Ruffolo Travels: The Island Girl Comes Home

Booking tickets and arranging our travel itinerary for our July-August trip to the Philippines kept me busy in the last three days.

Naturally, the island girl that is me has been longing for the sea, sand, and sun — three major elements of the tropical paradise that is the Philippines where, in my opinion, the weather is perpetually in the summer mood.

I’ve been browsing through photos of my slimmer, flat-belly, two-piece-wearing days and I thought of reminiscing those getaways as I prepare myself for a month of tropical bliss.

And now it can be told because this happened seven years ago. I don’t know who filed for a legitimate vacation leave among the four of us. But I remember warning each other about NOT to post any photos about this trip because our superiors might know that we were on a beach getaway that required a plane ride.

We were colleagues at Cebu Daily News and became close friends. We were all based in Cebu and decided to go to Boracay — the infamous beach destination in the Philippines — and join the crowd of summer partygoers. There was nothing so special about Boracay. It is overcrowded and the water is even murky, not even as good as the waters of Bantayan Island in northern Cebu. But we had a really good time as we shared bottles of Gilbey’s Premium Strength with a fire dancer standing only a few feet away from us.

My single days were filled with random trips that mostly involved bus rides. Sumilon Island was relatively unknown to many back in 2009. I interviewed the general manager of Maribago Bluewater Resort and Spa and he told me that the company also owned a resort in Sumilon Island. The next weekend, I found myself in a bus heading down south. I stopped in the town of Oslob where a boat was waiting to take me to Sumilon Island. The whole weekend involved discovering a tower, hiking around the island, getting to know the interns from the neighboring island of Siquijor, and asking the guide to take pictures of me.

The town of Sogod where Alegre Beach Resort and Spa is located is two hours and 30 minutes away from Cebu City. Alegre is a luxury resort with 21 cabanas that promises guest to have the privacy that they need. You have to be strong in mind and body to be able to explore the property. The restaurant sits on a boulder overlooking the ocean. I love the floral arrangement which I passed by all the time in the five times I’ve stayed in this resort for work and pleasure. But definitely, my most favorite part is the beach front and the waters.

Kalanggaman Island can be reached from Sogod via motorized banca (boat). Note that Sogod is part of Cebu but Kalanggaman Island is part of Palompon town in the province of Leyte. The last time I visited the island was in 2010 where my good friend and creative guru Binky Ceniza taught me the infamous ‘S’ pose.

Back in my full-time reporting days, I sneaked in beach days over the weekends. Too bad I could not find photos all the way back from 2008 and 2009 of our Bantayan and Dumaguete/Sibulan escapades because those were crazy moments.

Liz Loraine, one of the paper’s trusted editorial coordinators, hails from this southern Cebu town and told us about the clean, long stretch of public beach in her hometown. So Mars (then CDN copy editor) and I packed our bags and spent the weekend with furry friends, met new friends, and grew a few shades darker all thanks to Mother Sun.

I’ve been to Palawan six times, four of which were work-related trips. The photos I am sharing here are from the Cebu Pacific-sponsored trip where I joined Cebu’s business reporters for a fam tour. Palawan is home to the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park or more commonly known as the Puerto Princesa Underground River, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was chosen as one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature. Don’t miss this if you happen to swing by Palawan.

It was the Holy Week of 2011 and Ate Christine and I just decided to spend time in Dumaguete and then explore Isla de Fuego, the island of Siquijor. We stayed for two nights in a house that was so creepy we believed spirits were watching us while we were taking the shower. We rented a motorcycle, which became our primary mode of transportation. Siquijor is so tiny you can go tour the six towns within one day. I’ll write a separate travel story on this as it involved attending a Healing Festival and visiting one of the island’s most renowned healers.