" .. and then I realized, adventures are the best way to learn." 🌊
Oh, the satisfaction of finally being able to start making kuwento about our Leyte adventures. This has been in draft for weeks now. You know why: Work. Ugh.
I'm sorry, as usual, this is going to be a looong post and as usual, I don't care. I had to talk. And I don't want to cut it into two separate blogs just because.
This has been impromptu, but not impromptu-impromptu because we basically have a month to prepare LOL, and just a couple of days to decide if this is really the trip we want. I badly needed a vacay and I was so so eager. It was initially Boracay-Antique but then I saw this Kalanggaman post on Facebook, like it's a sign and like it's calling my name, and then I was reminded again of how much I wanted to be there for so long. [Arte]
But the drama doesn't end there. Just a couple of days before our scheduled flight, here comes Typhoon Lawin. I literally track it's movement the moment it was heard after Karen. [Hello PAG-ASA, hiring po kayo?] I knew that it's up targeting North but still, the possibility of it affecting our departure is high. Good thing by the time Wednesday arrived, it's almost out of PAR. My gosh, the relief.
October 20, 2016, Thursday - BYE MANILA, HELLO TACLOBAN :)
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| It's my first plane ride. Totoo. :p Thanks, PAL. |
Straight outta night shift, from our scheduled flight which is 3:30 PM, we arrived in Tacloban around 5:00 PM. We refused taking taxis or tricycles from the airport and preferred taking a jeep going downtown because nothing beats experiencing local transpo. And I don't want to waste all the researching I've done, noh LOL. Upon arriving, that's when it hit me: OMG ANG LAYO NAMIN. LOL. This is probably the farthest we've both been from home - so far :)
We had a little trouble finding a hotel since all that I have on the list are fully booked :( We opted not to book prior to the trip since we aren't even sure if it will push through because of Lawin. Luckily, we found Hotel Alejandro. It's not that hard to find a hotel downtown, anyway.
When we were walking around looking for a place to stay at, I was amazed of how much food hub there is in the area. It has this Kapitolyo-Maginhawa vibe. We settled in the hotel and rested for awhile before we went out and had dinner in Chew Love.
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| Cute interiors. Food is superb as well. |
We walked around a little and then headed back to the hotel. Realizing how long the day will be tomorrow - being up for 24 hours, exhausted from the flight and all the walking with tummies full, we called it a night.
October 21, 2016, Friday - SAMBAWAN ISLAND, BILIRAN PROVINCE
There are two ways to get to Sambawan Island:
- Get to Naval Port, Biliran, ride a boat going to Maripipi Island, then hop on to another boat going to Sambawan.
- Get to Naval Port, Biliran, ride a habal habal/padyak to take you to Kawayan Port, hire a boat to take you directly to Sambawan Island.
We opted the first one mainly because:
- We decided not to stay in Sambawan overnight since there is no electricity there and food available [you'd have to bring your own], and we don't want to go camping yet. [I was preparing myself for Kalanggaman lol] but for those who wish to do so, I heard there are standard rooms available that costs 2,500php/night and cottages you can rent for 500php-1,000php/night.
- It's cheaper since there's just two of us. Boat ride from Kawayan Port directly to Sambawan costs 3,000-3,500php compared to the first option which cost only 60pesos each to Maripipi, then 500 from Maripipi to Sambawan. *But if you are travelling in groups, the 2nd option is more practical.* In addition, I wanted to experience Maripipi.
Up as early at 5:00 AM, we had breakfast in Tacloban before we checked out, and then headed to Biliran - the gateway to Sambawan.
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| From Burgos [street where our hotel is located] we took a multicab going to New Tacloban terminal. |
From New Tacloban terminal, we took a van bound to Biliran - travel time is about 2 hours. While on our way, I contacted El Paseo Homestay in Maripipi Island [whose phone number I got online] to check if there is an available room. The owner of El Paseo called us immediately and advised that yes, there is.
We arrived in Naval Port, Biliran around 10:45 AM, just in time for the boat going to Maripipi Island's last trip. Note that there are only 3 trips to Maripipi: 10;00, 10:45, and 11:00 AM. We headed to the port and bought tickets. Travel time to Maripipi Island is 1.5-1.75 hours. We traveled with locals and their cargos which are mostly food. [NOTE: I WILL SHARE THE COMPLETE BUDGET BREAKDOWN AT THE END OF THIS POST.]
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| Boat going to Maripipi. Hi, manongs. |
Maripipi Island
Upon arriving in Maripipi, we took a habal-habal to El Paseo homestay where we were happily welcomed by the owner and her katiwalas [I know, katiwalas isn't even a word. *irap*] I strongly recommend El Paseo because, personally, we felt very welcomed and accommodated. They asked us what we want for dinner so they could cook and even personally bring the food upstairs. Not to mention the room which costs 1,400/night that gave justice to it given it's very clean and has this very home-y ambiance.
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| View from El Paseo's balcony. You might think there's nothing special in this pic but you're wrong. This pic was taken the exact moment I was savoring the probinsiya vibes of Maripipi. |
We had lunch and then got ready around 2:00 PM to get to Sambawan.
We hired another habal-habal to get to Brgy. Ol-Og, where the bangka is waiting. It took us only 20 minutes to get to the island.
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| Boat station @ Brgy. Ol-Og. Sambawan, I see you. <3 |
Sambawan Island
We were the only visitors of the island that day we had the shore by ourselves along with a few locals who are cleaning. Out of curiosity, I checked the log sheet and the day before that, there was just one visitor naman from guess where? West Rembo Makati! Hello neighbor, anong trip mo? Hanap sarili? LOL We paid the entrance & environmental fee before we started walking around. You see, I chose Sambawan not just for the beach but for one more thing.... THE 360 VIEW FROM UP THE HILL.
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| Wait, let me show you guys that rainbow muna. Can't remember the last time I saw one. I was giddy. |
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| Okay enough. Presenting, the little Batanes of Biliran. |
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| Here's Sambawan for you guys. Majestic. |
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| Ang gandaaaa... ko. Chos. |
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| Of course, emote emote. |
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| What a view. :) <3 |
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| If you've read my previous posts, you're prolly aware that I don't know how to swim. Sambawan is one of those beaches that didn't let that be a hindrance for me to enjoy. In short, it's "ligo-able" and "tampisaw-able" LOL |
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| That poging island dog. He's very mailap, I didn't get to lablab him :( |
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| These are the moments I live by. <3 |
We went back to Maripipi before 5pm, socialized with the locals, had dinner and then called it a day. Upon hitting the sack, my soul was dancing inside my body. <3
We woke up at 3:00 AM the next day to catch the 5:00 AM only boat ride back to Biliran mainland. That's probably one of my fave parts of this trip - we were taken by a truck to Maripipi Port along with the other locals. Yes, a truck, as in construction dump truck levels, ganyan. I was not able to take a picture since it's pitch dark outside that time. But oh, the memory is forever printed in my head. That's one for the books.
October 22, 2016, Saturday - KALANGGAMAN ISLAND, PALOMPON DAY 1
To get to Palompon from Naval Port, we took a van bound to Ormoc and asked the driver to drop us off at Libungao where we could catch a van bound to Palompon.
Some, based on my online reading, get themselves to Ormoc first and then take the van from there though that might take more time. But forget about taking awhile because huzzah, it took us almost an hour or so to catch Palompon bound vans since most were full. :( Thank heavens there was a manong barker in Libungao who helped us wave for one so we do not have to wait under the sun. Soon enough, manong caught one and off we go. It might take you a total 3 hours to get to Palompon from Naval, but in our case, it was a little more. But all is well, all is well.. except me. LOL
Upon arriving at Palompon, we went directly to their Tourism Office to settle our boat and rent our tent. You may bring your own tent or rent one at Hinablayan Outdoor which is just outside the tourism office. Afterwards, we went to the nearby market and bought stuff we need for the night. Note that there is no food and electricity in the island so buy everything you need in the mainland. We originally planned to buy cooking utensils since we can't just carry so much from Manila, but we ended up renting at the tourism office [Not sure if this is something regular, I just asked Ate May, one of the Tourism office's staff, if she knows anyone we could rent utensils from because we only brought our portable stove, and then she asked another woman from the office too if we could do so. Good thing she happily obliged. I heard we were like, the 3rd person she agreed to.]
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I was not able to take a pic of the tourism office but here you go
[Photo from FAQ.ph] You won't have a hard time finding it since it's just
within Palompon Town Hall. And cos it's yellow. LOL that's how I found it.
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After buying everything we need, we headed to our boat. You may wait for other passengers in the tourism office to share a boat with and just agree on your pick up time tomorrow. In our case, we already agreed on renting our own boat even before we got there, because we wanted to follow our own itinerary. But before our boat set off, here comes Ate May with another couple she have talked to and have agreed to go with our preferred pickup time the following day. [Hehe. Thanks, Ate May. Saved us 50% LOL.]
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| Short orientation in the boat before departing discussing the Do's and Don'ts in the island. |
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| This bangka assigned to us can hold 15-25 people. LELS. I know, how selfish of us. |
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| It took us an hour to get there but as we were approaching.... WOW. Just wow. Look at that. |
Kalanggaman did not disappoint. It's picturesque reputation online is justifiable. Stunning. So please do understand if we took so much pictures haha. We roamed around to find a camping spot and settled in. FACT: Me and Tine have no idea how to set up a tent [HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA] goodness gracious, thank God we were able to assemble it by secretly peeking on our boatmates assembling theirs. Lels. NOW WE KNOW *irap*
We had the rest of the day to explore, which we did eventhough I could feel my fever waving hello and grinning slyly at me. But fvck it, I still went ahead with the day.
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| Luuuuuunch. |
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| Hala sige, awra. |
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| Di ko alam sa kanya. |
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| Masaya. |
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| That sandbar. I don't think I'll ever get tired of looking at that. |
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| Before dusk, we went back to our camp and rested. We just chilled for the rest of the day. |
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| View from our spot. |
This is when it hit me without any denial and pa-strong attitude anymore: I'M GOING TO GET SICK, RIGHT THERE, RIGHT THEN. People, please always bring paracetamol with you. Don't be like Meryl and Tine who only brought decolgen and sinecod. I don't know why we forgot given that we always have plenty at home :( Also, exercise. Don't be like us. We do nothing but sleep at home, that's why. When night fell, I was immediately asleep but I woke up around 11:00 PM, shaking. Tine had to hug me the whole night so I could go back to sleep. I wanted my mom that moment huhuhu.
October 23, 2016, Sunday - KALANGGAMAN ISLAND, PALOMPON DAY 2
The following day, Tine cooked breakfast for us because I was still groggy. Lels. Kahit naman hindi, he's always the one to prepare whenever we camp, I just help. After eating, Tine roamed around and ask our co-campers for paracetamol. Luckily, there are policemen and island guards who are very kind so he was able to score one for me. When paracetamol kicked in and I felt a little better [Just a little, trust me, nilaban ko na 'yun] We switched back to our swimming clothes and wasted no time. I wanted to see the whole island - we were only able to explore, like, 1/4 of it yesterday.
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| Good morning, beautiful. |
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| Vitamin D. I'm dying here. LOL |
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| Path on the way to the other side. |
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| Mini chapel |
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| Wooden tents. I don't think they're ready for occupancy, but looking at it, it should be soon. |
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| The other side. It's very serene here. |
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| Sick but just like what my beki friends always say, "RAVAAAAARN!" |
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| We went back to the sandbar for more morning photo ops. |
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| Kaya ko pa, beh. Kaya pa. *faints* |
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| Where the ends meet. Naks, deep. |
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| Hahahahah. Landi ni Tine. |
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| Happy girl :) |
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| So many beautiful experiences together. We can't break up anymore, noh? Too much memories to remember, if ever. Lol |
We reached Tacloban around 4:00 PM, checked in to Rosvenil Pensione, which is one of our first choices but is fully booked when we arrived Day 1. We immediately took a shower: something we were not able to do in Kalanggaman [lels. Secret lang natin yun] and then went out to have dinner in a highly recommended place by my waray friends.
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| Where else would you eat if you are in Tacloban? |
Guys, OMG. No wonder Ocho Grill is highly recommended. It's super cheap, I was really surprised. Food/paluto is also delicious. Can't specify but say, seafood paluto in MNL that costs 1,500php is just 500-600php here. No lie! Sulit, right? I thought, ahh that's why everyone's bugging me to not forget to drop by here. I won't post the photos anymore since I look like sh*t that day. I died, remember? LOL
We walked around the town for a little, and then headed back to the hotel and called it a night.
October 24, 2016, Monday - BYE LEYTE :(
This day is totally blank. Huhu. We checked out at noon, had lunch in Giuseppe's and then took a multicab to Robinsons Tacloban. We were planning to go to San Juanico Bridge and MacArthur Landing Memorial Park, but it was drizzling and I am a weakling for having fever so we ended up just having a massage in a spa center in front of Rob. YES, I KNOW, WHO ARE WE TO NOT VISIT SAN JUANICO BRIDGE WHILE IN LEYTE?! :( We went to the airport around 4:00 PM and waited for our boarding. We arrived in Manila at 7:45 PM.
Better Leyte than Never
I've said this in one of my Facebook posts and I had to say it again: I am just so happy for Tacloban and the rest of Leyte. There is no Yolanda-was-here signs anymore. While I am doing my research about Leyte before this trip, I came across post-Yolanda pictures and looking at them is just as devastating as it feels when it happened back then. I remembered watching the news about it and being totally teary eyed for our kababayans. But today, you'll see a town who has moved on [unlike you. Char.] and stood up in the same place where it shrunk.
Am I coming back? For sure. I've only explored a little and I know all other gems Eastern Visayas has to offer. Sambawan and Kalanggaman Island are the types of getaway you'd want to repeat, no doubt. Also, me and Tine promised ourselves to do more backpacking instead of typical laid back travels, in order for our bodies to get used to it. My gosh, we are such weaklings. But overall, this is definitely one of those trips we'll talk about during our lazy Sunday nights. A trip worth a #throwbackthursday entry once in a while.
Tips:
I am no pro but if there's something I learned....
- Practice your haggling skills. Especially with the boat fares but also note that some [Ex. Kalanggaman] have their prices fixed.
- Do research, as in tons of it, before doing DIY-days-of-backpacking. I read a handful of blog posts and articles about Leyte and specifically about these two islands before I was at ease that we can pull this off even if it's just us two.
- Prepare your own itinerary documented. I had ours handwritten [Idk, I like it that way] and surprisingly though I have it imprinted in my head, it came handy during the trip.
- Always have options. In everything. Do not have just one thing in your list, prepare plenty just in case the first option did not work out.
- Socialize with the locals. Engage. Nothing beats my experience of talking in tagalog, and them replying in Waray in Tacloban, and Bisaya in Biliran & Palompon. I had to gasp whatever I understand from their responses para magkaintindihan kami, and it felt eccentric in a good way.
- Sleep when you can. It's important you have enough energy when you do backpacking and power nap(s) would help. Avoid getting drunk, as in walwal levels.
- Bring biogesic. Lels
Where we stayed:
Tacloban
- Rosvenil Pensione - 1,600/night [good for two]
- Hotel Alejandro - 1,800/night [good for two]
- Others I saw upon exploring Tac:
- Go Hotels Tacloban
- Yellow Doors Hostel
- Hotel XYZ
- Welcome Home Pensione
Maripipi
- El Paseo Homestay - 09176734632/09173111368
- Others:
- Judith Gaviola's Homestay
- Agta Beach Resort
Kalanggaman
- None. Camp, guys. Camp. There are common restrooms in the island so please be decent and CLAYGO.
As promised, here's our budget breakdown excluding airfare [per head, unless stated otherwise]:
Sambawan Island
- Multicab to New Tacloban Terminal: 8php
- New Tacloban Terminal to Biliran, Naval Port: 150php
- Naval Port to Maripipi: 60php
- Naval Port Terminal Fee: 10php
- El Paseo Homestay: 1,400/night [Room is good for two with private restroom]
- Habal-habal in Maripipi: 40php-60php each/ride
- Maripipi to Sambawan boat rental: 500php [Round Trip]
- Sambawan Island Entrance+Environmental Fee: 100php
Kalanggaman Island:
- Naval Port, Biliran to Libungao [Vans bound to Ormoc]: 120php
- Libungao to Palompon: Gaaaad, I can't remember anymore. But it's less 100php, that's for sure.
Kalanggaman Rates as of our travel dates, Oct 2016:
Whewwwww. That was long. Daldal ko. If you have questions, feel free to comment and I'm more than glad to answer :) To wrap this post up, here's the video dump of this trip. Enjoooooy.
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