The whole day trip in Dumaguete and Apo Island was tiring but super duper fun! We were dead tired because we were able to doze off easily. The next day, yet again, we made our own DIY itinerary to our next destination, Oslob, Cebu.
WHAT WE HAD FOR BREAKFAST:
We decided to have Dumaguete’s famous kakanin (glutinous rice cake) which they call “puto” which is, I guess, an equivalent to the suman (a rice cake made out of glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk and often steamed-wrapped in palm leaves. Most common knowledge for puto is that it is a steamed Filipino mini rice cake made out of rice flour. It is usually topped with cheese and comes in different sizes and colors. Dumaguete’s “puto” is best partnered with hot chocolate which can be bought separately. The puto was wrapped in a cut palm leaf and shaped like a triangular-cone. It pretty tastes like suman and it was the first time for me to dip it on a hot chocolate that came together with it. It was so delicious!
We ate it along Rizal boulevard to have a glimpse of the risen sun along with a drizzle from the skies. Good thing it did not become a complete morning shower and to top it all, it was indeed chilly! It’s so cold even in Dumaguete.
We ate the puto along RIzal boulevard.
I thought it was only in Manila that I feel cold in the morning. (It is February). At 8 in the morning we decided to go back to our place to get ready for Oslob. After getting ourselves ready, we took the tricycle and it led us to the terminal of the jeep (ride the jeep with ‘Sibulan’ written on it) going to Sibulan port. It was a 30-minute ride going to Sibulan port.
HOW MUCH? HOW LONG?
We went inside and paid for the Php 62 fare. The ferry trip was every hour and the last trip was at 7pm. We arrived at 8:45am. Of course, we took the 9am trip. The ferry ride was a bit bumpy, wavy and wobbly due to the heavy winds. I became a bit dizzy and nauseous. It was a 20-30 minute ride going to Oslob. When we got there, a Ceres bus was already waiting. You should have your seat number from the ferry port in order for you to be able to ride the bus. The fare was Php 30. You should automatically tell the bus conductor that you will get off at the whaleshark-site-seeing area so that you would be immediately alerted by him whenever the place is already nearing and of course, that you won’t get lost! We got off at MB Sunshine and paid for Php 500 registration fee. (for locals; Php 1000 for foreigners) Additional Php100 if you will be renting their snorkel gear and/or lifevest. If you have your snorkel gear, you will still have to pay Php 100 for the lifevest. We were then escorted to the briefing center which is a few minutes away where there are a lot, and by that, i meant A LOT of other tourists waiting at the briefing center.
We waited for our turn at the shore. Good thing we registered at an official registration area and we were easily escorted to the small boat leading to the whaleshark-site-seeing together with 3 boatman.
Our boatmen were really kind and cheerful. I guess, since there were only two of us, we were not a nuisance to them compared to groups of 5 or more who were so noisy. hahaha! Kuya Miguel, Kuya Dominic and Kuya Albert were our boatmen. They were really accommodating. The only thing that bothered me was the gushing of the waves! It was so extreme that even Kuya Miguel made repeated sign of the cross before we head to the sea. It was so terrifying. We still managed to get to the middle part and we jumped off from our boat.
REALITY BITES.
Yes, the boatman was feeding shrimps and small fishes to the whale sharks in order for them to stay in that area. There was no season wherein the whale sharks come to Oslob because it is ‘that’ season again. They come there every morning because it is ‘feeding time’ and that was what we, the tourists, came for. It’s both a pro and a con. A pro for their tourism and a con for the whale sharks being dependent on humans for their food. Though the whale shark seeing lasts only until 12 in the afternoon, it was an everyday routine for the whale sharks to be fed every morning.
Going back, we never had a decent picture with the whale sharks.
After the whale shark encounter, we headed back to the shore and decided to go with a group of people to Sumilon island.
It was about 15 minutes to get to the island from Oslob. Another boat will take you there.
travel with isabel 