Calaguas is a group of 17 islands in the province of
Camarines Norte. Tinaga Island is where the famous long beach called Mahabang
Buhangin Beach (locally known as “Halabang Baybay”) is located. The secret to
its beauty is probably its ability to protect itself from man-made destruction.
Being one of the provinces in the Bicol region, Camarines Norte in general is
one of the most storm beaten provinces in Luzon.
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This photo doesn't give justice to the actual beauty of the island
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- Turquoise clear waters and powdery white sand partnered with green hills and lush landscapes.
- Long and tiring travel by land and sea. (Sea travel can be death defying depending on the season)
- Sumptuous seafood cooked fresh. Ask your bangkero or tour operator in advance.
- Not-so-comfortable tent accommodations.
- If you plan to travel DIY style, bring everything you need (i.e. wet bag for gadgets, gallons of water, light, food, mosquito repellent, tents, umbrella, safety kits etc)
- Cellphone signal is almost negligible. There are claims that there is cell signal on the island. There may be but it is so weak that it will just drain your device’s battery trying to connect to it. Just keep your devices turned off or in airplane mode when not in use.
- There are claims of a market on the island (must be verified on next trip)
- Get sunburned! You know you can’t resist swimming on those waters for hours!
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| Green hills serves as backdrop to this shot of the beach |
There are many ways to get to Daet. The fastest route is to
take a plane to Naga and another 2-hour bus ride to Daet, Camarines Norte. Land
travel is also possible. For skilled drivers, bringing your own car is an
option but may prove to be risky. You will be taking the same route as
provincial buses do. This means having to drive alongside large fast moving
vehicles. We all know how that can turnout. When travelling by land, taking a deluxe
bus to Daet seems to be the better alternative. Booking bus reservations can be
tedious though. For convenience, just book a travel via Northlink tours and
they will take care of everything. It normally takes 7-8 hours to get to Daet,
Camarines Norte. Unfortunately, the main road getting there is only a 2-lane
highway which already serves north and south bound vehicles. In case of
vehicular accidents or road projects then expect longer travel time as there
can be complete standstill on some sections of the road.
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| This middle section of the beach is like station 2 of boracay where lots of boats are docked |
The stokedtraveler’s
Daet bound trip took approximately 10 hours. Fortunately, the DLTB greyhound
express bus that the stokedtraveler was on was really comfortable. It even had
its own restroom. Other than getting delayed, the trip wasn’t as bad as he
expected.
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| Can you see the bottom? I sure can and it is still powdery down there |
Taking the 2-hr boat ride from the mangroves through the
Pacific Ocean all the way to Calaguas group of Islands can be quite a challenge
too. There’s only a short couple of months during February through summer when
tourists can go without having to brave the strong waves of the open seas. Even
then, there can still be strong ocean currents as the waters can sometimes be
unpredictable. (The boat the stokedtraveler was on overheated on their way back
from Calaguas Islands. They were almost just floating on the Pacific Ocean
waiting for the next kind boat to tug them along.)
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| This view is what welcomes you to the island |
Things to do:
If you are going without a tour package then you can just go
there and still enjoy the beauty of the Island. Set up your own tent and take a
swim in the clear waters. You can bring your own snorkeling gear and take a
peek at the underwater life in a nearby reef.
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| The stokedtraveler just had to have a shot in the water. It was so good that they forgot to take photos of some water fun until the morning of the next day |
You can also trek one of the
nearby hills and have a topside view of the nearby coves and islands.
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| Trekking site on the southern tip of the beach |
Other than those activities, some travel operators also
provide free “unlimited” use of kayaks and snorkeling gears. An acoustic party
was also available for guests of Northlink tours.
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| Sunset shot. The sun wasn't as generous for a photo but it was still beautiful! |
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| Night party Calaguas style. Acoustic party / drinking session. It's up to good company to keep your night entertaining |
There’s so many things to enjoy in Mahabang Buhanging Beach
but the best one is still just to spend your time soaked in the clear waters.
It is and will always be the best memory you will have of your time in Calaguas
Islands.
Where to stay:
Accommodations are mostly via tents. You can bring your own
or have your tour operator set up one for you. There are other options nowadays
but the stokedtraveler will not promote it for island conservation reasons. The
island must remain as natural as it is. There is no place for concrete walls in
islands as naturally blessed as those in Calaguas.
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| Tents... |
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| ....And a whole lot more of tents |
If you are reading old blogs you will notice that they say
there aren’t restrooms or electricity. Nowadays, restrooms abound Mahabang
Buhangin beach. Each minor section of the long stretch of beach have either
concrete walled restrooms or “pawid” style. There are water pumps that locals
use to fill buckets of water. Just pay a small fee for use of the restrooms and
get water to clean up. Electricity is also not an issue anymore. Generators are
now brought in by tour operators. Unfortunately, you won’t see the stars light
up the way they used to.
What to eat/drink:
Food can be brought in or cooked on the island. There are
also some stores there selling all sorts of stuff (convenience stores). The
prices are of course higher or even double compared to when buying from the
port.
Northlink tours prepared the
best meals for the stokedtraveler’s group. Every meal was worth looking forward
to. For lunch they served: steamed and grilled fish, chicken/pork and the best
laing he tasted. Dinner was equally mouthwatering. They prepared medium-sized prawns,
chopsuey with quail eggs and bicol express. The following day, breakfast was
served after the optional trekking activity. Breakfast consisted of variants of
dried fish, tocino/hotdog and eggs. All meals were served with either banana or
watermelon. There was definitely no shortage of food for the early ones on the
table. Food is served buffet style but can easily run out because it is just
that good! The package also included lunch in Daet en route to Bagasbas beach.
Just
remember to bring your own water/drinks. It is easy to get dehydrated under the
sunny beach. Ice is also very expensive so bring your ice bucket when you can.
Take nothing but
pictures, Leave nothing but footprints
It’s so easy to be captivated by the allure of the green
hills, limestone rocks, powdery white sand and turquoise clear waters in
Calaguas. Everything natural in Calaguas is beautiful. Everything else man-made
is garbage. Yes, it is beginning to get commercialized. There are already so
many huts out there.
You’d even see concrete structures already setup. Soon
there may even be hotels rising on the island. Politicians sure have started
taking notice of this place and are now probably striking deals to cash in on
big money. At least hopefully they take lessons from what happened in Boracay.
They should consider implementing rules on waste management and crowd control. Let
the local people manage the island so it can create livelihood. We as tourists
cannot stop the island from being developed. What we can do is to begin
educating ourselves on proper travel etiquette. Here’s just a few I can think
of for Calaguas.
- Remember to bring trash bags for proper trash disposal. Cigarette butts and broken glass are the two most common trash being collected during coastal cleanup drives. Cigarette butts are not organic!
- White sand is not meant for bonfires! Yes, sand does burn and get darker with fire.
- Don’t bring the sand with you. The sand in Calaguas is as good as Boracay’s. But it doesn’t mean you should take it with you. Everyone wants a piece of this paradise but the more you take of it the less of a paradise it becomes. Powdery white sand isn’t something that can be replaced. The sand you take with you will eventually lose its value in your eyes and will end up stocked up somewhere.
- Bury your feet on the sand but not your trash. Decomposition doesn’t happen on beach sand! It is too loose to trap in heat/moisture and not conducive for parasites to thrive on.
- Pick up every trash you drop and throw them in your own trash bags. They are small and easy to ignore but imagine what can happen to Calaguas if everyone else starts ignoring their small trash. You’ll get sand with candy wrappers or eating utensils lying around. The clear water you see now will have small trash being pushed ashore by its gentle waves.
- Do not hesitate to ask your travel provider about proper trash disposal. If they ignore or it or don’t have proper means of disposing them then make sure to drive them out of business. Just bring your trash back to the port with you if they won’t dispose it properly for you.
Influencing our friends and immediate travel networks can
mean the survival of this paradise for generations to come. Maybe creating another blog post about Calaguas is counter-intuitive but I still hope that only responsible tourists get to set foot on this paradise island.
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