Obong Springs: Freshwater, meet Saltwater

Somewhere in Cebu’s southern towns is a public spring that not a lot of travelers/tourists go to. What’s unique about this place is the fact that you have the option of switching from freshwater to saltwater at any time you’re in the area. Found in Dalaguete, this relatively hidden gem is called Obong Springs.

From Cebu City proper, all you have to do is go to the SOuth Bus Terminal and take a Ceres bus that passes by Dalaguete (pronounced as da-la-get). From there, you can ride a tricycle and tell the driver to take you to Obong Springs, which is a good 20-minute ride from the main town.

Upon alighting from the trike, you’ll see a small road leading to where the spring can be found. A small signage can be seen at the opening where fees are stated and will have to be paid for before you continue walking. Since we didn’t bring any form of vehicle with us, we only had to pay P5.00 each.

After a 10 minute walk, we were stunned by what we saw. A pool of stunning clear blue water welcomed us, inviting us to immediately take a dip. It wasn’t really that breathtaking, but despite being a little too developed for my liking, we could still see its beauty. I could imagine just how wonderful it could have been during its early days.

Before we went to Dalaguete, we only intended to stop by Obong Springs to take some photos and hang out for a good hour before pushing forward with our climb to Osmena Peak, which was our main agenda for that day. My other two companions didn’t even seem excited to be going to the spring in the first place and we would’ve crossed it out our itinerary had I not pushed for it.

The view form that ledge was probably the best one you can get out of the place. You can see the locals having fun while reflections of light shimmer on the water’s surface. For a moment, the spring felt a little enchanted. Even though it wasn’t in our plans, we couldn’t resist our urges to take a dip after the spring’s invitation to cool us off.

I was the first one to take a dip into its refreshingly cool waters. Since we were there on a weekday, the number of locals bathing were few, but just by looking at everyone I could already imagine how packed it would be on a weekend.

My bare feet could feel small rocks and pebbles among the sandy soil of the ground underneath the pool. If you have very sensitive soles like I do, I suggest wearing your flip flops or aqua shoes when you go into the water as it could get pretty uncomfortable. Just making my way to one side of the spring took me 5 minutes, and by the time I was relatively enjoying myself, Gael arrived which prompted me to go back to our table.

You can rent out tables and chairs in case you want to have lunch there. There’s also a cemented cottage on the other side of the spring where friends can enjoy an afternoon picnic together. But that’s going to be one big mess, I thought. It’s actually quite surprising how well maintained the spot is despite few signs of progress. It’s not totally clean, but if they keep at it and maybe lose some of the things that make the place look tacky (hint: the mermaid statue), it could drive more tourists to this place.

Pictured above, I was stalking someone in particular because he looked damn fine from afar. I mean, just look at the abs. By the time he and his girlfriend walked over to our side of the spring, I nudged Gael and gave the guy a few hungry stares and we both agreed that the man was, indeed, delicious. Hahaha!

If you get tired of bathing in the spring, you could always go straight to the beach on the other side which is just a few steps away. What makes Obong Spring different from other sites in Cebu is its close proximity to the beach. It’s like hitting two birds with one stone. And based on the previous paragraph, I was able to hit a third bird. Hahahaha.

Instead of a wide sandbar for people to stroll around, Dalaguitnon Beach has rocks and wall of mangroves that’ll keep people from wandering far. Besides, I think this part is privately owned, though asking permission to hang out by the beach is possible.

After chatting with the Pinay Solo Backpacker, and trying to persuade her to join us on our ascent to Osmena Peak, we were able to convince her to join us on our spontaneous trip to Siquijor the next day! It was better than spending a night alone with Renz on a magical island. Lol.

HOW TO GET THERE

Getting there from Cebu City proper is easy breezy. Hop on a Ceres Bus from South Bus Terminal going to Oslob and tell the driver or conductor to drop you off at Obong Spring. They know where it is. Bus fare is less than a couple hundred bucks and it takes less than 3 hours to get there depending on the traffic, so I recommend you get up really early.