I’ve wanted to go down south for a long time since I’ve never been really there. I think Quezon is the farthest I’ve been and that’s still in Luzon. I secretly envied (not so secret anymore) those who have been in Cebu or Davao or Palawan so when I got the Cebu Pacific Sale Alert on Twitter, I knew I had to book that trip. Something in me just clicked and told me it’s now or next year and I was itching to go on a weekend trip out of stressful Manila. Knowing that my parents won’t allow me to go on a vacation by myself, I managed to coax two officemates
(K, Mr. M) and a former colleague
(VSSN) to join me in this crazy journey. After much deliberation, we decided on
Cebu, the City of Smiles.
So the next question was, “Where in Cebu?” Since we were going to be there for just the weekend and we thought of airport convenience and maximizing our time there, the obvious default was
Mactan. None of the bus/ferry hassles if we go to another island. However the hotels were quite pricey and we were not impressed with the beach and scenery. If we really wanted to relax, we had to go somewhere far from Mactan. So we explored other nearby islands and stumbled upon our third option,
Nalusuan Island, which got its name from the local term
“Kalusuan” meaning “a place of penises”. Yes you read that right. In the reverberating declaration of
Summer Finn (500 Days of Summer), “Peniiiiiissss!” Anyway, it was called as such because the island was once very abundant with sea cucumbers which resemble the male genitals. There were other options along the way like Olango but eventually because of
Kandugyap, we decided on
Bantayan Island.
Fastforward to our departure, we left work before 7pm and took a cab to T3.
We told VSSN to wear a pink top because coincidentally, K, Mr. M and I were in pink too. I know how very matchy-matchy. Hehe… Anyhow, VSSN was already waiting for us on the ledge just outside the airport entrance. We immediately went to the check-in counter to deposit VSSN’s over 100ml mousse (very important item) and basically all our stuff. There was just a slight commotion because Mr. M did not know what a “check-in baggage” was vs “hand carry” and why his Hayden perfume added an additional .2kg to our baggage. Haha!
Night 1: Arrival in CebuNo rain. Clean airport. Not too crowded. We never got to appreciate these little things much because we hurried to the taxi line. Our destination was the
IT Park – the only place based on research open 24 hours. There were some restos and coffee shops but they were too expensive if we were going to wait for more than 4 hours so we ended up in
Jollibee. Hurray for Jollibee!
We consciously scheduled our super early breakfast so that the crew won’t shoo us away then silliness ensued. We tested VSSN and K’s cameras. VSSN’s camera was a
Samsung WP10 which can shoot underwater. At the end of the trip I wanted one of my own. Then we discussed work, life, future plans, itinerary, budget, etc. Surprisingly, we were able to stomach each other for more than 4 hours in Jollibee of all places and never ran out of something to do.
Day 1: Bantayan, Here We GoWe met with our travel agent’s assistant and he assisted us to the correct bus going to the port. It was going to be several hours on land but nothing I couldn’t handle. I believe I have mastered long trips by land. The bus had a TV set and the driver chose to play
Celine Dion’s concert in Las Vegas. I was the only one entertained, but by then I was exhausted and went to sleep. We chose our own rows thinking the bus won’t be full but it picked up passengers along the way so by the time we reached the port,
it was a blockbuster ride.
At the port, Mr. M bought our tickets and rushed to the ferry which would take us to
Santa Fe, Bantayan. The water ride was humid, a bit uncomfortable, and quite long. Took us 1 ½ hours before reaching the Santa Fe port.
Bring some reading material or gaming device to kill boredom and sleepiness. However our exhaustion and issues in life momentarily disappeared as we approached the port because of the beautiful scenery in front of us.
We had to take some photos of course no matter how uncomfortable we were. The shore was white, the water reflected the sky and there was a nice beach house as well.
As we got off the dock we spotted our
sundo – a white CRV. Driving the CRV was the owner of Kandugyap.
Sosyal! She recommended stalls where we can buy lunch because we were very much PG at that time. We bought rice wrapped in pandan leaves and inihaw.
On our way to Kandugyap, she told us a brief history of the place and her family. It got us more excited which I never thought was even possible. When we were along the road leading to Kandugyap, we saw the beach and Kandugyap’s neighboring houses. The owner said that a lot of foreigners mostly retirees live there.
We wanted to live there too and we were still a few kilometers away from our destination.Finally we reached Kandugyap. Mr. M, VSSN and K had to take pictures of the main gate and the carved signage because it had that
old world feeling and we felt VIP. The owner and caretaker ushered us in and the view literally took our breath away. The house was as we imagined it to be
(please refer to previous blog entry). We went to our rooms (K was my roommate) for a while to freshen up a bit and leave our things before rushing to the cliff overlooking the beach. All I can say is wow! We couldn’t wait to go down but our stomachs were complaining and we decided to have lunch first before changing and conquering the water.
Now the beach. What can I say? White sand, blue water, crabs, shells, seaweed, rocks, corals, more crabs. We crashed and burned in the water. We had a blast taking pictures underwater with VSSN’s camera and after many attempts,
we scored one nice shot. Refer to FB (I will post all pictures there).
I think we stayed in the water for hours. Mr. M enjoyed his spot in the huge rock near the shore he lovingly called “Casterly Rock” (yeah he thinks he’s Lord Tywin Lannister but since the rock is small, maybe Tyrion is a better fit). Since it was high tide, the water covered most of the shore and reached the stairs carved into the cliff where the other houses stood. We thought it was perfect because there were four houses, one for each of us.

We decided to have dinner near the market which was a few minutes ride from Kandugyap. Before we left, we had a quick photo shoot in the garden and the beach. It was already low tide and you can see that Casterly Rock actually had stairs carved on it. There was a creepy incident that happened which led to Mr. M slipping on his way down from the rock but nothing that could dampen our mood. We laughed it off! Good thing he wasn’t hurt.
In the market, not a lot of people and restaurants were open that night but we found a dampa place where they sold grilled scallops for Php120 only! We just had to order another plate. So delicious!


We went on a stroll around the area to see the other establishments. I suddenly craved for dessert and we ended up in a café. Mr. M ordered halo-halo while the rest of us had a cup or two of Magnolia ice cream. We went into non-talking mode for a while because there was free WiFi and someone just had to check-in on Foursquare.
When we got back to Kandugyap it was still low tide and because of the earlier incident, no one dared to approach the shore. We decided to drink Tanduay Ice and SMB and talk some more while Mr. M provided the background music. All of this while enjoying the cool night breeze for an hour or so then finally went to bed.
Day 2: The Inevitable Reality
Before breakfast the next day, VSSN and I took a leisurely stroll along the beach and took pictures of two hermit crabs. After breakfast, we did not waste any more time and conquered the water again. Since it was still low tide, we ventured farther and saw corals, fish and tiny crabs. It was funny making a run for it whenever a crab-like creature underwater was spotted.
We saw a few dead fish on the shore because of the tide but marveled at how beautiful the shoreline was which we weren’t able to see the previous day. It stretched far under huge stones which could serve as shade or at night a bonfire place if it weren’t so wet and scary.
I also collected some shells but since I had no idea if I could bring them home, I just took a picture of them.
Sadly, all of it had to end and we found ourselves on our way to the "airport” which was just a field and a small concrete office for our chartered plane. We were concerned about time and travel by air was the fastest way to Cebu City. I wasn’t totally comfortable about it but I was game because I thought kami na ang sosyal! Haha!
When the chartered plane landed I ended up beside the door. I was nervous throughout the short flight despite the excitement of my friends who were busy taking pictures and videos of our take off and of the view from above. I was able to appreciate the view a bit but thinking of the worst that could happen made me slightly dizzy. Forgive me it was my first time on a small plane. On the bright side, I know how to float and swim.


Thankfully we landed safely near the hangar and I heaved a sigh of relief. I think I’m going to take the water and land travel next time even if it takes more than an hour. Anyway, we were greeted by the owners of the plane who picked up some relatives who just arrived as well. They were on their way to SM Cebu which was our destination too so they told us to ride with them on their van. Very kind people.
After we deposited our bags in the baggage area, we went out and walked to CNT Lechon for pasalubong. We returned to SM after and walked around a bit. Since we still had time to waste, we spent it in the bowling alley.
Finally it was time to head to the airport. With reluctance, we said goodbye to Cebu and promised to visit again and maybe make it a yearly thing.
For someone who is not a beach person, I really enjoyed this vacation. I recommend you to visit Bantayan this year and stay at Kandugyap. Hopefully we’ll be able to return in October with more company and in time for the surfing competition.
Travel 2012^_^
*Photos courtesy of me (Nokia E72), VSSN (Samsung WP10), K (Sony Cybershot), and Mr. M (Nokia E72)