Java's Art House

In the town of San Fernando, a family full of talent took our attention when were there for a feature shoot.

San Fernando is an artist’s haven. Unknown to many, it is home to two great artists in sculpture (which I will be featuring later) and painting.

The Java Art House located in Brgy. Sangat showcases painting and sculptures of Christopher Java Sr. and of his children, Tope and Isay. A bust of Gov. Gwen Garcia and sculptures of Pres. Ferdinand Marcos and Sen. Sergio Osmeña III were just some of his prized artworks.

During the One Cebu Expo early this year, Christopher Java Sr.’s sculpture of Gov. Garcia in concrete casting was exhibited in the fair.

He is known for his paintings but just last October (2008) he started his concrete casting works.

“Pintor man ko, niya daghan na kayo ming pintor. Dinhi sa Cebu, murag nakit-an nako nga wala na bitaw kaayo ang mga maayo sa sculpture,” said Java Sr.

Adjacent to the art house, the family’s residence is also a work of art with its ceiling made of artworks and interiors decorated with sculpted decors, paper-mâché and paintings.

Chasing the Elusive Siloy

 This was taken last October 29 for a support on our feature story about Alcoy.

We traveled to Alcoy one fine morning just to catch this little black bird called Siloy--a rare endangered specie. It is popularly known as Black Shama. Thanks to Nug-as Forest, these birds are thriving and under the watchful eye of forest rangers that were stationed in it. They have a house along the road where one can ask permission to get inside the forest.

We waited for more than an hour and relocated several times but our efforts were paid off when we finally found one. Thanks to our guide who can mimic the bird's sound,  I was able to take a few shots. But the bird was located in a branch way, way, way above us. The 70-200mm can't reach that far and so I just contend myself with admiring it from afar.

Sa mga ganahan makakitag tinuod nga Siloy, just coordinate with the local government and they will be more than willing to accomodate you and your group. But most of those who visit here are those ornithologists, students and wildlife enthusiasts. One can also set-up a camp in the forest's outskirts.

Interview with one of the forest rangers

First stop...wala gihapon.

After 45 minutes

The Team. Yep, human sa taas nga lakaw ug pungko2x kay we found one. 

We were told that when GMA was there when they featured the bird, they stayed for days to capture the bird in its natural habitat. Our guide said we were lucky, we only stayed for hours and one Siloy took pity on us. Hahahahahaha

Samboan's Binalayan Falls

This was ages ago but since I am making a directory of the tourist attractions that I have been around the province, I bumped into my Samboan folder and found lots of memories and one of it is our trip to Binalayan Falls. The falls is located in Brgy. Bonbon just along the highway. There is a sign along the road... hehehehehe Or to be sure ask locals when you arrive in the area. 

A welcoming sight before going up to the falls.

When you are here, try not making noise and just feel and listen to nature.

Inside Salay Cave

My visit to Algeria last 2009 was one of those experiences I'll never forget. We went up the mountains and walked for hours and then checked their marine sanctuaries. And one of the highlight of that trip was our visit to Salay Cave. Here's a part of the story i wrote for my Alegria feature:


Caving is one of the activities the town’s tourism officials have been promoting. In 2009, Salay Cave in Brgy. Valencia was featured in a documentary, Planet Philippines, with actor Richard Gutierrez personally visiting the cave. 

Across this waiting shed is the path walk to a more or less 20-minutes walk to the cave.

The Salay Cave is accredited by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). This means that it is safe for tourists to get inside the cave. A local caving group was also organized to facilitate exploration and spelunking by tourists and other interested parties.

For those who want to experience Salay Cave, Tourism Officer Eric Ybas advises them to secure a permit at the municipal office with a fee of P100 per person. A guide’s fee of P100 is charged on the first hour and P50 on succeeding hours. 

To protect the cave’s unique features, entry is limited to only 10 people at a time. This is an eco-tourism requirement set by DENR.

“Ang atong makita dinhi sa mga formation sa stalagmite ug stalactites sumala sa among mga bisita, taga-Manila, DOST ug Department of Tourism, kay unique gyud ni sa ubang mga nakit-an sa mga caves. Ato ning ikapasigarbo ang Silay Cave tungod sa mga formations niini nga wala sa ubang mga caves,” said Ronnie Basia, a local cave guide.

As a general rule in spelunking, strictly no touching of elements inside the caves and most of all to leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but pictures and kill nothing but time.

Passing through giant bamboos. Nindot kaayo ang view padung didto.

Eric Ybas giving us information about the cave and of the rules to follow once we get there.

Philip, our cameraman, filming Eric as he briefed us about Salay Cave.

I am ready!

Posing in the entrance of the cave with Ana (Sugbo TV Intern) and our cave guide.

Entrance to the cave

 The following are some of the photos I was able to take. Was really happy that I had my flash with me. We had no enough light to lit the magnificent view inside the cave.

I did't touch anything! :)

This shouldn't have been allowed. Ahehehehehehe 

Going out. (Norwin & wife Jenny, me and our guide.)

Eric and his tikwi stunts. Pasagirit!!!

Going back....we found interesting rock formations by the trail.

Denshoooooo!

Si Goat d Wanderpol

Reminds me of farm town in facebook

 Huh! Writing this brings back a lot of memories... how time flies! We took this last September 16-17, 2009. Thankful to the local government officials of Alegria for accomodating us!

ABOUT

FIRST POST. I had been wanting to make a travel blog where I could put all my stories that I wrote for Sugbo and at the same time share my travel experiences especially here in Cebu. I am not much of a traveler but when we talk about the island of Cebu, well, I am proud to say that I have been to all towns and cities and several island barangays. I am thankful of my job, privileged--I must say because it allowed me to visit far flung sitios in the different municipalities. I was able to visit neighboring provinces too.

TITLE. The blog's title comes from the root word "suroy" which can be translated to "leisurely walking". Anyways, posts will come in between work. So, bare with my spellings and sentence structures. From time to time, text will also be written in my native tongue--binisaya.

With thousands of blog created every day, I don't know if someone's get to read my posts but I am hoping that there will be comments soon.

Dali! Manuroy na ta...