Dates of travel: March 28-30, 2013
'Went to Calaguas with some friends who joined Gawad Kalinga's Bayani Challenge in Camarines Norte. Special thanks to Engr. and Mrs. Lito Pascual of Daet for driving us to and from Vinzons, for the arranging the free boat ride to and from Calaguas, and for lending us the stuff we used on the island.
Calaguas at sunset.
Deprive people of electricity, technology, and a decent toilet, and they will get creative and original. Yes, 'cause there's no other explanation for the urge to pose to spell out the name of the island they are on.
Calaguas Island is not easy to get to. Not Leonardo-Di-Caprio-and-Tilda-Swinton's-secret-paradise -in-The-Beach hard to get to, but the two-hour boat ride on the the huge waves of the Pacific Ocean, you'd think, would be deterrent enough for some people. In my case, had I known about the Pacific Ocean business before the trip, the chances of me going would have been very, very slim (I know, I know, Richard, Leonardo's character in The Beach, preaches about never refusing an invitation, never resisting the unfamiliar, keeping an open mind, and sucking in the experience because it never hurts and it's probably worth it. But, but I'm a mom. I've earned the right to be a wuss.) Or in Grace's case, had her Nanay had an inkling of what the waves between mainland Camarines Norte and Calaguas are like, then Nanay would not have let her go.
The moment Lois stepped into the waters of Calaguas, she said "It's like a huge swimming pool." And those were my same, exact words the first time I went into the waters of Bantayan. :D Photos courtesy of Paul Tamisin Garcia
Photos courtesy of Paul Tamisin Garcia
Photo courtesy of Paul Tamisin Garcia
Apparently, the waves do not stop most people because during our stay in Calaguas, it was crowded. It could be because we were there on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. I can't say. But picture this: our tent was pitched at the far side of the beach, away from where most of the organized travelling groups were, and yet we still had neighbors to the left and to the right, not to mention behind. And since the crowd, like us, got there by boats (or at least I think most of them did), they (the boats, not the crowd) created segments of the otherwise long stretch of white sand beach.
Photos courtesy of Paul Tamisin Garcia
No wonder some people are starting to be nostalgic of what Calaguas offered before it became famous. Our stay in Calaguas wasn't exactly a solitary commune with nature- the mobile bars and the massive speakers blaring house music at night took care of that. Fire dancing, I get -- 'could be a way of getting closer to one's element (get it?).
I'm not complaining because I, too, was a part of a group of 12 that added to the population of Calaguas that made it crowded. Plus, Calaguas gave me three reasons not to complain:
1. Despite the crowd doing their own thang, I still thoroughly enjoyed Calaguas's fine white sand, crystal clear waters, and clean seabed (no rocks!). Among the beaches I've been to, only Calaguas compares to Bantayan, so much so that I don't know which one is better.
Photos courtesy of Paul Tamisin Garcia
2. There is no "real" development in Calaguas. Sure there's a multitude of small retail stores here and there, and generators come alive at night that power the mobile bars and speakers. But your home in Calaguas will still be the tent that you bring (or a bare cottage that you rent). Also, the makeshift toilet on the island is not convenient because you'll have to compete with a lot of people at any given time (read: stand in line for a long time), so you'll have to resort to good old bathing with strangers around the deep well pump under the moonlight (feels liberating actually and not because you bathe naked, you bathe with your clothes on, Perv).
3. The lack of electricity and mobile phone signal on the island meant none of us was checking if someone had liked our photo or status on Facebook. We had the chance to watch the full moon rise and had all the time to argue whether you say "We're gonna watch the full moon rising," or "Watch the full moon rise." We also had the time to indulge a companion and listen to him talk about a group he supports named (and I am seriously, seriously, not making this up) P.U.K.I. It's supposedly a party list that they're hoping will be admitted as a contender in the national elections, and it stands for Pambansang Unyon ng mga Kalalakihang Inaapi. So it's basically the counterpart of Gabriela for men.
Photos courtesy of Paul Tamisin Garcia
Deprive humanity of social media, and it will do jump shots. Photo by Jay-ar Sto. Domingo
In a parallel universe. My Calaguas gang. Clockwise: Moi, Emman, Grace, JM, Chekoy, Jam, Hanna, Ernest, Lois, Paul, JR, and Greg.
And because I hate ending my blog posts with sentences that may scar you for life, here's Richard (again, Leonardo Di Caprio's character in The Beach) on doing extraordinary stuff while on vacation. 'Maybe a little off topic, but 'should be enough to take your mind off P.U.K.I:
"The only downer is, everyone's got the same idea. All travel thousands of miles just to watch TV and check in somewhere with all the comforts of home. You gotta ask yourself, 'What is the point of that?'"
More photos of Calaguas in my next post. Ciao!Labels: Calaguas Island, Camarines Norte, camping
