Side Trip: Cagbalete Island

Summer is here and local temperatures have soared to ultimate high. While some prefer to stay indoors and be cooled with air-conditioning, most love to hit the beaches and enjoy the sun. The country has several gorgeous swimming resorts to choose from and the beautiful white island of Cagbalete in Quezon Province is just one of them.

Spontaneity is fun, and I and some friends visited Cagbalete without some plans. So on this sleepy Saturday morning, we started our trip from Los Baῆos, Laguna. We took a bus to Sta. Cruz and then a jeepney going to Pagsanjan since we had to meet my friend’s friends there. We ate our breakfast and after some time, started our trip again. From that point, we took three jeepney rides – from Pagsanjan to Lucban, from Lucban to Sampaloc, and from Sampaloc to Mauban. We left Los Los Baῆos at around 5:30 A.M. and reached Mauban by 10:00 A.M.. It was a long travel over zigzag and steep roads, and through rural communities and historic villages. We stayed a while at Mauban in my friend’s other friend’s aunt’s house (LOL!). In the afternoon, when the sun had tamed down a bit, all eight of us hit the port and prepared for the boat ride. We did not take the public commuter boat, and instead we hired a private one for only Php 2,000 back-and-forth ride.

But it was not a “peaceful” boat ride after all. The waves were strong as we were opposed to the current. We were constantly rocked by the waves, mercilessly splashing us with seawater. Accordingly, that was the usual ride from Mauban to Cagbalete. I was just thankful that I put my backpack inside a plastic bag and I already changed my clothes. So when we reached the island, we were all soaking wet.

Alas, we arrived and we were instantly mesmerized by what awaited us. The whole island is sparkling white and the water is crystal clear. As the sky was quite cloudy, we did not see the sun set. Resorts lined up along the shore of the Cagbalete and our boat delivered us to Pansacola Beach. We paid an entrance fee of Php 200 per person and rented tents good for two for Php300.00 each (plus Php200.00 camping fee for each tent). Cottages and huts for at least 10 people are also available but they come at higher prices. Communal bathrooms and rest rooms are all decent and clean. After we set up camp, some of us took a dip while others cooked the dinner. As meals and stuffs are quite expensive in the island, we decided to buy food (fish, meat, snacks, water) and necessities in Mauban. There are cooking areas in the resort (no fee added) so it was quite convenient for us.

By nightfall, we enjoyed ourselves to some heavy dinner and a view of a sky with myriad stars. Yes, it was a starry night and the continental sky was as wide as infinity. There were many tourists in the beach and the management offered some fireworks and a fire-dance performance. Later, we indulged ourselves to a night of tequila and endless talks on a bonfire.

By Sunday, the sun was blazing and the tide was very low. We had to walk for a great distance just to hit a water level with reasonable depth for swimming. It was at least a kilometre from our tents that we got to finally swim (but it was still waist deep). Some parts of the beach are made of pure fine sand, while others are rocky (dead corals) and abundant with sea grasses. Even at noon, people were still dipping in the shallow waters.

After having much fun swimming and taking photos, we finally went home in the afternoon. The boat ride was not as rough since we were riding along the waves. Similarly, it took us four to five hours travel time to reach our warm beds in Los Baῆos. Truly, our weekend in Cagbalete is a fun and memorable experience.