A week ago, I have posted my
500-Pesos Backpacking Challenge
for my Dumaguete trip. I have mentioned there that the main purpose of our
Negros day-trip is the Apo Island in Dauin, Negros Oriental. Apo Island is a
twelve-hectare volcanic island thirty kilometers south from Dumaguete. It is
now one of the most visited attractions in the province.
It is
known for its great landscapes with stunning rock formations and artsy wind
carvings on its hill facing the open sea. These wind carvings are effects of
wind erosion which is comparable to the rock formations of some parts of the Sahara
Desert and ancient cities of Egypt. The rock formations though we’re caused by
an ancient volcanic eruptions.
Apo
Island is very ideal to those who are into snorkeling since the depth of its
beach is unpredictable due to abrupt changes in its sea floor. You can already
see coral reefs even if you are still few meters away from the shoreline
itself. This is also why most backpackers go to this place since they no longer need to scuba dive just to see those colorful reefs and sea creatures.
The
island is also famous for its friendly sea turtles which you can take photos
while snorkeling and swimming with them. There is a specific area in the island
where the turtles stay. When we went there we have seen three cute turtles. What
amazed us is that we haven’t swum yet, we are still walking through knee-level
seawater then we have already found one.
Occasionally you can see clown fish
within the area where the turtles are protected. Be careful not to step on
anything especially any coral since it would take years for them to grow and it
is where clown fish and other species mate. It is also astounding that the
turtles and other sea creatures within the area are totally different with
those who are into the wild. Whenever you try to get nearer to them, they will just
continue what they’re doing as if no one is threatening them – THEY LOVE
HUMANS!
JUDGING WITH THE PICTURES, HAVE WE FAILED THE 500-PESO
BACKPACKING CHALLENGE THIS TIME?
We may
start the trip from the heart of Central Visayas – CEBU. You may ask your travel
mates to have your assembly in the Cebu South Bus Terminal. From there, you have
to take one with “via Lilo-an” which will bring you to Santander Port. It
is where the bus is heading so you need not to worry getting lost. Travel would
take 3 to 4 hours depends on the traffic.
From
the Santander Port, you may take a public pump boat which is cheaper than the
fast craft but for convenience purposes, we took the fast craft since the
difference is not too expensive. Both boats will bring you to Sibulan Port where you may start your Negros Oriental
trip. Travel time would take 25-30 minutes. We want to go to Dumaguete first
for some refreshments so we took a cab going to the iconic Boulevard.
We took
a short walk from the boulevard area and not surprisingly we have found the
well-known Sans Rival and the Spanish Heritage Building. The area is also known
for its old Belfry, and glad we found it while walking. Their tricycles are
shaped differently from the tricycles of Cebu. It is much bigger and
comfortable than the one we got here.
From
boulevard, you have to take a tricycle going to the Ceres terminal and from
there you may take the one with “Dauin-Malatapay”. Just tell the conductor that
you are heading to Apo Island and he will drop you off in the Malatapay Fleece
Market which only functions on Wednesdays. Travel time will only take 15-20
minutes.
From
the national highway, you have to walk few meters to the docking area of the
pump boats going to the island. It is ideal to go there in groups so you may
just divide the total price of the boat rental. It’s a Sunday so there is
always a scarcity of the boating supply and for us to be entertained first, from
a regular price of 4,000 for the big boat, we offered 4,500 for the tip. You
need not to worry being fooled by opportunists since they really have tariff
for their rentals. Luckily we have found a group of five so we decided to share
the boat with them since the capacity of the big boat is 12 people.
When
you reach to the island, you have to go directly to their office to pay for the
entrance fee. At first, we thought that there will be no entrance fee since
nobody approached us as we dock. We are used to other places in which upon
docking there will be a person who will approach for the payment. We just found
out like hours after we have already enjoyed some parts of the island. We
inquired the turtle sanctuary and how much should we pay for the entrance, then
the attendant found out that we haven’t paid the entrance yet since the entry
of the turtle sanctuary is part of the payment.
BUDGET BREAKDOWN:
Our budget will start at the Boulevard, Dumaguete since we already have our budget for Dumaguete.
Tricycle to Ceres Bus Terminal – P 20.00 (Back and Forth)
Ceres Bus to Malatapay -
P 50.00 (Back and Forth)
Boat Rental to Apo Island – P 400.00 (divided by 10 ; Back
and Forth)
Entrance Fee – P 100.00 (Tourist Price ; includes the Turtle
Sanctuary Entrance)
Turtle Santuary Guid – P 60.00 (divided by 5)
TOTAL :
P 630.00
DIFFERENCE
: P – 130.00
ADDITIONAL:
Cebu - Dumaguete Vice Versa - P 482.00
TOTAL: P 1,112.00
DIFFERENCE: P 888.00 (from the P 2,000 original budget)
Sadly,
we have failed the 500-Peso Backpacking Challenge. If we only knew that we can
just skip from paying the entrance fee, we could only have negative 30 from our
budget. But you cannot escape since they will be monitoring with the docking
boats. You also have to hire a guide since it is mandatory. But I have to be
honest hiring one is useless since they wont be helping you taking pictures and
there will be no lessons about the island and the turtles. All they do is just
watch you for not touching the turtles and help you look for turtles(which
practically can be done by yourself). It is also disappointing since you cannot
see good view under the waters of the sanctuary which defeated its title for
being a sanctuary.
But
that negative 130 is still worth it given the beauty of the island’s landscape,
the time we have spent with the gentle turtles, and the beautiful view under
the sea which can be witnessed outside the turtle sanctuary. The spending and
the tan lines can be sold in auctions since visiting the island is like a visit
to paradise.
Warning!
Do bring a waterproof bag or even just a cellophane to protect your gadgets from getting wet since it would be a very wet ride going to the island that you would literally get soaked.
Photos by:
Sexie Chan
Francis Niño Opog
3 years ago, my
friends and I went to this used-to-be-neglected place. We did an advocacy with
the hash tags #preservePAWUD and #savePAWUD. I personally wrote a blog about it
and we also made a vlog to promote awareness and to get the attention of the
government. At that time, its beauty was
undeniable and its magnificence stands out considering it’s just beside a
national high way. However, those were the days that it was struggling to
survive – styros floating on its waters, plastics were hanging on the bushes
surrounding it and some occasional display of filth(if you know what I mean).
Though I have to be honest, the blog and vlog that we made didn’t went viral
and no action has been taken afterwards to a point of forgetting about my
advocacy and it took me 3 years before I notice the changes of PAWUD.
As I was going
home from work, I happen to pass the place and saw that there were alterations
done. There were signages, fence and decent bamboo benches and tables. So, my
friends and I decided to check and see its development. To our surprise, Pawud
looks different as what we have witnessed 3 years ago. We even found out that
there are caretakers roving from time to time to check if visitors are throwing
their garbage to proper disposal areas. And to complete our ocular
inspection(as if we were from DENR) we went to the cave and SMELLED IT. As we
were approaching to the cave, to our surprise, it smelled EARTH AND WATER! As
what we have remembered, it used to smell like filth(no exaggeration). Then
with its inviting deep cold blue water, we decided to get into our wetsuits and
dive. 
During our dive,
we were happy not until we discovered that there are still few people who left their “valuables” there. We got an earring, a
PVC pipe, some plastic packages, a broken glass of KULAFO and a CREDIT CARD!
Nevertheless, we are still grateful to the people of Sitio Malinao and Barangay
Agus in general who committed in saving this place. For I’ve been really fascinated
by its beauty since childhood. Those were the days that Mama won’t allow me to
swim for it is “Taw-an” or enchanted. Now I am very grateful for I was able to
not even swim but dive its waters and I if this will be constantly maintained,
I am pretty confident that the next generations will be able to enjoy its
radiance.
