Apo Island D.I.Y. Tour

Apo Island is located at Dauin, Negros Oriental, Philippines. It has 691 hectares of protected area. As such the marine sanctuary area was closed off to the public for rehabilitation since 2012 if I remember correctly. No worries because you can still visit the turtle zone where you can swim and get up-close with the turtles.

Meet my friend Green here. He loves swimming and munching on some seaweeds.

How to get to Apo Island?
1. From Dumaguete, ride a Ceres bus with a 'Bayawan' sign-board and tell the conductor to drop you off at Malatapay Market. Fare is 50PHP and travel time is around 1 hour.
2. After getting off the bus, you can walk to the port.
3. Take a 15 minute boat ride to Apo Island. We did not make any reservations. We just went to the port and asked for a private boat. Fare depends on the boat you're renting. Refer to published rates below.

We arrived at the port around 9am. On a normal day you can already see Apo Island from the port, but it was pouring and you can hardly see anything. Some tourist even backed-out and preferred to go back the next day. It was our last day so we waited until it was safer to set sail. Luckily, the weather got better and we arrived safely.

10 seater boat 4000PHP 

This picture was taken when we arrived back at Dauin port. See the weather difference?

Can't remember how much entrance fee we paid for snorkeling I think it was 100-150PHP per person. A tour guide is required, 1 for every 4 persons and it costs 300PHP. The tour guide will help you locate the turtles and take pictures for you, they also ensure your safety and the safety of the marine animals you encounter. STRICTLY NO TOUCHING THE TURTLES!!!

We rented snorkels, booties and life jacket for 100PHP per gear. It's not required but highly recommended as there are sea urchins in the area. You can also bring your own gear if you want. We also rented a table where we can leave our things 300PHP per table. You can also have lunch here for 150PHP. They have chicken adobo, fried or grilled fish.

We were so blessed to arrive at the island safe and the sun was already up.

Most islands only have doggos but there were a lot of kitties in Apo Island too. I wonder if they know how to swim?

Mr. Turtle: Yo guys! This' my friend Ly!

Me: Hi! (wave..wave..)

There are turtles roaming around at knee deep waters so watch your feet!

These turtles aren't exactly shy. They know they're gorgeous so they let you take lots of awesome pictures. And they know it's their turf so if they come close (REMEMBER: NO TOUCHING!!!) you have to adjust for them. 

These pictures are unedited and shot using gopro hero 4. Right out of the box. That's how beautiful this place is. ^_^

Time to say goodbye to Mr. Turtle. Till next Time!!!

Swimming with the turtles is such an amazing experience. I'm really thankful the weather cooperated and we got to see them. It would have been such a great loss if we missed them. But please remember that it is their sanctuary. So please respect them and the rules set by your guide. ^_^

Manjuyod Sand Bar and Dolphin Watching

There are tour packages for Manjuyod Sand Bar and Bais Dolphin Watching which ranges from 3000PHP to 4000PHP per person, but if you want to save some bucks, then read on and just D.I.Y.

To get to Manjuyod sandbar, go to Ceres bus terminal in Dumaguete and hop on a bus with the 'Manjuyod' sign board. Tell the conductor to drop you off at Bais bus stop. Fare is PHP55 and travel time is around 1 hour and 30 minutes. We arrived at Bais around 7am.

We arranged for a private boat before hand because we wanted to go home early and head for Siquijor in the afternoon. A private boat which can seat a maximum of 10 persons is PHP3500 for a whole day rental. But ate Rebecca gave us a discount and only gave it for PHP2500 since there are only 2 of us renting.

Bais Private Boat Rental
Contact: Rebecca
Phone: 09059614678

On the bus however, we met Mr. Lee and Nemo, his girlfriend who's also bound for Manjuyod sandbar and somehow my boyfriend and Mr. Lee became instant 'buddies' and Mr. Lee wanted to join our party of 2. So when the conductor asked if they already have a tour booking, he said 'Together' pointing at us.  Oh? Oh well.. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It was a good thing ate Rebecca still agreed to let us pay the same price for 4 persons. We met with ate Rebecca at Bais Bus Stop. We then took a tricycle to Cannibol Wharf PHP100 for the whole tricycle.

You can see the sand bar from the port. It was just 10minutes away. You have to go really early or late in the afternoon to see the sand bar when the tides are low. we reached the sand bar around 8:00am and the water was already rising. There were a lot of mini star fish and crabs and other sea creatures here. There was nothing special, just another sand bar. Plus points for being 10minutes away from shore. We only spent 30minutes here and moved on to our next destination, Bais Dolphin watching.

We arrived around 9:00am, I have been to dolphin watching tours before but we weren't very lucky so I wasn't expecting much. But to my surprise there were hoards or should I say a school of them just wandering around.

We were just circling the area for an hour and they were just popping out of the water in groups. It was such an amazing experience seeing them jumping out of the water and even doing some flips. There were a lot of boats searching for dolphins and I felt bad at one point because I feel like we're chasing/hunting them. And I imagine what if the boat propellers somehow injure the dolphins below or something.

We went back at 10am then stopped at the sand bar again because Mr. Lee wanted to swim and headed back to shore around 11am. So the entire trip can be done in half a day though you can stay longer if you want and maybe check out the mangrove forest and bird sanctuary nearby too.

with Ate Rebecca, Mr. Lee and Nemo

Trip Cost for a group of 4:
55x2 = 110: roundtrip bus Dumaguete to Bais
25x2 = 50: roundtrio tricycle to Cannibol Wharf
625: private boat to Manjuyod Sand Bar and Bais Dolphin Watching
Total: PHP785 per person

Palawan: Puerto Prinsesa: Underground River

If there's one thing you shouldn't miss while in Palawan, it's the Puerto Prinsesa Underground River (PPUR). How could you when it's named as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Site and New Seven Wonders of the World?

Puerto Princesa Underground River

There are 2 ways to go to the underground river. First is via 20 minutes boat ride from Sabang Beach or via 2 hours of trekking (one way) to the underground river.

 

 Sabang Beach

The sun was shining brightly, the clouds clear and we were ready to take the boat ride to PPUR... or not thanks to the not so calm waves that prevented the boats to set sail. And so our 2 hour long journey begins.

We walked along Sabang Beach for a few minutes until we reached a river? which you have to cross. It looks like you can walk to the other side but the middle portion is actually deep.

And that was just a warm up. The 3.56km trail starts after you cross the river XD. I have a history of asthma so this is really a big deal for me. 

The trail reminds me of the mobile game "Temple Run" because there are a lot of tree roots you have to get pass. It's not that hard but it feels like forever when all you see are trees.

When your tour guide tells you that you're just 20-30min. away from the underground river DO NOT BELIEVE HIM!!! because he will probably say that a dozen more times.

Now when you see this cave, Congratulations! you are already half way through the trek XD.

Half way marker

There are a lot of signs and the trail is pretty clear so there's a very slim chance of getting lost.

If ever you do get lost, look for red/orange markings on trees and you will find your way back to the trail.

You know you're already near the underground river when you see monkeys along the road. Cute as they are they are cunning little creatures so be careful with your belongings because they might just snatch them away.

Finally, the board walk to the underground river.

Entrance to the underground river.

Before we go deeper into the cave, let's talk about permits and fees. We bought a package which includes the tour to the underground river, environmental fees and permits, transportation and lunch for just PHP1060 (Jan2015). So everything was already taken care of when we arrived.

Now back to the cave. The underground river is about 8km long but the tour only covers around 1.5km (back and forth? sorry can't remember). If you want to go deeper into the cave, you'll have to get special permits. These are usually given to those who study the cave.

 

Inside the cave, you will find different rock formations, your imagination is the limit.

Of course there are also a lot of bats inside so be sure to close your mouth when looking up.

The water level is around 30-40meters inside the cave or at least that's what I remember the boatman said. XD

 Boatman smiling while his guest takes a picture of him

There may be other caves as much or even more captivating than PPUR but I think one of the selling points of PPUR is the Filipino humor through manong bangkero (boatman). Where else can you find a boatman who can greet you in multiple languages and make you laugh? Now for me that's priceless :)