BANTAYAN: La Isla Bonita

BANTAYAN: La Isla Bonita (August 29-30, 2009)

Cebu is well-known for its beautiful beaches, and Bantayan Island has always been right on top of that list. I've lived in Cebu most of my life, but for some reason I never really had the interest to go to this island. It's true what they say about people taking their home towns (and home countries for that matter) for granted. We keep seeking destinations that are far away, when in fact the best destinations are very close by. When my Manila friends demanded (fine, requested) that I take them to Bantayan Island, I realized that maybe it was the right time to finally go. I should give them credit, because finally I can count myself as one of the few lucky people who get to take a piece of this paradise with them for the rest of their lives. :)

G E T T I N G  T H E R E

Ready for the 4AM bus ride

The road to Bantayan is long. There are a lot of other beaches that are closer to the city than Bantayan, but even then the long trip is definitely worth it. I've never been to the northern tip of Cebu before, so I didn't want to drive all the way there at dawn. We decided to take a bus instead, and we left the North Bus Terminal at around 4AM. The bus that was available at that time was not air-conditioned, but the ride only cost us Php50. It was also a good thing that we were traveling at dawn because I couldn't imagine going on a 3 1/2 hour bus ride under the heat of the sun. We slept for almost the entire duration of the trip, and by 7:30 we were already at Hagnaya Port in San Remigio.

San Remigio is one of the towns in the northernmost part of Cebu. From Hagnaya port we left the mainland of Cebu and took a ferry ride (Super Shuttle) to Bantayan Island. The ticket was worth Php145, and the ferry ride lasted for around an hour. The weather was thankfully sunny so we had a fairly smooth ride.

I S L A N D   T O U R

Arriving at the Port of Sta. Fe

Bantayan Island is only 11 km wide and 16 km long, so it's fairly small. Even then, it's actually composed of three municipalities. The first municipality is Santa Fe, and this is where all the commercial resorts are located. The other two municipalities are Madridejos and Bantayan.

Commuting around Bantayan Island

When we reached Bantayan Island, we were greeted at the Port of Santa Fe by a driver from the resort that we booked. After checking in, we ate breakfast and we ended up sleeping for a couple of hours because we were too tired.

St. Peter and Paul Church

We then commenced our little tour around the island, and we did this by riding a tricycle or a motorella. We've had our fair share of tricycles around the country, but the tricycles in Bantayan are unique because they actually look like mini-jeepneys. All five of us were able to fit in the back, seated as we would have been if we rode a jeepney.

The first place we visited was St. Peter and Paul Church. For a little trivia, Bantayan was actually the first parish to be established in Cebu by the Augustinians. The parish was established in June 11, 1580, and the church that we saw was probably the fourth or fifth church erected in its place. The building was built from 1839-1863, and the other church buildings that came before it were already destroyed. The church itself looked really old. It probably has the thickest walls among all stone churches in Cebu, being not only a house of God but also a refuge during the times when the Christians were in constant danger.

Inside the church

After the church, we crossed the plaza to pay a little visit to the Bantayan Public Market. Our main goal was to search for our dinner and midnight snacks, as well as to buy a couple of drinks. By this time the noonday sun was shining down on us and it was really scorching hot. Also, our little public market visit turned into a mini trade check. We were all from the consumer goods industry, so it was so funny because everyone ended up checking if their respective products were on display. Workaholics united, indeed.

W H E R E  T O  E A T

Our mini island tour left us tired and hungry, so we decided to eat (late) lunch at the Coucou Bar and Restaurant. The restaurant was pretty empty because we ate a very late lunch, but it had a pool table and the food was really good. In Bantayan, the food doesn't really count that much though, because people are too busy oooh-ing and aaaah-ing at the beach. We noticed that the sun was about to set and we wanted to catch the sunset by the beach, so we hurried along and went back to our resort.

K O T A  B E A C H ,  S A N T A  F E

When we first decided that we were going to Bantayan, it fell on my hands to book a room in one of its many resorts. After a couple of informal surveys and research, I ended up booking a beachfront cottage (this is the best part) at Kota Beach. We already had a glimpse of the beach when we first arrived earlier in the morning, and even then we were already amazed.

View from our beachfront cottage

The best thing about Bantayan, aside from the gorgeous scenery and the pristine beach, is the fact that it's not crowded at all. It used to be Cebu's best-kept secret, but tourism is really surging. It still takes extra effort to go to Bantayan though, so the island is still relatively uncrowded. To add to this advantage, we had a beachfront cottage, so it was like having our own private little beach.

Our afternoon swim involved these waves

When we got back to our resort after our island tour, we decided to go for a little swim. The waves by this time were huge and relentless, and the vastness of the sea was a little overwhelming. We braved the waters though, especially when we realized that there was nothing but a carpet of fine sand beneath us. There were no corals or algae or sharp rocks to make us paranoid. We only had the velvety carpet of sand and the huge waves to keep us company, and I think this is exactly what makes Bantayan a fabled tourist destination. The crashing waves also made our swimming a bit more interesting, because we ended up riding wave after wave and having the time of our lives.

O U R   P R I V A T E   B E A C H

Our beachfront cottage gave us the best view, but it also gave us the privacy that we needed. We were still full from our late lunch so we just spent the evening chilling by the shore. We had nothing but the beach and the night sky, so it was the perfect venue to catch up and just relax.

Imagine waking up to this sunrise

When we woke up the following morning, we woke up to the sound of crashing waves. Tthe tide was already high and the water was even closer to our cottage than when we left it the night before. The sunrise that we witnessed was truly one of the most majestic scenes I've ever had the privilege of witnessing. The sun slowly broke through the horizon and its golden light was reflected in the water. The cotton-like clouds were scattered in the sky, and the waves provided the perfect background music to the entire thing. It was enough to take our breaths away.

We were going to leave for Cebu soon, so we spent the rest of our time enjoying the early morning sun. We walked the length of the shore and even crossed to the neighboring resort, and the entire time our eyes just feasted on scenes filled with sun, sand and sea. If only all mornings could begin this way.

We had our last breakfast at the resort, and soon we made our way back to the Port of Sta. Fe. Here we got on another barge and made our way back to the mainland of Cebu.

L E A V I N G

Leaving Bantayan

The hardest part in any vacation is leaving, but leaving Bantayan was especially hard because it was just such a beautiful island. It's not overrated in any way, because it really is a piece of paradise. If only we could stay forever, but as it is, it's back to work tomorrow. Back to reality. Back to stress. But that's life. Still, we're blessed. I know that wherever life will take us, Bantayan as an island and Bantayan as an experience will stay with us always.

Until we meet again!

So thank you Lord for Bantayan, thank you for the convenience of being from Cebu, thank you for this weekend, thank you for the sunshine, thank you for making everything run smoothly, thank you for providing us with everything we needed to get there, and lastly thank you blessing me with four adventurous, crazy, and spontaneous friends who were swamped with deadlines and very very busy with work but took some time off this weekend anyway. Of course we're STILL swamped with work, but Bantayan was definitely worth it.

Bantayan Island, check!