rediscovering quezon: cagbalete island

I grew up in the province of Quezon and spent all my years there before I left for the university. And although I had been to many of its towns, they were limited to schools where academic competitions I joined were held. Honestly, I haven't seen any of the province's famous beaches, until now.

A close friend of mine, Jen, and I went to Cagbalete Island to celebrate our birthday in advance. (Yes, birthday. We were born on the same date.) We took the 2am bus bound for Lucena in Buendia and before 5am, we were already at the Grand Central Terminal. It was a good thing that mini-buses bound for Mauban start their trips so early. I haven't been to that terminal for a long time and I was a little surprised seeing the renovated area for east-bound public vehicles. There were also lots of carinderia so we were able to grab a very early breakfast.

The mini-bus was full of other beach weekenders so goodbye to my fantasy of a really quiet beach. Since most of us were going straight to Mauban, there were only a few stops on the road for loading and unloading passengers so the trip only took about an hour. We went around the market first from the terminal to buy some more food and water before heading to the pier by tricycle which costs 10Php per person.

We were early. Way too early. We knew beforehand that the public boat leaves at 11am but we didn't expect that getting there will be fast. There were already many people at the pier but they were in large groups and renting smaller boats to take them to island so they could leave at any time. So after paying 70Php for terminal and environmental fees, we just waited until we could get into the boat. The boat left when it was already full, and that was an hour before the scheduled departure time.

Low tide.

There were no docks in Cagbalete so we had to transfer to a smaller boat to get to the shore. The water was crystal clear but that was the part where the village is. Most of the resorts are on the other side of the island and there were many boatmen offering visitors to take them there. We opted to walk. Once we got passed the village and reached the grassy fields, the trails diverged. Although there were directions for different resorts, there wasn't any sign for Villa Cleofas. Some kids were following us and offering to take us to the resort (for a fee of course) but we decided to find it on our own. The island was small. The chance of getting lost was nil. Thankfully, we were following the right trail and we end up in Villa Cleofas. We paid 400Php for a tent on the beach and 50Php each as entrance fee to the resort. By the time we got there, it was almost noon and the water was so far away. Those who took the boats also had to walk.

Mini island that emerges during low tide a few hundred meters from the beach.

There are kayaks for rent in the resort but the water was so far so we just went for a walk to the small island. It was so hot and not long after, we were already back in our tent. I only wanted to take a short nap but to my surprise, the sun was already low when I opened my eyes. Because I wanted to take a photo of the sunset, we hurriedly walked to the southern tip of the island. It was a mistake leaving our slippers behind. Although there were parts along the way with very fine sand, the pebbly areas made my feet hurt.

Unfortunately, thick, dark clouds covered the sun. So yay, no colorful sky for us. We went for a quick dip but there were little creatures biting our legs. It was also getting dark and it was still a long walk to the resort so we just went back. That night, it rained so hard but we were both knocked out that we couldn't be bothered even though there was water getting inside our tent.

Sunset.

At 5am, we were already awake. The place felt so calm. I thought of the many beautiful mornings I miss by waking up late. It was still early but the horizon was already getting light. Everyone was amazed watching as the sun rose and how the sky changed its color. It was nature's perfect way of apologizing to me for not giving us the sunset I waited for. (Har.)

At 5:20 AM.

I prefer sunset over sunrise but this one really amazed me.