It was Wednesday afternoon that we decided to depart from Lapu-Lapu City our homebase going to Danao City. From Danao City we had to take a 2 hrs boat trip via Jomalia Shipping’s Roro Vessel going to San Francisco in Camotes Island which costs Php 200 pesos only for an air-conditioned sitting accommodation. As planned initially we will stay in San Francisco for 3 days and jump off to Ormoc City via motorized pump boat and stay for an overnight before going back to Cebu.
We arrived in Consuelo Port in San Francisco almost midnight already because of the delays. Though they have good and wide roads I was surprised to know that there’s no public transport in the island except for this for hire single motorcycles locally called Habal Habal but anyways I am not interested to announce my disappointments of the inequality of the economic progress in the province of Cebu let it be on a separate article and not here. Anyways, we were welcomed by our host with our favorite Manok Bisaya or the native chicken papaya soup before we say good night for the long trip.
I was not able to sleep well maybe because it’s my first time or just im too excited for our first day in exploring San Francisco. We were planning our itinerary and we decided to start our day with tasting the early morning harvest from Camotes Sea. When we arrived at the local public market we were a little disappointed since there’s not much produce on that day and since its holy week sea foods are scare and expected to be a bit expensive. But it did not stop us, finally we had bought few kilos of seafoods, after our Breakfast neighbors comes in to welcome us. Our host let us barrow their single motorcycle and we decided to have a short tour of the nearby resorts in Mangodlong, The Mangodlong Rock Resort and Mangodlong Paradise. At Mangodlong Rock Resort you will just pay Php20 pesos for an entrance fee and you can already use their amenities inside the property. We took our lunch at the resort before we proceeded to Santiago Bay Resort few kilometers away from Mangodlong. We did not stay long in Santiago Bay since I felt im dehydrating already. The temperature is almost 37 degrees Celsius already and it’s very ironic since news on TV tells us that a storm is coming on Sunday. Just to recall the horrors of the super typhoon Yolanda that did not spare Camotes Islands from devastation and is still very fresh from the memories of the locals. Camotes is a group of Islands midway between Danao City in Cebu and Ormoc City in Western Leyte. After our short tour we ended up feasting buko mixed with condensed milk and powdered grahams locally known as lamaw. Our first day was mostly a get to know and make some friends in the neighborhood with a karaoke show down until late in the evening.
Our third day on the itinerary was to visit the tourist spots of San Francisco. We rented 2 single motorcycles which the driver also acts our guide. Our first stop is Lake Danao where I had to sample kayaking inside the lake for only Php50 for 30 minutes, we proceed to Timubo Cave and we paid Php20 pesos per person for the entrance fees then to the Town proper of San Francisco before we decided to go home. Our guide tells us that there are plenty of tourist spots to go but we decided to go home since its too hot already and we unexpectedly got wet because we were mesmerized with the pool inside Timubo Cave and we decided to have a swim.
It’s a long hot day for us and we need to take a rest and freshen up. We will experience Santiago’s pride later. The long coastline, very fine white sands and the most amazing people we meet. Santiago White Sands is adjacent with the Santiago Bay Resort and is a public beach where one can set up small tents for overnight camping. There are plenty of shops and restaurants around the area. Its Friday night and our last night in San Francisco, we meet plenty of locals that opted to live in Cebu for work and had just taking advantage of the long holiday for vacation on their birthplace. Our night was a blast, full of fun and laughter’s and amazing stories of experiences. We woke up very late on the next day, and decided to cut short our trip instead. Our plan for an overnight in Ormoc was not realized, the coming typhoon that makes in the headlines changes direction northward sparing devastation in Bicol areas and Quezon province and we decided to go back to Cebu. With us are our funny and crazy stories, a message was sent to whom by someone. “What happens in Camotes, Stays in Camotes” but me? I can’t resist of sharing this to everyone. Though life in Camotes Island is slow paced my short vacation means I will have the sand, the sea and the sun all day to enjoy. What could I ask for more, my very first vacation was a blast.
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