Chasing the Sun at Maravillosa Park

Posted on 18 May 2018 at 20:05

It was the second option for our first summer kick-off this year to hold it at Maravillosa Park in Maravilla, Tabuelan, Cebu. But due to rest day schedule conflicts from each member of the group, the venue was then replaced on the last minute to Pandanon Island. Since it was canceled I was planning to have a solo trip to Maravillosa Park not until a member of the group dropped a message asking if I am willing to have a second summer trip to Maravillosa Park because their company team building was canceled and she wanted to push it through so I said YES!

Maravillosa Park is a 3-4 hour travel from the city to the northern part of Cebu in Barangay Maravilla, Tabuelan Cebu. Don't get confused between Maravilla and Maravillosa. Maravilla is a district while Maravillosa is the name of a park in Maravilla district. This public beach has been circulating in social media since last year and was flocked by tourists from then on. No entrance fees to be collected as what public beaches would normally practice. The beach gained an instant popularity after the social media circulation and making a name in a precise moment of time if I am going to base it on the number of visitors on the day when I started chasing the sun at Maravillosa Park.

Golden Hour at Maravillosa Park / Photo Credit: Dimpsy via Facebook

It's so fascinating how nature unfolds its beauty differently on the horizon each day of the year. One of nature's sought-after sightings when in a beach is the golden hour. It can be seen either after sunrise or before sunset. The tide was at its lowest level when the sun started to set and guests started to walk on the muddy white sand while waiting for the sun to fully set. I took a snap of this couple crossing at the center of the sun's rays and capturing them just as I want it to be. This is the best photo capture of the sunset in my entire travel history of chasing the sun.

Maravillosa Beach Trip / Video Credit: Nico Tabz via Youtube

Here is a video of our Maravillosa Park trip created by Nico Tabz. A compilation video from the time we left off at the North Bus Terminal until we arrived at our drop off point to a short walk to the Maravillosa Park entrance down to the beach front, went to check on the private campsite, do the grilling, playing on the rippled wet white sand just before sunset, and best of all watching the sun as it sets.

HOW TO GET TO MARAVILLOSA PARK?

► BY BUS

From Cebu City, Airport or City Piers all you need to do is to:
- Take a ride from your starting point going to Cebu North Bus Terminal.
- Once in the terminal, look for the Mimi bus that has a Maravillosa signage found in front of the bus. Mimi bus will drop you off right in front of the short walkway going to the park. Don't go for the Ceres bus bound for Tabuelan since you will all be dropped off at the Tabuelan terminal and you need to ride a habal-habal (single motorcycle for hire) for P50 (not quite sure) as what I heard.

THE LANDMARK

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Maravilla Baranggay Hall / Photo Credit: Dimpsy via Facebook

From the short walkway from the main highway finally, we reached the Maravilla Barangay Hall where Maravillosa Park is just a few steps away on the left side when facing the hall. Seeing this Barangay Hall indicates that we are on the right track. The park is managed by the Barangay Officials of Maravilla were they do a night roving on the beach front and even patrolling on the sea using a small motorboat -- I know because I sneak out from our tent before the crack of dawn.

THE ENTRANCE

Maravillosa Park Entrance / Photo Credit: Dimpsy via Facebook

As you take a few steps from the Maravilla Barangay Hall you will be greeted by this wooden triangular pennant with an engraved Maravillosa Park that serves as the main entrance of the park. Standing on the entrance of the park gives you a vivid view of the white sand and the turquoise sea water where expectation versus reality struck me once again for surpassing my anticipation of a public beach. A clean and pure white sand and its crystal clear water are incomparable to other public beaches that I've explored. Maravillosa Park beach is the best by far.

AMENITIES

► MINI STORE AND TOURISM OFFICE

Mini Store and Tourism Office / Photo Credit: Dimpsy via Facebook

Try to notice the mini store and a Tourism Office on the left side of the main entrance of Maravillosa Park. The mini store is for your necessity needs while spending a day or two in the park. All questions or inquiries can be entertained at the Tourism Office just beside the mini store. Two of my friends with blue and red backpacks were heading towards the Tourism Office for inquiries on tent rental and room rental.

► PUBLIC COTTAGES

Public Cottages for Rent / Photo Credit: Dimpsy via Facebook

There are cottages for rent that can accommodate 20 people (just my estimation) for a daily rate of P200 ($4). You just need to be early when getting here because all cottages were fully occupied by the time we arrived at the park. The cottage has a center table and I would prefer renting this one than a monobloc table in terms of securing our belongings but as I've said it was fully occupied.

► MONOBLOC TABLES

If you are planning to spend only a day here in Maravillosa Park then you can only rent for a monobloc table without an umbrella for P100 ($2) that comes with four monobloc chairs. An additional fee of P100 ($2) for a beach umbrella if you want to secure a shade for your table, belongings, and yourself. Take note though that trees are minimal in the area so I highly suggest renting an umbrella unless, you want to catch some rays then go ahead and take the pleasure of doing so.

► ROOMS

Staying more than a day in the park will highly require a room to stay if you are the kind of person who wants to have a comfortable way of spending your vacation. Rooms for rent that are managed by the Barangay are also available but you need to have a reservation prior to the day/s of your visit. There are private beach resorts that are also available nearby as we stroll along the beachfront and what I've heard the room rate starts at P1,500 ($30) to P3,000 ($60).

► TENTS

There are two campsites that you can choose from: the public and the private. Both sites are in beachfront. What differs between the two is obviously the public site belongs to the public but is governed by the local officials of Maravilla while the private site is privately owned site by a private individual who is a local in Maravilla. Refer to the description of each photo below for an elaborate discussion of the other differences between the two campsites.

PUBLIC CAMPSITE (MARAVILLOSA BEACHFRONT)

Tent Mounting at Maravillosa Park Beach Front / Photo Credit: Dimpsy via Facebook

If you are a camping fanatic, a girl scout or a boy scout maybe then grab a tent and rent it for only P150 ($3) which is good for 3-4 persons and P100 ($2) for space rental if you bring your own tent. Scheduled mounting of the tents is at 5 pm and be dismounted at around 8-9 am the following day and you are given the privilege to choose your best spot on the beachfront.

PRIVATE CAMPSITE (OWNED BY A LOCAL)

Private Camp Site / Photo Credit: Dimpsy via Facebook

There is a camping site that we visited when we arrived at Maravillosa Park. This site is privately owned by a local in Maravilla. The rate for tent rental is P300 ($6) and it is good for 5-8 people and the tent can be mounted for 24 hours with no scheduled mounting on this site. If you have your own tent, space rental is P150 ($3). I like the idea of having my tent mounted right away and can stay for up to 24 hours but what I don't like is the compact tents once it becomes too crowded at the time of the day goes by since it has shorter beachfront, unlike the public one there are spaces in between tents because of its long stretch of beachfront.

► GRILLING STATION

Grilling Station / Photo Credit: Dimpsy via Facebook

There is a designated grilling station just beside the shower and comfort rooms. It is on the right side when facing the Maravilla Barangay Hall. You can just take a spot here since the grilling fireplace can be used by a maximum of three people only. So my friends chose on the side of the fireplace and mind you, this area is also a smoking area but it was a good day that no one lighted a cigarette during the grilling period.

► SHOWER AND COMFORT ROOMS

Since it's a public beach, don't expect for a cozy comfort room and shower room. The park actually has one bathroom and one comfort room for females and one for males I guess. There is a fee for bathing, urinating, and if you want to poop. Here is the breakdown of fees:

Bath → P15

Pee → P5

Poop → P10

BEFORE THE GOLDEN HOUR

Once we're settled and few hours after taking our lunch the tide was beginning to go low. The sun is still high even if it's almost 5 pm and while waiting for the sun to go down and before dipping into the water we mounted our tents on our chosen spots on the beachfront. So when the sun slowly lost its fieriness we decided to walk into the beach for a nearer view of the sunset and had this silhouette shoot.

Sand, Sea, Sun, and Me / Photo Credit: Dimpsy via Facebook

It's a literal description of the photo where you can see the Sand on a low tide, the Sea, the Sun, and of course Me! It was very fortunate for us to experience such a very low tide on this beach. One thing to do in Maravillosa Park that shouldn't be missed is to chase the "Sunset" and witness the"Golden Hour". But even if the sun did not set yet, it was still amazingly beautiful as I got the best caption and the best pose ever on a natural silhouette mode.

THE GOLDEN HOUR

The Golden Hour is referred to as a period just after sunrise or just before sunset where the bluish horizon changes into a reddish-orange color. Such a lovely sight to behold!

Sunset / Photo Credit: Dimpsy via Facebook

Seeing the sun slowly diffusing its light and illuminating widely to the horizon was the most fulfilling part of this beach trip. Nature never fails to impress me at all times. A perfect setting for two unknown opposite individuals witnessing the wonder of nature. No one knows what the future holds for these two strangers brought together in Maravillosa Park at the golden hour, chasing the sun and standing by in distance unknowingly while staring at the sun as it slowly unfolds its wonder. Who knows? They might be each other's forever! LOL

Maravillosa Park / Video Credit: Yen Yoh via Youtube

A video compilation of our Maravillosa Park trip that I created for the first time just to share with you the beauty of this public beach and how we enjoyed the day on the sandbar while taking pleasure in each others company. I missed to include in the video the sunset but you can view it in the first video attachment of this blog. Bear with me as I am not a pro video maker but at least I tried.

END OF DAY ONE

I ended my day at Maravillosa Park by chasing the sun on its setting hour amazingly. Never had the chance to witness the sun sets as perfect and as beautiful as the one in Maravilla. I like how it sets during low tide because it gave me an opportunity to see the setting sun on a nearer sighting without zooming in my smartphone camera. As for me, the best highlight of the park is the sunset. Maravillosa Park surpasses my expectation of a public beach. The long stretch fine white sand is comparable to that of any other white sand beaches. On the part of cleanliness, it was well maintained by locals but what's so disgusting is seeing those locals picking up those rubbish on the beachfront left by unethical beings. If only people can apply the third principle of the "Leave No Trace" principles and that is to dispose of the waste properly then it would be the best payback to Mother Nature and beach closures won't be possible.

Leave No Trace in my own understanding is a moral conduct set not only for outdoor activities but applicable to everyone's backyard just so to promote conservation of the ecosystem and the natural environment to avoid future human impact. Thus, it's as simple as leave no trash!

If you travel often, here is a Querlo chat for you to share your experiences with us.

That ends my new summer travel blog and there will be a part two of this blog which is the second day at Maravillosa Park so watch out for it.