Oh So Lovely Bucas Grande

Surigao Trip

[March 23-24]

A bit weary from the day's activities, it's now time for us to cool down and relax. 

And there's no better place for us to do that, than Bucas Grande's La Fortuna Lake.

It's actually more than just a lake...it's one of nature's grandest masterpieces!

The water was a bit mysterious and when we examined it closely we saw small fishes swim by. Still, we decided to take a quick dip to test the cold but refreshing brackish water.

We were even suppose to do kayaking here but the kayaks where locked up. Nevertheless, after our quick dip, we just spent the rest of the time sitting on the wooden plank, staring at the lake in amazement.

When you spend your afternoons in places such as this, it would be very hard to worry about anything. I'd like to spend more of my afternoons here. The scenery is a cure for my computer vision syndrome and the ambiance is a cure for my bent (not broken) soul. Haha! Well, we almost got carried away and didn't want to leave this place but there's still a powdery white sand beach waiting for us. Let's hit the beach!!!

Thank you Lord for awesome friends who also love the beach as much as I do.

Swimming it is!!!

Bucas Grande was a very nice surprise for all of us. It gave us an experience that exceeded our expectations. It is truly a paradise.

Happy beach combers we are ^^,

This place is actually a resort in the making. I'm not sure if they accept guests already. We didn't even get the chance to ask for its name. But this is surely a great resort to watch out for here in Bucas Grande.

Sand markings: We love Surigao!!!

Though there's not really getting enough of the water and the beach, we decided we just had to go. We also can't wait to embrace the comforts of our super marvelous accommodations in Cinnamon Island. So we hopped on to our boat and sailed away. Several minutes later, the island was already in sight and our wonderful guide, Junjun, suddenly directed our view to this islet and pointed out that this place also has white sand. Well of course you know what happened next: we just had to make a quick stop. We got off the boat and swam our way to this islet. We just had to see for ourselves if he was telling the truth. 

. And yes it's true!!!! The sand on this islet is very fine and pure and white! Let's swim again!!!!

It might take a while for us to come back or we never might be able to come back so...we all just wanted to make the most of our trip.

And every single stop was so worth it. 

Several minutes went by and finally we're off sailing again towards our lovely home.

Oh and there it is, our cozy little cottage in Cinnamon Island.

This island was named after the Cinnamon plants that once proliferated the place. But we never really got to see them when we stayed there. Somehow we just smelled cinnamon. I think we did, just a bit.

Who better to give us a warm welcome than Teddy!

Our room was on the second floor and this is our sort of veranda. 

Very basic, simple and humble. 

And those are our beds, no, I mean, our mattresses. That's what we'll sleep on tonight. There's no air-conditiong (obviously), no fans as well and no electricity at night. A taste of the true island life is what this is. When I first scouted this place through the internet, I was really so excited to stay here. I wanted to stay here even by just merely looking at the photos. Then I thought about my 3 other friends who will be staying here with me and I realized, they might not be comfortable in this type of accommodation. But I went ahead and told them about this place anyway, and surprisingly, they were as psyched as I am to stay here too. 

So here we are on our terrace overlooking the waters of Bucas Grande with not a single hint of regret. We made the right decision to stay here even just for a night. This may just be one of the best accommodations we've had so far in each of our travels. Stripped of glamorous amenities but definitely a home for all four of us. Thank you again sir Dodo for helping us arrange our Bucas Grande trip. 

It's not everyday that you get to see this view, especially when you're like most of us whose lives have revolved in the city filled with skyscrapers and smog.  This is something everyone should try.

Thanks for being a gracious host Teddy! We enjoyed our stay so much!

In case you wanted to ask, yes we all had a good night sleep even if we had to wake up at 3am to catch the 6am ferry that will take us to General Luna, Siargao. Yes the place of the huge waves for surfing!!

That's another story. Refer to succeeding posts. 'Til then Bucas Grande!!!

photo credits

[paul, noel & cro]

Spelunking in Search of Crystals and Bolitas

After our trip to see the non-sting jellies, we are now treading land and this time, we are headed for the caves. Bucas Grande has indeed got it all, from swimming to paddling and now spelunking!

Surigao Trip

[March 23-26]

And so we were told by our guide that the first cave we are going to visit boasts of shining shimmering crystals --thus, called Crystal Cave. It wasn't that far from the shore but we sure did have a taste of an exciting trail. While trekking we heard birds chirping and flying nearby. Ah..we're definitely not in the city anymore. We saw some locals on our way to the cave too. Boy they're lucky they are so close to nature.

And with just a few more steps, we are inside Crystal Cave. We were not allowed to use flash in our cameras when taking a photo as this could damage the crystals--which by the way, takes years and years to form. It's a good thing we got enough sunlight from the entrance that we're still able to capture some of the rock formations inside the cave. Stalactites and stalagmites all covered in crystals. Oh and you're not suppose to touch them too or they will lose their luster.  Once you touch them..they are destroyed like..forever! You can't have that blame on your shoulders. So,  be very careful. 

Simply observe and look at the beauty there is of this natural wonder.

You may not be able to appreciate it very much in our photos but all the stone behind us are glimmering.

See? They are indeed shining, shimmering and glimmering! Glad we agreed to visit this cave.

On our way out, we saw this cute little pup. Aww.....

The next cave we are going to explore is Bolitas Cave. It is called as such because our guide said you can find plenty of "bolitas" (Visayan for small, round rocks..I think..) inside the cave. Not that inviting but wait till you see the cave's entrance.

Yes it's definitely a cave! One with a very small entrance.

Only one man is allowed to enter at a time because that's how small the entrance and the passageway is.

Are we good to go on this one??Well, we had a minute to examine the mouth of the cave and for our guide to convince us that it's okay if we don't push through but it's also better if we did. So?

Yes we're good to go. We just prayed real hard that we can squeeze our way in and of course squeeze our way out. It takes a brave heart to do this and we hope to have it. Haha!

We only had 1 flashlight with us and we had to pass it on to each other so we can see where we are going. 

We managed well enough to even take pictures to document this crazy ordeal.

As we go deeper, we had to be flat on our bellies and crawl our way in. Man, was I not ready for this. My arms were sore from bearing all my weight. My knees started to hurt too when I tried to use to help carry my weight. It was quite a struggle for me..for all of us I suppose. But we carried on.

Then we got to this area and we needed to watch out for our heads too! These rock formations may not seem like they are very sharp but they can hurt you if you are not careful.

Our guide said this is the only part of the cave where you can actually sit and that's the highest you could go.

He said the cave extends to more or less 3 kilometers from this place but we will not move any further. The passage is the same all throughout-- about a foot or two vertical clearance and nothing more.

Because of what we've been through, we almost forgot about what we are expected to see inside this cave. So I asked our guide, where are the bolitas? Just then, he picked up some dirt/ rocks and placed it in his cupped hands and simply said, this is it. They looked liked regular rocks that you can see almost anywhere. However perfectly rounded it seemed, I personally think it wasn't at all that remarkable. But luckily, the stalactites and stalagmites inside did not fail to amaze us.

Those things on the ceiling don't just grow overnight you know. They take years and years and even more years to get to its form now. Wow!

We needed to establish a proof that we went through a great deal just to be here, so photo session it is!

We did not actually plan on staying longer. The place was so small that Oxygen supply is decreased and we felt that our brains were deteriorating without it. We might not be able to think straight so let's get moving...Haha!

We just had to go. At once!

Same way in. Same way out. But we were definitely faster in moving out.

The look of success plus sweat and mud and perhaps some bat droppings. Oh well.

Anyhow..we did it!!!!! Weeee!

Here we are, washing ourselves after our spelunking in Bolitas Cave. 

Another memorable adventure with brave-hearted friends!

Off we go to the rest of the Bucas Grande Islands!!

 photo credits
[cro, paul & noel]

No Sting Jellies!

Surigao Trip 
[March 23-24, 2013]

Right after our Sohoton Cove adventure, we went back to the tourism center to have lunch. Mr.Dodo prepared a sumptuous feast for us which consisted of alimango, grilled pork, grilled chiken, sweet potoato and fruits. Oh how we love it here!!! Thank you very much sir for filling our tummies with delicious food! 

Then, we were told that our next activity would be a visit to the no sting jelly fish lagoon. I have often feared encounters with jellyfishes because I always get stung so bad. The rashes are very itchy and they appear to be very red in the first couple of days where it would appear that I have some serious skin disorder or something. It takes a while for them to disappear too. So the very idea of this visit to a lagoon filled with jellyfish is a bit scary for me. However, our guide said, they are very sure that they don't sting. They also said that, before, guests were allowed to swim with the jellyfish (oh my!) but just recently, they have prohibited the activity to protect them. They observed that these sea creatures often get stressed with the presence of humans swimming with them or worse, when sunscreen lotions melts and mixes with the water. So no swimming it is. Phew! Haha! We were all so excited, especially my friend Carol, who requested that this be a part of our itinerary. So here we are, all set. Each of us were then ushered to our individual paddle boats. We each have a boatman and an extra paddle in case the passenger would like to help in paddling. Let's go!

From here on, I'll let you enjoy the photos below with borrowed lines from famous writers/personalities. I am hoping that somehow their words will help describe the beauty that is of this place. I for one, am not sure I can capture them with my own words. So..enjoy!!

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow. -Helen Keller

The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever that circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles. -Anne Frank

I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes. -e.e. cummings

Forests, lake and rivers, clouds and winds, stars and flowers, stupendous glaciers and crystal snowflakes- every form of animate or inanimate existence, leaves its impress upon the soul of man.
Orison Swett Marden

I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it. -William Shakespeare

The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man. -Unknown

Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises. -Pedro Calderon de la Barca

Nature is man's teacher. She unfolds her treasures to his search, unseals his eye, illumes his mind, and purifies his heart; an influence breaths from all sights and sounds of her existence.
Alfred Billings Street

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to stay in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. -John Muir

Happiness flutters in the air whilst we rest among the breaths of nature. -Kelly Sheaffer

Nature is so powerful, so strong. Capturing its essence is not easy- your work becomes a dance with light and the weather. It takes you to a place within yourself. - Annie Leibovitz

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. -Albert Einstein

In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous. -Aristotle

Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty. -Albert Einstein

Landscapes of great wonder and beauty lie under our feet and all around us. They are discovered in tunnels in the ground, hearts of flowers, the hollows of trees, fresh-water ponds, seaweed jungles between tides, and even drops of water. -Unknown Author

Life in these hidden worlds is more startling in reality than anything we can imagine. How could this earth of ours, which is only a speck in their heavens, have so much variety of life, so many curious and exciting creatures? -Walt Disney Company

We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us. -Albert Einstein

We are by nature observers, and thereby learners. That is our permanent state. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

The pursuit, even of the best things, ought to be calm and tranquil. -Marcus Tullius Cicero

It was only from an inner calm that man was able to discover and shape calm surroundings. 

-Stephen Gardiner

For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver. -Martin Luther

What makes a river so restful to people is that it doesn't have any doubt- it is sure to get where it is going, and it doesn't want to go anywhere else. -Hal Boyle

To the Caves we go next!

photo credits

[paul, noel & cro]