DSB, locally known as little Baguio of Negros Occidental, is situated at the mid-center of the hinterland of the entire north of Negros Occidental. It is 47 kilometers away from Bacolod with a contant cold temperature ranging from 16-27 Celsius.

Too unusual, but DSB’s territorial formation is comprised of Barangays (7) from 2 municipalities (Brgys. Pandanon and Igmaya-an – Murcia; Brgys. Bagong Silang-Marciela and Bago-Lalong – Calatrava) and 1 city (Brgys. Kumaliskis, Bunga, Pinowayan-Prosperidad). The Salvadorians adapated the art of “KALI” as their cultural heritage, otherwise known as “Arnis” or “Eskrima”, the highlight og which is the celebration of “Kalikalihan” harvest festival every February 7-9.

The Apo Island is the only one of its kind in the Philippines. It is one of the world’s top dive destinations, and you can rent a banca for a 40-minute boat ride to take you over to the coast at Dauin, Negros Oriental and back. My place has a great patio view of the entire beach area. Even though the island only has electric power from 630PM until 930PM, the diving is spectacular and there are many shoals of fish.

I got an email from my buddy Mark who went to dive 2 months ago, and here’s what it says:

“As a veteran scuba diver, Apo Island I must say was an adventure in itself. I’ve seen more than the usual coral reefs and colorful tropical fish. And the topography! WOW. Man I wish you had been able to join me. The clear inviting waters gave me the joy of exploration, and being underwater it felt – different. I’ve entered a mysterious yet beautiful world where you can have an enjoyable opportunity for taking underwater photography. Since it’s a deep blue sea, scuba diving the island is like climbing a mountain cliff.  But I was fearless. And out I went and down. The experience was priceless.”

For those of you not in the know, Apo Island is a sweet little island filled with tiny village residents, who embrace a sustainable living through boating and diving businesses. Here’s some pics I took yesterday:

And just a few minutes before our departure a boat fiesta celebration was happening in honor of Sto. Nino. The banca boat that ferried the locals was full, and they were dancing along with constant beating of the drums. For all those wondering what’s in the Sto. Nino celebration, here’s a little history:

“On April 7, 1521, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived and planted the cross on the shores of Cebu, claiming the territory for Spain. He presented the image of the child Jesus, the Santo Niño, as baptismal gift to Hara Amihan, wife of Rajah Humabon. Hara Amihan was later named, Queen Juana in honor of Juana, mother of Carlos I. Along with the rulers of the island, some 800 natives were also baptized to the Roman Catholic Church. At the moment of receiving the holy image, it was said that Queen Juana danced with joy bearing this image of the child Jesus. With the other natives following her example, this moment was regarded as the first Sinulog. This event is frequently used as basis for most Sinulog dances, which dramatize the coming of the Spaniards and the presentation of the Santo Niño to the Queen. A popular theme among Sinulog dances is Queen Juana holding the Santo Niño in her arms and using it to bless her people who are often afflicted by sickness caused by demons and other evil spirits.” Source: WIKIPEDIA

I took a video of it that is worth sharing, so have a look at it at this link: Sto. Nino Video At Apo Island

I have also taken  many more pictures apart from the ones I ‘ve uploaded, so have a look at all of them on my site at Marks Travel & Adventure

Cheers,
Mark

Dumaguete is the capitol for the Negros Oriental province. It is a coastal town sitting on the Mindanao Sea and the Tanon Strait between Negros Island and Cebu Island. You can see the island of Siquijor from the shores.

There are four large colleges in Dumaguete which attract many students from the Visayas and Mindanao. Silliman University is the best known being the first Protestant university in the Philippines, and the first private American university in Asia.

I had a two fold purpose for going to Dumaguete. First, I am scouting for a place to relocate from Manila. Second, I needed to get “wet” by spending some time scuba diving at the famous Apo Island.

As with all of the Philippines, there are two seasons in Dumaguete, dry and wet. Wet season is from June to November and dry season starts in December. It only rained during the night when I was there, and during the days it was sunny to partly cloudy.

Pictures of Dumaguete and Apo Island Philippines

We left Manila Friday morning on Cebu Pacific Air at 7:05am and arrived before 8:30 on a very clear morning. Off the plane, baggage claim and right into the van our hotel had arranged for us.

In preparation for this trip, I searched the internet for accommodations and found Dumaguete Springs. Dropped them an email, which they responded to quickly, and after several follow ups, the room was booked. The resort is located in Bacong, about 30 minutes south from the airport.

The resort is tucked away off the main road with a beach front. In the middle of the property is the main house which as been converted to serve as lodging rooms. Beside the house is a small but nice swimming pool and restaurant. The front and back part of the property has modern guest rooms built. The grounds are all well kept with attractive landscaping. On the beach there are two rooms built with native materials. This is where our room was.

The room had bamboo floors, king size bed, cable television, hot and cold water with an electric fan. There was a nice porch in the front to sit and look over the water towards Siquijor Island. The beach was clean, but not a place you would want to swim. The sand is a very dark color, and the water was fairly shallow with lots of rocks. I left my swimming for the pool, but really appreciated the refreshing ocean breeze. The only downside to having this room is lack of security. These beach front rooms are outside the fenced area, and there is no guard during the night. Though this was not a problem during our stay, I will choose the main house or one of the other rooms if I return.

The staff was very accommodating. They arranged perfectly for a scooter rental, scuba trip and airport transportation without a hitch.

Once we got our bags in the room and had a bite for breakfast, we headed out on the scooter mentioned above. First direction was south on the National Highway (Real Street) through Bacong to Dauin then just past Zamboanguita before turning around. Wonderful road and scenery. We retraced our steps back north and continued past Dumaguete Springs and into Dumaguete City proper. Without any map, we just followed the traffic flow around the Robinson’s mall, into the center of the city, past the Capitol building and then around to the pier and past Silliman University onto Rizal Boulevard.

The “Boulevard” as it is known is a great place to relax. There is a walkway along the shoreline which is shaded by large Acacia trees for more than 1km long. Did not encounter any pan handlers or vendors at all.

Our lunch was at a Mexican restaurant, Coco Amigos. Recommended if you enjoy Mexican cuisine. Besides the pleasant atmosphere and good food, the thing that sticks out in my memory is seeing a gentlemen in his 50s drinking beer and pizza until he fell asleep at his table! Our day was winding down as well. More putting around in the city, then back to the room to read on the porch until dark, dinner and bed.

The next morning around 7am Glenn from Private Residence VIP Resort picked me up for a day’s diving at Apo Island. His resort is about 20 minutes from Dumaguete Springs. He warned me on the way that they had a lot of divers, and he wasn’t kidding. He had a large group over from China. I’m guessing around 30 plus divers. I really wanted to get underwater no matter what, so I just relaxed and decided to roll with the punches and see how things went.

Things went well. We took three bankas on the forty minute ride to Apo Island. The moment I dropped in the water, I knew this was going to be a good day of diving. Excellent visibility, warm water, pristine corals and lots of fish. Glen and his crew had the whole trip arranged perfectly. You can read more about the diving at my other blog, Philippines Scuba Online .

After the diving, Glen drops us back to Dumaguete Springs resort around 3pm. Rest of the day was spent playing Frisbee in the pool, reading books and enjoying the fresh air and sounds of the waves.

Sunday morning we went back to the Boulevard and found a delicious buffet breakfast at the Why Not disco complex. Price was around 400php, which included brewed coffee and juices. While having breakfast we were able to watch the local martial artists sparing on the park lawns. Another scooter ride around the area, then back to relax at the room until leaving for the airport at 2pm.

There are many activities around Dumaguete that we did not have time to try. Dolphin and Whale Watching Tours, Mabinay Caving, Lake Balinsasayao Sightseeing Tours, Mabinay White- Water Kayak Tour, golfing, mountain biking and much more.

The more I travel to the Visayas, the more time I want to spend there. This trip to Dumaguete continued this trend.

As always, please leave comments or email me if there are any questions I may be able to help with.

So I booked my standard room there for February 21-25.  The rate was 1,300 php per night.

Upon arrival, I was pleased to see the hotel was exactly as advertised.  The staff was warm and friendly.  The room was basic, but spacious and clean.  It had an in room safe, wifi was great, water was hot and everything worked fine.

The food at the restaurant was very good, including the generous buffet breakfast which was included in the price of the room.  An important factor for my breakfast, they have brewed coffee!

Most of my trip in Bacolod City I used the hotel’s car and driver at very reasonable rates.  The car with driver cost me about 200php per hour.  Since I could not find a single place in the city to rent a motorcycle, the car was a big help for me.

I can safely recommend the O Hotel as a good place to stay while in Bacolod City.

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The beach was white and the skies were blue.  Very nice day.  Walking the beach, wading in the clear water, playing on the swing and having delicious foods were on the agenda.

The dive facilities at Artistic Diving were top notch.  After a short discussion with Alvie the dive master, we planned a 2pm dive on nitrox at A Rock.  The dive site was only 5 minutes from the resort, and I think the max depth was around 22m.  The vis was quite good, no current, and we saw lots of different wildlife.  Pipe fish, flounder which enjoyed being petted by Alvie, and lots of other macro sea life.  After 60 minutes, I gave Alvie the sign it was ok to go up.  You know, I think he wanted to stay down longer, can’t ask for more than that from a dive guide!

Next time I look forward to spending more time in Sipalay and exploring many of the dive sites available there.