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!
|
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
There were kids! Many of them! What was funny was how the kids who were supposed to be the
cause of noise were the ones who were actually deafened many times by the
shouting, cheering, stomping, and clapping of the supposed adults. Hahaha!
Sorry, kiddos!
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