The lure of the greens was too tempting to resist. The sound of cicadas from the motorbike ride with Cebu French Riders that I talked about in my previous post was a comforting memory. Being lost in the wild became our recent weekend thing. Our consecutive weekends as of late were nature-driven motivated by a need to recharge from spending many hours working in front of the laptop.
Who am I kidding? I miss blogging and taking photographs, even if it was a just random photo taken during the cruise from my mobile phone.
One Saturday, a dear friend from the motorcycle group offered to lend us a motorcycle and invited our daughter to join their family picnic in Alcoy so that we could enjoy a "couple date".
@iamyohann and I seized this unusual opportunity to explore the back roads I have never seen before. This was an activity we used to enjoy profusely before we became parents. An escape from the routine, or something like that.
We waved goodbye to our daughter and then we cruised along Ronda Taloot Road, of Southern Cebu.
Ronda - Ylaya Road to the Back Roads on the Mountains of Argao
When we were living in Argao, we crossed this mountain road countless times but there was a particular small path that I have always been curious to try which reveals a rough off the beaten path next to rice paddies.
(Clockwise L-R): The small path, a quiet countryside clearing up ahead, a carabao resting under the shade
A farmer plowing his field with an albino looking carabao under the heat
The sun was high up and this stream was a welcoming treat to cross.
We drove on various types of terrains that sloped upwards and downwards revealing breathtaking views from time to time. What was a big surprise for us, was at the heart of these mountains that are in the middle of nowhere came a wide concrete highway which turned out to be Sibonga- Argao Vegetable Highway
We continued driving and by then we were somewhere in Argao headed for Mantalongon.
We both found it weird to find an empty highway that is completely lost.
The views are amazing there.
Dragonfruit plantation
Some paths were not visible on the map. There was also no internet signal in most places.
Somewhere in Butong, Argao on the way to Coal Mountain Resort, we spotted this old Balete tree
It looked quite dark in the photo. We found groups en route down to the valley where there was a natural spring who were all set for a lunch picnic.
By then we realized it was almost lunchtime but we still had a long drive to do.
We found this stunning landscape randomly and I couldn't help requesting @iamyohann for a photo.
Mantalongon and Dalaguete
These mountain roads are all connected and the more remote we went, the more scenic the view became. Mantalongon is the vegetable basket of Cebu and is known for vegetable farms planted on the cliffs. As we neared Mantalongon, the temperature dropped despite the strong sun.
Mantalongon, Dalaguete
Descent towards the town of Dalaguete
We didn't stay long in Mantalongon because it was past lunch hour and we were both famished. We made a unanimous decision to have lunch at the Dalaguete Boardwalk right in front of the church, at the town center.
Our friend recommended a Japanese restaurant to try but we couldn't find it. We found this place instead and were smitten by the name. Barko which means ship in our language. Bar Ko also means my bar. It's a play of words and after checking out the various food kiosks in the area along the seafront we decided to go for Bar.Ko.
They serve Filipino cuisine with generous portions
Yohann ordered a Pinoy version of chicken curry while I ordered my favorite Lechon Kawali or Deep fried pork belly with Pinakbet, a northern Filipino dish of sauteed mixed vegetables in shrimp paste sauce.
The weather quickly changed from sunny to cloudy but I wasn't ready to leave immediately after lunch. I needed my caffeine fix so we stopped by this recommended coffee shop called Kioskofi right in front of Dalaguete Church.
To our surprise, my daughter came up behind us. At the terrace, we spotted our friends enjoying a coffee break, before heading back home from their Alcoy picnic. The perfect timing was so cool! We lingered there for a while until the rain clouds decided to appear.
We had two options, we either choose to return towards the easy route - Ronda Ylaya Road or choose a more challenging one. Our adventurous selves picked the latter. We waved goodbye as their van drove away.
Alcoy to Alegria Mountain Pass
We've been living on the island for many years but we had never taken this road beyond Narra Park before. The path was rough with deep puddles that would be challenging for a car. There were road widening construction taking place which was both a good thing and a bad thing. The road leads to a forest reserve deep in the mountains.
The rain clouds were closing in but we, fortunately, had a splendid time enjoying the jaw-dropping views before they arrived.
I couldn't help myself from saying "wow" throughout the trip. My photos didn't do the beauty of this road justice.
Nug-as Forest Reserve
We stopped by Nug-as Forest Reserve to check it out but there was no guided trail and it started to drizzle. Nug-as Forest Reserve is a 1.6 hectare protected timberland, dubbed as Cebu's national treasure.
It started raining and we realized we forgot our raincoats. The clouds started covering the hills. What the heck, let's get wet!
My phone died beyond this point. The ride from here onwards became more challenging which I will talk about in my next post.
Thank goodness for weekends! This was by far one of the best weekends I've had in a long time. It was a desperate need to recharge and those moments spent with my husband being soaked under the rain, grilled under the sun, lost in the middle of nowhere were energizing.
Thank you for reading!
That was absolutely beautiful and a great read I can't wait for part 2.
Hi @melbourneswest, thank you very much for reading. I look forward to blogging about this again soon. Wishing you a lovely day!
You're very welcome and have a wonderful day too.
Hiya, @ybanezkim26 here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Daily Travel Digest #1243.
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Awesome thanks, Kim @ybanezkim26 and @pinmapple team for the Travel Digest feature. Greetings from Moalboal, this was the motorcycle route that Yohann mentioned to you 😀
You're welcome! Yeah, I remember. I want to explore those routes one of these days.
Hi, I have manually curated your content as you have posted a photo that I found interesting. Your post will be included in my Photophile series of posts in my blog. Keep on sharing great photos!
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Hello @photophile, many thanks for the pizza and for featuring the photo, cheers!
Hello Arni. My apologies for missing this one. Sometimes, you get so overwhelmed IRL that you forget that you also have online responsibilities hehe. Anyway, being on the road with a motorcycle is one of the easiest ways for an adventurous ride. It's absolutely easy to escape traffic with a speedy bike and this gets you anywhere fast in no time. Of all the beautiful sceneries you've encountered, what caught your attention?
No worries, real-life gets overwhelming with errands sometimes. I look forward to freeing up my schedule too soon so I could spend more time on the Hive.
From the above, that mountain view with the cow behind me somewhere between Argao and Mantalongon really caught me by surprise, the one with the cow. My absolute favorite would be the Alcoy Mountain Pass road because there were hardly any residents. In certain parts the views were spectacular, nothing I have seen in any of the mountain roads in the south before. On one occasion, we felt as though we suddenly teleported to another foreign country because the landscape looked quite unusual. I'll try to share it in my next post.
Oh that’s fascinating. I agree with the views you’ve selected as they are all stunning and breathtaking. Looking forward to seeing more of your interesting adventures soon. Take care Arni. 😊
Lahi ra gyud ang countryside, relaxing kaau ang atmosphere.
Mao jud, it feels good to be in these parts of the countryside. Have a great weekend to you 😊
Same to you!
The dragon fruit plantations would be cool to see. I've never seen them before. They look like a cactus of some sort, like aloe vera. The road along the mountain would be a really nice drive on a motorcycle.
It was a sudden call of wanderlust. I've been living here for 4 years now but I was surprised to find these spots. Dragon fruit plantations are pretty cool, they re-use old motorcycle tires on top of poles as a trellis. Hope you're having a lovely weekend!
What's left to say here except great post. This looks like a legit day and what's better than jumping on a bike and hitting some back roads? Nothing. It's great you got to recharge a little, hit some trails with hubby and generally live life.
Thanks for using THE WEEKEND community and for such a great post!
Thank you for the warm welcome. I can't wait to experience another weekend like this one again soon. Weekends can be indeed medicines for the soul. Happy Sunday!
I love my weekends as they seem like anything's possible...Even if that thing is sitting on the couch in front of the TV watching movies all day. :)
Have a great day yourself.
Weekends in front of the telly sounds dreamy right now. My weekday starts on Sunday and it feels weird to look out of the window and find everyone lounging by the pool while I'm in an online meeting with my boss. :) Can't wait for the next weekend.
I enjoyed reading your weekend story. How energizing for you! The carabaos caught my attention, first time I hear this name, I love to know and about the roads, well you hit the mark because the roads are more than just access roads. I love the photos you were able to capture of the roads, I'm just about to take up this topic that I had started a month ago. Have a happy week and many blessings.
Hello @sorprendente, in our country the carabaos or water buffalos are the farmers' best mate at work since they're very helpful in plowing the fields and during their break hours, you'll find them relaxing, soaked in the water of a nearby pond or a stream under the shade. Would love to read about the topic you had in mind. Thank you for leaving a lovely comment and wishing you a blessed week ahead.
Thank you very much for telling me about the carabaos, they are really strong animals and allies for agriculture. I am about to finish putting together the second part of my topic of the roads, it will be ready for tomorrow. Unfortunately I had lost all the photographic material, but thank God I have overcome it. Blessings to you and all yours!
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