Kalanggaman Island, Southern Leyte's Breath taking Island!

Hi guys!

I know a lot of you have been asking and is very much interested to go to Kalanggaman Island since it was featured in Rated K last March 6, 2016. This is for those who are interested to go there from Cebu City. No need to describe how the island takes your breath away because you can see that in the internet. So here it goes:

Things to consider:

The Date: You need to be certain what day you’ll be there and if you want to stay overnight. (I would recommend overnight) The sky with the lack of city lights makes the island worth star gazing with your friends or a special someone. ;)

Taken from http://www.kalanggaman-island.com/

You need to contact the office first because they limit the visitors of the island per day to avoid overcrowding for preservation and maintaining the island. Call the Palompon Eco Tourism Office and get listed. See the attachment for the boat payment. I do advise arriving at Palompon before 10am because it is really rough going to Kalanggaman Island much more so at later times. You pay onsite to the bangka/boat operator. The listing is also for the reservation of the boat.

Is the bangka/boat too expensive for 1,2 or 5? Here’s what I did.

We... I went there and talked with the front desk, asked what boats are leaving that can still accommodate me. She took the list, and there were a group of 17 people who reserved a 25 capacity boat. So together with an additional 5 girls, we paid directly to the one who reserved the boat. This saved me a lot of money! Weeeeh!

So what if the group you joined doesn’t stay overnight? All you need to do is ask the boat/banka operators the one’s leaving the next day so you can also ask for a hitch (with payment of course).

Palompon ECO Tourism Office: Landline: +63 (053) 338-2094 Mobile 1: +63 917 303 7269 Mobile 2: +63 917 303 7267 

How to get there from Cebu: You choose your schedules but the earlier you arrive in Palompon the better.

1.      From Cebu City - Ormoc, you can choose with a lot of available boat/ship from :

·         Roble Shipping (Slow boat), http://www.robleshipping.com/rates/ (7-8 hrs travel time)

·         Weesam (Fast Craft) https://www.weesam.ph/, (2.30hrs trave time)

·         Supercat (Fast Craft) http://www.supercat.com.ph/Destinat..., (2.30hrs trave time)

·         Oceanjet (Fast Craft) http://www.oceanjet.net/cebu-ormoc (2.30hrs trave time)

OR YOU CAN HAVE THE DIRECT CEBU TO PALOMPON with these shipping lines!

Ferry	Destination	Dates	Class	Rate
Cokaliong	CEB - PAL	Monday, Thursday (8:00PM), Sunday (12:00PM)	Economy	350
	PAL - CEB	Tuesday, Friday (8:00AM), Sunday (10:00PM)	Tourist	450
Medallion	CEB - PAL	Daily (9:00PM)	Economy	390
	PAL - CEB	Daily (9:00AM)	Tourist	490

Take note that the travel time from Cebu City to Palompon is 7-8 hours.

Check the following websites for more accurate and updated schedule & rates.

http://www.cokaliongshipping.com/schedules&rates.html

https://www.facebook.com/medalliontransportinc/

So here’s the visual aid I made. (Its clipart, don’t judge :p)

So if you decide to go to Kalanggaman Island from Cebu via Ormoc.

1.) When you have chosen your mode of transpo from Cebu to Ormoc travel time is (please see Cebu to Ormoc schedule posted above).

2.) When you arrive at Ormoc City Port, you just need to walk to get to the Van Terminal. As soon as you go out of the port, the van terminal is just across the road. You won’t miss it.

3.) At the Van Terminal, look for the signs, PALOMPON so that you can be on the right destination. Travel time 1.30hr/s because sometimes the van stops to unload passengers. They don’t usually wait til the van is full at the terminal. They have a limited time to load passengers. Ormoc City to Palompon is Ph110.00 only.

4.) When you arrive at the Palompon Terminal, you can have 2 options: Ride the Potpot or the local trisikad going to the Palompon Eco Tourism Office. Or just walk, you can ask the locals where the office for Kalanggaman Island booking is. Better take the potpot. :p

5.) The Palompon Eco Tourism Office is also your port to Kalanggaman Island. So you just have to wait there when your boat/bangka is ready. (I already explained how I got into a boat. Read above.)

Of course, you need to consider that Kalanggaman Island has cottages but it has no resorts there. You can bring your tent if you want an overnight stay. They have a Police Station 24 hrs on the island. They have washrooms and comfort rooms. Water for washing and cleaning is available. Take note! Its not a resort, and a public washroom so don’t expect much when it comes to that. Bring lots of drinking water, food and water and food again! Haha! Charge your cellular phones full, your camera’s ready, SD cards and all storage devices are ready. Bring your powerbanks! Tho you can ask from the Police Station if you need to charge your gadgets, wait for your queue. They have lamp posts there too. Bring your swimsuit, sunblock (LOTS OF IT! It is recommended to apply every hour especially outdoors and its really hot there! :p) and sunglasses. Also, a great company of people or person or your special doodly winks!

Lastly, leave your worries behind and just love the vitamin sea! It’s one of the clearest seawater I’ve been too. A companion lost an earring while swimming, good thing I had goggles with me and we found it!

So I hope this helps.

For other information please go to: http://www.kalanggaman-island.com/

A shelter for a night.

We had to make a stop for the night at Bodos Bamboo Bar at Alcoy, Cebu because it was raining hard and it was hard to see the road. It was my co-worker's first time long drive, he's just a newbie so we decided to spend the night with the nearest inn we could find along the way. Erm, we actually wanted to stay there and how fortunate that despite that it was dark and raining hard we were able to find it! :p

Welcome!

So after a whole days activity, we were tired and hungry. Unfortunately, I was not able to bring my camera with me because the food is delicious! They are also famous for their pizzas! After we had our fill, we went to our rooms. There were no stars in the sky because the clouds were so thick and still raining... but this view stuck me so I took my camera, took a pic and stayed under the hut for 30 mins. Just feeling the atmosphere because we will only stay for the night and leave the next day.

The huts are located just outside the rooms.

If only the stars were visible that night. 

For more information of Bodos Bamboo Bar please check these links:

http://www.bodosbamboobarresort-cebu.com/ppc/

http://www.holiday.philippinen.us/

By the pool, in  a hurry because I set the timer. One didn't make it on time. :D

In the morning we left for Tingko Beach just a few meters away from the resort. We tried to wake up as early so we can take a lot of pictures while there's only a few people. I was dragging my camera and tripod along but there were a lot of people already awake and eating their breakfast or enjoying the morning sun. There were a lot of foreigners in the bar and we're a bit camera shy so I wasn't able to take more pictures of the resort but you can check the links I posted.

It was still a gloomy morning but its better than the scorching heat of the sun during noon. We head out to Tingko Beach and went back to the hotel to freshen up, head our way back to Cebu City. It was an accidental fun weekend get away for sure!

So I went back again to the Santander, Liloan, Cebu Port because it was time to do my monthly work visit. This time, I took more pictures of the area.

The other side of the port. Fishermen were setting their nets nearby.

The other fishermen who sets up the other end of the net.

Enjoying the sea breeze.

Pebbles Beach Resort is just a few steps away from the port. This is one of their  huts.

 I visited this place with my little sister and cousin this time in the summer heat. They too, loved the time we spent just watching the beach. A few people were taking a dip but we opt not to take their pictures because they might feel like we were invading their privacy so I chose the hut instead.

Ah the summer is almost over here in my country. I hope I would be able to visit more beaches before tropical storms and rain showers come.

I will be posting more pictures on my other blog: santanderliloancebu.blogspot.com

All about Santander, Liloan, Cebu.

Check out the Santander, Liloan, Cebu blog

click: santanderliloancebu.blogspot.com

Basic information on Santander, Liloan, Cebu. :)

A BEAUTIFUL STOP OVER...

Every time I go to Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental I take the bus in South Bus Terminal in N. Bacalso Avenue, Cebu City. The bus ride takes about 3-4 hours depending if the bus had many stops along the way but I always try to arrive at the bus terminal before 6am so I would arrive in Santander, Liloan by 10am. If I arrive with plenty of time before the wharf leaves then I take my first meal of the day. The wharf takes about 30 minutes going to Sibulan, Negros Oriental and you can take a ride there via tricycle, taxi or the public utility jeep going to Dumaguete City which takes about 20-30 minutes.

There are plenty of options to go to Dumaguete City. You can take the van (instead of the bus but it stops at another port), plane or the fast ferry. There is a Cebu Pacific flight from Cebu and from Manila or check any local airlines if there is a direct flight from where you are from. Oceanjet is the only fast ferry who has a Cebu – Dumaguete trip with Bohol stop over. I choose the bus trip because I get to take a breath taking view of the beach along the South Cebu shoreline. It is beautiful! If you love white sands and clear blue waters, then I suggest you take the bus trip. There are two options for the bus trip, you can take the “Liloan, Santander” which will take a stop at the Santander Port or you can take the “Dumaguete” where they will board the bus on a wharf. You will see the signage in the front of the bus window.

Bus stops here to unload and load passengers.

Terminal information.

The Santander ferry.

So here’s the breakdown of my expenses from Cebu City, Cebu to Liloan, Santander, Cebu to Sibulan, Negros Oriental:

Bus as of April 2012 –                      Php169.00

Wharf fare as of April 2012.

Full:                        Php50  + wharf fee: 10 + municipal fee: 2  = Php62.00

Student:                 Php43  + wharf fee: 10 + municipal fee: 2  = Php55.00

Senior Citizen:      Php40 + 10 + 2 = Php52.00

3-9 years old:        Php25.00

Total

Bus +Wharf:          Php169.00 + 62.00 = Php231.00

I like taking the Santander wharf because the stop gives me time to eat my first meal of the day or take some comfort break in their station. The port is small and clean. Food is clean and tastes like home cooked meal which I love. When I have plenty of time to spare before the wharf signals boarding I get out of the port and just take a walk around. Oh, there’s nothing like a fresh air breeze and blue clear waters! Its eye-candy! I travel alone most of the time, sometimes I have to remind myself to suppress my smile because the locals very much know who the tourist are or for the awkward reason that they might see me talking to myself! XD I carry a lot of bags for work so that’s a giveaway. Haha! There are inns, hotels and diving resorts nearby like a 2-5 minute walk. I can only imagine how it is because you can actually see a school of small fish when you look down at the water! What if you go further?! I’m fond of snorkeling even if I don’t know how to swim. (I know! I know! I’ll get on that someday, I promise!).

So I’ll share some of the pictures I took so can anyone can see how it looks like. I’ll make another post on Dumaguete City because it’s another world there! I love that City too!

These are some pictures I took at Santander, Liloan, Cebu: 

Loving the breeze. Shelter from trees ftw! Someone's taking a dip! I envy!

Nearby diving resorts and inns.

Breath taking view of the beach and the sky.

That boat is like me. Surrounded with nature's beauty. :)

A fisherman on a break. 

So this is one of the favorite places that I go to. I hope I will be able to post more in the future. I just went to 5 cities in 5 days by land, air and water! Also, when you try to go to places try to look at the good things it has to offer. It took me 3 years before I was able to explore it myself. It's true when they say, 

"It's the journey, not the destination"

Have a good day everyone! ^_____^

Work has been so toxic lately!

I'll be needing a break. It's summer here! The sun is scorching hot! No kidding! Its a different kind of heat. This is climate change. I find it very alarming! The sun and sand of summer does not really appeal much to me. What I needed is to get away from the city. 

Revisit a resort that's overlooking a beach but has the mountains cool breeze.

Bodos Bamboo Bar, Hotel & Resort in Alcoy, Cebu.

The dark and breezy air calls to me. Daylight is harsh these days.

This is what I need to take a break and get some sleep.

Oh weekend come to me sooner!