Quiet Aloguinsan

Last week, my goal was to reach the District of Aloguinsan and check out the awesome river cruise that I’ve read about somewhere. I’ve never been to Aloguinsan before and the farthest I’ve been to west of the city is Toledo.

And so, with a backpack containing only a pair of undies and a body spray (haha. I was hoping I’d see a beach along the way and just dive in!) and a small pixelated jpeg of a map of Cebu in my phone, I set out to hopefully get to visit (finally) all western towns and cross off another item in my bucket list.

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Aloguinsan is beautiful!

I left the city at around 8 in the morning. As usual. The Transcentral Highway is gorgeous in the early morning. So, instead of taking the Barili route, I decided to take the Balamban route. In less than an hour I was in the town of Balamban!

A few minutes later, I saw Gaisano Toledo. I dropped by to grab a quick snack/lunch. I ordered four slices of pizza but I had two slices placed in a bag because I got full quick. Weird. Thirty minutes later, I was busy getting lost in Toledo. At the intersection, instead of driving straight, I turned left. Fortunately, I decided to ask a tricycle driver if the road would lead me to Aloguinsan. “No. This will take you to Naga,” he said. Oh!

Another thirty minutes later and I was in the heart of Toledo City. I sorta got lost because a lot of roads were closed off for repairs and some various activities.

Here is the town church. Looks lovely.

Thankfully, I found the main road without asking for directions. Nyahaha. I just kept driving and just judged the road based on my gut-feel. As long as the road I am on is clean and well-maintained, there’s a huge chance that it is the main road. Hehe.

This part right here is, I think, in Pinamungajan. The beach was so inviting but I decided against it because it looked like it was about to rain.

So happy that my theory is correct. Nice clean road. Yep, the national highway. Haha.

After what seemed like forever, I finally reached the town of Aloguinsan. Look for this famous post!

The town hall of Aloguinsan. It’s literally just a few meters from the ocean!

The first thing that I noticed was that Aloquinsan was so quite. The town hall was just behind the town market. And based on experience, town markets tend to be very loud and busy. In Aloguinsan, however, even the town market was quiet. There were no videoke machines or loud lunch-time chatters. It was all quiet. Just the way I like it! 🙂

I asked one guy sweeping the municipal hall grounds about tourist spots in Aloguinsan. He quickly told me about the park just behind the hall. Boy, was I in luck. Entrance fee was only Php10, too!

The name of the park was Baluarte Heritage Park. A baluarte is a bulwark – which means fort, territory, or defense.

Looking pretty cool so far.

Welcome!

The main entrance. Nice!

There were numerous paths that take you to various features of the park.

They have this lush garden on top of the hill. Very gorgeous.

Preserved remnants of the baluarte.

Very cool!

The Aloguinsan Baluarte

One of the many ‘huts’ in the area. Very beautiful!

And look at the view! That’s Tañon Strait right there!

This part is perfect for short presentations and programs.

Isn’t it gorgeous?

Wow!

Lunch break!

More ‘huts.’ So cool! If you’re looking for a perfect location for your pre-nup photoshoot, this is your best pick. Really!

A few benches in this area. Perfect for afternoon chats with friends.

Or with a special someone. Hehe.

Are you kidding me? This spot looks like it’s Santorini or something! This is really AMAZING!

Notice the heart? Hehe.

I decided to follow the steps. This feels like a maze. Hehe.

Dead end! This rock is around twenty feet from the water. This spot is just gorgeous!

I spent a few minutes here. I just sat in silence and took everything in. I also did a little, you know, self-examination and stuff. Haha. This spot is really perfect for things like that. And it really helped that the sun was nowhere to be seen the whole time that I was there.  Imagine sitting here, thinking about your future and things you’ve done in the past, and at the same time, slowly getting charbroiled. Hahaha.

Anyways, off to the grotto for a short prayer. Hehe.

This spot is very solemn. I loved this spot right here.

On my way down.

You are welcome, my man!

Up next: My Bojo River Cruise experience!!!

21 thoughts on “Quiet Aloguinsan

  1. OMG what a beautiful find you got here for us Ley! A place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Refreshing to know a place just like this to relax and contemplate.

  2. wow! hayahaya gyd nimo ley ui. sige ra man ug suroy~suroy ui… thank you! for sharing your road trips…. keep it up!!! ingat pirme ley.

  3. suyaa jud namo nimo ley uie, mao rajud tawn ni na site sige namo balik2x tan.aw sa opisina kung walay gibuhat, sige nalang tawn mi imagine na naa mi sa mga lugar na imong gi.picturan (louya namo uie) 😀 it’s a great site!

  4. ..I was been there 24 years ago,it wasn’t developed but I already admired the beauty of that place..overlooking to the ocean…I will go back there as soon as possible,thank u for visiting my place of ALOGUINSAN…

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