A year ago today, we visited Dumaguete City. I couldn't quite recall the reason for visiting the island but boy, it feels like it was just a few weeks ago. I have tons of backlogs and things to share, I truly miss sharing my life and posting here but life is just demanding too much of my time I couldn't even find time to sit and type. In fact, at this point, I am just trying to add a few texts to my drafts just hoping I could finish this one.
Anyway, allow me to share a glimpse of what happened that day. So, my brother-in-law was in Oslob, we were in Oslob for a visit too as my husband's family was missing Matti. It was also a perfect time to bond with them as the family is complete but going to Dumaguete was just an idea of my brother-in-law and we were in for that.
The photo above was taken at Pulangbato Falls. As soon as we reached Dumaguete via Sibulan Port, we went straight to our main reason for visiting the island, and then after that, we headed to Pulangbato. It wasn't my first time to be here. The first one was way back 2010 or 2011 I guess when my colleague friend who is a local here invited us. I remember riding a motorcycle for 3 hours from Cebu City to the port and we got left behind by the ship in Santander so we have to go to Liloan to catch the last ship that day.
Thinking about my old friends, I realized, things had changed a lot. All of us are now working separately. One friend is already in Canada, the other one is in Dubai, while I am in Bohol. Memories are the only thing that has not changed. Indeed, change is constant in this life.
Going to Pulangbato Falls with a car is easy now, the roads are all concrete, unlike years ago. There are many parking spaces. I recall we had to pass by a bamboo bridge back then. I can't help but compare but what's special about this travel is that my little one, Matti got to spend this trip with his cousin, Ate Zia, and Daddy Tonton.
Entrance fees were at PHP 100 while kids 4 years old and below are free of charge. We walked directly to the hanging bridge and went down to the base of the waterfalls. The waterfalls are still gigantic and amazing. Back then, there was no bridge, I remember walking by those red rocks and getting amazed at how strong the waters fell into the base.
Now, visitors can go near to it easily by just using the hanging bridge! Some guests and visitors were making those balance stones, they were quite amazing too!
We had no plans of swimming here so we just took pictures! Here's our Ate Zia giving a heart! She loves the place but was scared of the sound of the water!
I requested that they both sit together near the balance stones at the back! We headed back after a few minutes, there was nothing else to do there. We tried exploring other spots in the area but settled at the pool. The kids were super tempted to swim but we didn't bring any clothes for changing :)
We then went to check out the sulfur-steaming mountain, but it was noontime and scorching out if we got out of the car, so we decided to stay inside and just look around. The kids were amazed at the steam coming out of the mountain!
Then we passed by the beautiful Mango Ranch! It was still hot when we reached there and thought we could go back by the afternoon when its not too hot so we could take photos! But we never really had the chance to go back. Our lunch was at Robinsons Dumaguete and we killed time there as I was still hoping we will go back to the Mango Ranch but that place is a bit of a distant from downtown Dumaguete so we decided to visit that next time instead.
So to make up for the kids, we decided to let them play at a playground in Robinsons mall. They were all good about it.
Chops Children's Park is located at Level 1. Each child is charged Php 250 for an hour of playing here, if my memory serves me right. There were only a few kids and it was not fully air-conditioned so it was a little warm here. Nonetheless, they still enjoyed their playdate.
It was time to go back to Oslob and we were aiming not to go home at night so we wouldn't have a problem with driving but before that, I requested that we visit this place I found in social media - Noelle's.
Do you also make notes of those IG-worthy places you found on socmed? Because I do! So while we were in the land of gentle people, I checked my list and I saw Noelle's. It's located a little far from downtown but it was just nearby the baywalk.
No entrance fee going inside, but this place, I realized, is composed of many restaurants. It's like a compound, and Noelle's is just one of the many establishments inside. What's so beautiful is the garden, it's filled with flora that makes it cool and refreshing. The structures here were more industrial and native combined.
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I only ordered coffee here to take away. I wish we had a lot of time to stay and enjoy the place. They got a gallery too behind this building and I can't anymore remember where the rest of the photos I took of this place. I believe it was with my husband's phone which died already. That's another reason to go back! For sure we will visit this place again once we visits Dumaguete next time!
Have you been to Noelle's? Or Dumaguete? What I love about this island is how chill it is and my cousin who lives here can attest to that. Everything is needed as this is a city but the lifestyle is still like a province.
I really regret not knowing that during the Typhoon Odette, Dumaguete was safe and most of the WFH people of Cebu went to stay in Dumaguete for a month or more because life here was normal even after the typhoon.
Anyway, that's it for today. I am glad I finished writing this blog. Time check, it's 2:33 AM as of the moment. I am giving myself a pat in the back for being able to publish a new blog! Yey!
J U N E B R I D E
Boholana | Cebu | Philippines | Travel | Photography Enthusiast | Calligraphy | Art
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