Alibijaban, Tinalisayan and Sombrero Islands 2016: Low-key Amazing, That’s All They Have To Be

As if your unconscious rawness isn't already a turn on

As if your cloud and sea's seamless melding isn't a miracle on its own

God so wished to show us what it’s like in heaven

He made you, said for now you’ll do, safe haven

He let me experience you with the other halves of my soul

Now no other could ever say they had you better than I did

Cos they'd never ever have you like I did

Cos they'd never ever have soul mates like mine

Who would’ve thought desertion could feel this divine?

Tinalisayan Island, Burias Group of Islands

I know I haven’t been to so many beaches yet, so I can’t tell for sure. But based on all the beach destinations I’ve been to, Tinalisayan may be the best island as of yet. I’m still torn because Lord knows the islands of Caramoan can give me a run for their money too.

Tinalisayan may be the most beautiful of all for it owns up to a bunch of things.

We were dropped off on a round sandbar which was an awesome welcome idea. The sand was basically fine white with a mix of pebbles. The good thing was they were small, so they didn’t really hurt the feet. From the sandbar, we walked through the cold, waist-leveled water until we reached the curvy shore. It was the perfect hue of turquoise water I’ve seen in my life. For someone who’s very particular with beach gradients, I was the happiest. It was beautiful. Swimming for a bit felt good too, as I didn’t feel any itchy or prickly skin sensation while in the water. It was usually unavoidable when in saltwater.

As if the sandbar and the beach weren’t already enough, a small plateau filled with palm trees may also be found. It was meant to serve as a chill spot for whoever needed shade and a place to stop and stare. Standing there, it was different seeing the beach from that vantage point, like everything was perfectly placed. The sand, the water and the sky were so perfectly blended that I couldn’t tell anymore where the sand ended to meet the water and the water ended to meet the infinite clouds.

                               

Sombrero Island, Burias Group of Islands

Sightseeing from near and afar, people would obviously get why Sombrero Island is named as such. Sombrero (hat in English) is the form the island takes.

I couldn’t tell for sure if they were once just one, but there were two islands. The one where we had lunch was at the bigger island. It was yet another pretty place of escape, a tad bit more commercialized too. There were little cottages and other accommodations. From here, a good view of the small, hat-looking island may be seen. They were being separated by meters and meters of water, not sure if the distance was swimmable though. Also, I’m not sure if the latter’s privately owned or not. What was weird was it was shaped so much like a hat that it made us wonder whether it was natural or was just artificially made to look like that. It was uncanny, too good to be true, but definitely an eye candy.

We also passed by Dapa Island, another part of Burias Group of Islands. It didn’t seem much like an island to me, though. It only looked like a flat rock formation that emerged from the waters. We went around it via boat but never actually stepped foot on it. As much as we would love to do so since every new place is worth discovering, we took a pass, so we’d still have time to visit Animasola Island only to be disappointed in the end.

Animasola Island, yet another part of Burias Group of Islands, was supposed to be our final destination on our first day, but due to the strong winds and waves, the boatmen decided against going anymore. It would be risky they said. We were really excited to see the rock formations that the island’s most popular for, though. We had been talking about it since the beginning of the island hopping. Too bad there wasn’t anything that could be done about it anymore. Aww. Next time perhaps?

Alibijaban Island

A small hut, a couple of tents, a make-do monoblock table – the only things that made up our lodging in this island where we kept our things, prepared food and rested for the night.

For your information, Alibijaban is still located along the borders of Quezon province. This residential island was the first to grace our eyes, but it was the last we explored since we had to prioritize Masbate. If there was any good that this yielded, it was that we got to spend all of our second day enjoying this place alone.

On the one hand, the residential area is still raw, still isn’t inhabited by too many locals, still a modest place. Electricity is only available from 6PM onwards. Decent water is scarce too. There isn’t much to do but swim, but even that wouldn’t be so incredible because of the seaweeds. On the other hand, the island’s a long stretch that its other end is something else; at the other end of the beach was where all the magic was.

Alibijaban’s isolated portion is pure nature. It is where another fine sandbar may be found, but it is best known for its mangroves. Though they may not look that appealing at first (big thanks to horror/suspense films for using them during creepy scenes), they are actually nice to look at collectively. They are not that tall. While the stems are not that chunky, the roots are the opposite. They are huge and swarming. Their look during low tide kind of adds to the raw vibe in the tropics. Low tide also means us being able to wander and play around, come close to and actually go through the large beach forest.

Our restless feet even brought us to this abandoned, elevated and worn-out hut which was the coolest hangout spot after so much walking done. It was shaded and had a table. We would’ve eaten lunch there except we left our food in the boat, which as it would later turn out, was not a bad thing too.

One and a half days, three islands and no proper swimming just yet – because island hopping was just really island hopping, more about taking all the view in, appreciating the colors, feeling the air, not wanting to miss anything on the itinerary of islands. We couldn’t let this be all there’d be, so we asked our boatmen to take us in the middle of the sea where we could enjoy some sun and swim our heart away. It was our adventure capper. We just floated there then snorkeled a bit. Lunch, even though just made up of some canned goods, boiled eggs and dinner leftover liempos, was still awesome because we had it on our boat by the water, and that doesn’t happen everyday. Lunch by the boat was made more fun by my friends’ antics, as I watch them struggle, slip and eventually fall off the boat in an effort to actually get on the boat. Mantra at that moment was laugh first before helping, and they didn’t get mad about it at all.

As with our island hopping experience, I had been so accustomed to the idea of hopping as something stress-free – just quickly and smoothly sailing from one island to another.  Oh, how wrong was I to think that this time. Gratefully, the somewhat harrowing boat rides for hours lost their impact on us the moment we were off the boat and onto the sand. Clichéd? You could say that, but honest to goodness, it really was what happened, and I couldn’t come up with any other way of better putting it. There could be no better compliment to an island. From Alibijaban to Tinalisayan, it took us roughly two hours; from Tinalisayan to the other islands, travel time was more or less 45 minutes to an hour each. The waves weren’t so friendly either. Then there was also the high heat.

If I’m not mistaken, there are two routes from Lucena travellers can take to get here. The one we followed was the one where, from Turbina, we were dropped off at Lucena Grand Terminal where a van picked us up and took us to San Andres Port via the Pagbilao-Catanauan route. Travel time from Turbina to Lucena Grand Terminal was three hours; from there to the port was another three to four hours sans the traffic. From there, we rode a boat for less than 30 minutes to get to Alibijaban Island.

Even with these beautiful photos and high praises, I still somehow feel that I am not even halfway close to describing how heavenly these islands truly are. So what if they are pretty in photographs, they are 10 times better in the flesh.

Special mention to our organizers this year, Nhika Marfil and Sarah Danao, for putting this trip together! You’re the best! Also to Joeyleen, who, despite being the birthday celebrator, found joy in preparing food for everybody. With this in mind, we couldn’t let all her efforts be for nothing. We did our part by surprising her with gifts as she welcomed her birthday with us! We could tell she was more than surprised; she was thankful and content. We were happy with her happiness! Happy birthday again, Juwie!

Bottom line of this post: Why did I only learn about Masbate just now?!

Well, better late than never.

Now I’m ready for Christmas!

Watch our adventure video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lFV4B39bgo

Fees and fares:
P320	two-way fare Turbina-Lucena Grand Terminal (Bus)
P540	two-way fare Lucena Grand Terminal-San Andres Port (Van)
P8000	island hopping fee for Burias Group of Islands and Alibijaban Island
P200 (2 pax)	tent rent in Alibijaban Island
P1000 (6pax)	hut rent in Alibijaban Island
P100	entrance fee
P60	cost of water per drum in Alibijaban Island

Photo sources: Catherine Nhika Marfil & Antoniette Pulutan

Laiya 2016: Years Later, What Changed?

Some places strike me as ordinary

To me, it was all this was before

Yes, it’s the beach, but nothing about it’s noteworthy

Some sand, some shore, nothing more

A little bit fine, a little bit pale, that’s all

I know I’ve been to prettier places

Too proud, too smart, too tall

But that was no excuse to be savage

Looking at you now, things have gotten better

Regretful, I was just blindsided

All these ill remarks, blandness a-waiver

Much was left unexplored, undiscovered

By me, who deemed herself tall

Sorry I looked at you small

Sorry I looked at you small

Laiya is different from the one I’d been to before.

Laiya is coastline pretty, but what good is its long strip of sandy shores if not for some leisurely stroll? We went a number of times during those two days, first upon our arrival early in the night, then a couple more on our second day. We happily went resort hopping, but that was just as far as being able to see the facades from the shore would go. I mean, of course we wouldn’t be let in. Lol! 

The high-end resorts’ frontages really got me wanting to enter them. They were fancy, decorated with deluxe benches, hammocks and lifeguard stations. They were inviting, taking on themed ambiances per resort.  They were intriguing, because if the facades were already that pretty, imagine how much more the rooms and pools could be.

I am not sure how many we were then, maybe around 40 people?! That was a lot. Imagine all of Jason’s clan adventuring together. This was also why we stayed at the budget-friendlier side of the beach (I couldn’t remember the exact name of the resort though), because of the expenses, which was not a problem at all because none of us were finicky. Besides, we weren’t there for the accommodation; we were there for the beach, and the beach was the same anywhere we looked out there.

Well, actually, not really.

I mentioned a while ago that we went resort hopping, right? And since we couldn’t get inside the resorts because we didn’t pay one dime for anything, we just dipped in the saltwater (now that’s free stuff haha, priceless even haha) in between walks to forget the fact that the resorts could stay a mystery forever. So while swimming, I observed how the sand underwater in front of and near our accommodation was fine and a bit rockier on the farther side of the beach where some expensive resorts were located.

And since the last time I had been to Laiya was way back six or seven years ago, I couldn’t help but notice how much has changed. I remember how limited the things we could do around the area were. Aside from swimming and sunbathing, there wasn’t much of anything else to kill time. But that was long before. Right now, an evident improvement in the area is the availability of other activities. Boatmen offer island hopping, parasailing, flying fish, kayaking, and banana boating packages, the last of which we excitedly availed.

Renting a banana boat, we divided our group into four to five batches to accommodate everyone and all our different riding conditions. You see, the oldie aunts and uncles didn’t want to make the boat flip, but us younger ones so wished to fall off it many times. It was already my second time doing this, but the adrenaline rush was still so high. But know what was even nicer? More than the thrill and action, it was the landscape. You might say, “Again?!” But what can I tell you, landscapes are pretty! Some spots in Laiya can only be seen and/or reached by riding a boat. We didn’t land ashore, but we didn’t have to just to appreciate the beauté.

Even without stepping foot on these new shores, I’d still even go as far as saying that maybe the parts I saw could be more beautiful than the common strip of shore where most of the accommodations are situated. Why? Two things: because some look like they are as is, you know, not yet exploited by commercialization, while the others look like they’ve already been bought exclusively and are now undergoing development – two opposing conditions but both promising.

By the way, one can take either of two roads to Laiya: via San Pablo, Laguna then Quezon or STAR Tollway then Ibaan Exit in Batangas. We followed the former which took us about three and a half hours, more or less.

With all that I have experienced in this trip, I feel a bit regretful. Not for this trip but for the past years that I had lived underestimating this Batangueño gem. I was so naïve to think so little of this accessible paradiso. I wouldn’t get so hyped whenever we’d visit here. Conceited me would just go, “Uh, uh-kay.” Wow.

So what if Laiya was a bit raw before? A beach is a beach, something one doesn’t get to see every day in the life.

This getaway wouldn’t have been possible if not for Sir Ronnie and Tita Nida’s outpour of love. You see, it was their 23rd Wedding Anniversary, a feat truly worth celebrating. And since this couple has been in servitude of the Lord for many years already, it’s no wonder they're lasting this long. I can even attest to this couple's being #goals, and not just in the cutesy and superficial criteria but the real deal, as in the quality kind. They put God above everything else. They value family so much. They help. Selflessly, they share, take this outing for instance. Thanks to them for sponsoring and for having us to celebrate their marriage with them.

This has been my second trip this “-ber” season, and I’m just overjoyed because I didn’t expect to have an extra outing in Batangas this year. What’s more is this will not be the last for me this season. Yes, another beach trip is in the works.

*Photos by Ann Alcaraz, EJ Dela Cruz, Ronnie Dela Cruz, and yours truly!

Borawan, Puting Buhangin & Dampalitan 2016: Quenching That Pinch of Wanderlust & The Best Thing About Travelling

show me your eyes

all your inside lies

come undone

get gone

nothing to be scared of

there's only the beach to strip you off

no one's here to judge

maybe you just need a little nudge

it's just the bitchy waves and whistly air

with you here, all is fair

It had been three months since the last time sand graced my feet. It felt too long, and I was missing the breeze. I was actually supposed to go someplace else, not the beach but a relaxing one too. Long story short, things got in the way; it got cancelled. I was already feeling blue until this escape plan came into being. Ah, thank God I live just a few hours from some really pretty beaches.

Puting Buhangin Island and Kwebang Lampas

Puting Buhangin (White Sand) was the first island we visited as per the advice from our boatmen that we start from the farthest island to save time and be more efficient with the tour. This little paradise may be found after boating for 45 minutes from the drop-off point in Padre Burgos.

Personally, I would say Puting Buhangin is the nicest of all the three islands we visited. It’s best to go swimming here. It has the clearest water, that which is a play between the green and green blue gradient, so fresh to the eyes on a sunlit weekend. Its sand, as its name suggests, is fine white but that which becomes compact, the kind that doesn’t break or loosen under the feet.

Locals warn swimmers about the risk of salabay (jellyfish) in the area. Actually, all the islands have this. Good thing it is off season this month, so we got to swim quite freely while still being watchful. No one wanted to get stung.   

This is how you shower island-style!

It’s not that huge, though. Okay, it is actually huge, but there’s this Kwebang Lampas, a small cave/tunnel that divides the island in two. One needs to go through it and out to make it to the other side. I think it’s passable when tides aren’t that high, but I didn’t even consider trying when we were there. To me, the cave was already a treat in itself.

Kwebang Lampas consists of rocks and stalactites that add mystery and subtle beauty to it. More than anything there, though, is the fact that it has the beach inside and outside; water goes through it. From inside it, one can watch the beach through a huge opening with uneven borders and edges which form a dark silhouette that makes the water outside of it stand out more – dramatic and picturesque.  I’d say it’s the best spot to sightsee and take it all in, everything while swimming. Aaah, yes.  

If anything though, I wish we could’ve stayed here longer.

Dampalitan Island

After more or less 25 minutes onboard the boat, we caught ourselves in yet another pretty island, Dampalitan.

Setup-wise, Dampalitan is obviously the rawest among the three. What you see is what you get in this island. Everything looks as is, as though there’s not much effort to maintain and make it look inviting to tourists.

Based on observation, this has the best sand quality. It is white, soft and loose. So yeah, the best sans some natural trash found. There are dry leaves and seaweeds scattered ashore. Well, I guess it comes with being a raw island.

Dampalitan is filled with shrubs and trees, some of which resembling the ones in Anawangin Cove, Zambales. They provide natural shade and comfort since there aren’t much shaded portions near the water.

Lunch time was apparently not a good time to get here, as this is when it’s low tide. Also, the heat was insane at 12 noon, so we decided against swimming even for a bit. Our time spent here had been divided into strolling around, stopping here and there for some picture-worthy shots, resting on torn down logs, and eating lunch before we left again for our last destination for that day.

Borawan Island

Based on what I’ve read from other blogs, people who come here in Borawan often end up feeling disappointed because they make this crazy expectation about the place. I mean, I guess I get it because what else is anyone supposed to think when the island’s named from Boracay and Palawan, the two arguably most beautiful beaches here in the Philippines? (Sadly, I haven’t been to any of both beaches yet. Someday soon maybe!)

Borawan’s name is such because people compare its sand with Boracay’s and its rock formations with Palawan’s. I’d say this is bad advertisement, and people should give it credit for its own beauty. Its sand is of the color cream and in fine, loose form while the huge rocks are such a sight to behold from near and far. Strolling around is a great idea because of the island’s long stretch of greens, creams and green blues. People are not going to run out of scenic views to ogle at.

Our boatmen told us that people couldn’t land ashore this island in the past, as the water was always really high that its sandy shores were buried deep under it. Looking at the rock formations, some still have lined marks that tell just up to how high the water used to get. Time and again, the sand would disappear and appear until it stayed visible making the island visitable.   

Of the three islands, this has got to be the most developed, but that’s still not saying much about it. There are a few kubo-style cottages that can be rented if tents are not preferred, but I’d say it’s not really fit for sleeping for big groups. There’s a table and built-in seats inside each, but it’s not a closed unit. The shower and comfort rooms are decent and clean for an island. There’s even a protective net around a small portion of the beach to prevent swimmers from getting stung by the jellyfish. Some say water can sometimes get murky inside this part, though.

We spent our time here swimming within the net’s limits, sunbathing, snacking, exploring other parts of the beach, and people watching different sorts of other guests.

It was a rather short trip but a good one.

Was the money worth it? Considering that we didn’t actually spend a lot but still got to check out three nice islands, it’s safe to say that it was!

We were happy campers!

There are a lot of bests about travelling. The most fundamental of which is discovering oneself. People often think travelling means discovering new places, but subtly and actually it is a revelation of oneself. It is a chance for us to re-create or, better yet, modify ourselves. Travelling is adventuring. Adventuring is surprising ourselves because we get to surpass our own limited estimate of what we are capable of because finally we get to jump off cliffs, chase waterfalls, dive from the sky, swim with whale sharks, rough-ride 4x4’s, free fall, and so on. And none of these things we thought we could do. Until that moment we let our feet take us somewhere. Travelling is proof that we can. 

Borawan Island

One can be a whole new being out there - free and unafraid. He/she is not scared of acting silly. I know this is something I take advantage of many times because how often are you given the chance to be someone else you want to be? Or at least try to tweak something about you? Without judgment? It’s not pretending. Maybe some people just find this to be a way to completely detach themselves from everything.

Or you know, if you happen to fall on the other side of the coin, you can be just you, the real you.

Puting Buhangin Island

Because many days, for some of us, we have to put on a face of strength, determination, control, power, of whatever it is that our daily life requires us. Travelling lets us let our hair down. And where else is the best place to do that but when you’re away, where no one, again, is there to judge or exploit you.

Travelling is a lesson in motion.

Don’t do it because it’s the “in” thing; do it because it naturally occurs to you.

Extending my thank you to: a) Ate Vanessa for quickly attending to all our concerns and arranging the tour for us and to b) Tatay Omeng and Kuya Dino who had been such accommodating boatmen.

Should you wish to visit the mentioned places, feel free to hit her up at 0915-106-7594. I’m sure she’ll be more than happy to assist you. :)

Fees and fares:
P260	two-way fare Turbina-Lucena Grand Terminal
P70	two-way fare Lucena Grand Terminal-Padre Burgos
P1500-P1800 (1-8 pax)	island hopping fee for Puting Buhangin, Dampalitan and Borawan
P800 (1-8 pax)	island hopping fee for Borawan only
P80/P160	entrance fee in Puting Buhangin for day tour/overnight stay
P80/P100	entrance fee in Dampalitan for day tour/overnight stay
P150/P220	entrance fee in Borawan for day tour/overnight stay (with unlimited use of shower and CR) (discounts for senior citizens and students also apply)
P300	tent rent in Borawan/Dampalitan
P200	tent space fee in Borawan/Dampalitan
P50	cost of water per container in Dampalitan

*All photos by me!