A great way to enhance your Lake Sebu experience would be to skip the lake resorts and stay with one of the locals. An even better way would be to stay with a T'boli family.

I had the chance to visit one such home for lunch last time I was in Lake Sebu. We've worked up an appetite after a scenic dawn in Lake Seloton and an early morning visit to the 7 Falls, practically made a beeline to the house when our friend called that lunch was ready.

The house, made of bamboo floor and walls and cogon grass roof, is nestled on top of a hill over looking the eastern side of the lake. The interior is modest - spartan to be precise. There are no furnitures - typical of such house, but everything is squeaky clean. I love the feel of smooth bamboo floor on my bare feet. Since the floor is elevated several feet from the ground, the house is well ventilated with cool mountain air.


Our lunch consist of broiled fresh tilapia and "paksiw na tilapia" (simmered in vinegar with a lot of spices: garlic, onions, ginger, peppers, etc). Its a deceivingly simple yet overly delightful fare, perfect if you do away with your spoon and fork and eat with your hands.


On one corner of the house near a window huddle a group of T'boli women busily doing beads and other tribal handicrafts. The beads and brassworks are an integral part of a T'boli dress. Girls are taught the craft at a young age, the patterns and designs are often handed down through the generations.


Visitors can try their hands on activities like these. My wife was able to make a couple of earrings which she happily wore the rest of the day.

About the T'bolis
The T'boli are indigenous people of Southern Mindanao, particularly the Allah Valley region and some of the coastal towns west of General Santos City. The town of Lake Sebu is one of their ancestral domains.

http://lantaw.blogspot.com/2012/06/ma-fil-lake-sebus-hegalong-master.html 

Near the falls you'll see rock walls whose patterns were etched by water eons ago. The walls are constantly being blanketed by a thin mist from the water spray of the falls.


From this vantage point you'll be able to appreciate more how majestic the falls is. The mist is surreal and the thundering waterfalls sound is deafening, yet surprisingly soothing.


I wanted to get much more closer and decided to cross the cold raging stream to get to an exposed bed in front of the falls. Twice I was nearly toppled over by the strong current.


The blast of wind generated by water pounding on the catch basin was really strong. And the water spray felt more like a drizzle. I was able to take a few shots before my lens filter was really fogged up and wet.


More info and trivia about Falls #2:

• The road that leads to Falls 1 and 2 is near Lake Lahit (before you reach Lake Sebu). There a huge signboard on the left side of the road.
  
• Entrance fee is now Php 20.00 per person
• Its safe to camp there, they have security personnel that guard the area 24x7
• A rainbow always forms on the mists near the falls around 3PM as long as the sun is not hiding behind clouds. I've already seen pictures of such rainbow but have yet to take one myself.

Up next: Want to skip the resorts in Lake Sebu and stay with a T'boli family? There are home stay accommodations there were you can experience Lake Sebu in a more intimate way.

Update 2009/7/14

Recently found out the names of the falls in local dialect:

• 1st Falls - Hikong Alu - passage
• 2nd Falls - Hikong Bente - unmeasurable
• 3rd Falls - Hikong B'lebed - zigzag, coil
• 4th Falls - Hikong Lowig - booth
• 5th Falls - Hikong Kefo-I - wild flower
• 6th Falls - Hikong Ukol - short
• 7th Falls - Hikong Tonok - soil
  

Can you count how many are the words "lake" in the title? That is the number of lakes in the town called Lake Sebu. The town bears the name as of the largest of the 3 lakes there (the 3rd one is called Lake Lahit).

Lake Sebu may be the more popular of the 3 lakes, but Lake Seloton bears the distinction of having the best POV (point of view) for sunrise. An enterprising local put up a rustic resort on the western bank and aptly named it Sunrise Garden Lake Resort.

I visited the place last year but went there in the afternoon due to time constraints. I vowed to return again for the sunrise if an opportunity arises. And one did, last Maundy Thursday, when a fellow photography enthusiast expressed interest to spend the day in Lake Sebu.

We were already on the road by 3:30AM Thursday morning. My home town of Koronadal is about 40 km from Lake Sebu and it will take us about 45 minutes to reach Lake Sebu via snaking mountain roads. Lake Seloton is another 2km of rough road from Lake Sebu town proper.

By 4:30 AM we were already in front of the closed gate of the Sunrise Garden, honking our horn. Thankfully my friend's wife knew the resort owners. Soon we were inside the resort, scouting for a good location. I opted for one just beyond their cottages, a few meters outside the property boundary.


As dawn breaks one could see that the place manifest the very essence of the word "serenity". It was as if everything stood still, cherishing the start of a new day.


Even the lotus flowers and lilies of the lake seemed frozen. Without a morning breeze, there's not a ripple on the lake. The air was fresh and cool since the place is situated 1000 metes above sea on the mountains of the Allah Valley region (South Cotabato, southern Mindanao).


The lakeside stirred into activity as the sun rose over the hills on the eastern side of the lake. Folks went around, on their dugout canoe, doing their daily chores of tending to the fish pens (tilapia).


We saw some locals casting their nets near the shore. A group of kids pulling their net gamely posed for a couple of snaps.


The place is also teeming with wild life. We saw hawks and egrets (some Lesser and Cattle Egrets) fishing for a free meal near the pens. Although the owners of the fish pens are not particularly excited to see egrets and hawks delving inside their pens, they usually just leave the birds alone.

If you happen to find your way to Tambobong this summer (I heard the place was crowded last week during the Holy Week), don't miss Kabakungan cove if you plan to shoot the sunset. I went there with the flickristasindios a few weeks back and the place did not disappoint us. I have been there a couple of times already, yet Cabacungan seem to offer something new each time.

Its best to go there around 4PM (lowtide) via Nalasin just behind Crocodile Island. Your banca would not be able to go near the shore if you choose to go directly to Cabacungan cove because of the rocks and the chasm (exposed during lowtide) that borders the shore.


From the Nalasin its a short hike to the cove. You would be passing by interesting rock formations that turn rust colored as the rays of the warm afternoon sun hits them.

Its a perfect place if you want to do some unique outdoor portraits. We had a model with us that time so our "short" hike was punctuated with 5-10 minute shoots.


There is a great POV just beyond the shore, on top of a small hill enroute to Cabacungan. From there you'll be offered a different perspective of Nalasin.


Once in Cabacungan, you can position your tripod almost everywhere and still get a great POV of the sunset. While waiting for the sunset, you can visit the cave nearby and swim in its emerald pool. Or you can watch colorful fishes trapped in small shallow pools that dot the exposed rocky beach.


I positioned myself on top of a huge rock to get a view of the seaweed lined ledge. From there I got a clear view of the setting sun as well as the different textures of the rock and seaweed covered sea floor.

With my back still sore from sunburn from a trip to Tambobong couple of weeks ago, I was back there last weekend with a group of photographer buddies from a Flickr group called flickristasindios. These guys are known for their street photos but the group has grown over the past year to include fashion photographers, landscape and outdoor photographers, and everything in between.

Our day started early. We arrived in Tambobong around 5AM, perfect to catch the first rays of the sun. While the rest of the gang went to the beach to find their POVs, Buboy (a travel buddy I brought to Tambobong a few weeks back) and I prepared a breakfast of adobong pusit (squid) and fried daing (dried fish) - enough to jump start the day.


Whats different about this outdoor trip is that this time we have a model in tow. Our first destination was the shipwreck in Balinmanok. Its really nice to go there early in the day when the waves are not big. With a cooler filled with ice and beer, cameras ready, we are set for a morning of fun.

As soon as we arrived in Balinmanok, the indios went straight to "work" - this includes hitting the hammock with a cold beer or finding a spot for our model to pose. I went to the beach to find my favorite "Nemos", but not before I took some "model shots" :).




I know these are not my typical outdoor shots, but hey these are taken outdoors so they can still count. Some of us did manage to keep our promise to enjoy the beach and take less photos.


With the cold beer almost depleted, we went back to our host's house for lunch. The only time these photographers rest is when they are cleaning their equipment. Right after lunch we had to find a new location to shoot, so I led them to a cave with an emerald pool just a few minutes hike from our camp. This time I did not bring my camera, so I'll just show some of the images I took there from my previous trip.



The cool water in the cave was enough to rejuvenate our tired muscles. Its was a stark contrast from the hot and sunny beach (not I that I don't like it that way). I had to keep reminding them of the time, otherwise they would have stayed here until dark.

We went back to camp just in time for the low tide. The sun's glow started to turn golden. Perfect for a low tide sunset shoot in Cabacungan.

Model shoots I can do without, but sunsets are another story. And Kabakungan offers endless possibilities for sunset scenes. After catching a short breather, off we go to Nalasin, our entry point to Kabakungan Cove.

Here's a preview of our Kabakungan sunset:


Up next:

• Cabacungan sunset shoot and Colibra island castaways