"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." ― Nelson Mandela
Where to next?
I grew up to be a strong, organized, and independent woman. I've learned to stand up for myself, and for what I believe in and I've never been afraid to follow what makes me truly happy and at peace regardless of what the world would say. In short, I don't give a damn!
But I held back doing a few things because they weren't the things normal people would do. Such as gallantly hopping on a solo adventure in the "scariest" places in the Philippines. I got lucky that this story would then again fall into the Thank you, Geo! folder. If you missed my previous adventures and misadventures in this travel series, here are quick links you could follow: On day 1, I chased Merloquet Falls, and on Day 2 I explored Santa Cruz Island and Zamboanga's city center.
It was Day 3 when I hit the road once again. Words could not describe how liberating it was to grab my backpack early in the morning knowing that this is exactly the life I've dreamed of, carefree, stressfree. Ritchie, the owner of the Airbnb I rented for two (2) days offered to drive me to the airport once again. It's not too far away but there's no direct bus or jeepneys going there so I accepted his offer.
It's as if this trip happened just yesterday; I can still clearly recall every detail of it. It's stuck in my head and every time I revisit these memories, I can't help happiness and gratitude flow in my entire system. I remember how I patiently waited in the cold airport lounge to board the plane that would take me to the southernmost Province of the Philippines, how alive I felt when we were in mid-air, up a thousand meters from the ground. I've shared in my first post in this ZamBaSulTa series that I didn't ask for my mom's permission. Let me rephrase that a bit tho; I did ask permission, it's just that I didn't clearly stated where I'm going. "I'm heading to Zamboanga!" That's all I said.
It was only a few minutes before take-off that I called Ma and told her "Ma, I'm on a flight bound for Tawi-tawi!" As expected, I didn't like what she said next. That it's too dangerous for a woman traveling alone in this part of my country. But there's nothing she could do, I was on the plane and the captain said right on time: Buckle up fellas, we're flying in a few. 🤣
It was one of the shortest flights I've been, if not the shortest. In just a little over 25 minutes, we reached Sanga-sanga Airport. Although I could use some sleep during the flight, there's no way I would choose to sleep and forego the chance to see what this part of my country looks like from above.
I leaped in joy and excitement when both my feet finally touched Tawi-tawi's ground. It felt surreal. A moment ago, I was still in the Zamboanga Airport trying to convince my mother that I was making the sanest decision I ever made in my lifetime and suddenly, there I was satisfied with my simple life, couldn't think of anything else I wanted out of my existence, uncertain what the next 48hrs will throw at me I know it's going to change my life forever.
There were only three flights to Sanga-Sanga Airport that day, two in the morning and another one in the afternoon. Sanga-sanga Airport is small and simple so you won't have a hard time finding your way out and around it. The owner of the homestay I'm checking in for the whole duration of my Tawi-tawi Trip fetched me and later told me that we need to wait until the last morning flight arrives before we could cross the runway. "Why are we crossing the runway again?" Apparently, their homestay is across the airport and there's no other way to reach it but to traverse the runway. Perfect start to my extraordinary Tawi-tawi trip indeed!
But first, food!
Guess what they welcomed me with? Food, of course! We're still in the Philippines and if you haven't heard, we love to eat. We eat at least 5 times a day, no kidding! 🤣 Ate Sheila, one of the owners of the homestay, was thoughtful enough to prepare this meal for me. It's ramen noodles (which were probably sourced from Brunei) with egg and their local version of puto maya or more of budbud. I'm not so impressed with their version of budbud but the ramen was on point! It injected me with all the energy I needed that morning.
Ate Sheila directed me to my room where I'll be staying for a night. I unpacked my things and prepared for the day's island-hopping adventure. Traveling solo is not only a courageous thing to do considering safety and security but also, it's costlier than traveling in a group. For that day's island hopping adventure, Ate Sheila helped me arranged the boat service which I negotiated at Php 6,000 ($120 during that time) fee that will entirely go to the boatman and his assistant. There's no way I'm going to Tawi-tawi without checking out their pristine islands and beaches so I was ready to pay the entire $120. Fortunately, another solo backpacker arrived on the same day I was traveling to Tawi-tawi. Thank goodness, I had someone else to split the fee with! 😁
If you tried island hopping in Cebu or Bohol or any other mainstream destinations in the Philippines, you'd know that with your $120 you could already rent a decent boat good for 8-10 people. That's why it came as a huge surprise when I learned that we were traveling in a small, open speedboat with no outrigger; not to mention, that we'd be exposed to the sun's raging heat the entire trip. If my memory serves me well, it was my first time riding a speedboat. I mean it's no big deal if the islands we're visiting are just across Sanga-sanga but we're traversing the Celebes Sea, who wouldn't feel a bit anxious about it, right?
We dropped by somewhere to get extra gasoline and we were off to what I believe was one of the craziest and unimaginable adventures I had. The speedboat wade its way in the water faster than I imagined. At first, it was fun, seawater was splashing everywhere I looked, and the weather was superb for island hopping, but there came a point when I told myself "This could be my last day on Earth!"
"What if the boat will capsize?" "What if a shark or whatever sea creature there is beneath us will attack?" "What if the weather will change and we'd be caught in the middle of a heavy rain?" My what-ifs kept piling up. But eventually, I stopped worrying about things that might happen only in my imagination. Instead, I fully immersed myself in the experience, looked straight at the endless horizon where we're headed, the clouds that merrily welcomed us with their grandeur from start to end of the boat ride, the water that seemed calm until we passed by, and disturbed its tranquility. Everything was perfect until we spotted a few dark clouds that were bringing rain on certain parts of the sea; we had to pass through them. It was a magical experience; it rained for like 30 seconds and then it was sunny again.
When we were nearing our destination, the shallow, crystal-clear water welcomed us. It was then that my smile gradually occupied my entire face. This destination was worth the risk.
Arriving in a tropical paradise
Our small speedboat docked in Panampangan Island and guess what? We were the only tourists on the island that day. Panampangan is a secluded island in the Province of Tawi-tawi that people don't usually think of going here aside from it being costly, it's also off the beaten path. If you're not adventurous enough, coming here won't cross your mind.
I instantly fell for Panampangan Island's casual yet elegant tropical vibe. Even before we could dock and jump out of the boat, I was left in utter amazement, even disbelief, that such a beautiful paradise existed in the middle of nowhere.
Pro-tip: If you want to stay longer on the island, make sure you bring basic necessities such as food, water, and sunscreen. There were limited huts where one could hide during the hot hours of the day. During my visit, there were no stores on the island.
I'm not sure about the validity of this claim but one blog claims that Panampanga Island has the longest sandbar in the Philippines. During our visit tho, it was still high tide. I was only able to see a portion of the island's 3km stretch of white, powdery sandbar. But yes, it was so long that I wasn't able to reach the end of it; it was already too hot.
I know Bohol's Alona Beach or Cebu's Sumilon Island are already amazing but if you are looking for paradise minus the unnecessary crowd, Panampangan Island is for you. The entire place radiated nothing but serenity; our time here was so chill. It was like for a second, we lived in a different world devoid of stress and worries.
More photos, more proof of my unrivaled adventure in Panampangan.
If you're wondering who took my photos, this little guy right here got my back!
Unfortunately, Panampangan isn't exempted from the global issue of pollution. I looked closely at some of the areas on the island and I didn't like what I saw. Trashes of all kinds were either left behind by irresponsible tourists or were brought by the waves from neighboring inhabited islands in Tawi-tawi and Brunei (yes, the island is nearer Brunei than mainland Tawi-tawi). If you're traveling in far-flung areas such as this island with no capacity to process trash properly, make sure you bring back your trash with you to the bigger cities.
More photos of Panampangan:
Reaching Panampangan Island was a feat I never thought I'd accomplished in my lifetime with four complete male strangers; I definitely told myself paying $120 (or half of it) was worth it. I'm a thrifty person but I'd splurge without thinking twice if money would take me to destinations such as Panampangan.
A few minutes after lunch and some more explorations, we had to leave the island for our second destination that day which I will tell you about some other time!
That's it for today guys! We'll visit another island in my next post so if you're wondering what else Tawi-tawi has to offer, you better stay tuned! If you're still afraid to go there, at least you could visit them through my posts. 🥰😁
Living life intentionally every single day, she believes that there’s no limit to one’s potential. Right now, she’s on the loose for the pursuit of endless holistic self-growth and development. She wants to light the way for others. She believes there’s no better way to leave a legacy than to pay it forward.
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