Home
is where the heart, so goes the cliché. That’s how I’d sum up my recent visits
to some of Negros Occidental’s cities. It felt as if I never really left home
as I basked in the warmth and generosity of its wonderful residents, a few of
whom I’ve made friends with for many years now, not to mention those new ones
who I came into contact with in the places I’ve been to.
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| Scenic view of the mountains and valleys from La Vista Highlands |
Three
other charming cities in Neg Occ, two of which I’ve seen for the first time,
have only strengthened my conviction about the sojourns I’ve been doing. That
hitting the road doesn’t mean you’d have to leave your heart at home. Home is a
state of mind; it’s that place where you see the sincerest smiles, cozy up with
the coolest chums, taste the tastiest homegrown treats, no matter where you
are.
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A glimpse of Lakawon Island in Cadiz City
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Cadiz.
Located in the northern part of the province, Cadiz, some 65 km away from
Bacolod, can be reached through an hour-and-a-half ride by private car or any
of the public transportation going there. Facing the vastness of the Visayan
Sea, the city serves as the center of the agro-fishery resources of the island
of Negros. It is also one of Neg Occ’s sugarcane producing areas whose produce
are taken to the sugar refineries in nearby Victorias City.
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Boracay of Negros
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Though
I never got the chance explore the poblacion itself, the sojourn offered me the
rare opportunity to see one more dream destination—the spectacular Lakawon
Island—the latest buzz among beach bums in that part of the country. Shaped
like a banana, the island is a 16-hectare slice of paradise located off the
coast of Cadiz Viejo, one of the city’s coastal villages.
Dubbed
as the “Boracay of Negros”, Lakawon is fast becoming one of Neg Occ’s promising
tourist magnets because of its pristine white sand, calling to mind that of
another world-famous destination in Aklan—what else but Boracay!
Roughly
64 km away from Bacolod City, Lakawon can be reached by land via a
one-and-a-half hour trip aboard any of the buses bound for Cadiz. Upon reaching
the Martesan Bus Terminal in the village of Burgos, guests should disembark and
hail a tricycle to take them to the port at Cadiz Viejo, the jump-off point for
a 20-minute boat ride to the island. For more about the island, visit my post
at http://scorpio-sojourn.blogspot.com/2017/09/lazing-around-lakawon-island.html.
San
Carlos. About 86 km away from Bacolod lies San Carlos, the other city (aside
from Cadiz) that I saw for the first time.
We took the route via Murcia, passing by the picturesque town of Don
Salvador Benedicto (which, by the way, reminds first-timers of nippy Tagaytay)
to cut the distance but the road is quite steep and winding, but exhilarating
and fascinating, nonetheless.
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Picture-perfect scenery along the highway in Murcia
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I
heard there’s a longer route, which is the coastal road passing through the
northern part of the province, which is less winding—but then again, it’s quite
far. For commuters, there are buses shuttling between the two cities, with
travel time of almost two hours.
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A zipline at the resort
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There’s
something about this last city in the northern part of Negros Occidental that
perked up my mood during our quick escapade there. No, I didn’t have the chance
to explore it to the hilt but a few hours of hibernation in one of its popular
destinations, La Vista Highlands Mountain Resort and Hotel, left a positive
impression.
Owned
by an architect, La Vista, which was built on top of hill, boasts of a
breathtaking scenery of nearby mountains and valleys, including a panoramic
vista of Mt. Kanlaon and Mt. Marapara. The resort-hotel, donning a modern
Asian-inspired architecture, has nine rooms, including ridge villas overlooking
the pool area.
In
those brief moments at the mountain resort, I felt saucy, confident and full of
myself but in a good way. I got game before the cameras as I took in the beauty
of nature around me, posing here, there and everywhere. Uhm, must be the airy
ambience, not to mention the al-fresco dining experience, that lifted my
spirits to new heights of euphoria. Geez, I hope to return to San Carlos
someday and get to know more about it!
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A glimpse of VMC's sprawling golf course
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Victorias. I also had a chance to see anew the wonderful
city of Victorias. It's always nice to revisit this amazing place of sugarcane
fields and smoking silos, which I last saw in 2013. Victorias is home to the
Victorias Milling Company (VMC), said to be the world’s largest integrated
sugar mill. Located some 42 km away from Bacolod, VMC was founded by the Ossorio family and their associates way back in 1919.
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A verdant playing field
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By 1921, its sugar factory started operations; its
refinery operations followed suit seven years later, said to be the second
sugar refinery to be established in the entire country. Today, VMC operates
today as one of the largest sugar refineries in the Philippines.
For
this second visit to the city, I was fortunate to have a quick tour of one of
Victoria’s wonderful attractions—the sprawling golf course right smack inside
the sugar refinery! With Minnie as my guide, I gained access into the exclusive
playground of the province’s privileged set.
The
golf course, which opened in the 1950s to the delight of golf aficionados, is
just one of VMC's numerous subsidiaries which are engaged in food processing,
leisure, real estate, energy generation, and manufacturing and packaging.
Undoubtedly,
I left my heart in Neg Occ anew. In the six days that I spent going around some
of its wonderful cities, I fell in love once again with its distinctive sights,
smells and sounds. In that span of time, I’ve grown more rooted than ever to
this wonderful destination. As expected, the part when I bid goodbye was
heartbreaking.
It
wasn’t long before I started scribbling my thoughts about Neg Occ that I
learned about the psychology behind my affection for it, discovering that such
feeling matters in no small way to one’s physical and emotional well-being. And
there’s a jargon for it: place attachment.
Psychologists
say that place attachment is that love we hold for a place, a sense of
belongingness to it, an emotional bond based on several factors, including
history, genealogy, affection, and the like. Simply put, I’d like to think of
it as the love I feel for a place that made me feel I was home, even for a
short time.
If
home is where the heart is, then by its most literal definition, my home, the
place that made me feel I belonged during those six sweet days was none other
than the wonderful Sugar Bowl of the Philippines. 😍😍😍
In
minutes, we reached the Lion’s Park View Deck along the highway where Jim
pulled over—the perfect spot for capturing the view hundreds of feet below us.
Minnie said I should take as many snaps as I can for posterity’s sake. So,
armed with my smartphone and digicam, I hopped out of the SUV. Minnie followed
me, offering to take my pictures.
Such
was the awe-inspiring surprise that greeted me that day—the same wonder of
nature awaiting motorists whenever they pass by the serene town named Don
Salvador Benedicto a.k.a. DS Benedicto or DSB, for short. Dubbed as the “Summer
Capital of Negros Occidental”, DSB is one of the 19 municipalities, along with
13 cities, that make up the sugar-producing province.
Perched
at 675 m (2,214 ft) above sea level, the town in the highlands, situated 47 km
away from Bacolod City, got its name after the province’s late Vice Governor
Salvador Benedicto, who played a big role in creating the revolutionary
government when Negros Island was occupied by Japanese forces at the height of
World War II.
DS
Benedicto, which came into being in 1983, was formed by merging the secluded
villages of two towns and one city that weren’t given much attention given
their distance and inaccessibility. From what I’ve gathered, these included two
villages from Murcia (Pandanon and Igmayaan), three from San Carlos City
(Kumaliskis, Bunga, and Pinowayan-Prosperidad) and another two from Calatrava
(Bagong Silang-Marcelo and Bago-Lalong).
We
continued with our sojourn until we reached a portion of the pothole-free
highway with huge Norfolk pine trees lining both its sides. Jim again pulled
over, giving me another chance to take some photos of the amazing landscape.
From where I stood, I saw a nearby forest of evergreens. I walked towards it.
Minnie followed me. Again, more pictures with the pine trees as backdrops.
Our
last stop was at another view deck overlooking the cigarette-shaped Malatan-og
Falls, another must-see in the province. As I stood there, the cold breeze
caressed me, giving me the same chills I’ve experienced in Baguio and Tagaytay!
I looked at my phone for the temp reading—a shivery 18 °C! No wonder everyone
who’s made it to DSB before me was doting over the natural wonders of the
“Little Baguio” of Neg Occ!
