Dumaguete is a city in the Visayas, the mid section of the country, and site of our most recent adventures. Known as a university town on the water with lots of charm, its been on my list of places to go. Having a good friend, Marina, living there and offering to plan out the holiday was also great motivation. So off we went for several days.
Our good friend Mely from Davao also accompanied us, and since there are no direct flights from Davao where she lives, we met up with her in Cebu. After a 4 hour bus ride south, and a half hour boat ride to Negros island, we made it to our destination. The bus ride was quite beautiful with most of the route running along the water, and although we didn't have time to stop, it runs through Oslob, one of several places in the country where you can swim with whale sharks. We'll keep that on the list of future trips.Marina had the trip fully planned out the entire time we were there. The first day included touring the city visiting the markets, Silliman University, the well-known waterfront and downtown areas. One market tour included sitting down for suman (a glutinous rice cake) with hot chocolate, a traditional morning merienda in Dumaguete.
On the second day, we drove north to a large bay with a white sand bar in the middle. The sand bar is exposed only at low tide, and we were there at high tide. But it made for some great swimming far out into the bay. Mely doesn't particularly like boats and doesn't swim, but she was a great sport tagging along with us in a small bangka (small fishing boat) and sitting there while we swam. In the afternoon, we drove up to twin lakes, a couple of crater lakes quite a distance up into the mountains. The scenery was stunningly beautiful. We also discovered a very contemporary restaurant overlooking the mountains and ocean on the way back, Azalea. Day three took us south to Balanan lake up in the mountains. Again, incredibly beautiful scenery. Very lush, unspoiled, little development. On the way back, we stopped at a seaside resort off the beaten path for a late lunch. It was beautifully done.
Thanks to Marina for organizing such a great visit to Dumaguete. I can see another trip back. For more photos of Dumaguete, CLICK HERE.
