It was during one of those family outings after the holidays that I knew of and visited Bao-Bao Falls in our neighboring province of Surigao del Sur. Checking out new places is staple for me so when the destination came up it didn’t even take me a second to jump at the idea. “Don’t go chasing waterfalls,” TLC said. Why heed such advice, right?

Transportation

Getting to Bao-Bao Falls is as easy as ABC. You just have to teleport transport yourself to the barangay of Diatagon in Lianga, Surigao del Sur. Tandag-bound buses from Agusan del Sur can bring your arse there. You will then have to look for the junction, from the national highway, that leads to your destination.

Or you can simply ask a local on how to get to it. If you happen to ask one who doesn’t have the answer, s/he must’ve been living under a rock. When coming from Butuan, you can reach Diatagon via the Awa Junction, which opens up the opportunity to biga at visit Bega Falls.

The Waterfall

The main swimming area of Bao-Bao Falls didn’t feature a high vertical drop but the plunge pool was still deep enough for anyone who thinks they’re tall enough. Ahem. “Bao” means “turtle” in Bisaya so the name of the waterfall could pertain to something related to a turtle, like its shape. I didn’t see any resemblance to any part of a turtle, though, and didn’t ask anyone either so… Beats me. (Don’t even think about turtles being present there.)

The waterfall had a slide; cliff jumping from the top of it wasn’t that enticing. Even so, there was a rock that allowed jumping from a higher elevation. If it gets crowded below, there’s no other way but up!

Climbing to the rock also led to the higher tier of Bao-Bao falls where there were swimming pools whose depth also didn’t disappoint.

Pools were at nooks and crannies and it was so relaxing being in them that, contrary to what I usually do, I no longer explored further to where the water was coming from. Only few people were curious enough to check what was upstairs so I didn’t have to share the Jacuzzis at all. #blessed

Nope, t’is not the Oblation Run.

And then it was high time for a cliff jump. Cowabunga!

Amenities

There were no cottages around the waterfall so all tourists just settled on the rocks (sadly without any whiskey, though) in the surrounding area. Totally not an issue, especially that bringing food and beverages was allowed—no corkage, y’all! It also follows that there were no changing rooms. Having said that, there were actually restrooms. They may not have been around the waterfall as well, but hey! If you need to take a dump, there’s that special place for ya.

Walking to Bao-Bao Falls from the road is a walk in the park because the local government unit already paved a walkway to it. Unlike when taking the stairs to Bega Falls, it was senior citizen-friendly. No worries to bring everyone, mate.

Tips

• When going to Britania in San Agustin for some island hopping, Bao-Bao Falls is the stopover you never thought you could have.
• When coming from Butuan and taking the Awa Junction to Lianga, Bega Falls is another stopover you never thought you could have, especially when on a private vehicle.

Visited: January 2016

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For having only two bottles the night before after our El Nido island hopping, we were on the road and back to our senses before seven o’clock and in around 25 minutes were already parked to start the hike to Nagkalit-kalit Falls. The entrance fee and tour guide cost us ₱770. Doing the math necessitates the counting of our heads in the foregoing post or carrying on.

The Hike

Rivers will have to be crossed so you might wanna ditch those shoes (but not the red dress!). I have my reasons, so along the way I was putting on some sunblock. #reasons #defensive

There was a track of what looked like that of a slithering snake but if it wasn’t that of such (a) reptile, then it was probably by your best friend who’s about to perform an act of perfidy (or already did).

You know what they say: silent still waters run deep. #mema

The Waterfall

In more or less than 40 minutes we reached Nagkalit-kalit Falls and since he who hesitates is lost, I took it off and jumped into the water without shilly-shally. Because like beaches, waterfalls shouldn’t just be looked at. (Well, at least for me.)

One happy kiddo.

Like other waterfalls, Nagkalit-kalit Falls provides free massage with no extra service.

Cliff Jumping

Our tour guide demoed where we could cliff jump so who were we not to do it? Gehee.

There were only three of us who indulged in the water and the rest were just onlookers, which was actually nice in that we had a dry maniniyot for some mowdel-mowdelan.

And mind you, our background below looks like the Devil’s Snare.

We only stayed for approximately 30 minutes but it was more than enough as we had the place to ourselves; a foranger came by but just added to the audience impact.

We retraced our steps through the wilderness called life and were back on the road a little past nine, about an hour after we arrived at the waterfall.

When in El Nido, you might as well get wet at Nagkalit-kalit Falls and be the early birdies (what’s new) at it. The hike was not like going to Igpasungaw Falls where slippery rocks offer you the opportunity of going with the flow. Malayo sa atay. We were on our way to Nacpan Beach when we visited and were lucky the torrent was substantial.

Expenses

Visited: August 2015

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When I first heard of Fortune Island and the pillars on it which resemble those of the Parthenon, I immediately locked it as a target because I know for a fact that in this life I’ll probably never step foot in Greece. So when I read in the comments of a blog post (while looking for beaches to go to) about a trip to Fortune Island organized by #JJTours, I hit up two friends and in no time I was already at the bank paying for our down payment. What did just happen.

Transportation

We huddled at the McDonald’s by the Buendia MRT Station on the day of the departure where Red Chuca, the tour manager, told us that the three of us wouldn’t have been accounted for had I not reminded him of our payment the day before; he was on the road when I made the deposit and it slipped his mind.

We left in two vans at 03:30 and arrived in Nasugbu, Batangas two hours later. Breakfast was at Jollibee before we proceeded to Fortune Island Resort which seemed to be the gateway to the island. There’s no electricity, freshwater source, store where you can buy food, and restroom (well, they said there was a functional one but I no longer bothered looking for it) on the island. That means that if you’re staying overnight given those conditions, you should know what you’re up against.

The Island

Looking at Fortune Island and its Grecian pillars from a distance undoubtedly made me bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. It was around 20 minutes past the hour of eight when we arrived on the island. Travel time was an hour but takes longer for sure when the waves are feeling treacherous.

It’s already stated in many blogs but I’m still gonna say it anyway. Fortune Island used to be a luxury resort but was constantly ravaged by typhoons which eventually led to its abandonment. The structure below is what used to be the main building. There also used to be a pool which now only contains rubbish (what else).

This shipwreck is actually the remnants of the resort’s restaurant. It must’ve been obliterated by—you guessed that right—a typhoon or was simply left to decay. You can see pictures of how it used to look like in other blogs.

Camping

We set up camp right beshinde (an invented portmanteau of “behind” and “beside”) the main building where there was a good deal of shade provided by some trees.

Grecian Pillars

Wasting no time, I found meself exploring thee island with me mates. The pillars can be reached by a flight of stairs which also lead to the other side of the island where the real fun happens. Atop are some statues as well.

Because it would be dull to just stand around and look like one of the pillars (#twinning), I tried becoming Spidey for a change. (My left arm was actually trembling so hard when the photo below was taken that I could’ve egg rolled all the way down and sustained injuries.) Don’t try standing on any of the busted pillars though. I tried it and if I weren’t cautious I would’ve met more than just bruises.

And this is what where we just came from looked like from above. At first I was dumbfounded as to why people would opt to pitch tents under the ridiculously blazing sun but when night fell I understood why. On the right side of it is where you can cliff jump noob style. (Cocky, I know.)

At some point, I got annoyed by the heat that I decided to break one of the statues to show Zeus and his kin who’s boss. Hah!

Cliff Jumping

This, my friends, is the other side of Fortune Island as seen from above.

Steep stairs lead to it where you can jump off the cliffs to your heart’s content.

Look at me swim like a tadpole and act like I just conquered the island. Hilas!

The lowest point where one could jump would be at the foot of the stairs. People who don’t know how to swim can just take it from there and have a life vest ready. There was also a rope where one can hold on for dear life. I wanted to try a front flip but sort of got dizzy after jumping twice from a high point so I tried diving instead (not that I’m any good at either).

When it was almost 12:00 we retreated to our camp for lunch and went back right after with the rest of the gang.

From the picture below, there are two high points, one on each side, where you can jump off. The one on the left is convenient because of the presence of a platform where one can reflect about his/her decisions in life. (If Mother Nature created that I’m gonna marry her in my 30’s). However, it’s more difficult on this side as you will have to swim your way back to the stairs. On the other hand, the one on the right has no platform but it’s very near to the rope (and stairs) that will save your life. Pick your poison.

Video

Here’s a video of Matze, a German guy who was with the group, me, and Norry battling our way into the sea. It’s nowhere near being professional but I enjoyed making it. I just launched a video-editing software and Avicii did the rest of the job. Ah, let us not forget about that little surprise.

About half of our group took the plunge and in between us there was this group from Baguio which captured everyone’s attention as all of their girls actually jumped off. There were a number of bloopers, though, which included denim shorts becoming a skirt after the jump (“‘Yung shorts ko naging skirt!”) and a guy declaring that he’s okay being gay as long as he doesn’t have to jump (“‘Di na. Bakla nalang ako.”). Hahaha! In the end he still leapt. Kudos!

Siesta

When everyone already had their fair share of risking life jumping, we went back to the other side for a dip. Some continued cliff jumping at the noob style spot I was arrogantly referring to earlier. At three o’clock we headed to the left side of the horizon towards the end of the beach in an attempt to spot sharks.

This part of the beach is ideal should you want to answer calls of nature at nighttime. Dunno if it’s always the case but during our stay it was free from camping tourists.

A scene reminiscent of bayanihan, the Filipino term which means communal effort to achieve a goal best exampled by people literally lifting a house on their shoulders in order to move it to a new location, was demonstrated by live shells!

The shade and peace and quiet at the end of the line made it a perfect spot for everyone’s siesta.

There were no sightings even after an hour so we went back and went for another swim. Red had a Tribord snorkeling gear which at that time wasn’t available in the Philippines yet. It’s a mask that not only allows you to breathe through your mouth but through your nose as well. Truly badass. I had no underwater camera so I couldn’t show any proof but take it from me (and my broken heart) that the underwater scenery was superb. Probably among the best that I’ve seen.

Sunset

The final activity for the day was the sunset watching, set at 17:30. It was lovely. The sun almost made me believe in forever as it seemed to take all the time in the world setting.

While the sun continued teasing all its spectators, I backed away to the farthest part of the cliff to take a panoramic shot of the island.

When the sun was finally succumbing to its last emotional moments, I had it eaten by one of the lions just because. (I honestly don’t know where the use of “just because” to end a sentence originated but for the sake of it, please spare me.) Of course, one last shot as the sun started crossing the horizon was also obligatory.

Socials

We rinsed ourselves with whatever means possible and then had dinner which was as scrumptious as the other meals. We then moved our tents so that we could feel some wind as there was none at all where we originally pitched them. Socials commenced after everyone settled with their new locations but before that, our group was already setting off with a simple concoction of GSM Mojito and Sprite. Haha!

A lot happened during the socials and there was enough booze to knock everyone out ’til the end. Hahaha. I particularly liked that game of words in which you have to say a word that’s related to the one the person before you mentioned. The tricky part was the vetoing of the following:

• Words that start with “s” (damn this)
• Proper names
• Numbers
• Repeated words (per round only)
• Words not related to the previous word (obviously)

For every error and no word spoken within three seconds the person has to take a shot. I had a lot of blunders and WTF moments like starting a round with an s-word. Shot! As the mechanics wouldn’t be able to fill everyone up, a different shot glass was “rotated”. We also played Categories, where some really interesting ones were brought up. It was a night of absolute frolicking and thankfully none of the other campers told us off.

Come morning over breakfast, everyone was laughing over what happened, how it suddenly rained, and whatnots. Not that I really love drinking, but for me socials usually work better over a few drinks, especially if it’s to cap off a very long day. We had breakfast, gathered our shit things together, and started crossing back to the mainland minutes past ten o’clock (where we were finally able to rinse ourselves properly). Before we boarded the boat someone was calling everyone about a forgotten underwear and when I saw it I was, like, “Jesus Christ, that’s my underwear! Stop raising it above everyone’s head!”

From left to right (photo courtesy of Sir Jun): Red, Erwin, Faty, Alona, Alfred, Dolly, Basil, Matze, Denisse, Rod, Eike, Norry, me, Bianca, Jeremy, and Dana

We had bulalo for lunch in Tagaytay before finally parting ways at our meet-up place around four in the afternoon. It was my first time participating in a group tour and it was fulfilling having survived it with majority of the participants being strangers, in an island where scarcity was of great abundance.

Tips

If you intend to visit Fortune Island, here are my two cents (or three?):

• Everyone wasn’t kidding about the absence of freshwater there. If you’re the type who really needs to take a bath at the end of the day, bring enough water for that purpose. I survived with just two glasses just to kick the itchiness away.
• Wet tissues can be very great alternatives for the item above.
• Bring booze just because! Alam mo ‘yan!
• I haven’t taken pictures of them but garbage was all over the place. It would be great if regular cleanups could be done because I would say that the Greek architecture is among the reasons why tourists visit Fortune Island. If they’re taken away by some typhoon, the island might find it hard to compete against way cleaner islands.
• Because of garbage, pesky flies can be all over the place. So bring candles if you can! Or bombs! Really!
• If you got a snorkeling gear, definitely bring it. I would go back to the island just for its underwater scenery. You will even see something down there that will make you think how it got there.
• If you find it hard to find people to go with and you’re on-the-go to meet new people, you can watch out for organized tours like what we availed from #JJTours. They always include round-trip transportation and meals.

Lastly, Denisse and Sir Jun also blogged about the trip. Click!

Visited: June 2015

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The year’s Independence Day brought me back to the place where I earned my degree. The holiday fell on a Tuesday so one just had to file a leave for Monday and call it a looong weekend. As for my ticket, booking it was semi-accidental; I was just playing around with Cebu Pacific Air‘s Travel Funds when… Boom! Flight to Iloilo confirmed. The destination? Kenyama Beach Resort in Guimaras.

Transportation

Guimaras Island is a just a 15-minute boat ride from Iloilo. Fare from Ortiz to Jordan was only ₱14. Yes, you read that right.

From the port was about an hour of land travel to Guisi where Kenyama Beach Resort is located. The engine overheated so we managed to take the shot below while the driver was fetching water. We had the ride exclusively to ourselves, by the way.

Resort & Accommodation

Kenyama Beach Resort is built on the side of a mountain. Welcoming you is a terrace overlooking the beach. It’s a wonderful sight.

And here’s what I was talkin’ about. Don’t you think those blues are simply lovable?

The reception area is also where the dining tables are. It had a pool table which we, despite one of our girls being a bilyaran tambay, didn’t exploit.

Our room, which had a capacity of 9 persons, originally cost ₱3,500 but since there were 12 of us we rendered an additional ₱300 for extra foams and ₱360 for corkage. That room works best for a big group; not air-conditioned but has its own bathroom.

Just outside the room was this view. I will speak no more.

Your friendly neighborhood Spidey also happened to be around. Naturally, he was going berserk from time to time. I was once attacked by one and all I can say is that they’re really strong. Born to be wild, that is!

At this point, I decided to buy the entire island as I just couldn’t let the opportunity slip away. Hi’m the king of Foursquare the world!

The Beach

Going down to the beach, I noticed that most of the guests were Japanese. That’s when I realized and knew that the owner is Japanese. The name of the resort itself is one. “Kenyama” could translate to “Ken Mountain.” From that point, my tongue was itching to talk to at least one of them in Nihongo. Too bad, I didn’t really get the chance.

To the left of the horizon was this contour. Braving it was just the perfect thing to do before hitting the waters.

That white building is Kenyama Beach Resort. The tide may have already been getting high during this time but the experience was already too overwhelming that such detail didn’t seem to matter anymore.

One more stretch! Oop!

When we reached the point of no return, I mean, the point where we can no longer go further, we just rested and made the most of the picture-taking. Here’s a classic no-smile family picture where there seems to be a traitor. A jump shot here would’ve been nice, but good luck with that. Directly above this spot were lighthouses we failed to visit.

They said that the sand is not as white as other beaches like Boracay’s. I couldn’t tell the difference at all. Let’s just say that as long as it’s not grey, then it’s already white for me.

Finally, it was time to splash some seawater. To the right of the horizon were rocks where you could jump from. However, as much as I would love to dive, I don’t know how to do the stunt. (None of us does, actually.) Presenting the seven brave souls!

Before calling it a day, we had these lovely shots with the setting sun. Thinking about it now, it would’ve been cooler if we were jumping into the water. But for every unappealing shot, a retake would require tremendous effort.

Dinner was catered by the local store nearest the resort because we didn’t have the budget for the food available at the restaurant. Since it was already a bit late, we were only left with corned beef, sardines, eggs, and fish. When the food arrived, it just showed how fine of a dining it was given our grumbling stomachs. Two and a half kilograms of rice? Gone in the blink of an eye. Over drinks, I became the laughing stock (even in Twitter!) when I posted about the local name of the fish as “tabaghak” instead of “tabagak.” You have the resort’s Wi-Fi to thank for that.

Island Hopping

After breakfast we immediately had our arses on board for the island hopping. Unfortunately, the guides claimed that the waves weren’t friendly so we wouldn’t be able to visit some caves. We only stopped on two islands that it turned out more like an island sightseeing instead. The views were wonderful, nonetheless.

During our first stop we witnessed extravagant sequels of infamous action-packed movies. Feel free to think of the titles that first come to mind.

Splurging in the crystal waters of the islands was obligatory. Those different shades of blue look very enticing if you ask me.

Since we no longer had a particular destination after a U-turn, we asked for a stopover in the middle of the ocean. There were life vests, but those who were incapable of “kicking water” still didn’t take a dip. When I tried to reach the bottom I felt my ear exploding; my classmate succeeded.

Cliff Jumping

We went for a few more rounds of cliff jumping under the bright sun. The clear sky made the view even more admirable. I reached this spot by swimming all the way behind a bigger rock on the left. Man, that was tiring (and risky). My feet must’ve been very tired from treading that I found it hard to stand on the rock beneath the one on the surface; sustained my fourth and biggest cut, on the left foot this time.

To the right was a way higher rock with stairs leading to its top. It couldn’t be reached by foot so we had to swim to it. Three of us dared to jump off it and to avoid injuries, one surveyed the depth of the water first. “Cowabunga!” It was strange why there were no lookouts for people like us who would do such feat. Perhaps ’cause the resort was still new? In any case, people should be responsible of their own actions.

Prior to our trip the weather was all gloomy. I couldn’t be more thankful that it eventually cleared up. This post proves how much I had fun as I’ve never blogged about traveling before. Travel while young (I know, the line’s overused) and credits to Glo, Lairy, Marianne, and Peace for the pictures!

Expenses

Visited: June 2012

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