Cebu Airport to Oslob
Let's go whale watching again!
This was my 3rd visit, but an excited first-time for my two friends from QC, who are loyal readers of this blog. I had to cut my roams at another island-province for this!
I rushed to rendezvous with them in Cebu as I promised to be their guide. This was Day 1 of their 4-day vacation, that almost got canceled, due to Yolanda’s aftermath.
My friends got a very-early flight from Manila. A ridiculously low-fare promo they were able to grab, and per schedule they expected to land Cebu at 4AM. Jusko gino-o ko!
Imagine what time would I need to wake up to fetch them! Walang tulugan?
On the other hand however, I thought that was splendid - so we could go straight to Oslob that very early morning - since whale watching is only from 6AM up to 12NN.
Good plan to max-out their time. No need for them to sleep overnight in Cebu City.
Well, sa plano yan. It doesn't necessarily mean masusunod lahat ng plans hehehe!
There are always the "expected unexpected" matters that can happen!
First off, their flight landed past 5AM instead of 4AM - dahil, Cebu Pacific is the new PAL (Plane Always Late).
Besides, if you're not familiar with Lapu-lapu, Cordova, Mandaue and Cebu, it will be tricky. You can't experiment this time. You need to catch a bus as early as possible.
Aw, there are the habal-habals (if you're not carrying too many or too heavy bags). But scouting for them is still a challenge at airport side. You'll be wasting precious time.
So we took a cab, I was hoping straight to the South Bus Terminal.
However subalit apan.., along the way, they felt hungry (and I know they're not fans of the bee). So we decided to grab something (drive-thru or takeout) at any McDonald's.
We reached it in no time, and "success" I thought!
Unfortunately huhuhu, while I ordered food to go, the beggar kids in the area caught attention of my friends. They got off, instead of our original plan 'to let the cab wait'.
Kakausapin daw nila ang mga bata, to know about this and that. Okay fine!
Good I got breakfast meals for us and those 4 kids without telling them about it yet. Why? Because shortly after giving them their Sausage McMuffins, a whole battalion of other beggar kids, plus adults, came tapping on the glass, asking us for food too.
That, even if a mother was already drinking the hotchoc of one of those 4 kids. Hay, naghalo ang hiya at init ng ulo ko! I jokingly told my friends "just press ignore, delete, escape, backspace or CTRL-X" (a.k.a. don't bother about them dahil extra expense yan)!
In my mind I was saying: hello DSWD, pami-pamilya na yang namamalimos sa Fuente Osmeña kasindami ng mga bata ang matatanda aren't you supposed to do something?
Anyway, after breakfast, as my friends 'still talked' to the beggar kids, I hailed a cab to get us to Southbus. Southbus? That is how locals say Cebu South Bus Terminal!
Yes ganun yun! The Cebuano language is fond of shortening-truncating a lot of their spoken words. Pag ipasulat mo, they normally write everything as whole/full words!
Thus, now you should know, that going to Bantayan or Malapascua is via Northbus!
Reaching the bus terminal, I hurriedly bought our tickets as we were already running late (per my calculations).
Note: You first say you're looking for a ride to Oslob, even if you may know that there is rarely a bus going only to Oslob.
You may be booked on a bus bound for Bato or Liloan in Santander (that's the next town after Oslob, further south).
But be very clear you are getting-off at Oslob. Even best if you will mention "whale shark", "butanding" or "toki".
Why is that? Because there are buses bound also for Bato, Liloan, Tampi, etc., but passing via the western side of the island WHICH do not pass by Oslob!
Anyway, I was able to get us seats on a 7AM air-conditioned Cebu-to-Dumaguete bus. Aw, that's the most comfortable ride on a Ceres bus. Aircon! And all their Dumaguete-bound buses pass via Oslob (east side of Cebu).
Anyway too, since this is "normally a 3 to 4 hour trip", I calculated we would reach Oslob by around 11AM. Kuyaw but okay pa!
At worst na yan!
That's because there are so many jeeps, tricycles, pedicabs, habal-habals, crossing the hiway at countless intersections down until Talisay, about 10kms from 'southbus'.
This is a national highway, pero idagdag mo pa ang mulitudes of pedestrians!
I do know though, that it becomes fast from San Fernando onwards. In fact, "fast" is an understatement, because bus drivers notoriously make their vehicles fly hahaha!
Taken at 7:11AM. Only eleven minutes out from departure at the southbus terminal, while all vehicles crawled in all directions, meron pa talagang ganyang kaganapan?!
As implied above, that is a common scene. It happens every bloody day in Cebu. Ah motorbikers... I'm an avid biker myself, but when I see accidents like that, I instantly think it was the biker's fault. Why? Because Cebu Road Statistics show, that it is so.
Ang tagal namin dyan ha? I think our driver stopped and slowed down unnecessarily, para lang maki-osyoso - which is also a common practice all over the Philippines. Uzi!
Despite that, I was confident we'd make it on time, for I knew lilipad kami after that!
For those who do not know yet, the whale watching experience usually has a 1-hour cap. Meaning that's the most you can be out there with them, or else you pay more.
Oh, I said lilipad kami, right? Ceres bus drivers, like all others, know how to fly buses if they need to, or if they just want to. And our driver had exactly that mindset heheh!
Even if he picked passengers along the way, after Talisay, we flew on a fantastically empty highway! This picture here? That's the road to Simala, photo shot at 8:29AM!
That road is 51kms from South Bus Terminal (said the bus conductor). Imagine that! Just 1 hour and 29minutes for 51kms, eh nag-osyoso pa ng accident. We were fast!
That corner to Simala is still 72kms to the whale sharks (said Mr. Conductor again)!
But, we arrived Oslob not 11AM, not even 10AM, but exactly 9:56AM. Oh ha?! It took only 2 hours and 56 minutes! Yet experts say 'it is a 3 to 4 hour drive'. Ayan, hehehe!
Ceres is the way [sabay sign-of-the-cross] hehehe!
You save a night-worth of hotel expenses.
FYI too, many visitors spend more time in Oslob, to visit a waterfall, and even enjoy the all-of-a-sudden quiet beach! There are now many hotel/resort facilities in Oslob.
Pero teka... let me tell you our story.
Let's frolic with the whalesharks.
That's next!
This was my 3rd visit, but an excited first-time for my two friends from QC, who are loyal readers of this blog. I had to cut my roams at another island-province for this!
I rushed to rendezvous with them in Cebu as I promised to be their guide. This was Day 1 of their 4-day vacation, that almost got canceled, due to Yolanda’s aftermath.
Ideal flight schedule to Cebu
Note: Travelers from Manila, read this, as you could pick a helpful hint or two here.My friends got a very-early flight from Manila. A ridiculously low-fare promo they were able to grab, and per schedule they expected to land Cebu at 4AM. Jusko gino-o ko!
Imagine what time would I need to wake up to fetch them! Walang tulugan?
On the other hand however, I thought that was splendid - so we could go straight to Oslob that very early morning - since whale watching is only from 6AM up to 12NN.
Good plan to max-out their time. No need for them to sleep overnight in Cebu City.
Well, sa plano yan. It doesn't necessarily mean masusunod lahat ng plans hehehe!
There are always the "expected unexpected" matters that can happen!
First off, their flight landed past 5AM instead of 4AM - dahil, Cebu Pacific is the new PAL (Plane Always Late).
Take a taxi to Cebu South Bus Terminal
This should take at most 30mins (15kms?), since most of Metro Cebu would still be asleep. Hailing jeeps would take long as it involves at least 3 connecting jeep rides.Besides, if you're not familiar with Lapu-lapu, Cordova, Mandaue and Cebu, it will be tricky. You can't experiment this time. You need to catch a bus as early as possible.
Aw, there are the habal-habals (if you're not carrying too many or too heavy bags). But scouting for them is still a challenge at airport side. You'll be wasting precious time.
So we took a cab, I was hoping straight to the South Bus Terminal.
However subalit apan.., along the way, they felt hungry (and I know they're not fans of the bee). So we decided to grab something (drive-thru or takeout) at any McDonald's.
Avoid any distractions
Haruy Nanay, the McDo at the reclamation area near CDU was still closed. Ah, I told the taxi driver to drive instead via Fuente Osmeña as they have a 24/7 branch there.We reached it in no time, and "success" I thought!
Unfortunately huhuhu, while I ordered food to go, the beggar kids in the area caught attention of my friends. They got off, instead of our original plan 'to let the cab wait'.
Kakausapin daw nila ang mga bata, to know about this and that. Okay fine!
Good I got breakfast meals for us and those 4 kids without telling them about it yet. Why? Because shortly after giving them their Sausage McMuffins, a whole battalion of other beggar kids, plus adults, came tapping on the glass, asking us for food too.
That, even if a mother was already drinking the hotchoc of one of those 4 kids. Hay, naghalo ang hiya at init ng ulo ko! I jokingly told my friends "just press ignore, delete, escape, backspace or CTRL-X" (a.k.a. don't bother about them dahil extra expense yan)!
In my mind I was saying: hello DSWD, pami-pamilya na yang namamalimos sa Fuente Osmeña kasindami ng mga bata ang matatanda aren't you supposed to do something?
Anyway, after breakfast, as my friends 'still talked' to the beggar kids, I hailed a cab to get us to Southbus. Southbus? That is how locals say Cebu South Bus Terminal!
Yes ganun yun! The Cebuano language is fond of shortening-truncating a lot of their spoken words. Pag ipasulat mo, they normally write everything as whole/full words!
Thus, now you should know, that going to Bantayan or Malapascua is via Northbus!
You are going to Oslob
Note: You first say you're looking for a ride to Oslob, even if you may know that there is rarely a bus going only to Oslob.
You may be booked on a bus bound for Bato or Liloan in Santander (that's the next town after Oslob, further south).
But be very clear you are getting-off at Oslob. Even best if you will mention "whale shark", "butanding" or "toki".
Why is that? Because there are buses bound also for Bato, Liloan, Tampi, etc., but passing via the western side of the island WHICH do not pass by Oslob!
Anyway, I was able to get us seats on a 7AM air-conditioned Cebu-to-Dumaguete bus. Aw, that's the most comfortable ride on a Ceres bus. Aircon! And all their Dumaguete-bound buses pass via Oslob (east side of Cebu).
Anyway too, since this is "normally a 3 to 4 hour trip", I calculated we would reach Oslob by around 11AM. Kuyaw but okay pa!
At worst na yan!
The later in the morning, the more traffic
I already know how this Cebu South Road is on a Monday Morning (or even any weekday morning for that matter). All vehicles crawl, even if you are southbound.That's because there are so many jeeps, tricycles, pedicabs, habal-habals, crossing the hiway at countless intersections down until Talisay, about 10kms from 'southbus'.
This is a national highway, pero idagdag mo pa ang mulitudes of pedestrians!
I do know though, that it becomes fast from San Fernando onwards. In fact, "fast" is an understatement, because bus drivers notoriously make their vehicles fly hahaha!
Daily motorcycle accidents
Okay now.., these pictures? Aw, as usual. AS IN everyone expect these everyday!
As implied above, that is a common scene. It happens every bloody day in Cebu. Ah motorbikers... I'm an avid biker myself, but when I see accidents like that, I instantly think it was the biker's fault. Why? Because Cebu Road Statistics show, that it is so.
Ang tagal namin dyan ha? I think our driver stopped and slowed down unnecessarily, para lang maki-osyoso - which is also a common practice all over the Philippines. Uzi!
Despite that, I was confident we'd make it on time, for I knew lilipad kami after that!
Whaleshark watching until 12NN only
With an expected arrival of 11AM in Oslob, I imagined we still had one hour (enough to see Butandings), since I knew we were not swimming with them. Manonood lang.For those who do not know yet, the whale watching experience usually has a 1-hour cap. Meaning that's the most you can be out there with them, or else you pay more.
Oh, I said lilipad kami, right? Ceres bus drivers, like all others, know how to fly buses if they need to, or if they just want to. And our driver had exactly that mindset heheh!
Even if he picked passengers along the way, after Talisay, we flew on a fantastically empty highway! This picture here? That's the road to Simala, photo shot at 8:29AM!
That corner to Simala is still 72kms to the whale sharks (said Mr. Conductor again)!
But, we arrived Oslob not 11AM, not even 10AM, but exactly 9:56AM. Oh ha?! It took only 2 hours and 56 minutes! Yet experts say 'it is a 3 to 4 hour drive'. Ayan, hehehe!
Ceres is the way [sabay sign-of-the-cross] hehehe!
Recap of what is "normal"
- A dawn-time taxi ride from the airport to Cebu South Bus Terminal won’t even take 20 minutes - if you hired a cab and went straight. We did not!
- The bus ride from Cebu to Oslob is normally 3 to 4 hours, sometimes faster!
- The whale-watching "operations" start at 6AM and ends 12NN.
- But your watching schedule is only for an hour. Hindi buong umaga oy!
- And believe me, if you are not swimming nor snorkeling with them butandings, 30 minutes is more than enough view time. Lalo na pag mainit ang araw!
After whaleshark watching
After that, take your grand time getting back to Cebu. Then start looking for, or pop into your reserved accommodation. Check-in is usually from 12NN to 3PM anyway.You save a night-worth of hotel expenses.
FYI too, many visitors spend more time in Oslob, to visit a waterfall, and even enjoy the all-of-a-sudden quiet beach! There are now many hotel/resort facilities in Oslob.
Pero teka... let me tell you our story.
Let's frolic with the whalesharks.
That's next!
#oslob #TravelPhilippines #whaleshark
Miss reading your blog! I remembered we went there and stayed overnight. Cool to see how our "highways" look like compared to the highways here. When is the next write up about the butandings? Keep writing!
ReplyDeletehey manoi! how are ya?! the real butanding story (I believe) should be coming up within the hour. I know I already sent it but forgot which time I scheduled that one. raise me when you're around for updates :D
ReplyDelete