TARSIER: My entries

Sunday, 02 July 2006

Ormoc Bay

Ormoc City Bay

Current mood:

Big-Smiley

Wednesday, 30 November 2005

"WESTERN VISAYAS"

The Visayas is the area of the Philippines that all the best beaches are situated, an area eminately suitable to island hopping, and where island hopping is a daily part of life. The Western Visayas, contain the islands of NEGROS and PANAY, together with a host of smaller ones. like Boracay, home to white beach, the most spectacular beach in the whole of South East Asia, and the Philippines number one attraction. Boracays nearest town is Kalibo, on the island of Panay, and this where the Anti-Antihan festival takes place at the end of January each year. This can be very wild with zero crowd control, it is always raucous and totally chaotic. The event celebrates agreements struck in the 13th centuary between the native AETA people and the MALAY immigrants (who today make up much of Panays population). In the parades and dances local people dress, and daub there skins black to resemble the early AETA people, they dress in beautiful and fantastic costumes and there is intense cometition to see who is best. Boracay islannd is 7.5 kilometeres long and less than 1 kilometer wide at its narrowest point, WHITE BEACH, is 4 kilometers long with fine white powdery sand, lapped by warm clear water. There are three main villages, Manoc-Manoc, Bolabag and Yapak, and the best times to visit are January -April (the dryer season) The biggest problem ius that at this time the area is reaching saturation point, though the beach is large enough to keep on ensuring its relaxed ambient atmosphere. If you really want it quiter, there are other beaches, like DINIWIND and YAPAK at the northern end of the island If your feeling energetic you can hire a bike or go horse riding, and just go and explore the island. There are motorised tricycles for hire as well. If the water is more to your liking then you can hire sailing bancas, or the fast outrigger boats can be exiting with the right windf. On the east coast there are several wind surfing centres. White beach is littered with dive operations, the diving being very good, with coral gardens at reasonable depths and even better deeper dives where its possible to encounter a few sharks. At the southern end of PANAY, is the city of ILOILO, Panays largest city with a population of over 350,000, Iloilo is sheltered by the island of GUIMARIS, the home of the worlds sweetest and best Mangos. For many years the area was a major centre for weaving using locally grown Manlia hemp and Pina (a fibre produced from the Pinapple leaf) This weaving is again gaining in popularity, with a small reasurgence, and can be seen in the suberbs of AREVELO. wELL WORTH A VISIT IS the MUSEO ILOILO, with excellent displays, thast trace much of the Cities history and culture (open daily from around 9am-12am and 1pm-5pm). The port along the the South Bank, is worth exploring as are the two markets. The suberbs of JARO and MALO have attractive Spanish churches, whilst 25 miles West in MIAGAO, there is a spectacular Spanish fortress, biult in 1786, it is now a U.N.E.S.C.O. world heritage site. One week after the Anti-Antihan festival in Kalibo, ILOILO holds its own spetacular festival called DINAGYANG, this is a much more controlled festival, with lavish and colourful costumes. We will be in ILIILO in March 2006 to attend a friends wedding, we will obtain a few photos and post these.

Current mood:

Big-Smiley

Monday, 21 November 2005

"SHRIMP TEMPURA"

A wonderful dish for all those that like seafood, even children love this, easy to prepare and quick to cook, try it out, one of the real flavours of the Philippines Unshell shrimps but leave tails intact, Devain. Make a crosswise slit on inner side of shrimps, so it does not curl when cooked.Season with salt and calamansi juice. Set to one side. Batter:- 1................... Egg 1/2................. Cup of water 11/4................ Cup of all purpose flower 1/2................. Tsp baking powder 1/2................. Tsp of salt {asin} 1/2 ................ Tsp of Vetsin Beat egg, add water and beat again, add all dry ingredients, mix well until smooth. Dip shrimp in batter. Drop one by one in deep hot oil. Fry until golden brown Sauce for Tempura 1................... Cup of fish or shrimp broth 1/2................. Cup of soy sauce 1/4................. Cup of rice wine 2................... Tsp of sugar 4................... Cloves of minced Grlic 1/2................. Cup of grated raddish {Labanos} Mix all ingredients, cook for five minutes, cool before serving Suggested vegtables to go with Shrimp Tempura Eggplant........ Thick strips Carrot.......... Thick strips String beans.... Whole Dip vegtables into batter and deep fry last but not least "ENJOY"

Current mood:

Big-Smiley

Monday, 21 November 2005

"THE CAMOTES ISLANDS"

The Camotes Islands Situated Northeast of Cebu, and within one hour of Ormoc City, lie the peaceful and friendly islands of Camotes, the three islands are largely untouched by tourism, making them the ideal place to experience the real Visayan barrio life. The fast ferry "SUPERCAT" arrives at PORO island twice daily {called the OCEAN SPRAY} public bancas to Cebu, Danao andOrmoc City From Poro you can get to PACIJAN ISLAND, that is connected to Poro at low tide by a thin strip of land and at high tide by a pot holed road, either by banca or motorbike {the only form of public land transport here}. The third and smallest island PONSON, can only be reached by a small banca from Poro. You can hire a shed or camp on the beach at night, the best beaches for diving and snorkelling are nearly all situated around TULANG, a picturesque islet lapped by beautiful turquoise waters, TULANG is situated on the northern coast of Pacijan. In the caverns at BUKILAT on Poro, you pay 3peso to swim in a series of small caves. The trip from Poro Town to the caves costs around 60 peso per person by motorbike

Current mood:

Love

Sunday, 23 October 2005

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Camaguin

Sits in the Mindanao Sea about 20 km off the north coast of mainland Mindanao,this tiny island of Camaguin {"cam-ee-gin"} is one of my personal favourite tourist spots, it offers ivory beaches, beautiful pools and lagoons, and undulating scenery. Adventure is provided by good scuba diving, trekking and mountain climbing, well you do have seven volcanoes to choose from, the best being Mount Hibok-Hibok. Camaguin also has a mulitude of hot springs, a submerged cemetery for divers to explore near the coastal town of Bonbon, a natural soda water spring, and 35 resorts, most in the northern half of the island.
Another of the major tourist attrations is the annual Lanzones festival, held in the fourth week of October. You have just a few days to book your holiday to the Philippines to go watch this festival, revellers dressed only in Lanzone leaves, dance and parade around in a tribute to this humble fruit, one of the islands major sources of income.
The festival is one of the liveliest and most welcoming in the Philippines, and this on an island famous for the friendliness of its people. Camaguin is also peaceful and spiritual, locals are proud of their faith { Catholic }.
As Camaguin is not that big, it really does not matter where you stay, you can easily visit all the sights. There is a 70km coastal road, which can be circled in one day, the interior is rugged, those seven volcanoes make for excellent climbing.
Ferries from Balingoan, around 80km northeast of Cagayan de Oro {the city of Gold}, arrive at Benoni on the southeast coast. To arrange tours, book ferry tickets, and make long distance telephone calls try the Camaguin Authorised Ticket Agent.. TEL:-08822/387 4000, in the Negros Navigation Office in Benoni
Several jeepneys run every day from Benoni to Mambajao, the busy little capital on the north coast, some of the resorts have a meet and greet service and will pick you up.
The Philippine Rural Reconstrution Movement in Manila run homestay tours to Camaguin, guests stay with locals in old wooden houses and tour the island with their own guide and driver, TEL:-02/372 3931 or website http://www.prm.org Mambajao has a tourist office where you can inquire about accomodation and climbing Hibok-Hibok,there are also a few banks, where the service is slow and rates are low, best to make sure you carry enough peso or dollars with you.
The closest beach too Mambajao is Cabu-An close to the barangay of Balbagon, there is some good coral close to the shore and around six reasonable resorts. Agohay beach, 7km west of Mambajao, has a few resorts also, and is the best place to base yourself for walks into the islands interior.There is a marked trail to Katibawasan Falls, journey time of around two hours on foot, but well worth it, to see the beauty of the stream plunging over the rocky cliff into a deep pool, this pool is wonderful for a cooling swim. The trail is marked but it is still possible to get lost so its best to hire a guide.
The vulcanologists who monitor mount Hibok-Hibok are very happy to give you an insight into their work, and too show a few spectacular photographs of past eruptions,they can be found at Philvocs (mon-fri, 9am-4pm). Three kilometres in from the barangay Tagdo you will find the Ardent Hot Spring (daily 9am-10pm; 20 peso)around one hour on foot from Agohay beach. These springs are very hot, being heated by the volcanic interior of Mount Hibok-Hibok, they reach temperatures of 40c.The best time to visit is in the evening when its dark, you can sit in one of the pools with a cold drink and gaze at the stars {heavenly}. There is a good restaurant, a coffee shop and simple accommodation in small cottages.
Mount Hibok-Hibok is the only active volcano, and at a height of 1,250m it can be climbed in a day, but this is a strenuous climb, the trail crosses some very steep slopes and treacherous rocks.. you should not attempt this alone you can hire a guide for around 1,000 peso, most resorts have a list. The most common approach is through the barangay Esperanza, you will see hot pools and steam vents along the way, at the top there is a crater lake, the views are unforgetable, the coast of Mindanao to the south and the Visayas to the north.
One of Camaguins most popular attractions is White Island, which is not really an island at all, more an extended sand bar that is only visible at low tide, approach is made by banca, a very short hop from the local resorts. Situated between Mambajao and Bonbon the sea and views are beautiful, but there is no shade. so be careful.

ACCOMMODATION:-

Camaguin Beach Club.......TEL:-088/387 9028
Morning Glory Cottages....TEL:-088/387 9017
Paras Beach Resort........TEL:-088/387 9008

Current mood:

Happy

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