Burot Beach 2014: Whilst Still A Virgin

With sand polvoron-like in features,

tides low,

seaweeds sometimes ticklish and sometimes piercing to the feet,

sea urchins ever present,

and water as clear as can be,

it’s always the beach we go back to for escape.

 

Burot Beach in Calatagan, Batangas is my newfound gem.

How lucky was I to chance upon another beautiful beach – and this one still unexploited.

Burot’s waters vary in color – some parts are white, others blue green and the rest a beautiful blue. The water is most of the time steady with the calmness being an open invitation for the people to just sit there and float around in the middle of it all since there are no waves to intimidate them. The calmness only justifies the essence of why people are there in the first place – to escape the noise that is their real life, and it’s just perfect.

With feet always on the loose, we roamed around the rest of the beach stretch. It was a good thing we didn’t just stay in one place because the parts we explored were even better than where we camped out. There were rocky mini-cliffs, fine sands and colorful sea creatures. Schools of fishes appeared from time to time. Island hopping here didn’t really mean hopping from island to island as much as it meant boating around Burot and going down to the white, shallow portions of the water for playtime and in the deeper fractions of the beach for swimming.

It was the closest I’ve gotten to the real island life. There was no decent resort around to take us in. Power was nonexistent. Apart from worn-out toilets, all there was was a sari-sari store that rents tents aside from the few basic store products to guests who don’t bring their own. Everything else we needed while there was upon us. The flashlights and a bonfire tricked the darkness of the night away. Uno cards served as entertainment in a rather quiet set. The breeze was all we had to cool ourselves while asleep. Waking up to bright skies strewn across the vast blue sea after a much needed rest was priceless.

My mates and I were fortunate enough to experience Burot while it is still in its full raw beauty. With the knowledge that development of this paradise is already in the works, I’m scared that in a way something will be lost in the process. The virginity perhaps – the virginity and everything that comes with it. I can only hope that with all the aesthetic renovations, at least a part of its simplicity will remain, as it is what makes up the charm of the beach itself.

Something else left a mark and mystery in my mind as we ventured into this place. Twice or thrice during our stay, a small group of locals would gather around a huge rock situated in the water in the middle of the day. I think it was some sort of a ritual. I had no clue what it was for, but it felt so strange and so local. Too bad I wasn’t able find out.

Burot Beach was such a fleeting moment, but I’m content knowing that I am lucky enough to even have the moment.

(Late post)

*Thanks to Antoniette, Maricris and Jerome for the photos!