June 24, 2018 — The baby-ik and I had spontaneously planned on checking out Naga City Boardwalk very early in the morning. I mean, ever since bloggers, and friends started raving about the place, I've always wanted to go visit and see its splendor for myself. 

But given the lack of time due to werk, and having quite a few difficulties on having our [by-ik and I] schedules meet halfway somehow, we couldn't really find the time. I know how petty this reason may seem to some, but really, sometimes, adulting has its own way of making easy peasy things complicated. 

Perfect timing, though! I was on my rest day, and so was the baby-ik. At around 3am, we decided we wanted to go and chase the sunrise. What perfect place would it be, other than the Naga City Boardwalk? 

Without hesitation, we jumped off the bed, took a quick bath and headed to the south! That's just how spontaneous it was! 

Not gonna lie, this was already the third time I got to visit the place. First time was when my high school classmate helped me snap out of it (maoy days, circa 2013), and helped me find my nice peace and quiet. 

The second time, I was with the baby-ik. We dropped by for a quick dinner after a day in Molave Milk Station, and Mantayupan Falls. (Yes, this is a shameless plug right here!) We got to stroll around the place, and devour some BBQ by the beach. You may not remember, but I did blog about that here.

I believe the boardwalk was still under construction during my second visit.

Third time was this...

The kid within me was beaming with excitement and joy when I first stepped on the boardwalk. Childish for some, but that very moment I was just so happy! Like I said, I've always wanted to visit the place. I required for the visit to either be during the sunrise OR sunset! No in betweens! Though I'm leaning more towards the sunrise... I had been here before and I know how magical it would be if we could just catch the sunrise! I had been very particular about that with the baby-ik. Just didn't want to spoil the tranquil moment, knowing that the place has already been known to a lot, and an influx of people will be expected during the "in between."

We walked around, until we reached the other end. Baby-ik spotted a few guys fishing by the rocks. He seemed to enjoy watching them reel the fishes in, so I let him be. 

I walked over to one of the bench facing the sea. There, I patiently waited for the sunrise. Later on, baby-ik sat down and waited with me. 

And then, there it was! The oh-so-beautiful Mr. Sunrise!

It was such a majestic sight to behold. The ombre... the hues of the sky had as the sun light slowly shone through the whispy clouds signifying a new day... was just mesmerizing!

One of the best sunrise I've witnessed so far. Though, I never really witnessed a sunrise I didn't like. Have you? Each and every sunrise I've witnessed has always been glorious! 

This is definitely one of the most memorable ones though, because I was with the by-ik. 

We came across the Molave Milk Station along Carcar-Barili Road on our way to Mantayupan Falls, but decided not to stop by just yet as the main plan was to relax and have a dip in the icy waters of Mantayupan falls first. No side trips were on our initial plan for that day. Just Mantayupan Falls and home.

|  Related: Chasing Waterfalls: Barili's Mantayupan Falls

However, we got tired of swimming rather early at around 2pm, and still had a few hours to spare for a quick side trip to the Milk Station. Spontaneity prevailed time and time again for the baby-iks.

Anyhow, the place isn’t what I expected it to be — not meant in a bad way, though. I’ve heard about the place way back before, read blog posts about it, and saw photos of campers who stop by the station, but I never really realized it was this eye-pleasing in person as most photos I see are just of plain wooden benches and trees.

I’m not exactly sure, but I think they might have renovated some parts of the place and added more benches, tables and tents for the hungry and tired people bound for the southwest side of Cebu, who stop by the station. The touch of the colorful hanging umbrellas also adds up to the cool ambiance of the place. If I had it all correct, I must say that this new look is all worth the long travel time. They even have banana-shaped rocking chairs by the patio where you can just chill. The baby-ik napped for one solid hour while I edited photos on my phone beside him.

I would also highly recommend to stay at the upper deck of the patio as the view there is more stunning. I think I might have seen an Ostrich from the zoo at the back of the station!

They have various rice and non-rice meals on their menu, but their main specialties are the cow’s and goat’s fresh milk, as well as Gelatos made out of the — you guessed it right — fresh milk. We opted for 2 ice creams in a cup which costed us just 25 Php each. The baby-ik chose their Mango-flavoured ice cream, while I, of course, went for Buko Pandan! :D Both flavors have an aftertaste I really liked. Must be from the fresh cow’s milk. Although, if you’re feeling a bit more fancy, they also have special gelatos sold for I believe around 65-130 Php (Apologies for my poor memory)

On the way home, I bought one bottle of fresh cow’s milk for around 35-65 Php (I srsly forgot) but decided to save it for the next day. Haha! Also, just to highlight one of my favorite spots in the milk station — let me just say that their comfort rooms are the cutest and the tidiest public rest room I’ve been to so far! Kudos to the cleaning staff! :D

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How to get there:

1.  You may take a a cab or a PUJ to the South Bus Terminal
2.  From there, you can ride a bus to Barili. I prefer riding Air-conditioned Ceres Bus Liner but it's up to your preference and convenience. Other buses are cheaper though. :D
3.  Just tell the driver to drop you off at The Molave Milk Station and they will gladly oblige.

Lazaro Abad Street, 6036 Barili, Cebu 

+63 943 647 2207

Initially, we planned on having a day trip to the very popular Kawasan Falls in Badian, but we woke up rather late that day (August 5), so we opted for an alternative. The baby-ik decided for Mantayupan Falls which is located in Barangay, Campangga, Barili — Just a few hours away from the city.

We had quite a few stopovers since we weren’t at all prepared. Gasoline was running low, we had no food or baon prepared for our trip, and we haven’t packed everything the night before. It was chaos!

But spontaneity prevailed and we still decided to go.

We arrived there at around 9am. You can clearly hear the falls from the entrance which made us both excited. Upon entering, we were asked for a 40 Php Entrance Fee. Locals say it used to be just 20 Php but after they opened the newly-built hanging bridge to the public, entrance fees increased.

Mantayupan falls has 2 levels. The first falls you see from the entrance is about 14 meters high. Above the first falls is the newly-built hanging bridge which they just recently opened on the day we decided to visit. We were basically the first to cross the bridge. Exciting!

Getting accustomed to the hanging bridge.

The bridge seem pretty strong however being the scaredy cat that I am, the height scared me, so I felt hesitant to cross it. But there’s no other way to the second falls but the bridge so I forced myself to walk. It was swaying because the fat-butt baby-ik was walking a few meters ahead of me. So I held my grip tighter to the rope and luckily survived! Haha!

The second falls was 98 meters high. It was a scene worth risking (the walk through the hanging bridge.) Just about 3-5 mins from the first falls. 

We decided to rent a table for 150 Php and prepared to have our lunch that we bought from Carcar Market -- Lechon Manok and Puso (hanging rice) before we dip in the water.

The milky bluish green water was very cold, and I had been having chills. I spent several minutes just sitting by the bamboo raft while the baby-ik dove and swam. I don’t know how to swim so we decided to rent a life vest for 20 Php. Embarrasing!

A few minutes later, the baby-ik has already been itching to swim nearer the falls, so we finally rented out the bamboo raft for 100 Php per hour. The baby-ik kept on insisting we go below the waterfalls but the mere thought scared me and countless what ifs invaded my mind.

A local then offered to help us through the falls so we can experience the waterfall massage FOR FREE. Normally, this would cost 150 Php for a " raft driver" as they call it. Anyhow, off we went with the ropes as our guide which are just beneath the water. It was pretty scary because as we were nearing the drops of the falls, it felt like there was a very, very strong typhoon. But it was all worth it in the end. The baby-ik obviously enjoyed it and I never expected to love it as much as he did!

A few more hours of swimming and we decided to call it a day. Although, we had a quick side trip to the Molave Milk Station before heading home, which I will have in a different blog post.

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