A Thousand Meters Tall (Osmeña Peak)
"Climb mountains not so the world can see you, but so you can see the world."
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If a friendship lasts longer than 7 years, psychologists say it will last a lifetime.
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Most of us finally developed the daring spirit which before had been timidly hiding in the nook of our whole being. That factor gave us the green light to conquer the highest peak in Cebu: Osmeña Peak. Boastfully holding up its grandeur at approximately a thousand meters above sea level, one could surely be fascinated to witness the breathtaking beauty of Cebu.
Before the ooohs and wows, the journey was equally as exciting as the destination. We had our rendezvous at the South Bus Terminal. The group preferred to take a regular Ceres bus ride priced at PHP 101.00. The bus departed at 7:30 in the morning and we arrived at the Dalaguete junction at around 10:15 in the morning; almost three hours of butt-hurting and endless chit-chat. After getting off the bus, you'll feel like a celebrity. Sir! Ma'am! Well, they're actually from the motorcycle drivers. Basically, there are two starting points to get to the peak. It's either you start from Mantalongon market or from the foot of the mountain. Most drivers ask PHP 50.00 to bring you to the former and PHP 100.00 to the latter. Since it's nearly noon, we decided to start our hike from the foot of O-Peak but we asked our drivers to stop over the market for us to buy our lunch.
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| Mantalongon market |
Then off we go! Totally, it took us about an hour to get to the foot.
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| This is the foot of the mountain where many motorcycle drivers are waiting for their passengers. You can also hire those kids as your tour guides (Fee is on your own initiative). |
After the registration, the challenge of getting to the peak started. Do enjoy our (oh-so-many) pictures on the way to the top!
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| Meet the gang (L to R): Jackie, Ate Marj, yours truly, Ash, Bani, Sheila, Jin, Thalia |
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| Who would have thought that there's beauty in jaggedness? Life's also like that. |
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| After half an hour or so, we're finally on top of Cebu! #achieved |
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| Never miss the rocks! Definitely a good place for a photo op! |
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| It's the climb! |
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| #selfiemoments teeheee |
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| Look at those smiles! Too happy to reach the top! |
After an hour, we decided to descend. I could say that climbing Osmeña Peak, though tiring, is good for novice mountain climbers. The trek is really easy and because of that, we decided to take the other way of going down. "The Shortcut" as what our guide called it. It was really challenging and tiring (your legs need more power for you not to fall down) especially for us who didn't have any gears. Well, I don't really recommend you to do that because it's quite dangerous, maybe just for beginners. We walked our way from the peak to the market and saw many interesting things. It took us about two hours.
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| Careful, you guys! |
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| #WHOGOAT ? ^^ |
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| Dalaguete is known as the Vegetable Basket of Cebu. |
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| New Zealand Cow??? |
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| Pretty cool, huh? |
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| Pine Trees!!! |
A 30-minute motorcycle ride brought us to Obong Spring to refresh our tired bodies.
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| Make the horizon your goal; it will always be ahead of you. |
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| Obong Shoreline. A 5-minute walk away from Obong Spring. |
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| Since it was low tide, this cute little girl was busy collecting shells. |
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| With an entrance fee of PHP 5.00, you may now enjoy the cool waters of this spring. You can also rent their tables priced at PHP 100.00 with free use of their floaters. They also have few cottages and a videoke machine. |
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| Water becomes clearer. Water becomes colder. Place becomes quieter. Exclusively for us! haha. This was taken at around 5 in the afternoon. |
"Love is sweeter the second time around." Are you with this? I may not totally agree but when it comes to splendid excursions like this, who'd say no to that? My second visit to this place was definitely as good as the first one since I spent it with people who truly matter. Let me end this post with this: "They say it's hard and lonely at the top; I say it doesn't have to be." :)
Summary of Expenses (in PHP):
PER PAX:
- 101.00 - regular Ceres bus (South Bus Terminal - Dalaguete Junction)
- 100.00 - motorcycle (Dalaguete Junction to the foot of the mountain)
- 60.00 - motorcycle (Mantalongon market to Obong Spring; with additional 100.00 / motorcycle)
- 5.00 - Obong Spring Entrance Fee
- 100.00 - Table Rent (Obong Spring; shared by the group)
- 110.00 - air-conditioned Ceres bus (Dalaguete to Cebu City)
- 576.00 - Total
*Exclusive of Food and Tour Guide Fee
Till next post, lovies. Ciao!
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