Droughtiness at Cagbalete Island - May 2014

For you to reach the Cagbalete Island, you need to ride a boat at Mauban Port. The ride will take around forty-five (45) minutes to one (1) hour, and costs Php50.00.

As a person with fear of deep blue water, I need to endure the long ride. We were all excited when we saw the island from afar! Oh, what a beauty!

Cagbalete Island

And hola! We need to walk one (1) km just to reach the resort due to low tide. It felt like forever. I was not expecting this. HAHA. 

                                          FINALLY! We've reached the resort! My goodness.

We stayed at Villa Cleofas. It's a simple kubo type cottage which costs Php3,000.00 good for 12 persons. We rested and took pictures (Cagbalete Island is picturesque during low tide) until 5:00 PM to wait for the sea to reach the shore. At night, people were building bonfires. Of course, we also did ours.

I loved the sea when the sun shined the next morning. Everything was crystal clear! This was the best time to swim! But we need to checked out around 11:00 AM and ride the boat back to Mauban Port before low tide.

I can say that Cagbalete Island is okay for barkada getaway!

Adventures at Puting Buhangin and Kwebang Lagpas, Pagbilao, Quezon - May 2013

We started our trip by a one-hour jeep ride from Lucena to Pagbilao, Quezon. Most of the roads are highways and you will know if you are near your destination once you feel your ride being bumpy cause of rough road.

Once you've reached the stop point, you need to ride a bangka to cross the lake. 

But adventure doesn't stop there! You still need to trek for 10-15 minutes after the boat ride. The trek was quite difficult since we brought food and drinks with us, plus the ground was slippery. And since it was high tide, we still need to cross another stream which was almost waistline deep (or maybe I'm just short).

Kwebang lampas during high tide.

And alas! We've finally reached our destination! The place has not yet been developed. There are no hotels to stay-in, only small cottages, and comfort rooms are in kubo type. 

But other than that, it was a perfect place for camping. Cliffdiving can also be done there. Unfortunately, I'm not good at swimming and was not able to try it, though my friends did. HUHU.

What I loved about the beach: its white sand and crystal-like water. 

You can almost see my feet under water!

Kwebang Lampas during lowtide.

Around 4 to 4:30 PM, it was already lowtide, and that was the time we planned to walk inside the cave. There is nothing much in the cave during lowtide, but a bizarre during hightide.

The struggle is real.

All-in-all, the place is perfect for barkadas, and for those who want some challenges before reaching the paradise!