Good day, Hivians! Have you ever experienced setting an alarm to remind you of your daily ritual, and ended up turning off and forgetting the ritual? Well, I have experienced it many times, luckily, it’s not a life-to-death situation. I want to tell everyone in the community, that no matter how you set your pace, it will not always be in your favor. Just accept it. I hope you’re in a better position while reading my blog. It is not a reflection blog, where I share my personal experiences about life but rather it is a travel blog.
Kota Beach in Sta Fe, Bantayan Island
I want to share the continuation of our Bantayan Loop. In part 1, the loop was supposed to be 2 days and 1 night, but surprises happened, and the 2 days ended into 4 days and 3 nights. How did it happen? I shared in part 1 that to officially enter the island, we need to contact some folks on the island to accept us as a travelers. I contacted my co-working student/ my senior in college, but she was out of reach at that time. It was the night of our stay in the Andaya Resort when my senior called me and explained the situation and why she was out of reach during the day.
She convinced us to stay more days on the island. I explained to her that our budget to check in for a place was for one day only. We need to go home the next day. But she offered her place to stay and persuaded me that there’s more on Bantayan Island.
Kota Beach in Sta Fe, Bantayan Island
A traveler that I am, accept her offer. When we were done checking out, we waited for the text of my senior about the specific location of her place. We stop first at the Kota Beach Resort in Sta Fe since it is a public beach.
Mangrove Garden Eco Park
When we already received the text of the place, we found out that to reach the place, we could pass the trending spot on the island “Camp Sawi”. it became trending because the place was the shooting area of one of the movies titled “Camp Sawi”. The movie was locally produced in the Philippines. When we reached the place, we discovered “Camp Sawi” was just a part of the Mangrove Garden Eco Park. We paid the registration fee and explored the area. We’re amazed at how the locals preserve the mangroves while making them a tourist spot.
Mangrove Garden Eco Park
After exploring the Mangrove Garden Eco Park, we went directly to my senior’s place. It was fun seeing my senior. It was 4 years ago that we last talked to each other. We checked each other and shared stories about the happenings of our lives.
Our purpose of the stay was to explore more of the island, my senior took us to a café that was famous during the pandemic era. I forgot the name of the place, but the place was magnificent. I think, only the locals know the place since it’s not yet famous on Google Maps. The place was so peaceful and good for a romantic dinner too. There was also a photo booth in the area where you can have a remembrance when you visit the place.
Bantayan Senior High School Campus
The next day, we visited the workplace of my senior, the Bantayan Senior High School Campus. I was amazed by the new buildings of the school. The students are lucky to have these tall buildings and lots of room. I found out that the place is an island far away from the mainland, government can build 4-storey school buildings too. The people also are not late for the trends and new happenings on the mainland.
Big Cross
We also went to Big Cross in Bantayan. I already described it in my previous post. To reach this place, we need to climb the mountain. It was exhausting since I’m not used to long walks but it’s fulfilling once you reach the place.
To reward ourselves for achieving the long walks in the Big Cross, my senior told us that in the municipality of Bantayan, there was a place that sold tasty ice cream. Riding the motorcycle bike, we visited the place for the ice cream, it was delicious indeed.
Sandira Beach
On the last day of our stay, my senior took us to Sandira Beach where only locals are familiar with the beach. In my opinion, the beach was better than the other public beaches found on Google Maps. The beach was not crowded. It was not abused and not commonly visited by tourists making it peaceful to have a beaching time. The place is far from the mainland of the island. It was secluded. As you see in the picture, who would have thought, that behind the bushes was a beautiful white beach of Bantayan Island.
The photos were evidence of how crystal clear the seawater on the island. You can see the reflection of you in the seawater.
The 4-day stay on the island was a great adventure. We never thought that we could encounter lots of surprises during our stay. We were happy that our mission to experience Bantayan Loop was accomplished. We greatly thank my senior for the free stay and free tour guide during our stay.
Thank you for reaching this far. If you want to inspire, learn, and to witness beautiful scenery, experiences, and places, do not forget to follow, upvote, and reblog my post as a way of supporting and motivating me to write more. Thank you.
Author: Maureen S. O.
All the photos were personally owned by my husband.