Balut Island, Sarangani

Balut Island, also known as Malulong, is a potentially active volcanic island in the Sarangani Islands, off the coast of Davao Occidental province in the southern Philippines. The island is about 8 kilometers (5 miles) in diameter and rises to a height of 862 meters (2,828 feet) above sea level. The highest point on the island is Balut Volcano, which is a fumarolic volcano with no historical eruptions.

Balut Island is known for its rugged beauty and its relatively unspoiled natural environment. The island is home to a variety of plant and animal life, including several species of endemic birds. The island's beaches are also known for their white sand and clear waters.

One of the main attractions of Balut Island is Balut Volcano. The volcano can be reached by a short hike from the island's main settlement. The hike to the summit offers stunning views of the surrounding area. Visitors can also see the fumaroles, which are vents in the ground that emit steam and gas.

Another popular activity on Balut Island is swimming and snorkeling. The island's beaches are perfect for swimming, and the clear waters offer excellent visibility for snorkeling. Visitors can see a variety of marine life, including fish, coral reefs, and turtles.

Balut Island is also a good place for hiking and bird watching. The island has several hiking trails that lead through the jungle to waterfalls and viewpoints. Visitors can also see a variety of birds, including the Philippine eagle, the black hawk-eagle, and the white-bellied sea eagle.

Balut Island is a relatively unknown tourist destination, but it is a beautiful and unspoiled island that is well worth visiting. The island offers a variety of activities and attractions, including hiking, swimming, snorkeling, and bird watching. Balut Island is a great place to relax and enjoy the natural beauty of the Philippines.

Here are some tips for visiting Balut Island:

• The best time to visit Balut Island is during the dry season, which runs from November to April.
• The island can be reached by boat from the town of Sarangani. The boat ride takes about 2 hours.
• There are a few resorts and guesthouses on Balut Island, but it is also possible to camp on the beach.
• Bring plenty of water and sunscreen, as the island can be hot and sunny.
• Be sure to respect the local environment and wildlife.

Here are some photos of the place:

Accommodation: Tuke Maklang Beach Resort, they have plenty of rooms that you can stay for the night.

Sohoton Cove, Surigao Del Norte

Most Filipinos enjoy summer in resorts, beaches, or eco-tourism spots. I prefer to have one of my summer days on a beach, basking under the scorching heat of 36-38 degrees Celcius. Filipinos call it "Hirit sa Tag-init!"

The Philippines is composed of 7600 islands. It is known for its widespread of beaches that will wow you beyond your imagination. Its coastal region composed mainly of beautiful, picturesque sand, and pristine seawater.

Me and my two friends decided to visit Sohoton Cove in Socorro, Surigao Del Norte. Sohoton Cove is one of those places that is not yet flourishing with foreign tourists. Not many blogs have information about this place. Mainly because it is in Mindanao, a far-flung area and a flight away from Metro Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Hence, a thorough research is much needed.

Gladly, it is 2017, many DIY tour agencies have discounted tours, especially for joiners when you reach a certain number. I found Explore Adventure Travel and Tours on Facebook. They offer the Sohoton Cove Package tour for only Php 1950 per pax to visit these amazing destinations:

1. Bucas Grander
2. Crystal Cave
3. Bolitas Cave
4. Sohoton Cove
5. Hagokan Cave
6. Magkukuob Cave and Cliff Diving 
7. Turtle Island 
8. Marka-a Island 
9. White Sand Island
10. Club Tara
11. Tiktikan Lagoon (Jellyfish Area)

You can check them out on Facebook or call these numbers: 09098707093, 09561353315, or 09222881118. The itinerary is a 2D1N trip, ideal for short weekend getaway takers like myself.

The tour will involve water activities, boat rides, cliff jumping, swimming, cave exploring, snorkeling, and island hopping. So be sure to bring a couple of swimwear, goggles, sunscreen, shades, waterproof cases for your cameras and phones, extra batteries for your gadgets, and some snacks. Our tour package includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and night accommodation.

I am from Gensan; our jump-off point is in Davao. Gensan is about a 3-4 hour bus ride. I took the bus from Gensan around 6:00 PM on Friday, and arrived in Davao around 10:00 PM the same day. We left Davao around 10:30 and reached Surigao del Norte at 6:00 AM the next day. We just slept in the car. We ate breakfast at our stopover before we headed to the boat arranged by the organizer and started our tour.

Sohoton Cove is picture-perfect. The water was enticing for being so clean. No wonder some tourists named it the "Little Palawan of Mindanao." My most unforgettable part of the trip was when we went inside Hagokon Cave because it felt like the cave was snoring. "Hagok" is the Bisayan-term for snore. After swimming, the guide will tell you to climb some steps inside the dark cave, will then be asked to jump off a 10ft-high cliff to exit. It was so much fun.

There is quite a list of things in this itinerary, so please manage your expectations. Time is limited in each place. The visit to Sohoton Cove needs to be timed with the rhythm of the tide because when it is high tide, you cannot enter the cove, as the entrance will be covered by seawater.

On our first day, we visited almost all the places on the list from 6:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Most of them are adjacent to each other, covering 5-15 minutes at boat ride intervals. After 5:00 PM we were left to our disposal to do personal necessities like take a fresh water bath or swim more. We stayed in Bucas Grande for the night. Our sleeping quarter is a dorm-type, bahay-kubo-theme room shared with the other campers. If you are uncomfortable with these arrangements, you can opt for an exclusive trip. Just inform your agent. There are other resorts in the area like the Club Tara. By the way, a gentle reminder that if the guides provide you with a life vest, make sure to wear it. It is for your own safety.

On our second day, our call time to depart the island is 7:00 AM. But due to some circumstances, we left Bucas Grande at around 9:30 AM, and by then, the tide had been so low, making us unable to cross to the open sea. We were stranded for two hours in that part of Bucas Grande because the boat's propeller would hit some corals. Us, the passengers, were transferred to a smaller boat first to lighten the weight before our bankero (boatman) could push the boat to the open and continue with our plight homeward. 

This trip's takeaway is that pitfalls may come along the way, how you react in the situation matters. Finger-pointing or blaming someone will not aid the situation. Instead, remain calm and offer a solution to help the situation.

Here are the photos I managed to take with me.  

Legazpi, Albay

After years of wondering how on earth Mt. Mayon was called one of the world's perfect cone volcano, seeing it in person, all I can say, it's no doubt "AWESOME!"

Now, that it has been one month passed since I set foot in Legazpi, Albay, I still can't get over from the intense feeling of excitement I was feeling way back when I am still planning what I'm supposed to do in the place.

Legazi, Albay is not on my top list of places to visit. It just so happened that it was the destination for our WSC 2k17. I am part of CFC-SFL and one of our goals each year is to join the "World Singles Congress" held in different places of the Philippines come single men and women either to have a spiritual renewal or personal retreat away from their day to day hassle and joggle.

Just to make this statement short, below are some of the details of my trip to the Magayon (beautiful) Mt. Mayon.

1. Transportation

Coming from General Santos City in Mindanao was a bit of a challenge for us travelers from the far out south because we have less number of flights and limited destinations to access. Either we book a flight to Cebu or Manila then book another flight to legazpi or if your coming from Manila, you could take a bus ride to Legazpi for 11 hours. In our case, we had a limited number of vacation leaves so we opted on booking two flights which only took us 35 mins, Manila to Legzpi. 

Upon our arrival in the airport, we hailed a taxi for a flat rate of Php100.00 and directly head out to Legazpi Convention Center. If you are heading to this same direction, you can ride a tricycle instead, the center is just a 100 meter distance from the airport. And if you don't have much luggage with you, you can take about a 15 minute walk to be there.
Their normal means of transportation in the area is tricycle and jeepneys  (PUJs) which you can ride for Php8.00. Cab taxi for hires are also available. 

2. Where to Stay

During our stay, we rented out a home stay for only a hundred peso a night, too cheap eh. One of our seniors in the community has friends in the area who helped us out. I observed there are also several inns, small hotels and room rentals converted to transient homes downtown.

3. Where to Eat

There are several fast food chains in the city such as Jollibee, Ministop, McDonald, Mang Inasal and 7-Eleven. Also some restaurants that serves Bicol specialties if you are searching for some home-made delicacies but expect it's a bit pricey compared to fast foods. 

4. What to Do In Legazpi

Taxis and PUVs could be hired for a price range of Php 1,800.00 - Php 2,500.00 halfday city tour and a minimum of Php 3,500.00 for a wholeday countryside tour. If you are in Legazpi and want to hire a ride and driver, you may contact Ms.Cherie of Bicol Tour Packages who I happened to look up from Facebook on these numbers: 0928 4508 200 and 0926 8168 980 for queries and reservations. Below are their suggested itinerary: 

City Tour: (Halfday)

Lignon Hill

Japanese Tunnel

Daraga Church

Cagsawa Ruins Park

ATV Adventure

Sumlang Lake

Albay Cathedral

Albay Countryside: (Wholeday)

Sto. Domingo Church

Busay Falls

Mayon Skyline

Kawa Kawa Hill Natural Park

Hoyop Hoyopan Cave

City tour destinations (additional dependent on time schedule)

Hope this will help you with your trip plans. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to place a comment below.

Valencia, Negros Oriental

Valencia is a first class municipality in Negros Oriental and a few kilometers away from Dumaguete City.

It is a vast land of several water forms such as lake, falls, rivers, hot springs and etc. Few of which are developed under the direction of the municipality's eco-tourism sector. I could not fathom and tell you in details how much I admire the places I've visit in this small town. 

Tejero Highland Resort and Adventure Park

Tejero Highland Resort and Adventure Park is said to be the newest attraction therein to offer relaxation and recreation facility of all ages in your family member. It features a zipline, ATVs, slides, natural pools, hotel and restaurant. 

Are you fond of walking? How about a short distance trekking?

Here in Tejero's, you can enjoy hiking in fresh nature scent while enjoying distant chirping of birds, shwooshing rhythm of the water as it sings a soft whisper. Follow the yellow dots painted on the stones or trees. It will surely lead you nowhere but to stop in the middle.

Hahaha, I'm kidding, oh right!

We kinda lost our way as we follow the other dots up the river's stream. We must have missed out something hidden on the tall grasses therein. In the end, we never finish the trek and end up taking turns at taking each other's  photos.

To get to this resort, we rented a public utility multicab (16 seater) in Dumaguete for Php 2000 to take us to Valencia. Along the road, I noticed that every houses we passed by has Rambutan trees but funny to know, they sell it for Php 50 per kilo (a bit pricy) and Lanzones which they sell for Php 100 per kilo. Can't it come cheaper? 

Casaroro Waterfall

The water that drops by Tejero Nature Camp came all the way from here. After a three hundred plus steps down and uphill the stony and unpaved road is this magnificent view of Casaroro Waterfall. 

In every place I went during this trip, I took a stone as a souvenir. Aside from that, its a way for me to remind myself constantly of the place I see.

As it turned out, the water is too cold in this part of Negros. We didn't dipped our exhausted bodies for too long in this pool of raging turbulent water.  

Below photos shows balanced stone statues. Visitors came to this place and made those. My curiosity is knocking in my brain as to the reason why. My guess, maybe it's a part of their respect for some mythical creature guarding the place otherwise it's just a product of their artistic imaginations.

The environmental fee in this area is very cheap for only Php 10. Manang who cashes out environmental fees from tourists, sells "Mango Float" flavored ice candy. It's quite delicious and worth trying at a price of Php 10 only. Another three hundred plus more steps, we're already heading out Casaroro.  

Smoky Mountain in Valencia?

We are scheduled to go to a hot spring after Casaroro, my friend's brother who knows the place quite well, suggested that we go to Ocean 24. Along the way, we stopped by this smoky mountain. The pungent smell of sulfur is all over the place. They say it's a volcano's crater. Not surprised when they say a geothermal powerplant is nearby.

Ocean 24 - Hot and Cold Swimming Pool!

I thought we're really heading to a natural hot spring but was surprised when I realized where heading to a hot and cold swimming pool. Hot water from the spring is being mixed with the natural water for the hot swimming pool. 

Natural hot springs most of the time are at an extreme temperatures enough to scald off or caused terrible burn on someone's skin. So once you see a hot spring, don't immediately run and try to jump in. Always remember "Prevention is better than cure."

Saying "Chada" Valencia,

Shi E La