Last Summer Hurrah

Summers are made of fond memories.

It has already started to rain in my country but that did not stop us from going on another beach trip in the middle of June. I know, this is a long overdue post and I apologize for not updating my blog regularly. Life is just crazy these days. 😉

Anyway, my family have talked about this trip for a while but wasn’t able to come up with any concrete plans. Carbin Reef was mentioned but since we didn’t have any reservations we were hesitant to go there. Nonetheless, we took off very early on a Sunday, brought some essentials- extra clothes, swimwear, food, and water, and headed to Sagay City. This is located in the northern part of Negros island. If you are coming from Bacolod City, which is the capital of Negros Occidental, it will take about an hour and a half to reach Sagay.

As we reached Sagay, we went to Museo Sang Bata Sa Negros. A guy let us park the car beside the building. He also arranged for us to get to Carbin Reef. On a normal occasion, we most likely wouldn’t be able to cross because only a few boats are allowed to bring guests in a day. Luckily for us, a group canceled and we went in their place.

There’s a wet market across the museum. Visitors can buy food there to take with them. Grills are available at the sandbar.

We paid a total of 1560 PHP covering the fees for the parking, boat,  cottage, and entrance for 7 people.

A notice found outside Museo Sang Bata Sa Negros.

The wharf is just a short walk from the museum.

I think it took about 30 minutes to reach the sandbar. Carbin reef is just one of the reefs in Sagay. But this is the most popular and the most visited. According to the Sagay website:

Carbin Reef is a marine sanctuary with its huge, tongued-shaped, creamy white sandbar and its clear waters offers the freshest option for swimming, snorkeling, picnic,  or just frolicking in the sand.

There are only few cottages available. Guests who prefer to stay overnight can sleep at the tower (far left).

We enjoyed the sun, sea, and sand for two hours. Fishes underwater were not as colorful as I had hoped but they were still fun to watch.

Guests are prohibited from swimming near the tip of the sandbar. The current in this area is rather strong.

We only had bread, peanut butter, chips, and candies with us. So the first thing we did after reaching dry land was to look for a place to eat. There are several good restaurants in Sagay. Enting’s and Sutukil are among them. We initially wanted to eat at Enting’s but they didn’t have any seafoods to serve. So we ended up at Sutukil which is just located next door. Although, we did buy roasted native chicken from Enting’s to take with us to our next destination. The chicken costs 150 PHP each.

We had calamares (fried squid rings), tinolang isda (soup with fish), and grilled fish . The meal was completed with a big serving of rice.

After lunch, we still haven’t decided where we will go next. Our options were Lakawon Island in Cadiz City or Bonista Beach Resort in Escalante City. I am alright with either of the two since I have already visited these places. But some family members and friends who were with us have never been to Bonista. Going to Escalante was also more convenient for us at that time. So my mom called the owner and when she said they had a vacant room, we headed to Escalante.

Top row: apple mango; resort's swimming pool; restaurant; century-old tree; Middle row: slices of apple mango and our room key; resort's signage; our room; stairs leading to the rooms on a cliff; Bottom row: fambam and friends lazing under a tree; inside the restaurant; inside our room

We were informed beforehand that the room is actually just good for two. But the owner said she can allow all seven of us to squeeze into the room. That wouldn’t have been a problem. However, the airconditioning system inside the room simply couldn’t bear to cool the entire room with all of us in it. Fortunately, a group of guests had to cut their stay short so we got to have one of the rooms on a cliff. Aren’t we the luckiest ones? 😉

Our room was very spacious and had seven mattresses laid out on the floor. They also provided us with an extra electric fan to make the room cooler.

The view that greeted me in the morning. =)

One of the things that we enjoyed so much at the resort was their apple mango. They were very delicious we couldn’t have enough. We even bought more to bring home with us. The resort has their own apple mango trees which they allow to grow naturally. No chemicals are used on these trees.

We didn’t do much while we were there. We just ate, talked, slept, and ate some more. It was a great vacation. It also didn’t hurt that the weather was great. The night sky was literaly littered with bright stars that we spent a good time just gazing at them.

We left early the next day because we had to meet my brothers for a lunch in Silay City and I have a plane to catch later that afternoon. Along the way, we bought some puto (rice cakes). The municipality of Manapla in Negros Occidental is known for their good-tasting rice cakes.

Plain puto and puto with margarine @ 25 PHP per pack from vendors along the highway in Manapla

We had lunch in Balaring. It is a barangay in Silay City that is famous for their seaside restaurants. We often eat at Tama Plaza. This place serves sumptuous dishes they make you forget you are on a diet, if you are on one. If not, I’m sure all the more that you would be enjoying your meal to your stomach’s content. 😉

Clockwise: shrimp; sizzling squid; sizzling bangus (milk fish); the happy eaters; soup with fish; stuffed squid; restaurant's menu; dining area; oysters; entrance to the restaurant (We also had sizzling blue marlin but I was too busy eating to take a picture. It arrived late, you see.)

Just as we were leaving the restaurant, it started to rain.

So long summer... until next year.

As we arrived there, we went to Museo Sang Bata Sa Negros. A guy let us park the car beside the museum building. On a normal occasion, we wouldn’t be able to cross to Carbin Reef He also arranged the boat for us.

This is where we parked our car and paid for the boat that would take us to Carbin Reef. [1560 PHP covering the entrance fee of 7 people, the boat, and the cottage]