Bantayan Island Last Weekend

I just got home today and I am so effin' tired but I have lots of things to do. Yeah right, I'm back to work. Actually I was bringing my work while travelling. I realized that bringing your laptop with you is not really that great. Well, unless if you are in a week-long travel while working.

We decided a two-night stay because I realized that an overnight stay is not enough. Gladly, I was permitted by my one of my clients to have a vacation. The other one just ignored my e-mail so I was forced to bring my lappy with me. 

A Walk at Kota Park in Madridejos, Cebu

Sorry for the late post but this is the continuation of our summer getaway in Bantayan Island.  This time I will feature Kota Park in Madridejos, Cebu.

Kota Park is a walking distance from the relatives' houses.  My boyfriend and I went their almost nine in the morning.  That day was really hot.  Actually, we went there the night before with my cousins.  We just went back to take photos of the place.

The historical background of Kota Park

Holy Week in Bantayan Island - Madridejos, Cebu

Hi guys! I just arrived last night from Bantayan Island. I spent my Holy Week in the island since it is a tradition for a family reunion of the TAMAYO Clan. I mentioned previously on my post that my relatives on my father's side are living there, see post here.

The Tamayo family owns the Karo of San Juan (cart or carriage of St. John the Baptist) and also one of the owners of the Karo of Santo Entierro (cart of the Holy Burial). The Karo of Santo Entierro is circulated by three families - Tamayo, Bacolod and Locaylocay. I think we need a family tree for this because personally, I am confused to trace my relatives on my father's side.

Staying at Hard Kock Kafe & Kiwi Kottages in Bantayan Island

Staying at Hard Kock Kafe & Kiwi Kottages is really great because it is very affordable.  If you are on a tight budget I recommend you to stay here.  You will be staying in a native style bamboo Nipa bungalow but hey, there's a sense of modernity.  The room is very spacious with a Queen size bed, with your own small refrigerator and toilet room.

HK KAFE & KIWI KOTTAGES

STA.FE, CEBU

TEL. # 438 9075

MOBILE # 0920 668 1268 & 0912 890 7896

e-mail: kiwikottages(at)gmail(dot)com

If you leave your cottage, you can stay at the bar and restaurant.  You can sit there and enjoy your meals and drinks while watching on a big screen.  The restaurant is a WiFi area so you can enjoy surfing the net with your laptop or netbook.  If you are in an aircon room, you have your own TV and DVD player for you to watch a movie which you can have a nice selection at the bar.

The room we have stayed

Strolling in Kota Beach and Budyong Beach Resort

Too much beach in the title eh? Hehe! Since Kota and Budyong are just physically next to each other so I'll just put them in one post.

When I was young, I've been to different beaches in Sta. Fe either resorts or just ordinary beaches.  Even though those beaches are just ordinary, they are totally amazing.  I have relatives in Sta. Fe and Madridejos but still I have to explore the island.  Looking for a place to stay? Click here.

My boyfriend and I had a stroll at the beach.  We had our swimming and taking snapshots.  I think I need a light box image viewer for this post since I'll be posting a lot of pictures here.  By the way, we passed Kota first, then took pictures at Budyong, had a swim and  transferred back to Kota.

Staying at Seaview Apartelle in Bantayan Island

I stayed at Seaview Apartelle sometime in summer. It is located near the market of Santa Fe and the church.  The rooms of Seaview Apartelle are well furnished and modernized.  It is like a hotel in the island. This apartelle is a great place to stay.

SEAVIEW APARTELLE

TALISAY, STA. FE

6047 CEBU

TEL. # (032) 4389179

CEL. # 09198615979

The room rate starts at P950.  All rooms have air conditioner. I have this breakdown since they gave me a piece of paper with the information about Seaview Apartelle.

the toilet room

Baliad in Bantayan Island

Baliad is the local term for oyster. From Wikipedia, the word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified.


From the beach, we passed by these people who greeted us that evening. There were busy cooking for their 'pulutan'. We wondered what it was and they introduced us this kind of food that is cooked through fire.


Baliad is nice to cook with fire than steaming or with boiled-water. It is better to make fire with withered coconut husks than using an ordinary firewood. It is easy to cook because it is easy to identify. If the meat will separate from the shell, it is already cooked.

My boyfriend was ready for the first bite of baliad.

This is baliad.

This is the closer look of Baliad. The juice and the meat are so sweet and we were so full.

Photography

I really like taking photo shots in my camera. When I was in Sta. Fe, one of the towns in Bantayan Island, we were at the beach and my partner bought a can of Red Horse, I decided to take a snap shot of it in the water. I just love my FE-26 Olympus camera with the results of the images I have. If you want to use this photo, please ask permission on this blog and give me credit.

How To Get To Bantayan Island?

This is how to get to Bantayan Island especially if you want to stay in Sugar Beach Resort. Here are the contact numbers if you want to have reservation: 09217755058 and 09305162366.

* If you are in Colon Street, take a ride on a jeepney to North Bus Terminal with a route number of 01K. If you are wealthy enough, a taxi can take you there.

* Upon arriving on the terminal, look for the bus that is going to Hagnaya. You can choose any of these buses, Auto Bus and Ceres Liner. The fare cost Php50.00 only. If you don't want to take a bus, a taxi or a van for hire can take you there but it is more expensive.

* Make sure you have all your foodies with you in case you are going to get hungry just for snacks. The land transportation takes 3 hours. Anyway, if you are a rice eater, the bus will have a stop-over either in Danao or Bogo.

* If you're in Bogo already, that means you are already near in Hagnaya. The ferry schedules are 6:30, 7:30, 8:30, 9:30, 10:30 for the morning. In the afternoon, the last ferry boat is scheduled for 5:30. The fare cost Php140.00. The sea transportation takes 1 and 1/2 hour.

* Upon arriving in the island of Bantayan, drivers of multicab and pedicab will welcome you to bring you to your destined resort. A pedicab cost Php10.00 every person and a multicab is Php20.00.

* One thing, if you arrived in Hagnaya port beyond 5:30 pm, you can take the pump boat for Php300.00 to Php400.00.

♥ ♥ ♥Have a happy trip to Bantayan Island! ♥ ♥ ♥

College Reunion in Sugar Beach Resort

My classmates or schoolmates in college planned for a reunion. They are all graduates except me but we belong to the same batch during the first year. Well, you already knew the reason why I stopped if you have read some of my posts in the past.

I have relatives in Sta. Fe at Bantayan Island so I was interested to join the reunion because I never had the time to come back since my family has no budget to bring all of us for the Holy Week. I asked for my father if his older brother, who is my uncle, knew someone in Sugar Beach Resort so that we could have a discount. My uncle once lived at the back of the resort so I sent him an sms and asked him and the discount was granted.

We were consists of 16 people and we rented the duplex room worth Php1,800.00 good for 10 person (Php2,000 during peak season) and Php40.00 for additional person.

If you have your own tents, it is Php100.00 per day. By the way, the entrance fee is Php35.00.

I was here before in the resort together with my family and relatives. I just love the beach here because the sand is so wide and you will also going to love it. If you are planning to come here with your friends for an overnight, the budget would be Php1,500.00. The said amount is totally safe. From North Bus Terminal which is Php50.00 and the ferry is Php140.00, a total of Php 380.00 for back and forth.