Whacky Adventures*

Bicol Express: Day 4. April 28, 2012. 7:30+AM.

Caramoan Islands and islets, Camarines Sur

Part 1 Part 2

Matukad Island

With blusterous limestone formation and to-die-for fine white sands, Matukad Island proved to be a beach bum's haven.

I swear I'm not exaggerating. The island has turquoise clear water. #drool

super fine powdery white sand.

Matukad peak

One of the highlights of Matukad is it's view. You have to climb an 80 degrees steep limestone wall to get to the peak and get a birds-eye view.

The climb.

ouch my crotch. :D #feelingadventurers

Vista view of Caramoan.

It was [for a lack of the best word] breath-taking. Despite the gallons of sweat I produced in this climb, I can't help but grin from ear to ear when I got to the top. The view was amazing.

Glaire: Nakaya ko! Booyeah!

Enchanted Lagoon in Matukad IslandAs an added bonus, it also leads a path a what the locals call the Enchanted Lagoon. According to Kuya Ramir, our guide and our contact's son, existing within these clear waters are 2 fishes. A fisherman took one so what remains is a solitary fish with stories of mystery. According to him, no one ever knew what happened to the fisherman.

That very tiny speck is the solitary fish Kuya Ramir told us about.

You can opt to go down and swim in the lagoon but we left our slippers on the main beach. Going down would entail prancing through jagged rocks so chickened out.

Kagbalingad Island [infront of Gota Beach]
The larga slab of rock infront of the short shoreline looks like a center piece in a big hallway. We looked for a shaded area then chowed on our 6 packed lunch. :D

Right after lunch, we asked Kuya Ramir to bring us to a good snorkelling spot. He brought us in the channel between Gota Beach which is just right infront of the Kagbalingan. It was a shallow reef but nonetheless, we had so much fun chasing some Nemo's and Dory's. Too bad our cameras are starting to get low on batteries. Pesh!

Hunongan Cove
Hunongan Cove has a white sandy shoreline perfect for swimming, and lush marine ecosystem fit for snorkeling It is near Gota Beach which is a resort managed by the provincial government. It also houses some of the Survivor crew during filming season. We never got the chance to explore the island as we were planning to go to our next island destination.

Minalahos Island
Just like Kagbalingad, it has a short shoreline with towering limestone formation towering on the beach end. It's perfect for swimming as the waters are shallow, however, the abundance of seaweeds can get you anxious sometimes. I didn't see any sea urchins but you can never be too careful.

On the way back to Paniman, we got a glimpsed of the Survivor Tribal Council. Kuya Ramir said the area is prohibited and doesn't allow any picture-taking. He said cameras are scattered everywhere in the island and beach front for surveillance. He said people are gonna be in serious trouble if they got caught. #EvilGrin

with Kuya Ramir, our tour guide.

4:00PM. Touchdown Paniman Beach.
Stepping down the boat was like waking up from a very beautiful dream. We were all satisfied CUSTOMERS, smiles from ear to ear.

Since we still had time left before our tricycle arrived, we decided to share a bottle of T5 rum with Kuya Ramil, Kuya Ramir and the locals. It was fun learning some Bicolano words [more of that in a separate post], and listening to stories from locals.

Whacky Thoughts:
The pictures I took are not even close to half the beauty the islands and the people have. It may be a bit challenging coming to these secluded wonders but it's worth every wait and butt-sore. I now understand why this is Survivor's favorite; because once you breathe Caramoan, it imprints itself into your soul. #chos

Caramoan Islands and islets, Camarines Sur
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Part 1 Part 2

Whacky Adventures* recommends:
CARAMOAN HOME STAY / ISLAND HOPPING CONTACT
Kuya Ramil
0907.435.1962
Room Rates: Php300 per head
Island Hopping: 1500.00 [Short Trip] / 3,000 [Long Trip]
www.facebook.com/caramoantourpackage

WEST PENINSULA VILLAS
0921.264.2538
westpenvillas@yahoo.com
http://westpenvillas.multiply.com/

BEST TIME TO GO: Before the rainy season and before the summer vacation.

Whacky Notes: [EXPENSES]
Centro to Paniman roundtrip via tricycle = 300.00 / 3 = 100.00 each
Packed Lunch [Lutong Bahay] = 240.00 / 3 = 80.00 each
Island Hopping [Short Trip] = 1300.00 / 3 = 433.00 each
Tip = 100.00
Snorkeling gear rental = 150.00
Socials [Tagay+Afternoon snacks] = 100.00

Bicol Express Series:

Roadtrip up north [teaser]

Day 1: Vamoose! to Camarines Sur, we go!

Day 2: Arya! Dolphin sightings on the way to Sorsogon
Day 2: Larga! Multi-stop over Sorsogon to CamSur

Day 2: Sun-less wakeboarding at CamSur Watersports Complex

Day 3: Caramoan bound: Getting to Caramoan in 1 piece.

Day 3: Caramoan West Peninsula Villas

Day 3: Spending one lazy afternoon in Caramoan
Day 4: Caramoan Islets 1: Long wait finally over!
Day 4: Caramoan Islets 2: Long wait finally over!

Day 5: Sea to Summit: Caramoan Island to Mayon Volcano
Day 5: Mayon Volcano from Cagsawa Ruins

Bicol Express: Day 4. April 28, 2012. 7:30+AM.

Caramoan Islands and islets, Camarines Sur
Part 1 Part 2

Caramoan is a peninsular town with beautiful islands and islets tucked in the heart of Camarines Sur at the southern part of greater Luzon island. The town boasts of its basketful of islands with jagged cliffs, astounding limestone rock formations, powdery beaches, crystal clear waters and diverse ecosystems. It's a town of respectful and gentle people not only to strangers but also to what Mother Nature has bestowed on them.

Internationally-acclaimed wonders
Its islands are famous for being backdrops for the international reality show franchise 'Survivor'. Among the countries that have filmed here are France, India, Denmark, Bulgaria and as of this writing, USA. It's perfect for the setting and format of having 'castaways' trap in an island; away from technology, away from modern chaos. They rented the island for 25 years!

Brief History [c/o Island Wonders, Caramoan]
Caramoan was first called Guta de Leche by Dutch travelers frequenting the peninsula, the name derived from the milk drp stalagmites found among the rocks of Gata Port. Later the Spaniards called it Caraha - referrring to sea turtles abundant along the beach shores. It was later renamed to what is called today as Caramoan in 1687 by Spanish friar Francisco Dela Cruz Y Oropesa.

Finally, the long wait is over!

Riz, Glaire and me prepared our stuff for the island hopping the night before so as soon as we woke up, it didn't take us more than 20 mins to get ready. Kuya Ramil, our boat rental contact, is already waiting in Paniman Beach, the drop-off for the island hopping. We already contacted him prior to this trip to secure a schedule. Lunch was either to buy fresh fish/meat in the market and cook it in one of the islands, or buy packed lunch at Lutong Bahay. We chose the easier and less time-consuming option [pero ang totoo, tinatamad lang talaga kami.], so pack lunch it was! We headed to Lutong Bahay and ordered 6 packs. You can never be too sure when you had so much energy spent on swimming and beach bumming. :}

To get to Paniman, either ride a habal-habal [motorcycle] or hire a tricycle. The lady from Lutong Bahay advised us to the tricycle as the trip would mostly be on dirt road. Tricycle roundtrip fare is 300-500 pesos depending on negotiation skills. We got it at 300. :]

Quick stop-over.

It was bumpy ride indeed. We were surprised that only about 45% of the road is cemented. Considering Caramoan's fame, I believe that it is income-generating which means that tourism delivers fat bacons to the government; which also means that they should have enough budget to fix the road. I asked the tricycle driver how come the roads are sunk when Survivor franchises paid millions just to film here. He just shrugged and told me that it's the provincial government that has the final say. I could see it in his eyes how helpless but hopeful he is. I just hope they fix the road not just for Survivor crew or tourists, but also for the locals.

Paniman Drop-off

When we got to Paniman, Kuya Ramil gave us to options - short trip or long trip. It's not about based on the length of time but on the distance of the islands from Paniman. Short trip constitutes islands near Paniman and would cost about 1,500; while the long trip is the exact opposite and would cost about 2,500-3,000. As of this writing, Survivor US is filming some test shots so most of the islands [long trip package] are closed. We couldn't wait any longer so we unanimously decided to go for the short trip package. Plus it's cheaper. :]

This is it!

The waters were calm and the sun was out. It was a perfect day to lay back and breathe Caramoan in. Going to the 1st stop itself was a treat. There were a lot of limestone formation on the sidelights.

Tinago Cove: the hidden gem

Tinago, Filipino for hidden, was as the name suggest. It's a hidden beach where lush greens and benign rock formations surround the vicity. Perfect for lovers who want a little privacy.