Ciudad de Zamboanga: A Diversified Cultural Latin City of the South Philippines
First on the List is the Merloquet Falls. Located at Brgy. Sibulo, Zamboanga City, Zamboanga Peninsula, it is a perfect escape from the urban noise and stress.
From Zamboanga Integrated Bus Terminal, There are jeepneys that would bring you to City Proper.
I suggest you stop at KCC Mall and you'll never get lost. There are many tricycle or tricy (trie.see) as the locals call it and it will bring you to your destination at a much higher fare.
Tricy Fare: Within City P25-30 per person depending on the negotiation. Pueblo to Divisoria - P150
Of course it was friday so by night after dinner, we went to The Bureau, one of the club in the city and enjoyed the night with awesome friends.
First day ended good and full of adventure!
Day 2:
I asked my friend to bring me at Canelar Trading Center and lucky I am that it's a few meters away from my friend's boarding house were I stayed there for a night!
To get there, you land mark is Foton just across Avon Canelar, you will see a small road all you have to do is walk through it and you will reach the trading center just across the bridge.
I had so much fun buying Malaysian items such as the ever famous Apollo and Maggi Kari and of course you could choose from various array of mlaysian made product from food to Malong and Pashmina Scarf.
By late afternoon we roamed around Pueblo going to the Fort Pilar and Paseo del Mar.
We watched the dancing fountain went along with its music. After which is the famous knickerbocker - halo2x but the ice has been replaced with scoop of ice cream.
We checked the pasea and we found a walkway just around it. Then we went back to the hotel to prepare for the next days trip - the Great Santa Cruz Island
Zamboanga City has been part of my bucket list ever since. Being a Mindanaonan and a resident of the gateway to Mindanao, curiosity really ticked my mind and soul, pushing me to bring my feet to different scenery. So I decided to go on a trip last May 18,2017 to this experience. I am a bit excited especially on the part where I could personally hear chavacano speak their language.
How to get there?
From Cagayan de Oro City, specifically at the West Bound Terminal located at Bulua, CdeO,you need to follow certain trip schedules that would bring you directly to Zamboanga Integrated Bus Terminal at Divisoria, Zamboanga City.
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| West Bound Bulua Bus Terminal Trip Schedule from CdeO to Zamboanga and vice versa |
Tip: Come early at least an hour of your decided time of trip. I arrived at the terminal at 8PM and was able to catch the 10PM trip.
A 5 Stop trip would last 13-14 hours as per Bus Company's protocol in safe driving and travel.
It passes through the routes of : Iligan City-Pagadian City-Zamboanga Sibugay-Zamboanga City.
Zamboanga City is approximately 492 KM from CdeO (Via Apple Maps) and would take up 7-8 hour straight driving when taking same route with the bus.
If you opt for a plane you could check PAL or Cebu Pac website. all flights are connecting flights Via Davao.
Just Before the end of May Cebu Pac has released direct flight from CdeO to Zamboanga City at low airfare cost so I booked again for August to experience a more convenient trip to the west!
Just Before the end of May Cebu Pac has released direct flight from CdeO to Zamboanga City at low airfare cost so I booked again for August to experience a more convenient trip to the west!
The Actual Trip
Before I had this trip, I posted my planned dates of travel at Couchsurfing App, downloadable via appstore or playstore. It's an app where in your co-surfers would either offer as host or you will be the one who would search for someone to be your host during your travel. Luckily, Sir Rhoi offered as a host for my travel at that time and gave me directions to my whereabouts.
First on the List is the Merloquet Falls. Located at Brgy. Sibulo, Zamboanga City, Zamboanga Peninsula, it is a perfect escape from the urban noise and stress.
From CdeO, you need to cut down your trip and stop over at Vitali, Zamboanga City which is approximately 427 KM/ 12 hrs travel time from my point of travel.
Since I was given directions when the bus is already within Zamboanga Sibugay, I paid for the whole amount of P860 from CDO-ZC.
From the National Highway, you need to ride habal-habal for 30 minutes and fortunately Kuya Jojo accommodated me well all throughout this falls adventure! I asked Kuya Jojo to wait for me because it will not take me long at the falls.
Locals are limited to Chavacano and a little of them can communicate in Bisaya or Tagalog.
From the top you need to go down through a stair with approximately 150-200 steps going down.I took pictures and stayed their for 30 minutes to savor the moment with nature.
TIP: It's a rough and risky climb to the second tier of the falls. Your only way up is by clinging on a very large rope by a cliff before reaching the top, ARRIBA! Rails along the way are not that really sturdy enough to be called safe so you need to hold on to the branches and roots alongside, NO HARNESS, JUST PLAIN COURAGE of an estimated 150-200 M of breathtaking trail to the second tier !
From Merloquet again that's 30 minutes habal-habal ride to the bus stop.
From Vitali, it's a 2 hour bus ride again before reaching the bus terminal in Zamboanga.
Since I was given directions when the bus is already within Zamboanga Sibugay, I paid for the whole amount of P860 from CDO-ZC.
From the National Highway, you need to ride habal-habal for 30 minutes and fortunately Kuya Jojo accommodated me well all throughout this falls adventure! I asked Kuya Jojo to wait for me because it will not take me long at the falls.
Locals are limited to Chavacano and a little of them can communicate in Bisaya or Tagalog.
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| Panoramic View of Meloquet Falls |
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| First Tier of Merloquet Fall |
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| Second Tier of Merloquet falls |
Entrance: P20
Fare: P70 one way. I gave P200 to Kuya Jojo as a tip and additional fare because he brought me directly to Viajeros were they would usually stop over for a meal
Bus:P860 from CDO-ZC. P120 from Vitali -ZC
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| Merloquet Falls as a background. Comparable to Tinuy-an Falls but the mini one. |
From Merloquet again that's 30 minutes habal-habal ride to the bus stop.
From Vitali, it's a 2 hour bus ride again before reaching the bus terminal in Zamboanga.
From Zamboanga Integrated Bus Terminal, There are jeepneys that would bring you to City Proper.
I suggest you stop at KCC Mall and you'll never get lost. There are many tricycle or tricy (trie.see) as the locals call it and it will bring you to your destination at a much higher fare.
Tricy Fare: Within City P25-30 per person depending on the negotiation. Pueblo to Divisoria - P150
Of course it was friday so by night after dinner, we went to The Bureau, one of the club in the city and enjoyed the night with awesome friends.
First day ended good and full of adventure!
Day 2:
I asked my friend to bring me at Canelar Trading Center and lucky I am that it's a few meters away from my friend's boarding house were I stayed there for a night!To get there, you land mark is Foton just across Avon Canelar, you will see a small road all you have to do is walk through it and you will reach the trading center just across the bridge.
I had so much fun buying Malaysian items such as the ever famous Apollo and Maggi Kari and of course you could choose from various array of mlaysian made product from food to Malong and Pashmina Scarf.
By late afternoon we roamed around Pueblo going to the Fort Pilar and Paseo del Mar.
We watched the dancing fountain went along with its music. After which is the famous knickerbocker - halo2x but the ice has been replaced with scoop of ice cream.
We checked the pasea and we found a walkway just around it. Then we went back to the hotel to prepare for the next days trip - the Great Santa Cruz Island
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