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Tourism & Culture
September 11-18, 2009
| HOMEPAGE | OPINION | TOURISM AND CULTURE | SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT | CLASSIFIED ADS | BACK PAGE |
By VLADIMIR C. VEGA
THE crystal clear water is frost cool. Yet when you absorb yourself in, the stream is so comforting and relaxing.
        Bucal-Bucalan is just one of the several springs that abound in the hilly area of Magallanes. 
        The Municipal Government of Magallanes over the period has poured in P4 million to transform the place into a first-class resort. Now it is equipped with indigenous cottages curved in the nicely-polished hillside, concrete reservoir that catches the spring water from its source, well-paved path, and another swimming pool being constructed on the left side.
        Magallanes does not have exclusivity of this gift of nature, for all over the place of Sorsogon Province springs of this sort are commonplace.

Editor's Note
        Sorsogon Dateline would like to endlessly thank Municipal Councilor Dolores Huidem for her effort to guide us around some of the beautiful places in Magallanes. Most of all, her generosity to accompany us down Vinisitahan Norte up Barangay Hubo, where we had to be transported by banca to Hubo -- the place where 18 persons died and hundreds of families displaced during Typhoon Dante a few months ago. The good councilor confessed that she doesn't know how to swim and it was her first time to walk that distant as steep as Hubo. In her own words, she does it for public service: "Trabaho lang, walang personalan.  May your kind of a public servant increase.
        Not but not the least, the very helpful Barangay
Magallanes: host to a line of springs
By VLADIMIR C. VEGA
It was at the height of noon when we turned up to our next destination. Unlike the tepid sun that welcomed us in Paguriran, its rays were now red-hot; penetrating the long-sleeve t-shirt I was wearing, and burning up my skin beneath.
        Far above ground, we descended the uneven stone path and disembarked sweating and struggling for breath. But the exhaustion petered out as our incentive laid bare temptingly: Lebanon Beach.
        Lebanon Beach is considered as one of the main tourist spots in the province, but regrettably, nothing of significant development has been accomplished on the place.
        The beach was completely stripped. Remarkably, though it could match up to any high-class coast lining the Philippine shores. Lebanon owned a matchless kind of sand that is so fine with salmon color, thickly coating its whole span. Polished rocks lining up the hillside if pulled together would form a superlative pathway and base of cottages and log cabins.
        It is ideal for swimming, but Lebanon offers a perfect setting for skim boarding with gently sloping waves endlessly charting the shoreline. Farther underneath was a concoction of vibrant corals that would beguile any diving enthusiasts.
        
A look at Lebanon Beach
        One visible natural gift of Lebanon is the natural spring water that flows down from the mountain. The residents here, with their innate inventiveness have transformed the stream into something usable by mounting a  bamboo pipe to make the water pour smoothly.
        Situated at the Pacific Ocean, Lebanon is just one of the striking beaches that lined the shores of Sorsogon Province. If given attention, Lebanon could yet be among the major tourist destinations in the province.
Captain of Vinisitahan Norte, Camacho for showing us the way to the place. And also the residents who guided us and allowed to be interviewed.
        It was quite unfortunate that we were not able to talk to Mayor Abelardo Arambulo, whom we were told was out of town when we went to his house. We would have been able to clarify the issues raised by former Mayor Roque Carranza about the relocation site.
Kgd. Dolores Huidem