Finding a hotel for an over night stay was difficult since most of the listed hotels are either already closed (La Corona, Rapids Hotel, etc), contact numbers are not updated and no photos at all to show. Some hotel rooms can easily pass for “motels”. I decided to go to the Tourism Office (fronting the church) and Mr. Zosimo E. Felonia (049 501 3544, 0929 819 8512)gladly led me to La Vista Hotel, a cozy yellow 3 story building just near the Church and opposite the only bank in the area, BDO. It has rooms with double beds for P2,500 per night. Their “penthouse”/upper deck room has a terrace where you can see the river and the city. It has a bathroom and extra toilet for bigger groups. La Vista also offers small rooms with a bed for only P350 in the adjacent building which they also own. They have ample parking for guests in another lot nearby which they also own. You can call Beth (049 501 1229 or 0912 9471 843) for inquiries.

The accommodation fee does not include breakfast. Meals can be taken from nearby Andok’s and several other eateries along the road. There is also a bakery and a 7-11. For breakfast, you can get a hot drink at 7-11 and buy some bread or bring it to the nearby Andoks for your usual tapisilog.

The boat ride costs P1,250 at La Vista for adults and children alike. Children get the same boat fee. It includes all the cost of taking the ride. At the end of the ride, the boat men expects a tip. A boat takes a maximum of 2 passengers.

The boat fee of P1,250 is quite hefty. But this is the new fee imposed by the city government. Boatmen complain that since this was raised from P635 years back, the number of visitors declined, and all 987 boatmen have to wait for their turn. It takes 10 days before a boatman gets his turn on a regular cycle. A small portion of the fee goes to boat men and they believe a bigger portion is given to the city government, which they do little to promote the place, even update website, or check on the quality of hotels. The route ride aside from its natural fauna could have been better and cleaner (grafitti on river banks). At least the boatmen have uniforms and there is a printed “route” of the entire ride which can be found on boat stations or hotels.

Though initially the fee is quite cumbersome for a local tourist, the amount of effort and experience the boatmen do to make the trip possible and memorable was just impressive.