2021-031 | LIAISON IS ALWAYS A GOOD PRACTICE, PART 2

OUTDOORS COMMON SENSE TIPS: When I have events among the back country of Cebu, these are the offices that I liaison with. It helps to inform government authorities for a seamless outdoors activity, a peace of mind and a confident gait.

 

First seen in Facebook

March 21, 2018

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CEBU IS AN ISLAND PROVINCE which has many beautiful beaches. True. Most of tourism here are concentrated on the lowlands due to its very mountainous composition leaving small and narrow plains where the big cities and towns, the best roads and, yes, the beaches are found. All of its big religious and cultural events are concentrated on these narrow plains.

But it has also tourist attractions found on the mountains and these are well identified like the very popular Osmeña Peak, Mount Manunggal, Mount Babag and Sibugay Peak, because these are very accessible to hikers, campers and local tourists. Then, lately, as the popularity of camping caught on the other areas, it gained a toehold on Mount Lantoy, Mount Lanaya, Mount Mago and Mount Kapayas. 

All these peaks and some unknown ones that would soon be climbed are just a walk of a few hours from their trailheads. There are checkpoints and registration areas and there are motorcycles and local guides who would lead you to these peaks. In short, these are controlled environments. It would only be off-limits when there are land-ownership disputes, severe landslides and peace and order problems.

Cebu has the best peace and order in Central Visayas, second only to Siquijor. Despite that, the effects of an insurgency problem which have tormented the countryside some twenty years ago, remained. Strangers are viewed with distrust and suspicion. Memories, bad ones, do not just disappear. It is on these places where my Cebu Highlands Trail, and to a lesser extent, the Camino de Santiago, traverse. 

When asked what part of the CHT I viewed as the most difficult, I would always answer weather and people. People, more than anything else, is the most difficult obstacle when ranging the paths less travelled and where your presence is least expected. It is, for this reason, that I would liaison with certain government offices weeks before I would go to these remote areas so they would be informed days ahead. 

My visits to the Cebu Provincial Capitol, the Cebu Police Provincial Office and the Cebu City Police Office have afforded me great advantage in my own and my paying clients’ safety and security and made my activities seamless and successful. An added offshoot to these visits is the VIP treatment when you are on their places, complete with police escorts.

Well, I could not ask for more but pray that these places become “tamed” and the locals’ trust and acceptance on strangers restored. I am also praying that their indifference on adventure tourism would thaw, such as the CHT and the Camino de Santiago, which pass so many mountain communities. When these trails would be established and become popular, these local communities would benefit from a landfall of economic opportunities which their lowland cousins benefit on their beaches. 

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WARRIOR PILGRIMAGE BLOG, personified by this writer, is synonymous with the Outdoors, since Bushcraft and Survival is its niche. Safety and Security are its bedrock when it ventured into organizing outdoor events that involved people as in adventure/pilgrimage guideships and seminars; and explorations and expeditions. 

Through tutorship, experience, folk knowledge and good old common sense, this writer was able to collect useful information which he is currently documenting in a book titled, ETHICAL BUSHCRAFT. He shares some of this information and knowledge in his training sessions; in his social-media account; and in this blog.

2021-030 | ESKAPO VERDE RESORT

TWO YEARS AGO, I WAS part of a mixed team of tourism-service specialists and outdoor educators contracted by the Department of Tourism-Central Visayas Region for their Tourism Industry Skills Program. The TISP was designed for local government units to equip their respective local tourism programs with the proper guidance and training. 

The first municipality that availed of the TISP was Badian. The training was held at ESKAPO VERDE RESORT, located on a rocky islet off the mainland, still a part of Bugas, a fishing village of Badian. That evening of August 17, 2019 when I first arrived at Eskapo Verde, the first thing I noticed was the long bamboo bridge that was built over an estuary filled with mangroves before I arrived at their reception area.

In daylight, I was totally impressed at what beheld me. Eskapo Verde is the only resort that I have seen yet which has not created an artificial landscape like most do. In fact, the management encouraged the unabated growth of native trees, shrubs, mangroves and low-growing vegetation. Even the structures blended well with the natural landscape. It has no fences. The sea is its own barrier. 

It is built on a protected area at over two hectares of land coverage with blessings from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The only structure that used steel and synthetic plastic material is their pier located on their water-sports area that serviced their kayaks and SUP boards. A bouncy path paved with sawdust and mulch lead you to the different areas of the resort.

The living quarters are generally made of mixed coconut lumber, hardwood, imported lumber and bamboo with GI sheets as roofing. It used concrete, nails and steel bars minimally. While its exterior design is generally conventional but, once you go closer, especially the interiors, you would be amazed at the very neat workmanship. It fused our local material and design with Western carpentry and technology. 

There are four cottages which could accommodate two persons each. Each has a mezzanine that has enough space for two children up to 15 years of age; a private bathroom and a balcony. There are two dormitories with two rooms each. Each room has ten bunk beds. A separate dormitory-type bathroom complement each dormitory. It could host 48 people, at any one time, for overnight or multi-day conventions and seminars.  

Underneath the bathrooms are intricate septic-tank systems, designed for European standards that harnessed wasted “gray water” from the bathrooms for toilet use, after undergoing treatment. “Black water” or dirty water are sucked up by solar-powered pumps to mobile tanks which are then disposed by a collection service company. All bathrooms use environment-friendly liquid soaps and shampoos.

I slept that night – and five nights more – in one of the dormitory rooms. On my bunk is an overhead switch that turns on a reading light. Impressive! I travel with a book. Instead of a bare wall, are two small jalousie windows, with screens, and below it are screened slit holes that allow outside breeze to pass underneath my bunk or swept out by two electric fans hung from a very high ceiling.

Each set of bed bunks has a furniture to place things, clothe hangers and electrical outlets to charge those mobile phones, tablets and other gadgets. The floor is made of coconut lumber, fine-sanded and lavishly coated with varnish. Each slat is a centimeter apart from the other which helps to ventilate and cool the insides of the large room. The room is accessible by a stair, then through a shared balcony, but you have to leave footwear below. 

Now, let me tell you about my first breakfast there which left an impression on me. It is their Eskapo Burger! It is something so different from your usual burger. The putty is a combination of ground pork and veggies with a generous slice of tomato and cucumber. Now eat it al fresco, paired with brewed coffee, on a rocky promontory overlooking the width of Tañon Strait and distant Negros Island. Heavenly!

Eskapo Verde has a restaurant called The Boardwalk. It serves its guests and diners with varied choice of menus from Filipino to Western to vegetarian and vegan dishes, whatever time of the day, be it breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacks. Ingredients are fresh and sourced locally from farmers and fishermen. Like everywhere else in their resort, you have to leave your footwear outside before entering. 

Food is one of the secrets of Eskapo Verde, why guests keep coming back aside from a green peaceful environment and superb amenities. The first thing you would hear upon waking up are the cacophonies of different birds. A tour around Eskapo Verde would show you the different native trees, each labeled with their common and scientific names and, of course, you might espy one of their resident monitor lizards or spot an Eastern glossy starling overhead.

Kayaking or paddling a SUP board are the two main water activities they are offering, each with a guide. When the tide is right, you could glide through the mangrove forest and underneath their bamboo boardwalk, going through open sea towards a half-sunken boat wreck then going full circle to their water-sports area. During sunsets, Tañon Strait explodes into fiery colors from burnt orange to crimson red. 

A function house sits in the middle of the residential quarters where it could host seminars, wedding receptions, small conventions or off-the-boardroom corporate meetings of up to 40 people. The use of projector, laptop and screen is a separate package though. Food could be arranged to suit your appetite or the theme of the event. Of course, an assigned washroom shall be opened to accommodate people.

When I went back there the third time last October 26, 2020, I was invited by the management. Of course, I brought the same team that had been guests here two years ago. The pandemic had greatly affected their business but, once the lockdowns have been relaxed, they opened their doors, limiting only to their restaurant operation at limited hours and selected days of the week.

We stayed there for four days and three nights and sat with management to help them create another strategy to adopt with the new normal and focus more on local tourism. Eskapo Verde Resort will have to re-boot itself to claim back their market. Their image as a clean resort should be optimized by placing signage at the right places, placing emphasis this time on their food, which is really very good and affordable.

I can generally recommend Eskapo Verde Resort as the one resort that you would really love to stay and, at the same time, enjoy being close to nature. In fact, it has the best deck to view a sunset, especially on a low tide, where you could see locals combing the tidal flats at waist level, with the fiery red sky reflecting light on placid water. 

Eskapo Verde Resort is not your conventional resort that offers a beach and a bath. What it has are abundant sunshine and wind and sea spray as you paddle a kayak or a SUP board to a shipwreck or skim among mangroves along the coasts of Badian Bay. After a long day, the food would totally win you over to come back again and pick a familiar note from your favorite bird. 

For more inquiries, Eskapo Verde Resort has its own website and Facebook page. Or you could email at info@eskapoverde.com or call and send an SMS to these numbers: +63928 7404182 (Smart) and +63915 4658085 (Globe). By the way, Booking.com rated Eskapo Verde a 9.6 for last year, despite a terrible business climate caused by the pandemic. Likewise, Agoda rated them a 9.8 out of a 10.