Oh Olango!

It's been quite a while since I last went out of the house to breathe some fresh air. Since finally, I can experience what a holiday is, I thought of taking a quick getaway. Luck was on my side and Rubie volunteered herself to be my “model” in this blog post.

Destination: Olango Island

We originally planned take the 7:00am boat ride because it was low tideand the sun won't be too harsh yet. Luck quickly disappeared as I woke up at 6:00am that Sunday. I needed to cook our breakfast and lunch which makes it impossible for me to get to SaveMore by 7:00. An hour or two after, I headed to meet Rubie.

There are two ports that one can go to if he is headed to Olango. The first one is the Angasil port which is beside Mactan New Town Beach, formerly Portofino. The other one is the Hilton port which is beside Movenpick Hotel, formerly Hilton Hotel. We decided to go to Hilton port because they implement a better system, based from my previous experience. To go there, take the Engano jeep from SaveMore.

Movenpick Hotel and Resorts was formerly known as Hilton Hotels so the port beside it is populary known as the Hilton Port.

At the Hilton port, the transport system is commendable. The pump boats have a capacity to transport 30-50 people but it can also transport bikes, tricycles, and other cargoes. Measures have been taken to make sure the boats only accommodate what it can carry. Upon purchasing the ticket, passengers will be asked to write down their names. The tickets reflecting the name will be collected prior to the trip. The same system is followed in going back to mainland Lapu-Lapu. The boat trip will take up to 20 minutes.

Once we reached Santa Rosa port, we decided to ask a motorcycle driver to take us to the Olango Wildlife Sanctuary, Tungasan Boardwalk, and Asinan Eco-Tourism Park. The driver said they charge P120.00 for a single trip which means we need to spend P360.00 for the three places we wanted to go to. Apart from the trip charge, the drivers also charge a “waiting fee”. The first driver we asked wanted to charge higher than our initial offer of P400.00. Thankfully another driver agreed to take us there and so the adventure began.

Olango Wildlife Sanctuary

Location: San Vicente, Olango Island

Entrance Fee: P30 (locals) and P100 (foreign tourists)

My "model".

The wildlife sanctuary in Barangay San Vicente placed Olango Island in the map. This DENR-protected area is a haven for migratory birds seeking refuge from the cold winter in their countries. 

Entrance of the wildlife sanctuary.

When we got there, it was already high tide. We were informed that the birds would be back when it is low tide. We decided to eat our breakfast first so we lounged around the tables by the mangroves.

After eating, we started our journey to the viewing deck. Easy? Well, not really. There is a pathway that guests can follow but since it is high tide when we got there, the journey wasn't exactly easy. The sun was already high up as it was already 10:00am, the water is already leg-deep and the current is quite strong. Luckily we made it to the viewing deck and was greeted by a nice view of mangroves, clean water, and white sand.

The mangrove walkway.

A walkway was built in the coraline and sandflats so it would be easier to walk across the water.

There is this little hut halfway through the path where visitors can rest a bit.

There were some ahjussis (Korean elder men) in the viewing deck and one of them volunteered to take our photo.

The ahjussis we met.

I just declined though because it somehow felt like they were catcalling us. I hope that wasn't the case though. They left shortly after as there weren't any bird in sight. Rubie and I stayed a bit longer because we wanted to breathe some fresh air.

The white sand serves as a feeding ground for migratory birds.

This is me, testing the waters because I want to resist the urge to plunge into the crystal clear water.

This is the viewing deck. 

Breathing some fresh air.

These are the bird species that seek refuge in the wildlife sanctuary during winter months.

The vast feeding grounds can also double as a great swimming area.

Before leaving, we met a few more Korean tourists along the way. It was a good time for me to practice saying “anneyong” and getting a bow as a response.

Here's a school of fish along the pathway.

Here's a very interesting plant that we saw. Is this a palm plant?

Here's a driftwood that doubles as a bench.

Pose!

After a few minutes, we decided to start the journey back and head on to our next destination – Asinan Eco-tourism Park.

I asked our driver though to stop by the neem trees I saw earlier. The yellow leaves reminded me of the ginko trees of Korea (ah, too much Kdrama for me I guess). But isn't this path just too lovely to miss?

Asinan Eco-tourism Park

Location: Asinan, Olango Island

Entrance Fee: P15.00

Lovely camp site and my model.

If you wanted to enjoy a night in a camp, this is the place to go. There are tents for day or night use whch are rented for P100. The water for swimming though is another story. It is just about calf-deep which should make it a good swimming ground for kids but it was too murky that I just won't recommend it.

Umang is a Cebuano word for hermit crab. This creature lives off the cast-off shells of other gastropods. "Umang" has become a Cebuano expression which means "to steal" or "take by force" thus a person who is "nangumang" is a thief.

There are attractions for kids, too like the fish statues and the crocodiles. There is also a bamboo raft for those who don't want to get wet but still want to enjoy the water. A souvenir shop that sells shirts, handicrafts and aquarium fishes is also maintained by the locals.

When you're trying to look cute...

CAUTION: Security is not exactly commendable in this area. Women campers should be accompanied by men if they plan to stay through the night. The houses of the locals are a bit far from the campsite which is situated in an open area across the “kiddie beach”.

Tungasan Boardwalk

Location: Tungasan, Olango Island

Entrance Fee: None

I saw the “Free Yourself” (Lapu-Lapu City's tourism tagline) ad for this area and immediately fell in love with it. I love bamboo bridges for some reason. I was a bit sad that when we got there, the bridge is no longer that useable. It is closed off so we were able to take photos only near the foot of the bridge. Hopefully the LGU will fix it because it can very well add as a tourism site.

We left Olango shortly after.

Mactan Shrine

Since we still had time to kill, we decided to visit our grandfather, (charing!) Lapu-Lapu, the first Filipino hero.

Would you believe that in my 28 years of existence, it was the first time that I visited the Mactan Shrine?

Now, to be politically correct, there are two shrines here – Lapu-Lapu Shrine and Magellan Shrine. Lapu-Lapu Shrine has the large Lapu-Lapu statue (the 20-meter statue is made of bronze) which has become synonymous to Cebu. Look for a movie, ad, and other media material and sure enough, if it meant Cebu, it has to have that Lapu-Lapu statue in the frame.

The Lapu-Lapu Shrine.

This is made to pay homeage to the Datu Lapu-Lapu, the chieftain of Mactan who bravely resisted the invasion of Spanish colonizers. This made him the first Filipino hero. The city, which was known as the Municipality of Opon, was named after him.

Little do people realize that there is another shrine which was erected to pay homeage to Fernando de Magallanes, the Portuguese navigator who was sent out by the King of Spain to search for the Spice Island.

There are four sides of the Magellan monument. On one side is the name of Magellan written in Portuguese. The other side is an ode to the glory of Spain. The third side bears the name of the Spanish Queen Ysabel II. Lastly, the fourth side bears the name Don Miguel Creuz, the Spanish governor of the Philippines. This monument was erected in 1866, obviously, by the Spanish.

Also inside the shrine is the Magellan Marker, where a painting of the Battle of Mactan hangs. The markers also detail the last few minutes of Magellan's life who died in the hands of Lapu-Lapu and his men. Every April, Lapu-Lapu City celebrates this triumph dubbed as Kadaugan sa Mactan (the triumph of Mactan). Back in the days though, it was known as Bahug-Bahug sa Mactan which means a mob in Mactan. The idea to change the name was mainly because the city government wants to highlight the patriotism of the Oponganons.

Aside from the monuments, there are also stalls where souvenirs are displayed. Many guests from different parts of the country and the world drop by to buy shirts, handicrafts, otap and other delicacies, and guitars from these stalls.