Alibijaban Island

October 15, 2014 Beach Camping

Who wouldn't travel far for a perfect moment like this?


Last weekend, my friends and I explored Alibijaban Island, located in San Andres, Quezon. 

We have been eyeing this island near the Bondoc Peninsula for so long.  We estimated at least 8 hours land travel plus 30 minutes boat ride to the island, which is a protected area for biodiversity conservation and considered a key biodiversity area.

We came from Sta. Elena, where we conducted a recon for our outreach group, Trails to Empower Kids.  We left Sta. Elena late afternoon and we decided to take the Buenavista - San Narciso - San Andres Road.  It was not one of our best decisions, despite the shorter distance, because of the rough roads.  

By midnight, we decided just to stop and spend the night in San Narciso. 

Getting a hotel was a bit difficult.  Locals were wary of guests.  Good thing we were accommodated at Friends.  We paid 2,500 for two big rooms, enough for our group of 9.

The next day, we left San Narciso, and before lunch, we were already in San Andres.  We went straight to the port, and we met some locals who gave us information and helped us arrange for a boat ride to Alibijaban.


We also decided that instead of just an afternoon, we would stay overnight.  We all missed beach camping.  We rented the boat for P 1,050.00, which included a tour of the island.  Upon the recommendations of the locals, we bought all our supplies in San Andres.  They warned us about locals poisoning strangers, but we took it with a grain of salt. 

Back in Paradise

The long travel hours suddenly didn't matter the moment we had our first glimpse of the island.  From afar, we could see white sand, mangroves, and the beautiful blue surrounding it.



We decided to stay in the more secluded part of the island, away from the community.  We paid P 500.00 for overnight camping for the whole group, with free use of the comfort room.



We hailed a nearby small fishing boat and bought some of their fresh catch.  For a few bucks, we had enough for lunch, dinner and breakfast.


We spent the rest of the afternoon frying, grilling, swimming, sleeping, taking pictures, watching the sunset and exploring the rest of the island. 

There were a lot of beautiful spots on the island to relax and read a good book.  It helped that we were the only campers there.  It was a totally peaceful afternoon.


Instead of pitching tents, we took advantage of the good weather and just slept on our ground sheets. It was a cloudless night, with countless stars making the night more memorable.  It was a good sleep, except we got bitten by dust mites.

We had to leave the following day.  It was low tide, so we had to walk to the boat, but we didn't mind as we were again amazed by the beauty of the island.






The island had cell phone signals, so our friends were updated on our adventure.  The caretaker, Mang Aguido, took really good care of us.  He made sure we were comfortable. He also toured us and arranged for water to be brought to our camp for washing. 

It was a perfect adventure.  Thank God for awesome friends, friendly locals, and great escapes like Alibijaban Island.

On our way back to Manila, we took another route, which passed by Mulanay, Pitogo, Agdangan and Padre Burgos. The roads were much better, and we were back in Manila before midnight.

Other Good Travels

5 comments

  1. wala ako masabi sa alibijaban ang ganda blue na blue ang tubig noong pumunta kami napalinaw din :) sarap tumambay walang TOURISTA :)

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  2. can you share any contact po? like the boatmen for 1k? mas mura ata sa inyo vs some i read na 1.5k. Also 2 way na po ba yun? how did you arrange the boat back?

    tnx

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  3. iv been wanting to see this island. waaaah ang ganda pala Ma Kelly!

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  4. Marami po ba tao nung pumunta kayo? Ok po ba beach camping experience nyo sa island?

    www.vankaizer.com

    ReplyDelete