Long time no see, Hive!
I've been AFK for the past few days because of a trip to Eastern Samar. It was so much fun! Think of Pacific Ocean waves, surfing, rock formations, and historic islands. Right after returning from my trip, I was immediately neck-deep in the work I needed to do for my thesis. Thankfully, I'm done with it and I've found some time to sit down and catch up on my blogging.
My last post was on Liketu, and it was another sneak peek at my travel to Bantayan Island. I went island hopping with my previous workmates. I showed some of my photos on the way and at our island destination. One thing I remember about that day was that it was a very fine day for proper island hopping.
A BEAUTIFUL MORNING
After attending a beach party the night before (read about it here), we woke up to a beautiful morning. Our resort was along the beach of Santa Fe and we had an amazing view of it. We enjoyed our breakfast while recounting our activities and experiences the day before. We shared a few funny stories over coffee. I remember laughing over poop and fart stories while I had my instant coffee. I still had no idea I might be lactose intolerant back then and I still enjoyed my instant morning coffee and suffered the consequences later.
Anyway, enough about poop stories. Before getting ready for our island hopping, we went for a quick beach stroll. There were a lot of people who pitched their tents on the beach. There was a time when camping by the beach appealed so much to me. It reminds me of cheap traveling and carefree adventures. But thinking about it now brings up the inconveniences of sleeping in a tent. Maybe it's a sign of my age?
It was low tide and many beached boats signaled that fishermen were done with their morning fishing. Despite the receded sea, the color of the water was still this beautiful teal. If we weren't island hopping, I would have gladly jumped into the shallow water.
We then made our way to the port where the boats that would take us island hopping were docked. It was near the main port of Santa Fe so we had to ride a tricycle. We donned our sunglasses and took shelter under the shade of the Talisay trees while waiting for our boat to be ready.
LET'S GO ISLAND HOPPING!
There were a few packages to choose from for the island hopping. One of my friends told me that the famous "Virgin Island" was quite overrated. It was expensive and our budget for the trip couldn't afford it. So, we opted for the cheaper package, a trip to Hilantagaan Island.
The water was calm and clear during our whole trip. The ride didn't take long and we soon saw our island destination up ahead. The summer weather was in full blast. The sky was as clear as it could get. As we moved closer to the island, I could make out a stretch of white sand beach. The color of the water shifted its colors from a dark hue to a lighter and more inviting shade of blue.
We finally reached the island and we didn't get off the boat right away because we took our time marveling at the sight of the water. Our boatmen were also going to cook our lunch and find us a table so we had to wait a bit. I was the group's photographer and took so many photos of us while we were still on the boat that it seemed like we wouldn't be stepping on the island.
WELCOME TO WANG-WANG ISLAND!
Finally, we got off our boat and stepped into the island. I mentioned earlier that the name of the island was Hilantagaan Island. It has another name, Wang-Wang Island which is sort of a joke since "Wang-Wang" means "loose," and the name of the more popular Island Hopping destination is Virgin Island.
I hadn't been to Virgin Island before this trip so that I couldn't compare but I was really surprised with the island we went to. The beach area wasn't that big but there weren't a lot of people. I'm a sucker for beaches with no crowds.
Our boatmen brought our lunch and we enjoyed it heartily. I thought it was so nice of them to prepare our food for us. I know it was part of the package but I thought they were really going out of their way to cook our food properly. We bought the meat and the other ingredients back on the main island and I imagined we would have to help with the preparation and cooking but we didn't have to worry about a thing.
After our lunch, we went around the beach. On one end of the beach, "wave rocks" jutted out from the island, forming cozy spaces underneath offering shade from the sun.
Further ahead, a boardwalk was constructed that connected some big rocks on the sea. There was a platform for jumping and I foolishly jumped without realizing how shallow the water was. I hit my back on the sand but luckily, I wasn't hurt. We spent most of our time on the island swimming by the boardwalk away from the boats and the people in their cottages and tables. A group of other tourists came and we decided to head back to our boat to ask if our boatmen could take us to deeper waters for us to swim.
GOING DEEPER
Our boatmen happily agreed to take us away from the island and anchor on a nice spot where we could swim properly. Again, it was another good gesture by our boatmen. I forgot if we tipped them but if we did, I wished we would have given them more.
W can still see the island from where we stopped. The water wasn't that extremely deep since it still had this light blue color. We swam around the boat enjoying more solitude from being away from the other tourists. We enjoyed the water to our heart's content.
Even though we were already tired, we still stayed. We took our life jackets and just floated while holding on to the riggers of the boat. We would've stayed longer if we still could but our island hopping had an end time. Our boatmen told us we had to head back. We came out of the water, tired but really satisfied.
That's it! I wished that island hopping could've been longer. That was one of the best island hopping experiences I've had. Everything was perfect and fine: the weather, the sea, the boatman, the beach, the solitude. This travel series is still not complete, though. I'll show snippets of our lovely last day in Bantayan Island. See you in the next one. Cheers!
