Travel Down South: Argao and the Adventure that Awaits

anjville 7:51 AM Cebu , Philippines , Travels 1 comment

"Efficiency and Effectiveness" are two words that are most important in the workplace. An efficient employer is one that does work in the quickest and fastest time possible. In other words, he/she has mastered the art of time management. An effective employer knows what he/she is doing given a certain circumstance. Well, I won't be talking about the dreaded world of "work" rather, let us try to connect these two E's to leisure and pleasure.

So what am I talking here? That's efficient and effective travel. That feeling when you stepped on that place and you know exactly that maximizing your time, money, effort and satisfaction are all packed in one destination. That is absolutely what every traveler craves. Well, one explicit example of gratification with these two E's was my travel down south to Argao and the adventures I experienced in the land of sweet torta, biggest cave for spelunking in Cebu, and their great original cocoa!

"Argaoanon motto is something very inspiring."

It was that early Saturday morning when my friends and I decided to take a tour somewhere in the southern part of my province. No itinerary. No road maps. But plainly just our gist to travel somewhere. As soon as the car started its engine, we were heading for a road trip that defined loud speaker, babbling endlessly, stopping at every municipality that sells local delicacy, getting back in the car and munching vigorously and babbling again.

"Argao Nature Park"

"Some of the animals that you could see in the nature park"

We were entering another municipality which is 68km. away from the city with a lively welcome sign. With an hour or so of travel, we arrived in a first class municipality of Argao. The place is a fusion of contemporary and conventional living - there were infrastructures already built and restaurants mushrooming around the place especially kiosks that sell their native delicacies. On the other side of the road were areas of rice paddies with their cute scarecrows and the greenery of whatever sorts. This was also the place where we managed to spend our first devised-plan-on-the-road: Argao Nature Park.

"Here are some moments in the nature park"

From the name itself, Argao Nature Park offers a temporary escape from the urban jungle. Here is a place for people that coincide with nature and adventure. With a minimum admission fee of P5 pesos, you would enjoy the feeling of communing with the animals in their mini zoo, rocking yourself in a hammock, and simply, sitting around and tasting their sweet torta delicacy and drinking their natural hot chocolate or their refreshing fruit drinks while you get to know the town's legendary figure: Mangao. Adventure comes when you want to try wall climbing for P10 each climb, their zipline for around P20 and their boat ride for P5. You can also try your brain-smarts by playing their giant chess. Well, we did those activities but of course, with our individual preferences.

"Antique collection"

It was lunch time that we decided to look for an eatery. We heard that Alex Kafe (this is the spelling, so don't mind at all) was one of the oldest serving restaurants in town so we hit the road a few meters from the nature park and located the place just near to St. Michael Parish Church. The facade made you feel that you were in the olden Spanish era, the plant vines draped the entrance and the moment you stepped inside the place, there were collections of antiquities.

"Mango shake (main picture), waiting for the food to be served (bottom right), and the rotary phone (upper right)"

We settled with humba (braised pork), calamaris, chicken soup, and of course, mango shake to quench our thirst. Well, the price was reasonable but if you were the hungry type who couldn't wait for the meal to be served, then you should better expect that it could prolong your agony of waiting. Since they are basically home-made food, you would have to consider the preparation time but I must tell you, this is the place you would never regret hanging-into.

"Narrow stairs to the bastion (upper left), the municipal office (upper right), the belfry (bottom left), and an altar (bottom right)"

We had our stomach filled and it was just barely after lunch that we decided to brave the scorching heat to stroll around the municipal's center. The symbol of faith towered from the distance as we were approaching another century-old church - St. Michael Parish Church. Adjacent to it is also another stone-structured building which served as their municipal office while fronting the church was their famous, "Balwarte" or a bastion. It was interesting because before you could reach the top, you need to squeeze in a suffocating steep coral-stairs. Once at the top, you have a 360-view of the sea, the church, and the surrounding areas.

"Been waiting for this sunset"

The clock struck 3 in the afternoon and still we were not contented of our adventure so the terminus would be in the beach. We rolled again to Argao beach and did skimboarding, swimming, and photoshoots. We chitchatted and strolled on the beach and witnessed another sunset as it crimsoned the horizon and held us breathless and amazed for some time. But did you know that our adventure never ended with the sunset? We headed to the next stop and went farther south to the place called - Boljoon!