Conquering the Roof of Visayas: Mt. Kanlaon

Two weeks ago, I joined the 9 participants and 2 guides of Trail Adventours, to climb Mt. Kanlaon for three days via the Guintubdan trail. Initially, I arranged with Mr. Angelo Bibar my own permit and a guide to do a solo traverse via the Mananawin-Guintubdan trail. But I realized that it would be boring, so I joined the party of Trail Adventours, even though it will cost me more.

Mt. Kanlaon is the highest mountain and most active volcano in the Visayas group of islands. Pinoy Mountaineer has this technical description of the mountain, with my own revision:

MT. KANLAON (GUINTUBDAN TRAIL)
Negros Occidental
Entry & Exit point: Guintubdan, Ara-al, La Carlota City
LLA: 10°24'44"N, 123°7'55"E, 2435 MASL (#27)
Days required / Hours to summit: 3 days / 8-10 hours
Specs: Major climb, Difficulty 6/9, Trail class 3

Afternoon Delight in Bacolod City

After our 3-day hike of Mt. Kanlaon, I asked the climb organizer to drop me at Robinsons Mall in Bacolod City, along with my trekmates who also have a flight to catch at 8:20 pm. Since we have almost 4 hours to kill before we go to the airport, I decided to buy pasalubong first at the mall.

To relax a bit while thinking of what I should do next, I decided to have coffee at Cafe Bob's just outside the grocery. I asked the lady at the counter what light snack will go well with their brewed coffee, and she suggested their chicken empanada. It was indeed a good match, as the reheated empanada is a winner. Total food bill is about Php 80.

Pleasant Travelers Pension & 18th St. Palapala

On my first night in Bacolod, I stayed at Pleasant Traveler's Pension House along the 13th Street. Its walking distance from Lacson St. where many restaurants and hotels can be found.

From the Ruins, I boarded a Libertad-bound jeepney and told the driver to drop me at 13th Street. The landmark is the cluster of bars named Sorrento Piazza.

The Ruins of Talisay City, Negros Occidental

Straight from Silay Airport with a mountaineer's backpack, I went to the Ruins of Talisay City, just two weeks ago. Actually, I plan to visit it after I drop my luggage first at the Pension House, but the Nyala tours van from the airport does not pass Lacson St. and it stops at the old terminal. By the way, Nyala tours van charge only Php 35/person, compared with the regular airport vans that charge Php 150 per person.

Since the drop off point is already near the Ruins, I boarded a Bata-bound jeepney, then transferred to a tricycle that goes to the Ruins at Php 20 fare per person.

NOAH Shop & Forest Camp in Negros Oriental

There’s not much to see in Dumaguete City, although its a cool place with its seaside Rizal Boulevard, Silliman University, and many options for inexpensive food trip here. On our first day in Dumaguete, we spent the morning at Manjuyod sandbar, 54 km north of Dumaguete. We have also visited 2 old churches in Dumaguete and Bacong here.

Prior to visiting the Bacong church, our gracious and lovely host Ms. Pearl, took us to a stonecraft factory in Bacong. Its called Negros Oriental Arts & Heritage Shop or commonly referred to as NOAH.

NOAH’s main products are decorative and multi-use items made from rock material found in the province. The rocks are cut, carved, glued like mosaic patterns to their respective frames, before being glazed and polished. As we saw the painstaking efforts and fine craftmanship on each handmade product, I can say that their selling prices are worth each peso spent by their customers. Once these products reach the shops in Manila and abroad, they would cost much more.

Dumaguete's Rizal Boulevard

While in Dumaguete, we stayed at Honeycomb Inn, one of the bayside hotels along Rizal Boulevard. Its a low-rise medium-range hotel with a homey-facade facing the sea. Unfortunately, the room given to us on the first floor has no window for seaview. 

Our room has very basic furnitures but clean. Amenities include the usual shampoo, toothbrush, and nice-smelling bar soap. Set breakfast is included on the Php 1,000 nett rate per night, with choice of Filipino, American, Chinese, or Continental varieties. Their front desk people are courteous and helpful. The only downside is that they don’t provide complimentary drinking water, whether in dispenser or in small bottles.

Dumaguete Food Trip

Our culinary tour in Dumaguete started with a new breakfast experience at the east side of public market. Its called “budbud kabog tsokolate”, consisting of cooked millet seeds unwrapped from banana leaves (lower left item, locally called also as "suman"), cooked red glutinous rice (top item), and thick chocolate syrup from local cacao fruit.

The cooked rice and millet seeds are usually dipped into the chocolate syrup. The "suman" or "budbud" are available in 3 options – plain, with chocolate, or with jackfruit.

If you need protein with these carbo-rich foods, cooked eggs or ham are available from the same carinderia-type stalls that sell this unique Negrense food. Aside from the 3 food items above, we also ordered cooked ground corn and hot chocolate drink, for a total bill of only Php 95 to break our fasting.

Manjuyod Sandbar, Negros Oriental

Below are two of the photos I saw from the net, showing the 7-km sandbar of Manjuyod (pronounced as man-hu-yod) during low tide at calm sea in Negros Oriental.  Located along Tanon Strait that separates the Negros and Cebu islands, its what enticed me to see the place, about 54 km north of Dumaguete city.

After breakfast, we rode the Manjuyod-bound Ceres bus from Dumaguete terminal. Fare is Php 50 per adult person, on this northbound route with views of the hills on the west side, and seaside views on the east side. The bus trip took 1.5 hours due to a lot of stops to load and unload passengers. We passed the towns of Sibulan, San Jose, Amlan, Tanjay, and Bais City, which is another takeoff point if we were able to avail the usual tour package which includes dolphin watching, etc. Unfortunately, the Bais City tourism office had not responded on my online reservation, while a private tour operator I was able to contact is charging Php 3,000 for boat rental which is just too expensive for only three of us.

Dumaguete & Bacong Churches

During our stay at Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental, we were able to visit 2 old churches of the province. The first church we visited is the most accessible in the heart of Dumaguete city’s town plaza, the St. Catherine of Alexandria Cathedral. 

Built between 1754 to 1756, its the oldest stone church on the whole Negros island. It was reconstructed in 1885, then extended with present facade in 1936, somehow loosing its ancient look. Its interior had also succumbed to the pressures of modernism.

The last reminder of the church’s old charm is its separate belfry built in 1760s. Its the only surviving belfry out of the 4 original belfries constructed more than 2 centuries ago. Aside from housing the church bells, it also served as a watchtower against invading sea pirates, common with other old churches during the early years. 

Sadly, even this remaining belfry has to accommodate newer structures on its reduced land area. Like the church, its also situated along Perdices St. in front of Rizal Park.