Balikbayans wowed by south Cebu’s spots in Suroy-Suroy

THE first leg of this year’s Suroy-Suroy Sugbo tour received positive feedback, with only a few minor concerns, from participants as it culminated yesterday.

Cynthia Malazarte, 65, who joined the tour for the first time, said her experience was very good except for some technicalities.

“Our tour guides on the bus did not use microphones. We couldn’t understand them. The experience would have been more meaningful if we heard what they were saying,” she said.

Malazarte, a nurse from Los Angeles, California, but born and raised in Cebu City, brought along her two daughters to experience Cebu for the first time.

She said she particularly liked the five-level Aguinid Falls in Samboan town, where she was able to reach the top of the second drop.

Concrete blocks serve as stepping stones for those who wish to reach the first and second levels.

From the third level upward, people have to wade through the rushing water and step on natural rocks.

Malazarte blamed her not being able to reach the  upper levels on her “old age.”

“They should make it more accessible to old people like me. If it were easier, I would have gladly gone to the topmost level,” she said.

Nonetheless, she said she enjoyed the whole experience.

Aguinid Falls in Samboan and Mainit Hot Springs in Malabuyoc were among the spots visited on the second day of the tour.

The weather was favorable in the last two days, playing on sunny to a little cloudy while rain fell only late yesterday afternoon.

The three-day tour, which ran from Jan. 21 to 23, took almost 100 participants to several towns in southern Cebu.

Another first-timer, 51-year old Damie Aranas said he also enjoyed Aguinid Falls.

“I was thinking of bringing my family there next month,” he said.

Before reaching Samboan, participants were stuck in Moalboal for over an hour when one of the buses was mired in the mud.

The inconvenience they experienced was forgotten  after they saw the beauty of Aguinid Falls.

For 70-year-old Sammy Wilson, a retired psychiatric nurse from southern California, said yesterday’s trip to Mantalongon, Dalaguete was most memorable.

“When we were going up to the mountains, we had a spectacular view,” he said.

The road to Mantalongon, a village 900 meters above sea level, provided the participants a breathtaking view of the mountains filled with green and an almost never-ending stretch of ravines.

On the last day of the tour, guests were taken to see heritage sites in Boljoon, including the Nuestra Señora Patrocinio de Maria Church.

The church, which is made of coral stones and has stood for over 400 years, is embellished with intricate carvings, paintings and bass relief.

Tour participants were also brought to the Cabecera de Argao, Argao Nature’s Park, Carcar City, and the Talisay City Hall.

Mary Grace Paulino, provincial tourism officer, said every year is a challenge for the Suroy-Suroy Sugbo Commission.

“As much as possible, it is our goal to have something different in the tours every time,” she said.

Paulino said that the program is a good avenue to promote the towns in Cebu.

The commission will be working hard every year to make sure that the next tour will be even more awesome than the last.