Torta
The name Argao has become synonymous with torta, tuba, and tableya. To visit the town and not taste its torta—a name loosely applied to a pastry, sandwich, or beaten egg mixed with either meat, fish, or vegetables—is sacrilege.
While one can buy torta from any bakeshop or commercial center in Cebu, many consider the one made in Argao as far superior in taste.
Rosario Sarmago, whose family is considered even by Argao Mayor Edsel Galeos as the undisputed original maker of the delicacy, now only bakes torta as a hobby but could be implored upon to take orders once in a while. A dozen of her after-meal sweet costs 370 pesos.
What makes Sarmago’s and other Argao makers’ torta different is one ingredient that is not used in any of similar delicacies made outside the town: tuba.
Saturday, 13 August 2011
Thursday, 11 August 2011
BUGASOK FALLS
"Hidden far deep in Argao’s mountain barangay called Conalum is the town’s majestic Bugasok Falls. A trip to this southern town in the province of Cebu would not be complete without a visit to the upland river that flows down a rocky cliff to create this rumbling water form in the heart of Argao.
The less difficult or more enjoyable way of getting to Bugasok Falls would be to trek through the riverside starting from the bridge built over the river in the mainland.
But since we were pressed for time, we chose to ride the infamous or dangerous “habal-habal,” which is what they call a motorcycle for hire (popular in mountain areas not reached by other means of transport) that can seat as many as five people in a single ride.
In our case, though, we paid two habal-habal drivers to bring the three of us to the farming village of Cansuje, from where it was only a 15-minute walk through a winding, oftentimes uphill footpath to the river that feeds the falls. Bugasok falls
However, reaching the river is only one part of the effort. Since we were on the upper side of the river, the waterfall was a little farther off and hidden from our view by a cliff on one side and the mountain on the other.
We, therefore, had to cross the river, taking time to choose an area where the current was its tamest. We then went up some part of the mountain and came down on the other side to get to the falls.
Crossing the river and going over some part of the mountain were by no means easy tasks. But the breathtaking view of Bugasok Falls was reward enough for our difficult and tedious excursion.
How to get there
To get the most of your trip to Argao, I recommend devoting some time to following the trail upriver to get to the falls. This way, I’m told, is an enchanted walk along “forested cliffs and solid rock boulders” where you get to see unique plants and birds.
I don’t know if this is still existing today but there is supposedly a regular tour to Bugasok Falls organized by the Argao local government through its tourism council. Check details of that tour at the official website of the Argao tourism council.
If you want the faster way, then hire a motorcycle for hire. In our case, we paid the drivers of two motorcycles-for-hire 800 pesos each to take us around Argao for the whole day.
The things you should include in your whole day itinerary: Bugasok Falls, view deck in the mountain (if you don’t mind some rough uphill ride) where you are afforded a view of the surrounding countryside, tablea factory (a local industry that involves roasting, grinding, and forming cacao beans into dark, bitter chocolate), weaving industry, torta making, old houses (some over 50 years old), and the walled pueblo (Spanish settlement with some of the original structures existing up to this day). Articles on these attractions coming soon here."
The less difficult or more enjoyable way of getting to Bugasok Falls would be to trek through the riverside starting from the bridge built over the river in the mainland.
But since we were pressed for time, we chose to ride the infamous or dangerous “habal-habal,” which is what they call a motorcycle for hire (popular in mountain areas not reached by other means of transport) that can seat as many as five people in a single ride.
In our case, though, we paid two habal-habal drivers to bring the three of us to the farming village of Cansuje, from where it was only a 15-minute walk through a winding, oftentimes uphill footpath to the river that feeds the falls. Bugasok falls
However, reaching the river is only one part of the effort. Since we were on the upper side of the river, the waterfall was a little farther off and hidden from our view by a cliff on one side and the mountain on the other.
We, therefore, had to cross the river, taking time to choose an area where the current was its tamest. We then went up some part of the mountain and came down on the other side to get to the falls.
Crossing the river and going over some part of the mountain were by no means easy tasks. But the breathtaking view of Bugasok Falls was reward enough for our difficult and tedious excursion.
How to get there
To get the most of your trip to Argao, I recommend devoting some time to following the trail upriver to get to the falls. This way, I’m told, is an enchanted walk along “forested cliffs and solid rock boulders” where you get to see unique plants and birds.
I don’t know if this is still existing today but there is supposedly a regular tour to Bugasok Falls organized by the Argao local government through its tourism council. Check details of that tour at the official website of the Argao tourism council.
If you want the faster way, then hire a motorcycle for hire. In our case, we paid the drivers of two motorcycles-for-hire 800 pesos each to take us around Argao for the whole day.
The things you should include in your whole day itinerary: Bugasok Falls, view deck in the mountain (if you don’t mind some rough uphill ride) where you are afforded a view of the surrounding countryside, tablea factory (a local industry that involves roasting, grinding, and forming cacao beans into dark, bitter chocolate), weaving industry, torta making, old houses (some over 50 years old), and the walled pueblo (Spanish settlement with some of the original structures existing up to this day). Articles on these attractions coming soon here."
Argao Church
my home town argao
Brief history of the town. The town of Argao is considered as one of the oldest towns in the province of Cebu, having been founded by the Spaniards and established as a pueblo in the year 1608. But prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, what was then Argao was composed of several families that lived mainly by fishing and farming, as many still do today. According to stories passed on from generation to generation, the name of the town was derived from an abundantly-growing plant in the area, known locally as “Sali-argaw”. The story of Argao’s name is very much like many other localities in the Philippines that derived their names from popular flora or fauna found in the area. As the story goes, a delegation of Spanish officials came to the town and asked a villager, some say a fisherman, what the name of the town was. Obviously, not comprehending the foreign tongue, the man presumed that the Spaniard was referring to the “Sali-argaw” plants in the area, as the Spaniards were waving their arms to mean the entire place. With this, the fisherman simply said “Sali-argaw”, and from that moment on the Spaniards christened the area as el pueblo de Argao. On that very same day, legends further say, many more Spaniards arrived to formalize the establishment of the pueblo and appointed Don Felipe Lucero as the town’s first gobernadorcillo.
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