Category Archives: Beach Bumming

Seven destinations in Caramoan in a day

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“You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” ~Christopher Columbus

A day was not enough to visit all the islands in Caramoan but we’re grateful to have stepped foot on five of the top 10 islands in Caramoan plus a not-so-popular small beach and island.

The sun shone brightly amid the blue skies. It was one fine day when we arrived at Bikal Port. I was surprised to see the small boats. I expected much knowing that Caramoan is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the country. Nonetheless, the locals were very accommodating.
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Bato and Canigao: Of reunions, haunted house, and beach bumming

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It was past 11 in the evening when we arrived at Holy Child Pensionne in Bato, Leyte, my grandmother’s hometown.  My neck muscles ached due to the long ride. Stiff neck.  When I saw the bed, I didn’t take my camera out and just rested until I fell asleep. Dead tired.


The next day started with visits to relatives and to our departed great grandparents. Most of the dead  in the Bato Cemetery were either buried six feet under or placed in the apartment tombs. After saying a prayer, we then headed to Barrio Tagaytay in Bato, where Nay Perta lives.



I learned that ‘Nay Perta was the lavandera of Mama’s family during their teenage years.  Mama and Tita Babeth were so excited to see their house helper, whom they considered part of their family.  Even at the age of 75, she’s still active and strong. We said our goodbyes and proceeded to our next stopover, the abandoned house in Alejos.


The house in Alejos gave an eerie and creepy feeling the first time I saw it. It’s like one of the sets in a horror movie. Extra precautions should be done when driving at night in this area. The house sometimes appeared to be on the road according to local stories. Nonetheless, I had my photo taken at the staircase.


The sun began manifesting its heat. Summer was indeed here. I can’t wait to jump into the water and swim. Finally, we ended our stopovers and drove to our destination for the day, Canigao Island in Brgy, Itum, Matalom, Leyte. It only took us 15 minutes to get to Matalom from Bato and another 15 minutes for the boat ride to Canigao.


At the jump-off point, we paid 50 pesos each for the boat ride. Good thing, it was not chartered or else it would be pricier.


From afar, I saw the stretch of cream sand. Yes, it’s not your Boracay white sand beach but Canigao has its own charming beauty that attracted me. It’s not crowded. It’s untouristy.  :)


Canigao island has an area of 28, 512m2/sqm and is home to abundant of marine inhabitants like the pata, sea urchin, star fish, tabangko, tangigi, daphagan, takubo, soft corals, bawo and bulis. Don’t ask me about these species. I’m not a marine biologist. haha.


When the boat docked, we saw a ticket booth which required us to pay 15 pesos entrance fee per person for maintenance.

A signage at the ticket booth caught my attention and put a smile on my face.


I didn’t waste time and captured the sights in Canigao like a kid in the playground. This was happiness! :)

The elders then called us to eat. Though not commercialized, Canigao Island has picnic tables and even a tree house. There’s also a grilling area for fresh fish. A comfort room is also available for cleansing after a dip in the sea.

After being satisfied with my shots, I left Rash (my canon 450d)  to the care of my parents and plunged into the waters.

Irene snorkels

 

Wish was with me anyway to capture underwater shots. My cousins and I were having fun snorkeling until I saw a white flat creature with black spots gliding beneath the rock. I immediately emerged from the water and screamed, “snake!!!” And so we hurriedly swam back to the shore. After awhile, I wasn’t really sure whether it was a snake that I saw. But it’s better to be safe than sorry.

We transferred to the other side of the island. This time, it’s really the swimming site. Nothing much to see underwater but a log. Hmm… The caretakers should really clean and take care of the island.

My brother then asked me to take his pictures underwater. The fun continued but then the waves were growing stronger. We got up and just did jump shots before leaving the island.

We bade the island goodbye with memories worth remembering. It’s not a goodbye but a hello to more travelers who would experience Canigao’s rustic charm.


As the signage in Canigao says,“It’s not how much we have, how much we spend, but how much we enjoy that makes happiness.”

 

Essential Contact:

Boat to Canigao Island Capacity

10-15 pax

M/B Rutchell- 09205214431

Coron Day 2- My Island Birthday Adventure (PART 2)

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“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. ” ~Albert Einstein

Nature is magical! That’s what I understood, Einstein. There’s more to explore and discover. This was what I realized when we continued our island hopping to the Twin Lagoon. Read part 1 of the Island hopping here.

As our boatman Kuya Eli threw the anchor, he told us that we need to pass through a hole, which disappears when it’s high tide.

Since it was low tide when we arrived, the hole was passable. The limestone wall, where the hole is, divides the two lagoons.

For those who are afraid to swim through the hole, they can use the makeshift stairs, which connects one lagoon to the other.

TWIN LAGOON

But since adventure tickled me, I chose to swim through the hole.  Our guides gladly assisted us too. One should take extra care though when swimming. One wrong move and you might get a bump on the head. While swimming,  I felt the difference in temperature. The upper surface of the water was cold while the deeper part of the water was warm.

Our guides explained that the upper layer  is fresh water (thus, cold)  while the deeper layer  is salt water (thus, warm). The Twin Lagoon is another basin where salt meets fresh water.

The inner lagoon’s view was very relaxing. I even saw a native nipa hut built on stilts near the lagoon. It’s a house of one of the Tagbanuas, the indigenous people of Coron Island.

To get a picture perfect souvenir in the Twin Lagoon, sit on a balsa or a makeshift raft made of bamboo.


After the photo-op, I learned that the purpose of the raft/balsa was to save those who were afraid to swim. The ladies whom we met said that they’re scared to swim through the hole. Hence, their boatmen let them use the raft.


BANOL BEACH

Our next stop was Banol Beach. The water’s clear. The sky’s blue. One can sit on the sand, read a book and just be a bum. But since everything seems picturesque, I chose to capture the scenery.

STRANDED

Kuya Eli told another story. This time, it was about Banol beach. He said that before, they didn’t bring tourists/ travellers in this beach. It was not as famous as the CYC Island.  I thought, but why? Banol was such a beauty.

SKELETON WRECK

I looked at the time. We need to chase the sun before it sets or else we wouldn’t get a glimpse of the skeleton wreck. No, not the skeleton  of the human body but a skeleton of a fishing boat.

The Skeleton Wreck is one of the shallowest shipwreck sites in  Coron. Just by snorkeling, one can see the upper part of the boat. It was called as such because the only parts left were the stringers of steel-hulled boat, ribs and keel.

The Skeleton Wreck has a maximum depth of 22 meters. Since our boatman is a diver, I lent my camera for him to take a closer shot of the wreck.

If we’ve visited the place earlier when the sun was up, we could have seen the whole wreck.

Anyhow, we just stayed a little time here and sailed to CYC Island, our last itinerary for the day.

CYC ISLAND

When I saw CYC Island, which stands for Coron Youth Club according to our boatmen, I thought of Survivor, the TV series.

CYC Island, was once a paradise, according to our boatman, Kuya Eli. But some people took advantage of its beauty. Since no one looks after the place, they stole the white sand from the area, leaving it bare. Among the islands that we’ve visited, this was the only island with no entrance fee.

With the island’s rough look surrounded with mangroves, I felt like one of the Survivor castaways. haha. another photoshoot galore.

It’s not good to walk barefoot here since there were lots of sharp objects in the sand.

We bade the island goodbye as the sun approached its resting place.


It was indeed one great day! Even though my 22nd year was a rough ride in the waves of life, God still showered me with blessings. At the end of the storm was rainbow. Thank you Lord!

Looking forward to my 23rd year of adventure! Don’t stop believing! Cheers to life filled with love and happiness. :)



Coron Day 1: Sail to Paradise

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“Dreams do come true. We just have to believe and have faith.”

Thanks to impulsiveness! Five months ago, I was able to book AirphilExpress’ roundtrip airfare to Busuanga for  1,137.00.

Today, I began my journey in one of my must-see-destination list—Coron in Busuanga Island, Palawan. As usual, I took the window seat and took aerial shots of the islands. Though sleepy, I chose to shoot and the view from above was worth it!

The flight from Manila to Busuanga took 40 minutes, faster than what the boarding pass indicated: 1 hour and 5 minutes.  First thing that I noticed when we landed at the Francisco Reyes Airport was the cellular signal. No Globe signal.

Since I have arranged the trip with DIY Coron, we didn’t have a hard time finding a ride. DIY Coron’s van driver,  Jayjay, welcomed us. I gazed at the surroundings as we made our way to Coron town. Everything’s green and blue! The hills blended well amidst the deep blue sky. Goats grazed in the grass. Picture perfect! Just what I would like to see—the simple and quiet life in an island.  The thirty-minute ride from Busuanga Airport to Coron town cost us Php 450 (Php 150/head).

It was 12 noon when we arrived at Coron Village Lodge. We didn’t have a definite itinerary for the day since the tours with DIY would start on the 17th. But there’s this one island which I wanted to visit—Malcapuya Island. The pictures on Flickr inspired me.

From Village Lodge, we hailed a six-seater tricycle. Fare costs Php 8.00 each but the driver, Charlie offered to wait for us while we ate lunch at Kawayanan Grille. He just said, “Kayo na ho bahala kung magkano.”

We ordered seafood sisig and ensaladang seaweed grass. Both dishes were tasty but were pricey.  Prices of the viands were similar to that of Manila restaurants ( Php 150- Php 350/viand).

At around 1pm, Charlie dropped us at the Gateway Port, where the boats were lined up. When I saw the price list of the boats, I had second thoughts. Trip to Malcapuya/Malaroyroy/Banana Island would cost me Php 3,500. The boatmen were telling me that we should have arrived earlier. I replied that as much as we want to, Airphilexpress changed the flight schedule. Originally, the flight to Busuanga is scheduled at 8:00 am.

I tried to bargain and the boatman Nestor agreed to Php 3,000. Yes, another slash in my pocket but then again, experience is more valuable than money. So, off we go to Malcapuya. We were warned that it would be a long ride, 1.5 hours-2 hours. They also warned us about the big waves.

Indeed, the trip was long.  Papa was already complaining to me. “Anak, ano bang makikita natin dun?” I just said, “Wait and see.”  I knew he was nervous of the waves.

Truly, the waves were huge. I just told my folks to relax, trust in God, and nothing bad will happen. Nestor, the boatman, was skilled enough to navigate through the waves.  He then pointed at the island in front of us, “’Yan na yung Malcapuya.”

I saw paradise…crystal clear blue green waters, stretch of white sand. The worried looks on my parents’ faces faded. I smiled and told them, “See. <laughs>”

Papa said, “Ikaw talaga, ‘yung mga trip mo mala-Survivor Philippines.”

Mama and I just laughed. We jumped into the water and began our “photoshoot.”

It was fun! fun! fun!

Before we left the island, we quenched our thirsts with fresh buco juice (Php 20).

No matter how long, scary, the journey was….at the end of the fuzzy waves was Paradise!


Other details on Malcapuya:

Entrance Fee – Php 200.00

Overnight Stay- Php 700.00 (electric fan)/ Php 1,000.00/head (aircon)

Boatman: Nestor-09182077207