Seeing my friends frolic in the sun on Facebook gives me a surge of envy. Staying at home and complaining about the sweltering heat outside do not seem to help, so I've decided to spend the summer outdoors and travel to places I've never been to. There's nothing much to showcase as I only visited a couple of islands in the region. I've been to Malapascua Island in March this year and most recently I was at Kalanggaman Island located between Cebu and Leyte.
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| Photo from Sheila's Facebook. |
The group of Sheila and Gian, owners of the travel blogsite adrenalineromance.com, invited me for another travel experience (I traveled with them in the past). When I learned that we were going to Kalanggaman Island, it was a mental picture of isolation and long long travel that floated in my mind. Getting to the island is not easy as you need to charter a boat going there.
There are boatmen in Malapascua Island who offer day trips to Kalanggaman Island and I highly recommend them. A day trip could cost at least Php800 per head inclusive of lunch and drinks. Contact Leo at 09057497232 or Entoy Malinao at 09069270401; they are from the local tourism organization of Malapascua Island.
More than 20 of us took a bus at North Bus Terminal in Mandaue City, Cebu at 3AM. Our destination: Bogo City. The 4-hour trip is a literal pain in the ass. I've seen the towns in Northern Cebu and seeing them again and again bores me to smithereens.
We sailed past 9AM. It was calm. It was a beautiful sunny Sunday. But a few minutes after we sailed, waves began to slap our boat. It scared the hell out of me. It reminded me of my night trip to Olanggo Island some 5 years ago. It took us more than 2 hours before we reached Kalanggaman Island because the chief boatman had to maneuver against the rough seas to prevent the boat from capsizing.
Everyone was excited as we got closer to the Kalanggaman shores. As soon as I made my first step on the sun-drenched sands, it was a bliss.
There are no private resorts as this place is fully managed by the local government of Palompon. It is a very small island which makes slippers the only means of transportation. A 15-minute walk is what it takes to wander the whole island. Cottages are available but guests are expected to bring tents if they decide to stay overnight as protection for the ever-changing world—it might rain (read: climate change). Also, the strong blow of the winds of dawn felt so cold, I had to get inside my friend's tent. I should have brought a darn sweater. The only store in the island sells beverages at twice the regular price and that's understandable. The barbecue area is the only place where grilling is allowed but it is fine to cook using mobile stoves near your tents or cottages. Be aware that there is no freshwater available in the island.
Kalanggaman Island is famous for its sandbar. But for those who are fussy about fine white sands just like me, this may not be a perfect place for us: the sands are not as fine as those in the beaches in Panglao, Bohol. But that does not make Kalanggaman Island less worthy of attention.
One of the things I suggest for the local government of Palompon to do is that they need to have more people to clean up the shores. I found glass shards on the island's sandbar that could surely hurt wanderers. I also found empty wine bottles on the other side of the island and the sight of them depressed me.
A responsible guest does not leave his garbage everywhere he goes. The island is so small that the idea of a garbage pit is preposterous.
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| Photo from Sheila's Facebook. |
I'd like to thank Sheila and Gian of adrenalineromance.com for the invitation and to Mark of facecebu.net for taking a few of my solo shots.
More photos to come. Internet connection is acting up.
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