For months I’ve been dreaming of travelling to Sohoton Cove and swim with its non-sting jellyfishes. I’ve seen some videos on youtube of these creatures and I was amazed by the sheer number of these creatures swimming in Sohoton’s emerald waters. The blue-green waters didn’t make matters easier on me as well. I kept searching for pictures and blogs and videos of this place on the internet and wondered when I will be able to go there.

A couple of weeks ago however I was finally able to go to Sohoton courtesy of the significant other who, out of the blue, decided to call up her friends and organize the adventure. I was so excited and raring to go that the day before we depart, I wasn’t able to sleep! I was so out of it when we started our trip that I asked the SO to drive so I can get some sleep.

We were coming from Butuan City and we were advised that the best jump off point would be Claver, Surigao Del Norte specifically in Huyanggabon town. For those who would be travelling the same route and who are used to going to Surigao City, instead of making that left turn towards Surigao City in Placer, you just go straight and you will not miss Claver.

Because of the excited buzz inside the car, I really wasn’t able to get much sleep which was just as well because the scenery and the road going to Claver was simply beautiful. You have verdant green hills and rice paddies to your right, and the beckoning sea to the left. I was mindful that our driver don’t get too carried away by the scenery that we’d find ourselves on a ditch somewhere but I guess my apprehension was unfounded as our driver focused all her energies in her driving.

Nearing Claver, we passed by a very green semi-forested area with hundreds of migratory birds floating above a lush hill. I just took a mental picture because I wasn’t able to grab my camera in time. Its views like that that city dwellers only get to see on the Discovery Channel or the National Geographic. Pretty sad really when you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars just to be able to see such views in our country.

On our way to Claver we also passed by Taganito town where the Taganito Mining Company has its mining operations. It’s really sad to see the mountains turn brown because of all the mining activities. Although we would like to keep everything around us green and beautiful to look at, mining is an indispensable part of a growing economy. I can only hope that certain measures are being taken to ensure that mining operations don’t cause too much damage to the environment.

One of the wonderful things to see going to Claver is the water that gushes out of the mountains. These are not waterfalls, more of stored water inside the mountains gushing out of the cracks in its sides. Those who are experiencing water shortage in Metro Manila will cry when they see such a site. Speaking of gushing water, here’s a picture I took in Cabadbaran City in Agusan Del Norte. This is what they call flowing water. Nope, it’s not from the water district, and there’s no mechanism to pump the water out of the ground. It’s just a pipe stuck on the ground giving way for the water to come out naturally, or something like that. Yes, there’s no faucet there. It just flows water unceasingly. That’s mineral water right there for the taking.

From our jump-off point in Huyanggabon town, we were met by the tourist guides that the SO thoughtfully contacted before hand. They have already secured a boat that will take us to Club Tara, our temporary home in Sohoton. For this boat, we paid P8,500 including the tour which was good for an entire day. They would also bring us back to Huyanggabon the following day. For those who will be bringing in their own transport, the local tourism office provides a gated parking area just behind their building for P100/day so you don’t have to worry about your car getting stolen.

From the pier in Huyanggabon, I could already see the effects of mining in Taganito town. Their beach has turned brown. Maybe it’s because of the mud coming from the mined mountains which flows into the sea whenever it rains. Since almost all the trees covering the mountains have been removed so they can be mined, there’s nothing that prevents mud from getting washed out. It’s a sad sight really.

The boat trip to Club Tara in Sohoton was only 30 minutes long. This is very short compared to the 2-hour plus boat ride when you’re coming from Siargao. I was afraid that our trip would get rained on when I saw huge rainclouds hovering near the Bucas Grande Islands which houses the Sohoton Cove, but fortunately after only a couple of minutes of drizzle, the rain clouds went away and spared us the misery.

Club Tara has seen better days, I must say. Although one can imagine the resort in its glory days, when I went there, it wasn’t as beautiful as the brochures would like me to believe. However, there’s no denying its charms. It’s patterned after all those Dos Palmas like resorts where the rooms or the cottages are standing on water. The great thing about Club Tara though is that it’s standing on water surrounded by some 6 or 8 islets. That the water is clear and green is an understatement. You really have to be there to see it for yourself. And this is not limited to the Club Tara area, all around the clusters of islets, the water is really, really clear and beautiful and OMFG if you’re a sea lover, you wont be able to stop drooling at the emerald water all around you.

Some things about Club Tara though, the rooms are not that inexpensive. Our cottage cost P2500, airconditioned, standing on water, with a veranda overlooking the sea. Also, they don’t have food there. lol. Which means while you are at Huyanggabon, you really have to buy a lot of food for your meals if you don’t want to go hungry. Bring lots of drinks as well, unless you fancy beer which costs P150/bottle. They don’t charge corkage which is good but boy do they charge a lot for their cooking. P500/meal is their rate.

The great thing about our stay in Club Tara though is that we were the only visitors. Which means we have the resort all to ourselves. For staying there as well, we were able to fully utilize their kayaks for free which is very nice since there are portions of Sohoton Cove that mechanized bancas (or boats) aren’t allowed to go to, including the habitat of the non-sting jellyfish. The sad thing is that there’s not much cellular signal there which rendered the WeRoam broadband kit I brought utterly useless. Club Tara is a viable option for honeymooners though, with all the waters surrounding you, the lack of visitors, and the natural beauty everywhere, newlyweds can go at it like rabbits and to hell with the RH Bill. lol. I support the RH Bill though so don’t take it the wrong way.

Part II Our Sohoton Cove Adventure Starts

After depositing our luggage at Club Tara and hitching a couple of kayaks in our boat, our tour guide took us to directly to the heart of the Bucas Grande Islands which is the Sohoton Cove. The main attraction there as the tour guide would like us to believe is that rocky arch that the boat has to navigate under. They have to time the visit at low tide though because when the water comes in, well you can’t pass under. These islets however remind me of the hundred islands at alaminos and those little islands in caramoan rolled into one. The difference is that the islets in Sohoton are much closer to each other which makes for a very interesting tour. After a few minutes however for those folks with ADHD such as myself, things start to become monotonous. Oh look another islet, big whoop.

The guide then took us to this little structure where you’re supposed to register and pay a little amount for the privilege of getting sunburned and overwhelmed by nature at its best. I don’t have any problem paying because well, the surrounding water was really, really clean and if a few bucks would help to maintain that cleanliness then more power. I sure hope they charge foreigners a higher fee though which is only natural I think.

Near the registration structure there’s another bigger structure that’s being built. I think it’s going to be a restaurant. A little uh-oh for me because I only knew full well what happened to the Enchanted River after I went there the first time. When I returned a couple of months after to that awesome place there were already cement structures and while everything was managed well by the Hinatuan folks, I can’t help but miss the serenity I experienced there in my initial visit. I don’t think I can call it Enchanted anymore, the number of people going there every weekend has driven the enchantment of that place to hell. It’s still very clean though, and the river is still blue.

Back to Sohoton, our guide next took us to another area where the non-sting jellyfish are. I was excited because it’s what I’ve been dreaming about for months. When we reached the area, my heart sank. Although there were jellyfishes in the water, I only counted six. And yes, the jellyfishes were orange. You could mistake them for ponkan if you’re not careful.

But I was reassured when the guide told us that the water where we docked is not exactly the jellyfishes’ hangout, and he proceeded to unhitch the three kayaks that we brought. My companions hopped on the two kayaks, two to each, and I was left to maneuver a kayak on my own. Since I was wearing a vest, I proudly mentioned that I know how to use it. Heh. Machismo to the max. Fortunately I did not make a fool of myself when I boarded my kayak unlike one of my ‘heavier’ companions who had all sorts of trouble trying to maintain her balance. At one point she had her weight equally divided between the kayak and the boat and she had a really hard time maintaining that position. Everyone had a good time at her expense. lol.

The reason that we had to use the kayak was because use of any motorized banca is prohibited from entering the jellyfish area. I think it’s because there’s so many of them and they could easily be caught in the motor’s propeller. When the guide declared that there are millions of jellyfishes in the area where we are kayaking towards, I couldn’t help but express my disbelief. I think the guide was a little bit hurt when he said that I should just see it with my own eyes.

Paddling towards the jellyfish area was easy. We were going with the current so it’s just a matter of guiding the kayak and we’re there. When we reached the area where the jellyfish are, I was totally amazed! Hundreds and hundreds of these little creatures were in the water swimming silently. It’s really a sight to behold. Although they are non-sting jellyfish, I still couldn’t muster the courage to grab one and examine it closely. But since I was very close to the water, there wasn’t a need for me to do so. If you’ve been to El Nido and was able to go to the small and big lagoon, that’s exactly how the jellyfishes’ habitat looked like. Except in this area, the attraction is not the place but the creatures.

But wait, there’s more! lol. The guide said that round the bend there be more jellyfishes. With the number of jellyfishes I’ve seen in the area I couldn’t imagine that there’d be more. I mean there are already hundreds if not thousands of jellyfish there, what could be more than that? The guide wasn’t exaggerating though, when I rounded the bend there were actually more of the creatures there, more concentrated, more voluminous that I think if I just had the courage to go under the water I’d be seeing orange instead of blue. I couldn’t blame him when he said that there’s millions of jellyfishes there. He could be right because there I had to be very careful where I put my paddle for fear of hitting one of those lovely creatures. It even seemed like I was no longer paddling in a sea of water but of jellyfishes. One could even say that you have to part these creatures to be able to see the sea. That’s how many of these orange creatures there are. It’s really unbelievable. One of the guides even dove under the water to scoop an aberation and show it to us. It was a coconut sized transparrent jellyfish. Pure gulaman in his hands if you ask me.

The only sad thing while looking at the jellyfishes was that I couldn’t bring my camera with me. I was afraid that my kayak would capsize and my camera would get wet. Such a shame really.

After we’ve had our fill of watching the jellyfishes, we headed back to our boat. Going back to the boat however was a struggle. My companions had no problems paddling back as they had guides in their kayak who were doing the paddling while I had to fend for myself, and the thing is, I am now paddling against the current. It took me minutes to get back to the boat as I paddled for my life and my pride as the significant other watched how I was doing. It was rough and it took every inch of my muscle and fat (mostly fat) to master the current.

I was relieved when I was finally able to get on the boat and all the kayaks were tied securely. We went back to Club Tara for lunch and to download all the pictures we took to our laptops. As it was only midday, the guide said there are still a lot of sites to discover including a cave and some lagoons. Not for me though. I was out of it. The lack of sleep and all the excitement got to me that I could barely keep an eye open. So much to my regret, while my companions readied for another Sohoton assault, I hit the sack and was snoring midway towards getting undressed.

I woke up before sunset and just sat on the balcony of our cottage, dangling my feet which could almost hit the water. It’s a really nice place for thinking about stuff that you wouldn’t normally think when you’re in the city. Perhaps its the refreshing sea air, or the water, or just the sight of horizon slowly becoming orange.

Some of the more precious things in life come in small packages. The smaller or rarer things are, the more precious they become. Add temporary to the equation and that rare valuable thing becomes Gollum’s my precioussssss.

And this is what I imagine Magpupungko to be. I don’t want to go into the etymology of Magpupungko although I am itching all over to ask somebody why this little speck of water was named as such. I do know the literal translation being from Mindanao myself but somehow as a closet grammar police, this one has my knickers in a bunch.

Moving on, Magpupungko is actually part of a beach in Pilar in the Island of Siargao. It is one of those rare things that if you were to describe Magpupungko as a period of time rather than a physical place, I wouldn’t disagree with you. Others would, but I won’t. See Magpupungko only appears whenever it’s low tide in Pilar. It’s like a secret hidden underneath a young girls’ long skirt which she shows only in regular intervals.

Magpupungko as you can see is quite small, it is temporal (only lasting a couple of hours), and it is absolutely fantastic! It’s like some magnificent being created this place for those creatures who only have a couple of hours to live– mayflies for example. You can never say that the water is dirty or tepid, nature does the cleaning here so everything is sparkling and clear and freaking awesome. Ok, I’ve said enough. Let these pictures tell their story.

Can you imagine hosting an exclusive party here? Guests will be compelled to come on time and leave on time. Oh well, me and my hyperactive imagination.

Lake Mainit is part of Kitcharao, Agusan Del Norte and no, I haven’t morphed into a Paris Hilton wannabe all of a sudden. Mainit translated into English is ‘hot’. Not much subtlety there.[ad#link468]
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Surigao City bound travellers are treated to a marvelous view of Lake Mainit as they go down the winding mountain roads of Jabonga en route to Kitcharao. The view is quite formidable and the lake, mostly untouched by humans, remains as inviting and as impassive as time. [ad#link468]

For years I’ve passed by this lake and yet I’ve never mustered enough interest to look deeper than the view offered me from the highway. This Easter I decided to do something about it, and with the significant other manning the wheel, we headed off to Lake Mainit on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

If you intend on doing the same, there’s no place better to check out Lake Mainit than Almont Lake Resort. They’ve built a 9-room resort right in the doorsteps of the lake for travelers and folks who want to get away for a while.

It was there that the significant other and I spent an hour or two last Sunday afternoon having sandwiches, drinking coffee, and taking pictures of the lake. Perhaps it’s a reflection of the country’s economy that the resort, despite a virtual monopoly of the area  had no visitors. [ad#link468]

Perhaps the resort is not appreciated by the locals, but for city dwellers, like myself, who are sick and tired of the concrete jungle that is Manila, this place is a magnificent place to be, with or without your mistress (hint, hint). The place is not that popular (at least not yet) and it’s certainly out of the way enough which makes it a very good destination to have your trysts and what-nots.

The resort’s suite room only costs P1,800 a night(with 2 free breakfast)—that’s roughly $USD37—and you’re greeted every morning with a marvelous view of the lake.

If you’re looking for adventure outside of the watersports area, this is not the place for you. But if you’re just looking for a place of quiet without the distraction of crowds and bars then this is it.
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If you’re interested in visiting Lake Mainit via Almont Lake Resort, you can always go there for coffee and just shoot pictures from the verandah. If you wish to stay there, you could contact them before hand using the following phone numbers:
Landline: +63 (086) 8262424
Mobile: +63 926 6407856

Instead of an overnight visit, we made a daytrip out of our Cagwait adventure.  A downpour early in the afternoon got us all drenched and cold and wanting to go home badly.  Nothing like the weather to start raining in your parade.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.
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My Cagwait adventure started with dark skies.  Dark, like this.[ad#link468]

Because it was still night.  I was  up way ahead of everyone and already plotting out the rest of the day.

From San Francisco, Agusan Del Sur, we have to go through Barobo, Surigao Del Sur, traverse slippery, unpaved, potholed, muddy roads before we can even hope of reaching our destination.  In short we have one hell of a road trip in front of us and I’m liking it already.

The naysayers did not disappoint, there were roads where we have to move at a snail’s pace just so we don’t get stuck in mud.  Our car’s underchassis is sure going to need a thorough washing after the ordeal.  And yet these are the same roads that have already been declared completed and operational (is this true? I hope not).  But just look at this (trust me, this one is tame, we had to go through roads that are a lot worse than this).  The scenery however is superb.  You get green forests, vegetations, and people trying to destroy mountains.

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We also stopped over beach resorts that folks say have good beaches.  So we passed by Pugad Beach Resort.  This one’s in Lianga I think.  Erm, no failed to impress.  It didn’t help that it was high tide as well which somehow hid the beach.  Still, it’s just a shade above the ordinary.

Then we went to Cansilag Beach Resort.  Again it’s just along the way but we stopped there nonetheless bouyed by another friend’s suggestion that the food there is terrific.  But at P500/kilo for crabs?  I don’t think so I don’t have to travel south of Manila to get that price.  The resort has some potential though.  The owners clearly put in some serious money to lure people to go there.  It’s alright, but if you’re really into beaches, like me, this might not be your cup of tea.  But still this one is seriously way better than Pugad.

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It was the mountains after that and roads that would make the lighthearted seriously consider going home.  But again we’ve had scenery that would have inspired the great Fernado Amorsolo to paint so it was alright.  We’ve also had stretches of paved roads from San Agustin to Marihatag that were pure joy.  Enough to somehow blunt the edges of those nasty mudcakes they call roads here.

After almost three hours of interesting driving, we hit paydirt– Cagwait at last!  Of course there should be a little lawbreaking to commemorate the occasion.  Our little posse of kids and their old folks managed to overlook the keep off the grass sign and gamely posed for posterity.

Cagwait, as mentioned by PAL’s Mabuhay Magazine was referred to as the Waikiki of the South.  Where they got the notion I have no idea.  I would be no less baffled had they referred to it as YKK the zipper instead of Waikiki.  It is no Boracay you can be sure of that.  And to call it a ‘white beach’ well you’ll have to excuse our penchant for hyperbole and exaggeration.  It’s no white beach or even an ochre beach or mother of pearl beach.  Sorry for pointing it out but it’s not.  It’s closer to light brown but when the sand is completely sun dried, there are some angles that would make you consider calling it white.

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Is it any lesser then because it’s not white?  Of course not.  Cagwait may not be the “Waikiki of the South” but it has it’s own charm.  For example, the sand is superfine.  One only has to look at it and notice that it is so.  The water is also perfectly fine.  It’s clear and warm and doesn’t have those sudden drops that are so hazardous for beach lovers.  It’s also very clean.  In short Cagwait is perfectly made for swimming and frolicking.  I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the beach to families.  Even to barkadas or corporate folks who want to have out of town seminars.  The resort has a convention center (sort of) where corporate types can hold seminars and all that.

While there are concrete structures on the resort, I wouldn’t venture as to say that it is already commercialized.  I didn’t see any bar or watering hole in the area.  This is ok for local tourism but if the local government wants to attract tourists from other parts of the country, watering holes can be persuasive.

After a half day of frolicking under the sun, the weather suddenly changed and we were driven off the beach by a torrential downpour.  After the rain the tide receded and low tide set in, exposing some of Cagwait Beach’s secrets…

Going Home

Sadly, we had to say goodbye to the place.  But the journey didn’t stop there.  Along the way, we stopped over at Wakat where there’s a cave where people say that if you go through it, you can walk all the way through Baba.  The only thing is nobody has done it before.  Not sure about this but that’s what I’ve been told anyway.  There is a river flowing through this cave and people love taking a dip here.  See below.  This cave is just along the Barobo – San Francisco road so it’s a can’t miss spot.  Just look for the pictured signage.

The End – Dude, Where’s My Car? Lol.

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