UNDISCOVERED CEBU

The queen city of the south has often been heralded as home of the best resorts, white sand beaches, the sinulog festival as well as other tourist destinations. Cebu offers a wide range of first class resorts and other recreational facilities which have made its mark as one of the top tourist destinations in the country.
But with over 508,000 hectares in total land area, 2 component cities and 47 municipalities, there is still a lot of undiscovered gems in Cebu. Below is a list of some of those gems waiting for you to unearth.

Costa de Leticia Resort and Spa
Costa de Leticia Resort and Spa in Alegria, Cebu is on the Southern part of Cebu. It is roughly about two and a half hour drive along the seaside from Cebu City. Costa de Leticia boast of an infinity pool facing the beach, a truly ideal place for honeymooners. There are also other fun activities available at Costa de Leticia Resort and Spa, swimming, hiking, snorkeling, diving, dolphin watching, boating and waterfall touring are some of those.
Guests can also snorkel since the beach front is so rich in marine life. Hundreds of sergeant majors, and different species of snapper, wrasse, clownfish, angelfish, butterfly fish, tang fish, and sea slugs are often easily spotted. The underwater seascape of Alegria, Cebu offers a variety of soft and hard corals and bright colored sponges. The place is truly a goldmine for the marine life lovers out there.
The resort has Solar Powered Air-conditioning and Water Heater, Cable TV, Hi-Speed Internet Access, WI-FI Connections, Infinity Swimming Pool with: Jacuzzi, Toddler’s pool, Hydro / Aquatic Massager, A Coffee Bar & Restaurant which serves local and international cuisine, and also a Spa. The room rates ranges from P 1,300 to 2,800 per night. Such a bargain considering how spacious the rooms are and it has all of the basic amenities of a first class resort.

Getting there:
To reach Alegria, go to the Cebu South Terminal Bus where aircon and non-aircon buses are available every hour bound for Barili. Another option is to ride a V-Hire (van-for-hire) in Citilink Terminal bound for Moalboal and upon reaching Moalboal Public Market, ride a habal-habal bound for Alegria.

MOLOBOLO SPRING

Tuburan, Cebu is in the northern part of the province, approximately 100 kms from Cebu City. The town has a lot of wonderful natural resources. The name Tuburan came from the word tubod or spring which the town has a lot of. One of which is The Molobolo Spring. It is a very relaxing place and is ideal for the whole family. The very cool water from the spring eases all the stress and tension from the hustle and bustle of the city. The entrance is only P 5.00 and the parking fee if you have your own vehicle is only P 20.00. There are also a lot of scenic springs that Tuburan has to offer. One could also take a side trip and visit the town’s first municipal based museum.

Getting there:

To reach Tuburan, take a jeepney or cab to the North Bus Terminal near the north reclamation area. The bus ride usually takes 2.5 to 3 hours. Or your second option is to take a vhire passing the trans-central hiway. The vhire terminal is at the Ayala center cebu terminal. This is a better option because the trip is shorter, it takes about 1.5 to 2 hours


MANTAYUPAN FALLS, BARILI

In just about an hour and a half trip from Cebu city, a hidden natural treasure in the south can be found in one of the baranggays of Barili. The Mantayupan Falls of Baranggay Campangga is one of the tallest water falls in Cebu. Experience the breathtaking sight of its waterfalls. And since not a lot of people have discovered the beauty of Mantayupan, it has remained virginal and clean up to this day. The cool water from the falls is so invigorating. But just a word of caution, the current can be so strong that you need to really hold on. First timers and not so good swimmers must stick to the shallow waters on the sides. And accessibility to the falls especially for wheelchair users is not good.

Getting there:
To reach Mantayupan falls, take a bus at the Cebu South Bus Terminal. You may take a bus ride to Barili for only P80.00 or take a V-hire for 90 pesos. Once you’re in Barili poblacion take a motocycle ride to Mantayupan for about P 15.00 and or a pedicab ride for P 30.00. Entrance fee is only P 10.00.

DURHAN WHITE BEACH

Durhan White Beach Resort in Tabuelan, Cebu is a truly remarkable place to stay. It is about 90 kms in the North-Western part of Cebu Province. It has a magnificent white sand beach and prides itself as being one of the finest hospitable resort there is.
It has air conditioned and well as non-aircon rooms for the budget conscious. And it has a rest house which could house 8 to 12 persons. Each rest house has its own T & B gas stove, refrigerator and electric fan. They also have open cottages for day users. The rates are really affordable and yet the resort has amenities like Aircon Van for Rent, gaming facilities like Chess, Billiards, Boating and Bike, It also has Internet Access, Videoke and Massage.

Getting there:
To get to Tabuelan, there are two routes to get there. One is by bus or V-Hire from the North Bus Terminal at the North Reclamation Area near Makro. Buses and V-Hires have a Tabunok-Tabuelan Route that takes you directly from the terminal to Tabuelan proper. Upon reaching the Church of Lugo, take a left turn going into Tabuelan Town Proper. At the center of the town is an intersection. From there, the bus can take a left turn and drive for 2 kms to reach Durhans White Beach Resort.
Those on rented or private-owned vehicle can take the Transcentral Highway, pass through the towns of Balamban, Asturias and Tuburan before getting to Tabuelan where you go straight from the intersection until you see the signage for the resort located on the left side of the road.

ZIPLINING IN BALAMBAN

About 33.5 kms. from the Provincial Capitol of Cebu and passing through the transcentral highway, K-33 A GREEN ADVENTURE can be found at Ga-as Balamban, Cebu. K-33 offers rock climbing, ropes course, rapelling, spelunking, organic farming and the famous ZIPLINE. A zip-line or also known as a flying fox, foefie slide, zip wire, aerial runway, aerial ropeslide, death slide or tyrolean crossing consists of a pulley suspended on a cable mounted on an incline. It is designed to enable a user propelled by gravity to traverse from the top to the bottom of the inclined cable. Ziplining is a very popular outdoor entertainment sport not only in the Philippines but all over the world.

The length of the zip line ride is about 300.33 meters one way and the return cable is 220 meters. They provide a secondary support line to secure our safety. The view is truly breathtaking and as you cruise along , a thick fog greets you. The cool wind against your face, the breathtaking view and the thrill of the ride makes it all worth it.

Getting there:
To get there: K33, Ga-as, Balamban via transcentral highway, 500 meters after Ga-as public market. Or one could take the V-Hire to K33 from Ayala or Citilink. Fare is P 100.00
From K33 back to Cebu City, take a vhire again which frequents every 10-15 minutes passing through transcentral road. The fare is P50.00.

Or taking a private car, it is about a 45 minute drive from JY square.

Zipline Fee: From April 1 – April 30, 2010 (P200.00 less 20% discount - P160.00)


Candice Sandiego-Acuna
March 25, 2010 SunStar Summer Supplement

10 SUMMER IDEAS AT HOME

Summertime is finally here… after 10 months of studying, the prospect of 2 whole months of freedom brightens our horizon. But with the current economic difficulties that most of us are in these days, we are left to resorting to being ingenious in spending our summer. Below is a list of suggestions that we could do at the comfort of our homes.
1. Develop a new talent. Be it singing or dancing… all it takes is just a few hours a day of practice, a cd player and let your hair down and by the end of one summer’s worth of practice, there will be a new singing or dancing sensation in town. But don’t limit yourself to these two… other hidden talents are waiting for you to unearth.
2. Exercise. Exercising doesn’t have to be in a gym. One could always roll out the mat and do some stretching and other simple routines which could easily be downloaded from the internet. Some of the routines you could do are sit-ups, body lunges, body squat, leg raises, step ups and a whole lot more. The list could be endless, be innovative.
3. Become a bookworm. Try to read a new book at least once a week. Head off to the various second hand stores like La Belle Aurore in Hernan Cortes St., Mandaue or to the different outlets of booksale. Be adventurous, try to read a genre you’ve never tried before and discover that there’s more out there than the usual love or mystery stories.
4. Go Camping in your own backyard. Call the barkada, make it a potluck camping and bring out your tents, sleeping bags and a fresh deck of cards. Lit a fire, share ghost stories and play some games in the dark. Bring out the child in you.
5. Start a collection. It doesn’t matter what as long as you are passionate in your collection. It can either be stamps, caps, cards, etc., the possibilities are boundless. And since it is summer you could also collect seashells or unique stones washed up from the beach.
6. Learn to cook a new dish or bake a cake. You don’t have to enroll in those costly cooking classes, just arm yourself with the back issues of cooking magazines, the right ingredients and the right attitude. Remember the motto, try and try until you succeed… Just don’t burn the house down!
7. Try your hand on gardening and you might discover that you have a green thumb. Just start with a small plot in your backyard and marvel at how fast they grow. Help mother earth… be green this summer.
8. Make a collage or a scrapbook of your old photos and other keepsakes from those special moments in your life. A scrapbook can contain photos, notes about an event, cards and a lot more. Make this a time for rediscovering the past and reliving all those happy times. An old schoolbook, glue and other common household materials are you need.
9. And what other better way to spend summer than to earn and enjoy at the same time. Head off to your attic or garage and dig out those old unusable things and have a garage sale. You get to clean the house and earn at the same time. Perfect!
10. Have a DVD marathon. Never had the chance to watch the latest season of CSI or glee? Now is the time for you to catch up. Prepare a bowl of popcorn and a pitcher of ice cold juice and you’re set.
Now, who says spending our summer is expensive?

Candice Sandiego-Acuna
March 25,2010 Sunstar Summer Supplement