Travel Mindanao | Lake Seloton: Hello Sunrise, Good Bye Lake Sebu

Catching what's left of the sunrise
Catching what’s left of the sunrise

Sometimes it’s disheartening to see a place change. There are times when places are best not seen again as not to ruin the initial perception of a place. Like love at first sight, when emotions run high and the amazing sense of bewilderment how something could captivate your being without understanding. Sometimes it’s beyond words, like how the placidness of a lake can calms one’s inner being. How a wisp of mist gently dances above the water can hypnotise. How the light plays with your vision. Such is the morning at Lake Seloton when I first experienced the place. However, things have slightly changed on my recent visit.

On a large bamboo raft
On a large bamboo raft

Lake Seloton the Sunrise Lake

The #TravelMindanao team decided to visit Lake Seloton for sunrise in our last day in Lake Sebu. We were up already by 4:30am but the habal-habal we hired didn’t arrive. We walked to the highway and found ourselves hailing any habal-habal that would pass by. Fortunately we found our rides and we made it in time with still some good light left. We entered the resort we were accustomed to shoot and I was aghast to find a pool being constructed by the lake. It certainly is something I feel would be out of place. Unfortunately the owners felt differently. Probably thinking that this added facility would attract more people.

A dug-out canoe and a boat
A dug-out canoe and a boat

Leaving Lake Sebu

Can’t this idyll simplicity enough to attract people? For a city folk like me, the sight of dug out canoes parked by the banks, water lilies in full bloom in the morning and the fishermen, gliding fluidly above still waters, the foggy mountains on the horizon is a balm to the weary eyes. I certainly traveled miles from home just to see this. As we left Lake Seloton that morning, I was keeping my hopes up that things wouldn’t change as much as to ruin my perfect memory of this place.

A local fisherman gliding through the placid water
A local fisherman gliding through the placid water
Up the tree and the view from above
Up the tree and the view from above