Sometime during January of this year we decided to go to Pangasinan as part of our annual excursions to not so famous but admiringly beautiful places in our country. I picked Dasol because it was an interesting and fun idea to camp out in a place called snake island. An island so small you can circle it in just 15 minutes. I went with my usual group of friends.
My biggest mistake was that I overslept the night before and I missed the bus. My friends went on without me and I was feeling guilty that I planned everything but I was the one who could not make it. So I made a decision to follow them.. alone. I was an hour behind schedule but it didn't matter to me because I knew exactly how to get there. So I had to take a bus going to Alaminos. It is advisable to take the earliest bus going there as the trip would take around 4-5 hours but since I missed the first one, I had to take the second bus departing an hour later. From Alaminos, I had to take a jeepney going to Dasol. The scenery is breathtaking as I was greeted with warm fresh air and lush farmlands stretching for miles and miles.
I arrived at Dasol town proper just in time for lunch and met my friends there. They gave me judging looks but I just told them I was sorry for what happened. We ate lunch and proceeded to hire a tricycle which would take us the coastline. Now this is the fun part as based on what we've read online it was going to be a long tricycle ride on a not so well-paved road. We were a group of six and we had to hire two separate tricycles. We haven't traveled far yet and suddenly one of the tricycles broke down with a flat tire. We had to wait there in the middle of nowhere for another tricycle to pick us up. Luckily after about 10 minutes we caught one on the way to the same destination we were going. The tricycle ride was torturous as the road alternated between smooth and rough. The tricycle's shock absorbers couldn't help so much so our butts had to endure every bump on the road so much so that when we finally arrived at our destination we couldn't feel our butts anymore.
There was a hotel by the beach/jump-off point where we bought food and supplies which would last us two days as we were going to stay overnight in the Island. There are no inhabitants in the island save for a few snakes that visit every now and then and creep out unsuspecting campers. Nevertheless, we knew what we were getting into and pushed on. We brought a tent with us big enough to fit all of us.
We arrived at the island just a couple hours before sunset. We pitched our tent and settled there. We circled around the island for a good 30 minutes until the sun started retreating into the horizon. As usual the sunset did not fail to amaze us as it started to color the clouds and the sky with its beautiful afterglow. We stayed there by the big rocks and watched in awe as the sun showered its golden light upon us as it slowly went down.
At night there was nothing much to do except to lie down and watch the myriad of stars in the sky. From a distance we could still see several fishing boats floating in the sea noticeable only by the strong lights they carry with them as they try to attract schools of fish to sell the morning after. We put off the lights at half past ten so as not to attract any snakes as we were told the snakes are drawn to fires and lights. The winds were blowing strong that night but we were able to sleep peacefully.
We woke up early in the morning to catch the sunrise and again we were in awe as colors exploded in the sky. The cool morning breeze was refreshing enough to keep us all silent and in meditation. We just savored the moment as it felt priceless to be in it.
We went home just before lunch time. Took the same route as I described above...
