CALAGUAS CALLING

Camp site

I finally cleared up my schedule enough to be able to go to the beach this summer. It's been a while since I went out on my own for a bit of a respite. It took me two months of emailing back and forth to be able to set the date of my trip.

so fine... so white...

So right after my commitments have been cleared and the last day of performances for the Ballet Philippines Dance Recital have ended, I finally had a weekend to myself. My colleague, Ronnie, sent me the link of the tour operator he went with last year. I checked them out and sent a message that signified my intention of joining the tour on the weekend of 15-17 May. Northlink Travel and Tours made the bus arrangements for me so I wasn't worried about buses being fully booked.

1km stretch of sand

What's interesting about Northlink is that they are, so far, the only tour operators to Calaguas that are accredited by the Department of Tourism. There are other operators who do these tours as well, but I would rather spend my hard earned money on someone who has the approval of the tourism department. I was in constant touch with one of the patrtners, Romil Dolerom.

idyllic kayaking in the deep blue

I left the house with my gear in tow at 7:00 p.m. to catch the 9:00p.m. ETD from the Pasay City depot of DLTB Bus Co. bound for Daet, Camarines Norte. Was I glad that Romil had made the booking for me! There were numerous chance passengers who were waiting for their turn at hankering for empty seats and missing passengers.

my shelter under the tree

I was booked at seat #1. My seat was pretty comfortable and near an exit point. I was set! If you're the picky traveler, I'd advise you to fly to Naga and work your way back to Daet instead of a bus trip that takes 8-10 hours. I slept through most of the trip. I only woke up in time for the bus stops at various points. I was at Daet at around six in the morning. I had time for a quick breakfast before the boat ride to Calaguas Islands. Here, I was m et by another one of the organizers, Darius. He gave us ballers to identify and distinguish our group from the rest of the revelers.

Lovely afternoon  together

We were boarded onto a van and made our way back to Vinzons to the docks. It was there where I finally met Romil, who I had exchanged messages with, Pleasantries exchanged, we piled onto the boats that would take the 2 hour journey to the islands. I appreciated Romil's commentaries as the outrigger wove its way out of the estuary. His information was spot on. The area was formerly known as Tacboan, later changed to Indan and finally named after Wenceslao Vinzons, who was one of the youngest delegate to the 1935 constitutional convention and later martyred by the Japanese. Vinzons hall at UP Diliman is named in honor of this Camarines Norte native. Romil also enumerates the must see landmarks of Camarines Norte and putting great emphasis on its role in our history.

chowtime!

The sea was calm on the day of my trip so I thoroughly enjoyed the 2 hour trip on the pump-boat with 24 other total strangers. The Calaguas group is composed of at least sixteen islands but our campsite was at Tinaga Island. The white, talcum like sand was aptly named Mahabang Buhangin which is a kilometer long stretch of sand that's blindingly white in the brilliant sunlight. 

the other side

A lot of the happy campers who've visited Calaguas compare it to Boracay. As for me, it did remind me of Boracay  of twenty years back. It was a time when there were no hotels, no noisy bars, no electricity and definitely... no algae! In this instance, I had to pay 10.00/bucket to a boy who's summer job was to pump water out of a well. But I prefer to not point out the differences and similarities because Calaguas has its own charm!

Look at that sand!

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting total strangers and exchanging pleasantries with younger groups of vacationers. The Northlink staff were extremely accommodating, very efficient and also responsible guardians of the Calaguas environment. No electricity? No problem! They had their own solar panels that generated enough electricity for the acoustic  night and the fire dancer.  Free beer and unlimited punch for those who want to get buzzed by the shoreline at night. By six a.m. the next day, I went with a group of new found friends that went up the hillsides to appreciate the natural beauty of the island. Gelai, who is Romil's girl Friday led us up the hill with a red flag so we don't get lost on the trail. Still largely unspoiled, I'm glad I got to visit it while it's still largely undiscovered. It won't be long now before hotels and bed and breakfasts spring up on the island. I dread that! I heard Freddie Webb now owns two lots by the coastline and a Filipina who married into money has a 10 hectare property and that they plan to construct an airstrip right on the island. And I've only been there a fortnight...

Gelai... the Wonder woman

I had so much fun clicking away with my camera to capture the idyllic beauty of Calaguas. If there's anything I didn't like, it was the noisy group of yuppies who sang their lungs out at 2 in the morning. I normally don't mind people enjoying and getting drunk... but if you have too much fun without regard for people who are sleeping, then I take it personally! There should be some sort of police power in the area at peak season to control people who are uncontrollably noisy. Another recommendation I'd like to make is to have a docking area away from the shoreline and the beach so that bancas don't mar the picture perfect postcard quality of the sunset in Calaguas. I loved it so much I took so many shots. And lastly, separate the toilets from the shower areas so the 8 stalls constructed for rinsing off salt water don't get as congested with the growing number of visitors to the area. 

sunset 

Before I left the island, I told Romil and Darius to make sure they take good care of the island. That was a prayerful request coupled with a veiled warning. Fortunately, because of its location,  when the monsoon comes in the island gets at least eight months to regenerate and restore itself...

Mahabang Buhangin