Olango         
             Island

         

                      

       
Olango Island is just east of Lapu Lapu isalnd in Cebu.  The main attraction to this island by tourists is the DNR Bird Sanctuary.  It is a major stopping over point for many varieties of migratory birds.  If you are into bird watching then this is the place you want to visit.  To get here you will have to take a jeepney from lapu-lapu itself..going to Punta Engano... and get off at the new hilton hotel.  Just tell the driver you need the ferry going to Olongo Island.  There is a larger ferry for about 15 pesos i think and there is still the smaller wooden pump boats going back and forth.  Catch which ever is the next one.. it is still a 20 minute ride there.  At the island you can catch a tricycle to take you all the way to the bird sanctuary.  They normally charge 10 pesos per person so if you want you can pay 40 pesos and you can hire the tricycle just for you and your friends or what I normally do is pay 10 pesos and tell them just drop me at the end of the pier.  The pier is about 1 mile long.  At the end of the pier is the town of Santa Rosa.  At that junction then you can get a motorcycle ride to take you all the way to the bird sanctuary in Barangy San Vicente.  It will only cost 15 pesos there.  Now here is the problem..There are no hotels on Olango.  So if you don't plan on camping there overnight then you had better catch the last boat back to  Lapu Lapu around 6 p.m.  Also tell you motorbike driver to come back and pick you up at a pre-arranged time.  If not it is a long 3 mile walk back from the town of San Vicente to catch a motor bike going back to the pier in Santa Rosa.  If you have a tent then this is a great camping place.  They do charge a nominal fee.  40 pesos each person entrance fee....10 pesos each to use there fresh water for shower and washing.....then a one time 40 pesos fee to camp overnight.  You can buy some firewood at the market for 15 pesos or just look around for small pieces of wood to make a fire.  In Santa Rosa you can eat at the roadside restaurant  for about 100 pesos for 3 people and then go to Santa Rosa cafe for drinking beer and singing Karaoke.  If you ask the locals....there is normally a big outdoor disco on the opposite side of the island somewhere near the town of Sabang.  Below are some pictures from the island and of some of the friends I made while I was there.  The people are very friendly and here most of then also speak English as well as Cebuano and Tagalog.  Enjoy.

These Banca Boats are the older way of transportation for the locals going in between the main island of Cebu, Lapu Lapu and Olango.  But, for only 10 pesos it is a real bargain.  Now there is a larger ferry available.  Depending on the tide...at high tide the boats can make it to the pier and you walk a plank to get to the shore....Other times during low tide.....as you can see in the pictures, you may have to take off your shoes and wade to shore or if it is in between tides then there will be a small boat to take passengers from the Banca boat to the shore for free, as in the picture on the left.  The man with the two aluminum canisters is selling a local delicacy known as tahoh.  It is made with a soy bean paste mixed with tapioca and syrup...Very good when it is hot.  It is mostly sold from 6 a.m.- 11 a.m. as a morning treat.

Here are some forms of local transportation. From the motorcycle to the pedal power of the tricycle or the motorized tricycle, each costing about 10 pesos for a one way trip to your destination.    There are no hotels on Olango so in the second row you can see the beach area where I put my tent, and then went into the town to the store which had a lot of misc. goodies and afterwards for 5 pesos per song you can sing karaoke.  Karaoke seems to be the national pastime here.  I think it was the first time they had an American  singing karaoke.  Most of the tourists that visit Olango  go directly to the bird sanctuary then head back to the comforts of there hotels in Cebu city or in Lapu-Lapu area..

In this row...shows daily life in olango island.  From the collecting of sand dollars to the starfish and the children who sit all day and make homemade brooms.  Jobs are hard to find and selling homemade crafts to tourists are a big market. Oliver and his wife are still friends of mine today.

These are pictures of my friends house.  The nice home made christmas tree in the background and since not everyone has electricity in their home..we tend to get a lot of visitors hehe

With no running water and no hot water in the islands or provinces then most of the time I would take a shower from a five gallon bucket....(tabo)  This lady would start making her fresh Olango bread at 3 a.m. .  Fresh bananas are every where, very fresh and delicious. Boiled bananas are a  local delicacy that tasted ok but, not my favorite..  The last picture here are of some school children. They just got back from Christmas break and had to get there desks out of storage and carry them about 1/2 mile to school.    

Shell crafts are for many locals the only income they may have.  They spend a lot of time and barely make enough to get by.  These necklaces were being made for export and for the local malls in the city.    These beautiful shell chandeliers in the malls would sell for around 800-1000 pesos ($15-$20) but I bought two locally from my friends for only 150 pesos each. (about 3 dollars)  

Of course I had to go fishing while I was in the Philippines.  So since I had no boat, I decided to help out my friend and rebuild his like new.  It took us about 10 days to repair the holes and sand and paint and waterproof this boat.  But after a lot of work we were both proud of what we had done and afterwards went out, caught some fish, brought them back and ate them for dinner.  After dinner we would all sit around talk and play cards.  A daily routine, which was very relaxing.  Fish were small but delicious. 

These last few pictures are of daily routines on Olango island.  Everywhere I went the people were very friendly and would invite me to sit and to talk and to eat.  As you can see, these people live simple lives....some with out electricity or even gas to cook buy.  They make money by selling firewood or shells or being a tricycle driver, but mostly just sit around and take life one day at a time.  I  would always try to carry candy for the kids and stop and talk to everyone I could.    By learning to speak some of the local Cebuano dialect it does help to communicate  since not everyone speaks English.  But for the most part I think that the tourists that visit Olango for the bird sanctuary only are missing out on a great cultural of people who want nothing more than to have you stop by say hello and spend a little time with them.  Making friends was for me easy but leaving them to come back home was hard to do.

 

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