Whale Shark Watching

Tired from work and want a relaxation? Getting cold of winter? Well, of course! Or, just planning for a perfect getaway? Whale shark watching is such an adventure. It is not just because of the whale sharks that you will see in Philippines. But, it is more about on how to go to this place called Tan-awan, Oslob, Cebu. It is a small barangay situated on the south of Cebu Province that belongs to the municipality of Oslob.

This is just a simple guide and I hope you are pleased with it. From Manila airport, you can take a domestic flight to Cebu City. If you choose to book for Cebu Pacific, just tell the taxi driver to drop you to Terminal 3. Once you arrived at the Mactan Airport of Cebu, ride a taxi towards South Bus Terminal. From there, take a Ceres Liner via Lilo-an Port or Santander. Once you are asked where you will be heading, you can directly say “whale shark” or “butanding” in Tan-awan, Oslob. The bus fare is almost 200php. For the hours of trip, it can reach a maximum of 4 hours including heavy traffic.

Or, you can take another route if you do not like a long ride. Here it goes. From Manila airport, you can take a domestic flight to Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental. Upon airport arrival, tricycles are ready to take you to Sibulan port. From there, you can choose a pump boat or a fast ferry heading to Lilo-an, Santander. Once you are in Santander, you can directly tell the tricycle driver, “whale shark”. And they already know where they will take you. For this trip, it is only half an hour or less from Lilo-an, Santander to Tan-awan,Oslob.

You do not need to worry upon your arrival to Tan-awan, Oslob, Cebu because there are lots of beach resorts to choose for you to stay.

Whale shark watching is available early morning until 12 noon. Be prepared for a payment of 500php or 1000php per person plus additional of 500php for underwater camera rent. Camera charge of that amount is per group. So, if you are with someone, then, the better. If you have no extra flash drive, be hassle free because the staff will automatically save your memorable photos on CD.

If you want to explore some of the beautiful places especially the beaches in Santander after whale shark watching, you can directly go to Lilo-an via Ceres Bus, jeepney, and tricycle.  You can choose among Eden Resort, Pebbles Beach Resort, and Nobles and a lot more.

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Sahara: A Treasured Memory

I definitely love this quote and I want to share it with you so with the experience that I had in Sahara Desert.
“Individually, every grain of sand brushing against my hands represents a story, an experience, and a block for me to build upon for the next generation.” 
― Raquel Cepeda, Bird of Paradise: How I Became Latina

Castle Underneath Sahara Desert

We all are aware of the current situation in Libya. I am writing this blog not to promote tourism but to let people know that such country had a lot to offer for tourists before they ousted their leader, Muammar Gaddafi. Only time can tell when we can travel and enjoy such beautiful country which was once rich in culture and history.

My journey with my friends was on the Fezzan region, a 2 hour drive headed south from Sebha City. There I got the chance to look outside Germa Museum where ancient tools from Berber civilization were kept. Sad to say it was closed. So, my trip was continued a few meters from the said museum. I was amazed to witness what my eyes saw!

Lost Fortresses of Sahara.

The deserted remains was Libya's first indigenous empire where once the capital city of the ancient Berber Garamantian Kingdom. Garamantes were skillful on horse and chariots. Various paintings and drawings attested on that when the tour guide shared some photos of the tribe's inhabitants. As I continued to gather information about this lost kingdom, I came to know that before the civil war, respective researchers from Europe came and they revealed through satellite images that more than one hundred "fortified farms and villages with castle-like structures and several towns" still buried beneath the desert's sand. A true picture will take decades if not centuries to complete especially what the country is facing at the present time.

Panoramic view of the empire that I took on top of the fortress.

The present Germa. This was outside the wall.

The railway.

A rode in the past.

Interesting wall divisions.

This must be an important structure of the ancient empire.

                                                                           

Irrigation system.

Au revoir. Until next time. 

Sahara, A Dream Come True (4)

Finally, we reached our dream destination. This is what we all call hidden paradise in the Sahara desert!

Wohoo! This is it!

Everyone was excited.

Lake Um Al Maa, the mother of all lakes.

Enjoying the great opportunity. God's gift of travel.

Just fun!

Could not stop for more kicks! lol

A breath taking experience! This is SAHARA!

Everyone tried to float.

We ended our trip with a beautiful sunset. 

Sahara, A Dream Come True (3)

Our adventure on Sahara desert was not just about the experience what a ride it would be because of sand dunes. Such breath taking moment was to unfold God's masterpiece on it, the oases.

It was not easy to go there. No landmarks. We rode almost on a curvature or zigzag way. Only a genius brain we relied for reaching a perfect destination. A great thanks to the former chief of the hospital. His brain worked like GPS! That was what everyone said.

We just cannot kept ourselves inside the car. This is SAHARA!

Perfect job! They made it sure that engines functioned all the way through.

Woooo! Huge sand dunes! What's next?

Lake Mofo.

Sahara, A Dream Come True (2)

Tikerkiba, I cannot forget that tourist camping site. It was such a quite place in a remote area of the south of Fezzan region. 

A journey must go on. Here, the team started to experience the ups and downs of wheels on sand dunes. We were advised to take a very light meal only so as not to vomit. It was indeed a roller coaster ride.

The start of the roller coaster ride.

The first shutter click of sand dunes.

Wow! They made the first top.

The soft golden sand. Pretty obvious we had a hard feet getting back in the car.

We had fun on photographs.

Sahara, A Dream Come True

When I was a kid, I only imagined Sahara Desert as vast golden sand. I was wrong with that. Because of my career, it allowed me to travel to some of the brilliant places when I got the days off. I spent several times of my breathtaking adventure to Sahara Desert. Along my journey, I witnessed how beautiful the Earth is made. Indeed, God's masterpieces are a lot to unravel only a human eye can envision and a feeling to embrace yet with a lot of vague imagination how beautiful our planet is created.

The team .

Tikerkiba, a famous tourist camping site years ago.

It's just so lovely how these were made out of sand.

The top view of the mainland.