We were seated at the back of the bus just as always because we just like to stick together. Later on did we realize it was a wrong decision as those seats were the worst in the bus. We could feel every turn the bus made and it was amplified by the alcohol in our system. To make the long story short, we weren't able to sleep much, I for one dreaded every minute of that bus ride. If not for the free WiFi which at least gave us something to do, I would have sworn never to do it again.
We arrived in Lucena City at around 5:00 AM. A little bit earlier from what I initially expected but luckily the connecting bus going to Mauban port was already leaving so we didn't have to wait. The bus was of the open air kind which you would normally see in provinces carrying villagers from the suburbs to the center of the town where they can sell their farm produce. The bus kept on making stops to do just that. But it was a relaxing ride as we were greeted with the cool morning breeze and the sun just eager to break out into the horizon. We passed through vast rice fields which reminded me much of Isabela and through the distance you can see the outline of Mt. Banahaw, the supposed head quarters of the New People's Army. Then we went through mountains cruising through zigzag roads with a view of coconut tree covered hills enveloped in the morning mist and the sky being colored warmly by the slowly rising sun. And the familiar scent of air which indeed reminded me of the countryside; A fresh cold breeze rushing through our faces mixed with the smell of moist trees surrounding us and occasionally the smell of cow dung which distracted our minds every now and then.
We arrived at Mauban at around 6:00 AM. The bus dropped us a few blocks away from the port and so we walked around the town trying to find boats going to Cagbalete. We confirmed that the passenger boat owned by the government leaves the port at 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM which gave us a lot of time to wander around. We first looked for a bakery to buy some bread and eat breakfast. Then we walked towards the breakwater to just wait and relax. By 8:00 AM we were already bored so we tried to look for a private boat which would already take us to the island. The tourist information office gave us outrageous prices so we tried to negotiate with the local boatmen. We were able to charter a boat for a cheaper price so we went with that. But we were able to leave only at around 9:00 AM because the people at the tourist desk kept on stopping us. They kept on insisting that we pay published rates which irked us all because it was a total rip off. They eventually let us leave.
The boat ride was about a quarter hour long. We had to circle around as the waters surrounding the island were too shallow at that time of the day. The boat stopped approximately a hundred meters from the shore and could not take us further because of the low tide. So we had to walk from there under the blistering sun carrying our backpacks and cameras to the resort. We found out that the water recedes meters away from the shore from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM in the afternoon. It exposes much of the beach surrounding the island to the point that a little island made of solid rock surfaces during that time near the island. You can easily walk towards the little island as a portion of the sea floor is exposed which you can use as a bridge. We reached the resort after a few minutes of walking and settled there. We pitched our tents and rested for a while. It was then that we realized that we forgot to bring food. We were so excited to take pictures we weren't able to bring anything to eat or even sunblock which we realized we needed so bad. We had no choice but to walk to the nearby village called Sabang to get food to eat. The locals said it would take around 20 minutes to reach the village but we were still exhausted so we decided to postpone lunch.
I decided to go to the little island made of rock because I didn't want to waste any of my time. It was there where my skin was burned as I braved the scorching sun without ever thinking of putting sunblock on my skin. When I couldn't take the heat anymore I returned back to camp and my skin was already stinging but it was already too late. My friends were hungry so we then decided to walk to Sabang.
A couple of kids offered to guide us and so we went. The path goes through a mildly thick forest canopy which eventually leads to an open filed with coconut trees visible in the distance. After about 10 minutes of walking we already saw small huts. As we entered the village we saw the townspeople peering from the windows in their huts made of cogon slightly amazed at the presence of four wanderers walking around their little town. The kids smiled at us and we felt welcomed. The food there was surprisingly cheap. We spent 200 pesos total for the four of us.
It was already past sunset and the light was fading fast when we decided to eat dinner back at the village. Our guide repeatedly hurried us because it would be hard to walk through the forest trail at night. But we pushed through and ended up scaring ourselves with the thought of stray snakes invisible under the cover of night lying some in our path going to the village. Or the fabled tiktik which personally scared me even more even though I'm not pregnant or dying. Nevertheless we reached the village before everything faded in to the night.
We had a very delicious dinner of adobong pusit with sukang tuba, which is one of the best suka I've ever tasted (I eventually brought home two bottles of that strange concoction). Before going back to the resort, we bought mini flashlights so we can light our paths. We actually considered staying the night at the village just because we were slightly afraid of going back by ourselves. But we pushed on. Luckily there were other villagers who were going back to the beach but at a different side of the island. We decided to follow them then just walk along the shoreline until we reach the resort. It was a better choice in retrospect as I really was not confident we could trace our way back through the pitch black darkness.
So we walked and the most amazing sight showed itself to us. The sky was filled with a million stars and it was truly remarkable. It was something you can never quite appreciate in the city in its full glory because of too much artificial light polluting the sky. And so we pushed on our trail with our mini flashlights in hand. From a distance we could have been mistaken as a cluster of fireflies lost in the pitch black darkness; except that we cursed like a group of intoxicated men as we kept on stepping and tripping on sharp and pointed objects we couldn't see in the dark. It distracted us once in a while from the great cosmic event that is right above us. Nevertheless we were able to reach the shoreline as if by a miracle the starts guided us on our way even if none of us know shit about navigation. We walked along the shoreline which took forever. Eventually, we reached the resort and hung out for a little while then proceeded to sleep. The stars vanished by then as the thick clouds gathered to cover them...
The next day we woke up early to take snaps of the sunrise. We rested for a bit then proceeded to walk to the village to eat breakfast. We ate danggit paired with one of the best suka in the world. We walked around the village for a bit to take snaps of the people. They readily smiled at us. We went back to camp after I finished my very last roll of film. Along the way through the forest trail we chanced upon an ice cream vendor. It was a heavenly sight as the heat was already getting on our nerves.
We arrived at the port at 5:00 PM. We missed the last bus going back to Lucena so we were forced to take the private van. There were 18 of us which surprisingly fit inside that van. The van could barely accelerate as it went uphill through the mountains. Our only reprieve was that we arrived early at the Lucena Grand Terminal. We ate at Jollibee before leaving then boarded the bus going back to Manila. We arrived safely at around 10:30 PM.
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