stands adjacent to the belfry. I took its picture because I found the architecture reminiscent of the bahay na bato. I think it is relatively new though, and houses the Medjugorje Peace Centre.
Rizal Boulevard is supposedly named after Jose Rizal because the Philippine hero had strolled there once when he was exiled to nearby Dapitan.
This stretch of road follows the coast line, and the trees and lamp posts lining it makes the boulevard a charming sight. People here simply call it the Boulevard.
Many hotels, restaurants, banks and other commercial establishments could be found here and on adjacent roads. The night life is also generally centered on this area. It is therefore ideal for the tourist to book a hotel along the Boulevard since everything would be at walking distance. Naturally, the room rates of hotels along Rizal Blvd. are a bit higher compared to others in the area.
Bee and I were looking for a smoothie and strolled into Cafe Manila.
Their smoothies are not that special, but their pastries are good - and relatively cheap compared to the prices you'd get in a mall in Metro Manila. Bee and I liked the Tiramisu. The pineapple turn-over was too sweet.
After eating at Cafe Manila, Bee and I walked out to the Boulevard and sat on one of the benches facing the sea. Nearby is the landmark commemorating the landing of the first sisters of St. Paul of Chartres in the Philippines.
Silliman University's Center for Tropical Studies (Centrop) is doing it's share in preserving endangered species in the A.Y. Reyes Zoological and Botanical Garden.
Located in Daro, Dumaguete City, this mini-zoo is being aided in its efforts by a number of associations and other zoos like the Melbourne Zoo and the UK's Chester Zoo.
After paying a small entrance fee at the entrance, one climbs up a walkway that goes above and through the pens housing the Lagsaw, or Philippine spotted deer.
Their spots enable them to blend in perfectly with the dry leaves and the shadows cast by trees that my friend Bee exclaimed in surprise when she realized she was already face to face with one of the deer. He he he!
There are other cages after the walkway. Housed within them are crocodiles, monkeys, a large snake, bats, birds and wild pigs.
Centrop has something to be proud of recently. It has finally been able to breed within the zoo the critically endangered Pugngan or Negros bleeding-heart pigeon.
According to the caretaker in charge of the pigeons, the Pugngan in captivity had lain eggs but never actually remained with the eggs for the whole incubation period. If this behavior is prevalent amongs the species, then it is probably a factor on why the population of the Pugngan has drastically decreased. Ofcourse the biggest factor would be the dwindling forest area that served as their home.
To solve the breeding problem, they decided to try putting the eggs in the nest of the Luzon bleeding-heart pigeon. Apparently, the Luzon bleeding-heart pigeon would take care of all the eggs placed in its nest along as they are placed there at the same time its own eggs were lain, or even one day before it lays its eggs. Because the zoo had been able to find a host for the Pugngan eggs, the first batch of Pugngan eggs hatched last month. All but the youngest of the hatchlings are still alive.
Although the zoo is primarily concerned with the preservation and breeding of the bleeding-heart pigeons, it has a pair of the endangered Visayan Tarictic hornbill. A batch of hatchlings from the pair have been recently transferred to another zoo as the place can only accomodate a certain amount of birds. The male of the species (above) has more color than the female.
Another group of endangered animals in the zoo are the wild pigs.
The pigs in the zoo are shy creatures, and are cuter than their domesticated cousins. One of the pigs also gave birth recently.
This sign actually made me think of food... which made me feel guilty considering I was in a zoo.
As the place is also a botanical garden, scattered around the area are tall trees labeled with their local, english and scientific names. Some of the trees I have only heard and seen of only as part of furniture, or maybe seen as street names in Metro Manila.
I have to say though that I would rather call the tree below "sugar palm" than use its other name: "idiok"... the latter is way too close to the english word "idiot".
