Another Trip to Calaguas (April 7-8, 2012)

Since my first trip to the paradise that is Calaguas Islands, I always had the itch to go back.  The fine white sand beach and the serenity that I failed to find in other getaways.   So when I heard that my old friend Danes is going on a week-long trip with Byahe Adventours for the holy week, I knew I had to find a way to join the party!  It is unfortunate though, that because of formula: BPO employee+ holidays= work! work! work!- That I will not be able to enjoy a week-long celebration in the island.  But still, I would be able to join them on the weekends- and that’s exactly what I planned to do.

The bangka from the river port will take us to the island

Just like before, Byahe Adventours took care of the ride to Daet, Camarines Norte and the boat ride to the island.  An 8-hour ride from Cubao to Daet and another 2-hour  boat ride to the island- and it was all worth it.  Just like before, the fact that I left the metro has already given me a certain calming feeling knowing that I am away from busy highways and crowded streets and malls.  We reached the port early morning, just as the sun was rising.  The boat ride again gave me that anticipation to lay my eyes on the island I have been missing for almost the past month.  Then, the waiting stops when we finally approach the island.  The boatmen drop their steel anchor to slow the boat down to a steady stop against the white sand.  And just like that, I almost felt like coming home.  Like the heavens’ gates opening, the soft rays of the sun showered the island and looked like a golden Eden.

Panoramic view of the campsite

This time we brought our own tent, although Byahe Adventours provides tents we figured to bring one along with us for privacy.  After setting up our tent, we were all eager to get to the water.  We ran towards the clear ocean like we were attacking it, hoping to conquer it and make it our own.  We rushed towards it laughing and in bliss as if cheering battle cries!  It almost felt like nothing could stop us, not even if they released the kraken!  We spent the whole morning just marinating in the sea and baked under the sun until Chef Janjie called for lunch.  What could be better than sitting down under the coconut shade indulging on freshly gourmet island-cooked meal with friends?  Buffet! Bon a petite!

Fresh as fresh can be

Just like the last time, you have the opportunity to take the afternoon learning poi dancing or skim boarding.  After a couple of attempts on the board, which didn’t go to well for me, we decided to try something else.  We took a walk around the island, crossing fields of local residents, and took pictures. We went up-hill to catch a glimpse of the sun just before it sets on the horizon.  This marks the end of the day and the beginning of another night-long celebration!  It was just after the critical days of the holy week so you can tell, everyone was up for one hell-of-a party!

Professional Photos taken by...professional photographers

Fire Poi in the background!

We head back to camp just in time for dinner.  Everyone is looking forward for tonight’s events.  We have cocktail-mixing, fire poi exhibition, and a long night of socials!  The cocktail-mixing was particularly special to some of our friends who successfully created their own unique concoctions!  Danes was able to debut his then-created Leme-quila!  A mixture of lemon and melon extracts on tequila which brought out a fruity-island cocktail with a punch.  The night went on, and so did the party.  It is absolute; nothing beats beach parties- correction: nothing beats Calaguas beach parties!

Mix your own, and down it!

What is the best thing about waking up the next morning after a long night of partying?  No hang overs!  That’s exactly what I always wake up to in the island.  We are scheduled to leave the island after lunch, and I already miss it.  I know that I will be looking forward to coming back to this beautiful place, the warm people behind each successful trip, the good food prepared on-site.  But before leaving this paradise, I had to make sure to leave a mark and make this trip far beyond anything else I have done.  By destiny, someone came up with a great idea.  The friends from Byahe Adventours decided to take island hopping!  If you think there’s nothing special about it, then you are highly mistaken.  We decided to take a trip to one of the near islands and back- swimming.  Yep, we are going to swim to near Balag-bag Island which is about 500-600 meters away.  That would be like a 4-5 minute walk, something like walking from SM Megamall’s building A to B end to end- give and take a couple of meters.

The island on the left is Balag-bag

For precaution, we took life vests as we are not professional swimmers.  This is not for the faint of hearts either, if you get stuck in the middle of the sea then try not freaking out.  Try not thinking of “what’s under me?” or “how deep could this be?” or my favorite “ouch! I think I got stung! There’s jellyfish here! Damn it!”.  As we take the few minutes on the water, it hit me- it really is harder than it seems.  I try to push myself, the waves going against us.  Each paddle of my arm seems to be futile, I have been paddling and kicking for the past 5 minutes but it seemed to be an eternity.  I can’t believe it, but my lungs are starting to give in- I have to catch my breath.  I lie floating to take a rest, the others are doing better.  I decide to keep going, keeping a watchful eye on the others and my girlfriend who decided to take the ordeal with me and I have to say, she’s doing much better than I am.  After 10 more minutes, we finally get half-way to the island.  I am running low on strength, the others are almost at the shores of Balag-bag Island.  I hear them cheer their morale up, and I do the same.  A few more agonizing minutes and I finally made it to the rocky part of the island, I didn’t have much vigor left so I was unable to get to the sandy shore.  To fully leave a mark on this trip, we had to get a-top the hill of Balag-bag.  With my almost no energy, I fueled myself with motivation to get to the top and finally claim what is mine by heart.  On top of Balag-bag, I stand a winner.

We took a couple of minutes to catch our breath, try to regain our strength, rest and enjoy the view and feel good of what we just did.  We took 20 minutes to get to the island, pusher ourselves to the limit, and succeeded.  We concurred ourselves.  Then it hit me, we need to get back!  Suddenly everything looked like it’s just beginning- we haven’t made a mark yet!  There is something better than swimming to another island – swim to an island and back!  With little regained from resting, we again push our bodies to the limits, in sarcastic humor, “it’s just another 20 minute swim anyway!”.  This time, the swim back feels easier than expected, I’m not sure if it’s because maybe the wave is helping us to the shore, or maybe our muscles have adapted to the water, or if our sudden vigor is caused by rushing adrenaline triggered by a sudden realization that we have bested ourselves and that we should keep this up.  With the final burst of energy, we find ourselves on the shore, sand on our faces- almost powerless to lift our bodies from the ground.  We take a couple of deep breaths and yell, “Is that it? What’s next?” as we all laugh and slowly stand up to get back to camp.

Back at the camp, still overwhelmed with the fulfilling-agonizing undertaking, we gobbled on our lunch with smiles on our faces.  After dinner, we head back to the boats.  Slowly as we drift away from the island, and the boatmen start the engines, I bid goodbye to this beautiful refuge for people looking for adventures, looking for answers, looking for themselves- “I will see you soon.”  Calaguas Island, you are full of surprises.

Leaving the island, exhausted but fulfilled again.

A Trip To Calaguas (March 10-11, 2012)

From the outside- the temperature was rising, the sun was at it's most grandeur; inside- the office is also starting to heat up.  What better way to cool things down on a summer?  Take a vacation!

It's been more than two months since I first went on the undertaking of giving myself a vacation.  It was the start of a long summer adventure. What is the best way to start a vacation?  Where could the best beaches be?  Maybe try something new?  Maybe just spend the evenings outside instead?  Come to think of it, I never tried organizing my own summer vacation!  I never went out-of-town and unwind by myself- I wouldn't have a clue on how to start.  The best way to start?  Ask around!

After spending hours online looking for the best destination this summer, I stumbled on an old friend, Danes Muñoz.  He was taking part on organizing a trip in behalf of Byahe Adventours.  They schedule trips for people like me (someone who has no idea how to manage vacations) and others who just want to go on another adventure.  Danes offered me the package worth Php 3,500.00 for a 2-day, 1-night Calaguas Island trip which includes the 2-way fare to Camarines Norte with the boat ride to the island, tent rentals and 3 meals.  Since it was my first time, I didn't expect too much.

We left Cubao at 9:00 pm and the ride took almost 8hrs!  Good thing I was from work so I made the best out of the trip- I slept the whole 8 hours!  After breakfast, we went straight to the port to ride the boat to take us on an almost 2 hour ride to the island.  The boat ride was already worth it!  After almost an hour from leaving the port, you would be in the middle of nowhere- you would barely see any shore for almost half an hour- just the deep blue sea.  But alas, the first sighting of the group of islands is a view worth the wait.  Beautiful islands, mostly of monolithic dark rock formations on white sandy beaches with green shrub hills that blend magnificently with the sunrise.

When we arrive at Calaguas Island, it was then that I knew I got more than what I paid for.  The island itself was a class by it's own.  Each step I took on the beach had a welcoming feeling- the clear tide washing on my leg, the fine white sand burying my toes, the wind blowing on the trees singing music to my ears, and the sun gently reaching down on me- it was nostalgic, that same feeling when you would have the chance to run around the park on that few minutes you escape your parent's watchful eyes when you were young.

The guys from Byahe Adventours would setup the tents for us, not because we're lazy but because setting up a tent is more complicated than it sounds!  It would be easy to setup a dome-type tent but what we had looked more of a cathedral-type tent.  There were parts of it I wouldn't even know where it goes to!

Me trying to figure out where this thing goes to

Almost done setting up the tent

The sun was up and the beach was set, and so were we!  The water was not rough, kids can easily enjoy the waves.  There are no sudden steepness or depth, there were no rock formations that can cause injury.  The sea bed was mostly covered with bits of shattered reef or sea shells.  The best way to enjoy it was to just float around!  Just make sure you apply sunblock!  Because once you get in the water, it's going to take a long time before you decide to get out.

When the sun is at it's peak, then it's just about time to get back to the shade.  Don't worry about missing out on the water, you'll be back in it soon.  In the meantime, let's check what's cooking!  Byahe Adventours' chef and organizer Chef Janjie takes care of that!  Fresh food cooked right on the island.  No fancy restaurants here, just plain old-fashioned pan-frying, pot-stewing and the likes!  And you get to watch it as it's done, from preparation to buffet!  Chef Janjie showcases his culinary talents and provides some cooking 101 tips.

Chef Janjie in action

After lunch, it's either back to the waters or relax under a coconut and read a book, take a siesta... or learn poi dancing! Yes, Byahe Adventours provide free poi dancing lessons.  They have their own line of professional poi dancers such as Star.  Star can walk you through from the basics to the advanced training sessions.  If you're up to it, you can try fire poi, too!  There's also free skim boarding lessons, see if you can find the surfer in you!

Surf's up!

Soon enough, the sun goes down.  I was thinking, "campfire!" because the island did not have it's own power source.  "It's going to be a quiet and short evening", was what's going on my head- I was wrong.  The team turns on a diesel-powered generator and the island lights up!  Bulbs on the coconut trees give the beach life throughout the night!  Music was on, too!  I was going, "Oh YES!!! Party! Party!".  After dinner, Chef Janjie again exhibits his culinary prowess through cocktail mixing!  Free tutorial for mixes from the basic Black Russian to Sex on the beach or "mix your own!"  Test your alchemy skills and be a mixing prodigy or knock yourself out with your own poison!  Just when things start heating up, once again the team lead by Chef Janjie and Star together with the other performers of Byahe Adventours exhibit their crafts on Fire Poi dancing to bring the party to a sizzle!  The party just goes on and on till the morning if you're up to it!  What better way to keep the memories than to capture them on high-quality photos taken by their professional photographer.

Got to admit, one of the best part of the trip- cocktail mixing!

Waking up at the island is never pleasant enough- no worrying of traffic, loud noise, being on-line for the next bus or train...just lie down and listen to the waves crashing to the shore and smell what Chef Janjie's cooking for breakfast.  "Just a few more minutes, call me when breakfast is ready...", is what lingers in my head as I turn still lying in the tent with a smile on my face, "I'm on vacation."