For the second half of our Quezon trip, Daryl took us to Cagbalete Island in Mauban. I’ve wanted to go to this island since 2013 but for various reasons, I never had the chance… until now. Thank you, Daryl. 🙂
To reach Cagbalate Island, you’d have to to take a 45-minute ferry ride. You need to take a tricycle to the Mauban port. Trips are scheduled but since it was the weekend of festivals, there were a lot of passengers and there was no fixed schedule. Boats just leave when they’re full. Cagbalete is getting a lot of attention now so more people are visiting; make sure you come early so you don’t run out of seats.
The boat ride was a little scary, to be honest. I was pretty sure we had overloaded because most of us ended up sitting in wooden panels (is that normal?) and we had no life vests. Once the ferry reaches the island, you’d have to ride another small boat that will drop you off at the beach. That was even scarier because we were standing and swaying while the boat man was just paddling. Anyway, we arrived safely. By this time we were already at our most haggard states because wow, the sun was angry even at 4pm! It was a true summer day.
Since this was an unplanned trip, we didn’t book a room ahead. Daryl brought a tent which was good for 3 people (or so the packaging says). We wanted to find a resort that had spots for tents and hopefully, an extra tent that we could rent. We had to walk quite far and randomly picked Villa Noe Resort. They still had spots for tents but no more tents for renting. Fortunately for us, we actually fit inside the tent! It was like it was made for us. 🙂
Mini-confession: this was the first time I camped. Did I love it? I was about to find out.
At around 6pm, I tried swimming (more like walking, really) but the water was so hot — it was like a hot spring! So I just waited for the sunset while Daryl swimmed and Irish and Gracy talked about their love lives inside the tent.
Dinner was interesting. We didn’t have any. Hehe. Looking back, it was so funny that we brought bread, snacks, water and a bottle of Mojito but we didn’t bring anything for dinner. Villa Noe’s canteen had no more food by the time we went there (8:30ish?) so we just bought cup noodles and Sky Flakes. I know, lamay lang ang peg. But hey, we had Mojito! Talk about priorities!
After that so-called dinner, we swapped stories while drinking our precious Mojito and eating chips. It was good that we did that. I think it helped us sleep better. I remember feeling warm inside the tent because there was no breeze at all. And then at around 2am, something unexpected happened: it rained. It was a thunderstorm so it was fairly strong and loud but it was a welcome temperature change. We just woke up for a couple of minutes to check if the tide’s going to eat us up but when we saw that we’re still far from the water, we went back to sleep. Hehe, sarap ng tulog namin.
Camping in itself is not so bad. It’s a fun experience, really. If you don’t mind sleeping without AC or a fan, and lining up to use the bathroom/toilet, then you’re okay.
The morning after, we went on an island hopping trip. One thing to remember about Cagbalete — the low tides are really… low.
I can’t remember the names of the islands we visited but I do remember Yang-In Sand Bar. Its beauty really stood out because of the low tide; I would go back to Quezon just for this.
And oh, there were so many sea urchins in the water! Our boatmen caught some and we had the chance to eat it. Tasted a bit salty but it was okay.
When it was time to go back, we had to walk a loooong stretch of sand because of, again, the low tide. The heat of the sun and the seaweeds did not make it easy to do so.
Cagbalete is a true beauty. And it’s just a few hours away from Manila. Whether you’re looking for solace or a quick escape from the metro, this island is worth a visit. 🙂
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