We started our trip on a typical sunny Wednesday morning on 11 May 2010 coming from our local town of Buhi, a death end town next to Iriga City.
Going to Caramoan
We drove as early as 4am from Buhi bound to Sabang port to get the first boat trip to Guijalo port in Caramoan. Embarked the first boat (MV Harry), the trip t Guijalo took about an hour and 40 minutes (morning boats departs from Sabang at 6-8am, after which the trip will be a wavy one. We wanted to seat at the rear area of the boat to enjoy the majestic view of the mountainside and the early fisher folks in the middle of the ocean. There were occasional bumps and splashes, nonetheless we manage to take nice snaps shown below:
pop and mom at the rear end of the boat
majestic view of the mountainside during the 2 hours boat ride
ocean view
Arrival
Finally, exactly 8:30am (our trip was 15 minutes ahead of the scheduled time), we arrived at Guijalo port. From the port, local tricycles (locals call it "habal-habal") were already waiting to transfer us to the town proper about 15 minutes ride. Had breakfast at Lutong Bahay restaurant and were transferred again to our cabana accommodation in Paniman Beach, a mere 20 minutes ride, not just an ordinary ride but a tough and rough ride! it's like experiencing a Survivor challenge...and oh speaking of Survivor, we were fortunate to actually witness an on-going filming of the Survivor Israel series (free mineral water were given to us by the Israeli Crew as complimentary damage for the traffic they caused haha!)
photo riding a habal-habal
we're about to start the island hopping..nice weather!
The Tour
1st Day: We started our island hopping at 9:30am. First islands we hopped were the Hunongan Island, Matukad Island, Minalgos Island 9where we took our picnic lunch) and the Tinago Clave, each of which exudes different features very much unique with each other.
We were just lucky to have entered the Tinago Clave because such island cannot be entered during the low tides. Lajos Island (famous for its powdery white sand) was restricted that time since the Survivor Show was set to shoot in the isle during the day. We instead decided to snorkel in its nearby island and went back to Matukad Island which is just beside Gota Village where swimming is more fun.
Our first day tour ended at 5:00pm.
entering tinago island
tinago clave from the inside
pop on the rock!
Lajos island..survivor setting out there
matukad island with mom and pop
enjoying the dark gray sand
mom and pop strolling along paniman beach
sunset
swimming and snorkeling along gota beach
2nd Day: We started our day by trekking to the Our Lady of Peace Shrine in Mt. Tabgon. The mountain is about 450 more steps above but when you reached the top, it's worth all the sweat and thirst when you see the heavenly view of the nature from above. Our trek took us roughly an hour and a few minutes rest at the peak. We dropped by the Tabgon parish to visit the vicar priest Fr. Dario Ichepare, a Buhinon at that.
ready for our trekking and island hopping activities
gateway to the Shrine of our Lady of the Holy Rosary
view from top of the mountain
wow! mom and pop made it to the top!
The whole family at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary..and seriously it's so hot up there!
going down...take it slow
we have to walk through our boat because of the low tide
Then we head straight to Cotivas Island for our lunch in a private cottage. We were the only guests to eat on the cottage and watermelons were served by the caretakers fresh from the trees for free as a compliment from our tourist guide.
We strolled on the long stretch of the island to gather sea shells, stones and corals (my mom is an avid collector). Other islands we hopped on were the Manlawi, Lahuy and Sabitang Laya.
reaching Cotivas island where we took our lunch
oh so hot!
super nice rock formation at Lahuy island
Manlawi beach..we got the cottage for free!
The long stretch of white sandbar in Manlawi Island was really a captivating view to behold. It's like a wide heaven surrounded by soulful trees, you can feel and smell the peaceful breath of wind as it blows and the sea was crystal clear. I will never replace this island from the well-known yet congested islands of Panglao and Boracay.
There were cottages in the middle of the sandbars of Manlawi which cost P100 per hour. But we were able to shed freely since the island guard went home already when we went there.
reaching Sabitang Laya island
we're lucky to have a photoshoot at the survivor set
Our second day adventure ended at 5pm and we just spent the rest of the day strolling at the Paniman Beach.
3rd Day: We had to head back early to Caramoan town proper on our way back home. Made a short visit to the old brick church, had our last meal at Lutong Bahay restaurant and hurried back to Guijalo port for the first boat to Sabang port.
After the 2-hour boat trip back to Sabang, we experience another peculiar and funny adventure. our boat wasn't able to dock close to the shore due to low tides..so we needed to be carried out from the boat to the shore by human porters.
Imagine how strong these people are who can carry people of different sizes with heavy baggages from the boat to the shore for 20pesos only! ..only in the Philippines, indeed!
We went home very tired but with smiles on our faces and with memories of an adventurous trip we had in our own province's secret paradise.
Happy Trip!