Patrik Lord Travel Blog

Life begins where WIFI is weak
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A real Filipino breakfast is never wrong!

What can be better than salty bangus (fish) fried to crispy perfection, scrambled eggs, rice together with spicy sawsawan sauce? Did I hear crispy bacon and eggs?? Well, I guess ​nothing excludes the other, right?
Bangus breakfast, Bantayan Island, Philippines, © travelblogonline.com

Salty bangus (fish) fried to crispy perfection, scrambled eggs, rice together with spicy sawsawan sauce

Why are mangroves so important?

Fully loaded with protein, good healthy omega 3 fats, carbohydrates and caffeine we headed for Oboob Mangrove Garden. Maybe you have heard that mangroves are important...? So why are mangrove habitats so important? Basically ​Shoreline protection. Mangroves protect shorelines from damaging storm and hurricane winds, waves, and floods. Mangroves also help prevent erosion by stabilizing sediments with their tangled root systems. They maintain water quality and clarity, filtering pollutants and trapping sediments originating from land.
Oboob Mangrove Garden, The Entrance, Bantayan Island, Philippines, © travelblogonline.com

Welcome to the Oboob Mangrove Eco Park

Oboob Mangrove Garden, Walkaway, Bantayan Island, Philippines, © travelblogonline.com

The Eco park has a bamboo walkway through the mangroves which makes for a refreshing stroll with good photo opportunities

​​Oboob Mangrove Garden/Eco Park

It was easy peasy for us to go there with our beloved scooter. We paid the entrance and then attended a short lecture about the Eco park. In my opinion they are doing a great job preserving this sensitive habitat. We were assigned a guide who told us more about the Eco park and of course she even helped us to take some pictures according to Danica's directives.
Oboob Mangrove Garden, Lecture, Bantayan Island, Philippines, © travelblogonline.com

We had a short briefing about the Eco park

Oboob Mangrove Garden, The Guide, Bantayan Island, Philippines, © travelblogonline.com

Our guide who showed us around and helped us with some picture picture!

Oboob Mangrove Garden, Bantayan Island, Philippines, © travelblogonline.com

Along the walkaways there were spots suitable for picnics, not visible on this pic though

Oboob Mangrove Garden, Bantayan Island, Philippines, © travelblogonline.com

The Eco park is relatively big and this is the utermost tip towards the ocean

Oboob Mangrove Garden, Bantayan Island, Philippines, © travelblogonline.com

Dannica is pointing a finger... hmm

Oboob Mangrove Garden, Bantayan Island, Philippines, © travelblogonline.com

A walkaway back to land

Park Entry Fees:

How to get there:

Adults – 50 pesos
Students and Children – 20 pesos
Kayaking – 150 pesos
Boating – 350 pesos
From Sta Fe: travel west on Bantayan Sta Fe road. After roughly 7 km turn left on Obo-ob Road. There are a couple of signs there that mention the eco park.
After additional 2 km ​The Mangrove Eco Park will be down on your right.

Tropical storm Basyang

This morning at breakfast it had been quite windy. So later when we came back to our resort we heard about the tropical storm Basyang. There were rumors that the ferry would be cancelled for going back to Cebu Island. So of course we became a little bit worried. It was not the first time we had been stranded on an island. We had already been away for two weeks and it was time to go back to Dumaguete.​ In the evening we clearly noticed that the wind gained strength. Me: What's the problem it's romantic to be stranded on an island, right? But Danica: I am longing for my daughter huhu...
Picture
Tropical storm Basyang, Bantayan Island, Philippines, © travelblogonline.com

In the afternoon we really felt the weather was changing

Tropical storm Basyang, Bantayan Island, Philippines, © travelblogonline.com

Later on in the evening the wind increased in strength

Stranded

The typhoon luckily became degraded to a tropical storm but still with hard winds and lot's of rain. The result was that the ferry going back to Cebu island was cancelled. We decided to move from the somewhat remote Bantayan Nature Park and Resort in to the more central located Adelaida Pensionne. We were lucky, we got the last room! There were many other guests with the same strategy, staying near the ferry terminal and wait for the ferry to resume.
Adelaida Pensionne, Bantayan Island, Philippines, © travelblogonline.com

In Bantayan Nature Park and Resort we had no tv... but here at Adelaida Pensionne we had so someone was very happy for that!

Bantayan Island, Philippines, © travelblogonline.com

After a few days the tropical storm faded in strength and the sea became calm again

The ferry was resumed

After a couple of days the ferry was resumed. That day we had a quick breakfast at the Boulangerie Francaise and off we went. We reached Cebu Island at lunch time and then we had roughly 300 km to travel from north to south to our second ferry over to Negros. We had our dinner break at McDonalds in Toledo. I was beginning to be stressed. Time was already 5 pm and in one hour it would be dark.
Boulangerie Francaise, Bantayan Island, Philippines, © travelblogonline.com

It was like a meeting point at the Boulangerie Francaise for the french speaking guys on the island... I wanted to join but my french was too bad

The driving went awkward

Around Barili the the driving really went awkward. The tricky road crosses the mountains and the traffic was horrendous. Big trucks and buses speeding and overtaking each others and not to mention it was pitch black! We took a short break at a little sari sari store and I swept two Coca Colas to regain some energy. We still had roughly 60 km to Alegria where we had booked a room at Lucci Pension House for the night. Slowly I realized my mistake, 60 km is very far when driving in the Philippines specially when it's dark and you are drop dead tired. Lesson learned, be sure to plan ahead so you can avoid to drive long stretches in the dark.
Lucci Pension House, Cebu Island, Philippines, © travelblogonline.com

After Barili we soon reached the coast again and the road got straighter with less traffic. Around 11 pm we arrived at Lucci Pension house where we spent the night.

Coffee with creamer, Philippines, © travelblogonline.com

A quick coffee in the morning before saddling up on our scooter again.

Dulot Eatery, Cebu Island, Philippines, © travelblogonline.com

We had our lunch break at Dulot, an eatery with true Filipino food. No fancy Jollibees or McDonald's in sight here... Hey we were still in the province after all!

Fish soup, Philippines, © travelblogonline.com

Nutritious and healthy fish soup, full of good Omega 3 fats!

Back to Dumaguete

From our lunch stop at Dulot we just had a couple of hours more to go before we came to the ferry over to Negros and back home. We had been away for roughly 2 weeks. We drove 600 km back and forth and maybe at least 200 km on Bantayan Island. 

Road trips are fantastic!

Making a road trip is really a fantastic way to experience the true Philippines. You see a lot and have full flexibility to go and stay wherever you want. But beware of that the traffic might be very different from what you are used to from back home. In my experience you need to adjust yourself to the Filipino way of driving otherwise it might be difficult. Always bear in mind that there are many accidents daily in the traffic so driving a scooter in the Philippines is certainly a high risk activity. Use your common sense and follow some basic guidelines and you will be less likely to get in serious trouble.

The guidelines:

1) Be sure you rent a scooter in good condition and with all paper works in order
2) Don't drink and drive and always wear helmet
3) Don't drive fast and furious, better to be safe than sorry
3) Avoid driving in the dark. You don't want to collide with a stray dog...
4) Plan ahead, out in the province it can be far between the nice places you want to stay at
5) Don't bring too much stuff, travel light and easy is part of the freedom! ​​

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1 Comments
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