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| Calaguas Island, Camarines Norte |
Wanna a get away from the hustle and bustle of the city? Wanna bar receiving messages and fast from your Smartphone for a day?
Beach junkie or not, Calaguas Island is very worth your every while. From the turquoise water, to thunderous waves, to fine white sands and picture perfect panorama, this is just a treat.
And I mean treat because the side trip happened just days before our birthdays. So Donna (travel buddy) and I agreed to have our leaves after our business by hook or by crook. Ehem. And swear they weren’t planned sick leaves but vacation leaves. Hoho!
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| Man delivering freshly cut and cleaned nipa leaves. |
The Journey
Calaguas Island is more or less a 2–hour ride from Daet depending on the waves. Boats are available for P2000 per tour but we had it for P150 each as ‘chance passengers’. A local referred us to a friend who had a group tour.
The beginning of the journey was already an eye festival. Starting from lush green nipa leaves that stand as aisle of the emerald green waters leading you to the real deal as the pristine blue waters welcome you a couple of minutes after. Be prepared of getting drenched when the waves feel like bitching. No one escapes.
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| Calaguas Island, Camarines Norte. |
What to Prepare
Budget wise, Calaguas Island is one of the destinations that is supple in experience at less expense. The overnight stay costed me less than P1500 (See expenses below). For travelers who imprinted B (Budget) on their foreheads, you might spend lesser. If you have a tent and some food from home, you will surely save some bucks. Moreover, there is no problem if you have none as there is accommodation around. There are cottages or you can rent a tent for P300 and dine with basic traveling foods at less than a hundred.
Our lunch for example were newly cooked rice and boiled eggs. We had opened a can of tuna and voila, happy tummy is in the air. Worry not if you got no cooking gears and utensils with you. The sari-sari stores around offering the goods are much willing to cook it for you and even serve it to your tent with plate, spoon, and fork.
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| Home by the Beach. Calaguas, Island, Camarines Norte |
The Experience
The boat ride to the island was long and exhilarating. My tummy was turning upside down every time huge waves rock the boat wiping the sunblock all over my body and leaving my eyes soaked in seawater. Like aww!
I thought it was just my imagination over-exaggerating the waves but it dawned unto me it was real when the boatmen had difficulty in putting the ladder for disembarkation as we docked. In the end, they opted for us to jump from the boat because every of wave surge took the ladder away. It was there that I practiced timing and precision. As a waves pass, you have to hurry getting down and get on the shore before a new one will rip you off.
Donna and I had no itinerary for this trip. Our main goal was just reaching the island and will take it from there. Soon as we stepped foot on the island, we realized we had nowhere to go. A group tour organizer was willing to adopt us for P3000 each including a place to stay and meals overnight but we think it was a bit pricey. She even scared us that we won’t be able to find a place to stay and food was scarce in the area leaving us to almost say yes… Just almost though.
There is no phone signal in the area so we had no friends to ask for help on what to do. Not to mention we were wet and hungry. We then headed to the nearest sari-sari store for possible meals and tent. We were so lucky to have been referred to Kuya Aron who set-up the tent for us at the most strategic location. His wife Ate Ruth, cooked our meal of boiled eggs and rice that we bought from their sari-sari store.
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| Sea Salut! Calaguas Island, Camarines Norte |
Now we have food and a home. Yeehey! Now time to explore the island. Had I mentioned it was very clean? And there is no need for human massage? Just stay near the water and let the waves do it for you.
There are a lot of things you can do in this virgin island. You can go sunbathing, snorkeling, hiking, or island hopping. Kuya Aron had referred us to a guide friend, Kuya King, who was having a group tour as well. He was willing to take us to the island and back to Daet (because getting back to the mainland had been our dilemma).
Generator is the only source of energy in the area hence light is scarce but is not a problem. If you are lucky like us, you could see the serene beauty of Calaguas as the moonlight bathes the island. The waves sing you to sleep and the sweet chirps of birds will wake up you the next day.
The Expenses (This is good for 2 pax already)
Tuna, Bread, Chips -P200
Boat Fare to Calaguas Island -P300
Tent -P300
Lunch -P 65
Dinner -P200 (We had dinner with Kuya Aron’s family)
Island Tour &
Boat Fare to Daet -P800
Total Expense: -P1,865
Bus Fare from Manila to Daet -P550
Jeep Fare from Daet to Vinzons -P 15
