Lovely Dumaguete

On May 29th I travelled from Moalboal to Dumaguete. The trip should have entailed a 2 hour bus to the port in Liloan, a short ferry crossing and another short bus from Sibulan into Dumaguete city. While waiting for the local bus in Moalboal, with several other travellers heading in the same direction we were constantly bombarded with offers to take a shared cab to the port. The bus was about $200 pesos and they wanted $500/ea for the cab. No one else wanted to bite so we waited it out in the heat. After about 30 minutes a tourist van pulled up and offered to take us for $400 pesos/ea. At this point a few ladies were like hell ya, and so we all jumped in the van and headed south. I met Chin, a lady from Taiwan who heard I was heading into downtown Dumaguete and decided she was going to latch on to me to make sure she arrived. I tried telling her we were just as likely to both get lost, but she seemed assured it was the right thing to do. By the time we got to the port there were only four foreigners, along with the driver, and who we were then told were his wife and two kids that made a trip to Cebu to visit family and decided to pick-up passengers on the way back. Luckily they were heading to Dumaguete too, so we negotiated an additional $320 pesos each to cover the ferry and delivery direct to our hotels in Dumaguete.

We boarded a similar RORO (roll on roll off) Ferry in the van.

As in Canada, passengers cannot stay in the vehicle, so we grabbed a seat.

I arrived in Dumaguete about 4 hours after leaving Moalboal, which was great time. Really grateful for the family offering to drive us directly into town.

On all my walks along the esplanade, there was always a well attended Zumba class going on. There is a real good feel to Dumaguete, lots of active and friendly people.

Lots of activity once the sun goes down. In the central square, there were people playing tennis, badmington, I think Aikido above and other martial arts.

Karate maybe, doing a routine I remember learning as a boy.

First night ate at a Chinese restaurant. Five course meal was excellent. The guy sitting infront was met by three other old timers, who proceeded to set-up Karaoke and took turns singing classic Sinatra type tunes. It was obviously there Friday routine.

Next day I went looking for a mask and snorkel as I was planning to spend the next few weeks circling several island on a scooter. Found the wet market, wish I had a local guide to explore the food options.

Chin, who I met on the drive into Dumaguete was trying to arrange a dive boat to Apo, which I was also interested in. She was told there were no boats, so after finding a mask, I decided to drive down to Dauin, snorkel the reef there and ask the local shops if there was a boat going out the next day. The reef was amazing, so incredible to have such a great site 5m from shore. I also managed to find a dive shop that could get us on a shared boat, so I paid the deposit for Chin and I and got fitted for my gear. I was planning to continue south and do more snorkeling, but I also wanted to explore Valencia and the sulphur vents in the mountains. So I headed back towards Valencia.

Was really impressed with Valencia and could see myself spending extended time here. I found out later from the expat who owned the dive shop that it has a reputation of being popular among older expats who spend much of their day drinking away there last years. That aside, it was much cooler, beautifully green, nice views overlooking Dumaguete and had a really chill vibe. There was a gardeners market on when I arrived. I could see myself here with a little house & beautiful gardens.

In align with what I was told, I did find a local craft brewery, and joined in with the old expats who apparently drink too much. I’m always struggling to find a good Farm House Ale or Saison in Canada, but I found a great one in Valencia. Almost enough to convince me to live here.

The brew master made a short appearance, but the brew room is out for sight, through the door to the left in the background.

Volcanic steam/sulphur venting naturally from the ground. Was pretty cool.

Viewing area just off the road. Someone was here with a drone, selling video package to visitors.

River and jungle covered hills across from the vents.

Turn off to Pulangbato falls. I decided not to go as it was around 4:30pm and I didn’t want to be driving back through the mountains into Dumaguete in the dark.

Sans Rival Cakes and Pies Restaurant along the waterfront in Dumaguete. I ate here several times, was really excellent. Great service and beautiful building.

I learnt of something unique to Dumaguete, when I was woken by the sound of an air raid siren at 9:45pm. Not sure what it meant, I didn’t take much notice and fell back asleep. When it sounded again at 10pm, I thought maybe it was serious, a tsunami or earthquake warning, so I grabbed my phone to investigate. Turns out Dumaguete does this every night to signal a strict curfew meant to “enforce local peace and order”.

All minors must be at home and off the streets between 10pm and 4am. Alcohol service is also restricted in many places after 10pm, based on specific licensing laws.

Lovely Dumaguete

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