Tierra Alta, Valencia, Negros Oriental

Farola is Spanish for lighthouse. 

The lighthouse at the top of the hill was the reason I went there. It was, as some people would say, my gravity, a compulsion to see lighthouses wherever I go.

This is is not on an island nor near the sea, rather on top of a hill.  I never knew that a lighthouse could be anywhere else other than near the ocean.

Here are some quotes on lighthouses.

"Woolf drew on her memories of her holidays in Cornwall for To the Lighthouse, which was conceived in part as an elegy on her parents. Her father was a vigorous walker and an Alpinist of some renown, a member of the Alpine Club and editor of the Alpine Journal from 1868 to 1872; he was the first person to climb the Schreckhorn in the Alps and he wrote on Alpine pleasures in The Playground of Europe (1871).
Author: Jane Goldman

 "There it is; the light across the water. Your story. Mine. His. It has to be seen to be believed. And it has to be heard. In the endless babble of narrative, in spite of the daily noise, the story waits to be heard.Some people say that the best stories have no words. They weren't brought up to Lighthouse keeping. It is true that words drop away, and that the important things are often left unsaid. The important things are learned in faces, in gestures, not in our locked tongues. The true things are too big or too small, or in any case is always the wrong size to fit in the template called language."
Author: Jeanette Winterson

"Jack's vulnerability shone through him in that exact moment like a lighthouse beacon in a raging storm. Somewhere along the way, we'd crossed an imaginary line where feelings and emotions blurred into the unknown. A place neither of us dared to go before."
Author: J. Sterling

 "Actuality is when the lighthouse is dark between flashes: it is the instant between the ticks of the watch: it is a void interval slipping forever through time: the rupture between past and future: the gap at the poles of the revolving magnetic field, infinitesimally small but ultimately real. It is the interchronic pause when nothing is happening. It is the void between events."
Author: George Kubler

 "It's like all my life I've been this tower standing at the edge of the ocean for some obscure purpose, and only now, almost eighteen years in, has someone thought to flip the switch that reveals that I'm not a tower at all. I'm a lighthouse. It's like waking up. I am incandescent."
Author: Laini Taylor

The walk up the steep uphill road was at least 15 minutes. It was drizzling so we had to walk faster than usual. The cameras were in danger of being soaked so we kept hugging them. We kept on laughing while the rain pelted gently on our faces. We hoped that the rain would not develop into something stronger. It didn't.

 All the while we kept on stopping and taking pictures. It was fun and the exercise was just what we needed. My hair was plastered on my face, but I didn't mind. 

We went to the top of the farola or lighthouse.As we expected the view was even more smashing. There were mountains that surrounded us, there was Dumaguete at the other side and a river that ran as long as my eyes could see, not mentioning the clouds that drifted by that day. It was a somber August afternoon. I liked it the way it was, gray, lazy, clouds promising rains. Us wandering hopelessly, wanting to take in as much as we can.

The Tierra Alta is a posh residential district that opened last  2012. 

It's open to the public and guests can ride the zipline 250Php/pax (which was closed when we were there) and go swimming (500Php/pax) or just roam around and take photos (50Php /pax only for viewing)

Located at Palinpinon Road Valencia, 1 kilometer away from Dumaguete city limits, it's one of the highest points in the area.
From Dumaguete we simply boarded a passenger jeepney going to Valencia and told the driver that we would get off at Tierra Alta. It was a 15 minute drive from Duma. We paid 12 Php and got off at the entrance.
It would also be an option to hire a van to go there, but walking was the way to go with us. Before I went there I have already planned the time we were to spend.

The entrance fee  is 50Php for viewing only, or you can opt to swim for 500Php/pax(200Php of which is consumable at the Tierra Cafe.)

Since we didn't swim, we paid 50Php and then went to the cafe to have merienda (snack).

At the Tierra Cafe, the food was average and not so pricey.
Since it was only 4 in the afternoon we just had a light snack. If I remember right only 120 for a pitcher of iced tea and 145 for a huge plate of fries, and 115 for a plate of churros with chocolate dip.

How to get there:

From dumaguete City, ride a jeepney going to Valencia. Tell the driver you are getting off at Tierra Alta which is only 15-20 minutes from Duma.

Tierra Alta Residential Resort

1. Address: 2428 South National Road, Calindagan, Dumaguete, 6200 Negros Oriental

   Phone:(035) 422 2730
3. Write a review

Dumaguete Hitting too Close to Home

Since I left Dumaguete a week ago I have been mulling over what my friend Alvin told me, that he was looking for a place to settle down when"the right time comes". Dumaguete is one of the top retirement places in the world. One reason is people there speak English. There were a lot, I mean a lot of foreigners that I was quite shocked that the streets and cafes were filled with them, especially Sans Rival where they sold the sweet concoction silvanas and sans rival.

Dumaguete's most famous walk is Rizal Boulevard. The morning I arrived at Duma it was very early so I decided to walk the Boulevard. It was low tide and the rocks that were scattered on the bay were covered in green moss or algae. I was not sure but it was pretty.

Dumaguete is a place where Filipino writers visit to confer or simply to have a vacation. It is a center of gravity for writers because of its urbane atmosphere and proximity to romantic beaches and steamy hot springs in Valencia.

I was hungry so I ate the usual Filipino breakfast in a small cafe called Hey Lugaw. The cafe was tiny but convenient.

Along the Boulevard were many food places like this.

   I couldn't resist the temptation so i took my selfie at "the sign".

Near the Boulevard was the market where one can get the puto maya and especial suman which should be paired with hot thick chocolate which you pour over the suman or puto. Yummy!

Suman plain is 12 Php   Suma(chocolate flavored) 12Php
Suman Special is 25Php    Chocolate syrup is 10Php (served separately)

 The university is named after Dr. Horace Silliman, a retired businessman and philanthropist from New York who gave the initial sum of $10,000 to start the school. His bust can be seen right in front of the beautiful original Silliman building  located at Rizal Boulevard.

 Silliman is the home of many famous writers in the Philippines, notably the Tiempos and their daughter Rowena Tiempo Torrevillas.

The campus is lined up with big old trees that make the place so serene.

My friends Alvin and AJ flew from Manila on my second day in Dumaguete, and we had merienda at the most popular cafe, the Sans Rival on the Rizal Boulevard. Very elegant for a cafe, an old house turned into a contemporary restaurant.

How to go there

From Manila, take a plane going to Dumaguete. It's a one hour flight.