Discover Canlaon: Home of the Sleeping Lady and so much more!

From Bacolod City we rode a bus to Canlaon City at about 7 pm. There is no aircon bus so we rode the regular one. It was a long and bumpy ride and we arrived at about 10 in the evening. We had dinner and prepare our stuff for the next day because we have to start early. 

First thing's first, chase the sunrise! 

We were actually approached by a local who offered to tour us around for 300 pesos. Since again we were in a hurry, we accepted the offer though I could have waited for my cousins to tour us. But anyway, it happened already and these are the scenery along the way. 

This is facing Cebu.

There are plenty of vegetables in the area. Canlaon is one of the major providers of vegetables in the Visayas area. 

This is a shot taken near my aunt's house. That's the peak and the crater. There is no vegetation growing near the peak due to the volcanic conditions in the area. It is best that you wake up early in the morning because the clouds are not covering the mountain yet. 

After this we had our breakfast and were preparing to go to San Carlos City, but then my cousin offered to tour us around and he brought us to OISCA Farm. The succeeding photos are taken from the farm. 

That's a century old balete tree, they say. There is a log book for guests. It is best to travel during off peak season since we get to enjoy these places by ourselves. We get to take plenty of pictures with lining up and no photobombers at all. 

This is probably the place which has the best view of all. The man made lake is about 10 meters deep, and Japanese soldiers used to hide treasures there and left the farm to the locals, they say. This is also where I lost my digital camera. Huhuhu! 

Next time, we'll have to challenge ourselves with climbing to the crater of the volcano. The road we trudged was not the best road to travel at all but it was fun and full of adventure. Next stop is San Carlos City. 

Discover Guimaras: Windmills of San Lorenzo and Gateway to Negros Island

Finny and I decided to go backpack travelling to Kanlaon City where I have an aunt who lives there. She is always in charge of doing research on which places we should go to. Since we both have free time and enough money to go on a trip, here's our first stop, the windmills of San Lorenzo, Guimras.

Finny lives in Iloilo City so she made a trip to Guimaras first by going to Ortiz wharf to ride a boat which costs 14 pesos per person. Then she rode a jeepney to Alibjon from Jordan wharf which costs 13 pesos. Then we met up at Mang Tinapay which is near the parking area for Paos jeepney, the jeepney which will bring us to Cabano to ride a boat to Negros. The fare cost 40 pesos each. If you are in a hurry you could hire a motorbike to bring you there which will I guess cost you about 100 - 120 pesos. 

The windmills are scattered in Cabano area. We first secured a ticket to Negros by registering our names in the log and since we still had free time, we roamed around. 

This one was taken atop a hill last December. I came here with my brothers.

This is how it was to travel from Guimaras to Negros. I think there are still other areas along the coast facing Negros island which offers daily trips to Pulupandan. The fare cost us 70 pesos each. 

Once we arrived Pulupandan, there is no proper wharf, just like in Guimaras, the boat was docked in the shore. You still have to ride a tricycle to this point worth 10 pesos each. This is the place were you get to ride public vehicles to Bacolod or Bago or even to Canlaon City.

Discover Negros Island: Bago

Our ultimate purpose of coming to Bago City is to visit Kipot Falls which is located in Ma-ao. From Pulupandan we rode a jeepney to Bago City which cost us 8 pesos each. It was just a short ride to the city. So since we are already at a new place we wanted to try something new of course. There are plenty of options as to where you can it at the city proper but since Bantayan Park is just a trike ride away, we decided to visit the place. 

This is the entrance of the park. 

What you can see inside the area. 

Chicken Inasal is a specialty of Bacolod but it is also adopted in neighboring places such as Bago City. We paid 194 pesos for a meal for two including softdrinks already. The restaurant is also located within the premises of Bantayan Park.

Saint John the Baptist Parish - Bago City

Afterwards, we went back to the city proper and rode a "double tire", a term they use to call a hybrid of bus and jeepney combined, to Ma-ao. It cost us about 20 pesos each and the picture below is where we had our stop to ride the tricycle to Kipot Falls. Within a short period of time it rained heavily and it affected our itinerary. When you go travel to different places, you will also notice the differences in the design of their tricycles. Look closely at the tricycles at Ma-ao, Bago. 

So we hired a tricycle instead for 300 pesos to bring us to Kipot Falls and back to Ma-ao. If it didn't rain and caused as delay, we could have only paid 15 pesos each to Kipot Falls and another 15 pesos back. Well since we were running out of time this was the best option for us.

Which also means that we get to request the driver to stop if we would like to take photos along the way. So here are some of them.

This was already taken inside the vicinity of the falls. There is no entrance fee. What's great about travelling in Negros province is that we have noticed that we didn't get to pay entrance fees in places we have visited. There are also cottages inside where you can have a picnic. There was a caretaker in the are who did not also accept the tip we gave him. Amazing isn't it? That gave me hope for the Philippines and to humanity as well. 

Kipot falls, everyone. The water is muddy due to the heavy rain. There's so much in nature and every peso we spent was worth it all. So after the falls we went back to Ma-ao and rode a "double tire" to Bacolod City. Thus our journey continues.