Saturday, May 30, 2015

#roadtrip to Cebu South: Oslob (Part 1)

We had a chance to have a #roadtrip down south of Cebu, a chance to have fun and enjoy each other's company, a chance to meet new friends.

First Stop: Whale Shark Watching at Oslob, Cebu
Locally known as Butanding, these whale sharks are located in the town of Tanawan, Oslob. It was told that they found this place due to the abundance of krill, their food. And when fishermen noticed that these gentle giants does not harm them while fishing and vice versa, thus the rest is history. Thankfully, the government regulated this "up-close encounter" session by letting the sightseer look or swim with them until 12:00NN only. Just like us, they need beauty rest, you know :)

We departed from the city around 6:00 AM. The ride took us 3 hours and when we arrived, the crowd is already huge. We chose the resort recommended by our van's driver and made necessary payments:
     Expenses:
  • Whale Watching
         - Local Tourist: P300.00
         - Foreign Tourist: P500.00
  • Swimming with Whales
         - Local Tourist: P500.00
         - Foreign Tourist: P1000.00
  • Underwater Camera Rental: P575.00
  • Inclusive use of life jacket, snorkeling gear, boat and boatman to bring you to the whale shark's location and free use of resort's tables and huts in case tourists like to take their snacks or lunch.
Hmmnn, wondered why the rate is different when both locals and foreigners used same boat or same life jacket. Anyways, the assigned boatman will take your underwater photos in case you pay for the camera rental.

Once we sealed the deal, we were brought to the tourist's drop-off place for the orientation. Of all reminders, these are the ones I remembered:
     - That we have to rinse off the sun-block we put on our skin as the chemicals may harm the shark whales; 

     - And that we are not allowed to touch them. 
Once done with the orientation, we were told to wait for our turn. 
I was bit confused by how it was organized for the drop-off area looks in chaos, all waiting for their turn not knowing when or maybe because its weekend and there were just too many interested to watch the whale sharks or maybe because I did not listen to the instruction that I don't know what to do next.
Anyways, got pretty excited again when it was our turn to ride on the boat. All in all it was fun but I felt sorry for these huge fishes, fact is, it cannot be avoided that they will be hit by the swimmers or from the paddle or from the boat. I just hope that local officers will strictly implement their rules. 

Not to spoil the fun, here are our photos :D Special thanks to our boatman who took the pictures.
The ladies & kiddos stayed in the boat while the men and Honey who were braver swam with the whales.
Enjoy!



Tuesday, May 26, 2015

This Makes My Day

Short conversation with my Jiggy while watching Smurfs movie on TV;

Me: So Baby, where do fishes live?
Him: Water!
Me: Sea...water, that's right? And the cats? Where do cats live?
Him: Downstairs! (He's referring to the kittens of our neighbor downstairs)
Me: Land, Yes, they live on land, downstairs. And the shark, whale sharks with big mouth? Where do they live?
Him: Sea!
Me: Yey! And the birds?
Him: Sky!
Me: Yes, they fly and fly up in the sky. How about smurfs? Where do they live?
Him: TV (pointing the television)
Me: speechless...
Oh how I just love kid's spontaneous and genuine answers :D

How about you mommy? What makes your day, today?


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Little by Little

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Mother's Day in Bantayan Island

What we did last Mother's Day?

So happy, DaddyLo and MommyLa came to visit us last May 9-10, 2015.

They chose daytrip voyage from CDO (they don't like to travel at night nor take the planeThey safely arrived CEB at 7:30PM, accompanied by my youngest brother and my niece. The more the merrier :D Weeeh!
We had our dinner at Parkmall and stroll for a while before heading home, we need to rest and gather lots of energy since we were set to go to Bantayan Island for the weekend. We just love the place, we were here last year, and so we were bringing our family to experience its beauty too.

At Bantayan, we stayed at Budyong Beach Resort, Sta Fe. We were able to reserved a front beach house good for 4 person plus children ahead of time. Be sure to call beforehand as summer season is always fully-booked. The resort is priced at 1700php. Extra beds are at 500php per person.
Things to do in Bantayan:

Sit and Relax
3hrs trip by bus & 1hr trip by ferry is surely tiring, right! 
So sit, relax and appreciate the view

Feel the Water
Sta. Fe has a long beach line and with fine white sands you can enjoy long walks holding hands with your loved ones. However the water is so tempting and from the trip, its more refreshing to take a dip and float and just get wet. Take note though that 10 meters or more into the water is still knee-waist deep (which my son likes so much) so no laps for us (as if I know how to swim).

Ride on a Motorbike or Bicycles
Motorbikes and bicycles are available for rent at 300php and 150php respectively. There's not much vehicles in the place so it is safe to explore and visit churches and other towns like Bantayan, main and biggest town of the island and Madridejos, known for its tasty lambay (deep sea crabs). 

Eat Meals of Fresh Seafoods
Meals of fresh fishes is already a treat when in Bantayan. You can buy fresh fishes in the market of Sta. Fe or at Bantayan and let the resort cook for you (with charges). Be it grilled, tinola or escabeche, it surely is delectable to the tummy's content. There are also fresh crabs, squids and shells, you may forget your diet for awhile.

Attend a Mass Service
There is a mass service on Sundays at 6:30AM. My parents was able to attend and overwhelmed by how the people welcomed the visitors. Locals are friendly :D

And most of all, have Fun :D









They also love the place (and the food :D) that they want to come back again, this time bringing the whole family. 
Woohoo! I'm already excited! I'm sure its gonna be fun. Looking forward for it.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Ipanema Summer Sunscream 2015 and a Giveaway

Can't get enough of summer?
Well, good news to all you party people and flip-flop lovers out there. 
You can still enjoy the rest of the summer and join the fun at Ipanema Summer Sunscream 2015 on May 23, 2015 at the Green Lagoon Park, Compostela, Cebu.
Hosted by Roxanne Barcelo and Tom Candy, leading artist like Kamikazee, Urbandub, Franco and Powerspoonz will be performing plus international and local DJ's will be playing to double the fun.
Ipanema Summer Sunscream 2015 
will be held on May 23, 2015 
at the Green Lagoon Park, Compostela, Cebu
Head on to www.twowaytravels.com for a chance to win tickets for this event.

Aside from giving us the best summer party ever, Ipanema Philippines is having a giveaway wherein 3 LUCKY READERS will be given a chance to win:

1 pair of Ipanema Flip-Flop
5 pieces of Ipanema Key Chains
1 piece of Ipanema Beach Bag

This giveaway is open to PH residents until May 31, 2015

Come on and enter the giveaway here:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclaimer: 

This giveaway is sponsored by Ipanema Philippines. However, they do not hold any control over the mechanics posted on this post. All winners must contact Mary of www.twowaytravels.com for the prizes. 

The winners are:
Frances B
Princess V
Maggie V
Contact twowaytravels.com for details

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Thankful for Milo Summer Sports Clinic 2015

A week after last school-year ends, she complained that she's already bored. 
She's almost done with the school's summer assignments and told me she has nothing to do. 
Her interest in guitar subsided though she still loves to listen to Taylor Swift's songs.
She's not much of a reader (my bad, still need more effort to encourage her).
Also not a fan of IPad (or because her little brother wrestles with her and grabs the gadget once she got hold of it) and TV is not for her too, according to her it make her dizzy staring on it for a long time.
In short, staying at home throughout the day makes her bored thus, wants to beat the summer boredom. Don't get me wrong, they have toys at home like bricks, Lego stuffs, Stacko, chess board and sometimes they bike around the neighborhood after their siestas but I'm guessing she's fed up of the same routine.

She wants to attend again swimming lessons but I don't see any class offerings near our place and the only available that might have her interest is the Milo's sponsored Karatedo Class.
Milo's Summer Sports Clinic is a nationwide program held by various sports organizations (including Karatedo) to help promote sports development in our country and introduce to kids at an early age the benefit of it. Being active in sports enriches the child physically - improving health; mentally - hone talents and skills; and socially - make friends and have fun. It is also an avenue for character formation as kids learn the value of discipline, teamwork, self-confidence and sportsmanship.
Good news is she so much love it and all ecstatic when she know that after her 12 session, qualified for the next level - Orange Belt. 

We are thankful for this program. 
Looking forward for the next summer activities (this time with her little brother :D)

Hope you're having a blast this summer too! :D


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Little by Little

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Simple Treats for my Mom on Mother's Month

You know why we find May so special?
It is because its the time of the year when we can declare our utmost gratitude to our dear mom, Mama L, for all the good things she have done for us. We know we should be doing it in any day of the year or any time of the day but like most kids do, we are one of those who gave her headaches and heartaches. We love our parents so much and because we know their big love for us that we don't mind doing wrongdoings and hurtful things coz we know we will always be forgiven -- Oh well! those youthful days!

And here we are grown up conscious enough to notice that we don't show much our affection to her. So we, the siblings, list down a few treats we could give for our dearest mama on mother's month.


  • A Manicure and Hand Lotion
  • Those hardworking hands that doesn't stop working needs to be pampered. Imagine taking care a husband and six children, preparing the family's meal, cleaning the house, the dishes, washing the clothes and then the kids. It must be very tiring that a manicure and a hand lotion might not be enough but cool enough to soothe those wrinkly exhausted hands.

  • Cook Her Favorite Dish
  • I must admit I don't know her favorite dish. As her child, I think I did not mind much of her liking instead always think of what's gonna be serve in our table. (I think she likes desserts, a homemade carrot cake will be a delight :D)

  • Let her listen to her Favorite Songs
  • She loves Karen Carpenter songs. I heard her singing '60-'70 songs. She knows how to play the guitar. She sings. She dances. I have a one great talented mom but because she's too busy taking good care of us she forgot to have a time for herself. 

  • A Good Book to Read
  • She collects books. I remembered her collection of Readers Digest magazines and books. I got the love for books from her. My sister too! But all were gone when the our house was burn. With six children to attend plus the husband, she didn't have the time to sit down and read books. Oh wait! she does read books, school books of her children during study time.

  • A Staycation
  • Enough said, she needs its. Every SAHM needs it, right?

There you have our treats for our mom :D Hoping she will like it :D

How about you? What's your treat for your mom?

Happy  Mother's Day Ma 
and
Happy Mother's Day to all Mommies :D

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