Sweet Potatoes

Here's my long awaited post, to officially start my summer '11.

Being an island east of Cebu, it took us almost four hours of travel from the city to the paradise island of Camotes.

We opted to take an hour road ride going to Danao, and around 2-3 hours of boat ride from Danao port to the port of Consuelo, Camotes Island.

We met up a little too early, got on a van from SM to Danao that was supposed to be good for 12 to 15 people, and hired it just for the 6 of us. We are feeling private-y! By the way, SM to Danao just takes about an hour or so of travel, depending on the traffic. 

Hired Van good for 12 to 15 people: 720Php.

We had an hour more to wait for the 6:30 am boat from Danao to Consuelo, so we had breakfast at the cafeteria by the port terminal.

And then boat/barge ride going to the island! 

Danao to Consuelo and vice versa: 

180Php/pax/way.

5Php terminal fee.

Excitement!

And heads spinning and stomachs churning because of the violent waves greeting us as we traveled to paradise. 

And thank heavens we got there safe and sound. Woohoo! Paradiso baby!

From the port of Consuelo, we opted to hire a minivan/multicab (whatever you call it) to get us around the island and take us to where we are staying and back to the port the next day.

2200Php for the ride and the tour.

First stop:

Lake Danao Park

The park is the access point to the largest lake in the Visayas: Lake Danao.

The view is absolutely breathtaking and I can just stay there all the hours of my day.

But since that day is short, we had to head on to our other destinations.

Entrance fee to Lake Danao Park: 10Php.

Sakanaw or their motorized boat to enjoy the lake more: 500Php.

We hurriedly left our stuffs at the place we're staying, changed to our ready for the sun and the sea outfits!

Second stop:

Timubo Cave

Entrance to Timubo cave: 15 Php.

The underground cave wasn't that grand or anything, the rock formations were strange, but the comfort and the coolness as we got to the bottom was simply calming. The water was cool and blue, and it was like waist deep for a six-footer and, uhm, shoulder deep for a five-footer like me. No need for that inflatable pink thing there. ha ha ha

It's a challenging thing for tall people to go about the cave, theirs knees ached!

One of the few advantages of being short. Teehee :p

And to allay those worries and fears a little, the steps were concrete, the way well-lit; there were no bats or snakes or wild life crawling, flying, hissing or roaring or whatever. Or at least I quieted my minds on that idea.

But the darkness was there. And if you've got a wild imagination, just hush it down for a while.

Noontime sun:

Baywalk

We had quick barbecues, strolling, dancing, playing, cam-whoring, and whatnots, reanimating the kids in us.

The Baywalk was beautiful, peaceful, and oh, how I loved the lampposts. 

And nearby, there's a market where we bought all things we needed to survive a night.

Sweet scene, loud laughter, happy hearts.

And, time for the beaches!

Santiago White Beach

This is one public beach, imagine?

Beside it was Santiago Bay, the well known resort in the island. 

Oh, the endless horizon, the soft white sand on your feet.

It was a little gloomy that time, but we still dipped and bathed.

And Phoebe had to do the sun-dance for the shower to stop. ha ha

Another resort:

This is actually where we first reserved rooms before we chose a much isolated part of the island.

What instantaneously got me when we got there was not the fish-shaped pool, or the pretty huts, 

but the wild, walloping, whacking waves!

They were just so cool!

Mangodlong Rock Resort

And to our abode we go.

Check out camotesguesthouse.multiply.com for this place.

2500Php/night. good for 10-15 people.

Late afternoon.

Bonfire at night.

Oh how I would love to just sleep by the shore.

Our meals.

They did all the cooking, all I did was eat.

A rare, unhurried morning by the beach.

Playing cards, wrestled and flunked, and still grinned.

And for the last feel of the place, we took snapshots, and face-shots, and jump-shots, and anything and everything worth remembering.

It was a great welcome for the summer. 

Old and new friends getting along very well as if they've known each other forever. 

The summer breeze, the sun's heat, and the endless no-reason laughter. Priceless.

Agonizingly overwhelming. 

Oh summer, you make me suffer with your sweetness!