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| Because one of me is not enough... |
So enough about that, and more about Kalanggaman Island. It's a nice island somewhere in Leyte (or so I was told) that will certainly make an interesting trip. For people like me, it's probably a once in a lifetime experience. And I'll tell you why in a bit.
How to get there:
I was able to book a really cheap Cebu Pacific flight going to Cebu (one of those Piso Fare deals), so that helped a lot in the budgeting department. From Cebu City, we had to take a van ride for about 3-4 hours to Maya Port. It only cost us 200 pesos per head, but it was an interesting ride. The van was packed, and I was seated literally at the farthest corner of the van (with some boxes and luggage). I was elated that it was raining outside, otherwise I would have perished in the heat.
From the port, we took a boat to Malapascua Island - that's another 30-40 minute ride (100 pesos). Finally, it takes another 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours from Malapascua to Kalanggaman. The travel time itself is enough to discourage you from going in the first place. But somehow, I got there. And it was kinda worth the trip.
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| I'm the king of the world! |
The Kalanggaman tour itself officially costs 800 pesos per head. That includes the boat ride and lunch. If you know your locals, you can probably get it for as low as 600 pesos. Our tour was pre-arranged, so we were initially charged 800. With haggling skills, we managed to bring it down to 700.
The Experience:
We got to the island at around 11 in the morning. You can rent cottages for 500 pesos, so you don't have to stay under the sun if you don't want to. Lunch was served at around 12:30, and the food was yummy! Grilled pork, chicken and fish! You can never go wrong with grilled meat (unless, of course, you burn it). We were able to swim, snorkel, rest and take pictures until around 3PM. For the adventurous, you can actually rent some tents and spend the night on the beach. Definitely not the experience I'm looking for at this point.
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| This scenery is to die for! |
The Good:
The beach is awesome. There's a long stretch of white sand, that even goes further when the tide goes down. You will never run out of places to take a good selfie, and you can make the place look deserted in your photos even if there's like a hundred other people in the island. The water is crystal clear and offers a good swimming experience for kids and adults alike.
The Bad:
No swimming in the sandbar area. Wait, what? But that's the best part of the island! Well, the current is pretty strong in that area, and tourists are not allowed to risk their lives by swimming there. I personally didn't try to validate the "strong current" claim; the current in the regular swimming area is already pretty challenging. So yeah, I just decided to trust the huge "DO NOT SWIM" signs and enjoy what the island had to offer.
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| Saaaaaaand |
It also rained for about 20 minutes. The raindrops felt weird on my back while I was snorkeling, so I decided to take shelter for a few minutes. Our small cottage was "invaded" by a group of 7 tourists, who also wanted to take shelter from the rain. We didn't mind at first, but it got to a point where we felt uncomfortable in our own (paid) cottage. They left after almost an hour without even thanking us. And yeah, they left trash behind, too. So boys and girls, if you ever need a favor from somebody else (especially strangers), please PLEASE don't be ungrateful bitches. It's so easy to say "thank you."
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| My travel buddies! |
I also got to test my new full face snorkeling mask. I had reservations about it when I ordered it online, but it actually worked like a charm! I used to hate renting snorkeling gear no matter how "sterilized" they say those things are. Now, this will no longer be a problem for me (unless I leave the gear behind, of course). Too bad the swimming area was not too snorkeling friendly - nothing to see but sand and some small fish. The boatman said there were some snorkeling spots on the other side of the island, but I didn't have the time to venture (thanks in part to the invaders, who drained some of my good mojo).
The Verdict:
I definitely had loads of fun in Kalanggaman. It's a beautiful place - no doubt about it. Probably not worth going back to, however, considering the effort. Yes I'm lazy, and I was never a big fan of delaying gratification. There are a lot of other islands to explore, and there's always Puerto Princesa and Boracay if I want a stress-free beach experience.
For the "maartourist," you can opt to ride a private van going to Maya port (costs around 2500-3000 pesos), and get a private boat going to Malapascua (way faster than the public boat, but will definitely cost more if you are a small group). Nothing much that you can do about the Kalanggaman tour, as it seems to be centralized and organized.
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