Suddenly, Curbada dela Maria

During one of my many South Cebu motorbike trips last month, I found myself driving towards Mantalongon in Barili via the mountain roads of Aloguinsan. I am quite familiar with this short cut as I discovered it by accident during my very first quest to find the Bojo River some years ago. While I am not a local, I know that there is basically nothing to see along the way. (Or maybe there are some spots that only the locals know.) The road just simple cuts through the mountains and connects to one of Barili’s many barangay roads.

Now, there is this one particular spot along this road that is quite prominent. Several kilometers from Aloguinsan proper, the road curves around a big mound of rock (from what I remember, it was part of the cliff face which was cut to make way for the road. I personally refer to is as curbada as this was the only word that perfectly describes it.The place is devoid of any structure, and except for a few vehicles you would meet along the way, you wouldn’t find a single soul for at least twenty minutes. It’s that quiet.

Now imagine how you would feel when all of a sudden, you find a resort right on the spot where the cliff face used to be? I got shivers, honestly. I thought I was seeing things. Haha!




So, naturally, I stopped at the side of the road, got off my bike and started to investigate. Apparently, it’s now a full-service resort complete with overnight accommodation and a huge pool.

I talked to the staff and asked if I could go in for a couple of shots. They said that I would have to pay the entrance fee of 150 pesos. I didn’t want to shell out 150 just to take photos so I just decided to head out and leave.

On my way out, however, another dude on a bike arrived. Just like me, he also just wanted to take a couple of photos of the place. The guard opened the door which leads to the pool and told him that he could. Okay, why was he pretty generous to him? Haha. Naturally, I also asked if I too could take photos. The guard nodded. Thankfully. Before I could step outside, however, he reminded me that I couldn’t go past the ‘designated area.’ (Probably for non-payers like me.) Well, okaaaaay. Haha.

Anyways, here are the photos. Now I’m off to Mantayupan for a relaxing (and cheap) swim.





2 thoughts on “Suddenly, Curbada dela Maria

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *