Lake Danao, Ormoc

I finally went to Lake Danao in Ormoc as a real visitor - not passing by or checking out something else!

Why do I keep sayin "Ormoc"? Because, as many of you probably already know, there are many places named "Danao" all over the country. Yes, and many of them are lakes, because, as said in an article of long ago, the term "Danao" (Bisaya), "Ranao" or "Lanao" (Mindanaoan) in the first place, means "Lake"!

In fact, I wrote a story long ago that there are two Lake Danaos in this part of the country and both are good tourist attractions. If you haven't read it, click this, or this, or type Danao in the search box above.

There are several view/picnic areas around this lake, all managed by Brgy. Lake Danao, Ormoc. There are interesting sights along the way too but let's go to the lake first and see the other nice places later.

I let my driver choose where to go and he opted for this 'rustic' less crowded area which I liked. This is that place where you veer right off the concrete road, before reaching the barangay proper. But as you can see, there's also the same entrance fee that you cannot and may not escape from. 25 pesos lang!

I said this is also managed by the barangay, thus, all 'services' and 'amenities' are present, like this..,

Yes, parking area, which is actually really nothing but this below, which are the sides of the dirt road!

Well, I told you this is the rustic side that we like. There is even only one stall that sells food! This...

For those who have been to the other (usual) visitor's center, you would remember that there are rows and rows of such stalls, selling the same things, right? The three basic "staples" sold around the lake - 1] Banana Saba (to be cooked), 2] Clams also to be cooked (called punaw?), and 3] Sweet potatoes or Camote on a lower shelf, can you see? These 3 taste good together. Plus, the grilled fish, yumminess!

Hey just an aside.., I wonder if it would be good to cook all the banana camote and clams, all together, at the same time, in one big (pot) kaldero! Wala lang, it just came to mind, since I learned that they are all cooked in the same way - boiled. Sinasaing pala lahat, e di sama-sama na, so their flavors will mix!

Anyway, there are also only two big open picnic cottages in this place (but I think they can be shared).

That is not a problem though (I think), since most visitors would go floating on these rafts below...

Grilling of anything to be grilled is done on board. Can you see the griller in the front corner?

And you can stay off-shore (in the middle of the lake) to enjoy your food or swim or just chillax!

There is an unwritten rule.., the raft will only take you to the middle of the lake once - yes, you can stay there forever - and will only return when your "trip" is done. It can't be going back and forth. It's heavy!

But the question is: do you actually really know how to grill the fish, meat or anything to be grilled? Ah no problem if you don't, because, someone boards with you on the raft, he/she does the grilling.., even serves as your "chef" and "waiter" on board! He also makes sure you don't throw anything to the water.

The family (or maybe 2, 3 families?) in charge of the "operations" on this side of the lake do have their respective roles, I noted! The mother/s take charge of welcoming and talking to you to arrange things. The youthful daughter/s act as waitress. The father/s take charge of the cooking and grilling on board while kids propel the rafts to/from the middle of the lake. I'll expound on that last role in another story.

By the way, you cannot just go immediately towards the middle of the lake, as this requires some time of waiting while your food is being cooked. But you can look around for "entertainment" as you wait..,

Wherever you look in the entire expanse of the lake, the panoramas are exhilaratingly wonderful!

I have not seen anything on the water that had engines. So it was also fine watching locals glide by..,

We could even hear their paddles splashing on the water or sliding on the sides of that boat!

But of course, you could already go swimming right by the shores, like this girl was happily doing..,

Notice her unique floater. That is composed of two bamboo poles, am not even sure if tied together!

And this is "Saysay" [pronounced sai-sai], a shy youngish doggie with a handsome face! Shy Saysay!

He was busy, merrily romping around, chasing a butterfly, when I distracted him by calling his name!

The roadside is also a curious vast stretch of flora and fauna. This is a forest lake in the first place..,

As you can see from that last picture above, not only Saysay but even I, went chasing a butterfly!

But walking on the road wasn't all plants and butterflies. I could see all the way to the opposite shore!

And when I looked at the "parking area" again.., oh wow.., a lot more people arrived at noon!

More notes...

The signages say that this lake's highest peak is 1,020meters above sea level, but that would probably be at one of the surrounding hills. Where I went, my altimeter told me was 665meters above sea level. But even so, if you're going there in the morning like I did, you may want to wear thicker shirts or even bring a sweatshirt. Not windy, but it could be cold. By noontime however, it becomes wonderfully cool!

Where I went, I didn't see even just a single sari-sari store! While over at the usual visitor center, there are so many of them lined along the road that it now looks like a palengke. Buy 'chichirya' beforehand.

This place I went to, is still about 2 or more kilometers to the usual visitor center. It will therefore still be something like 4kms to the viewdeck. And as I said above, the road is not concrete (yet) for about 500 meters from the highway, although it is a good road for any kind of vehicle, and easily walkable.

Not on this trip, but I once saw a yellow multicab at the jeep terminal across the fastcraft port. So for those of you who want to commute, there is a way! I'm almost sure though, it will be infrequent since the barangay is small (therefore less riders) and far (probably 20kms from the city's jeepney terminal).

A manong told me that there are also tarsiers in this lake's surrounding forests. Whoa!