I've been reading blog posts about this place and twice, we attempted to reach this place..but failed. Mainly because we booked our two trips on rainy days. Now summer's here, we tried again and boy, was the place sooo worth the wait!
We took the early morning flight to San Jose, Mindoro via Cebu Pacific, which flies once a day only. So missing a flight is not an option.
Tip: Do not take the airport tricycles, which charges a minimum of Php 50. Instead, flag a tricycle at the main road which is just a three-minute walk. Pay the basic rate of Php 8! Yes, I know..
We bought our food and groceries at the San Jose market. And took the two hour bus to Sablayan.
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| haggling for a kilo of liempo |
Arriving at Sablayan, we took a trike, also costs Php8, to Sablayan Tourism Office. Here, we paid all the necessary fees to Apo Reef. See, it's a National Park, thus regulated by the government. So all tours and transactions are settled here.
We head to Apo reef. The almost three hours boat ride gave us a scenic view of the reef with waters changing hues.
And finally, we arrived.
The island was undeniably breathtaking! We were lucky we came in at the right time because yesterday, a group of 30 local tourists were present. The whole island is deserted, only for us. Happy birthday to me!
We went to the light house to wait for the sun to set.
There are no phone signals, no electricity. The rangers rely on batteries generated by solar panels. They man the island for eleven days. They get food and water rations. After eleven days, another set of rangers will do the manning. When the weather's not good or there's a typhoon, the 11 days becomes longer. FYI: From Apo Reef, it's a two to three hours boat ride to Coron. Yes, Palawan.
That night, we feasted on grilled liempo, sinigang na talakitok and green mangoes. Yum! And my friends prepared a surprise for me! Wow. Thank you guys!
That night, I spent my last day as 26 in a paradise.. surrounded with my friends. God gifted me a wonderful evening. Thank You!
We head to Apo reef. The almost three hours boat ride gave us a scenic view of the reef with waters changing hues.
And finally, we arrived.
We went to the light house to wait for the sun to set.
There are no phone signals, no electricity. The rangers rely on batteries generated by solar panels. They man the island for eleven days. They get food and water rations. After eleven days, another set of rangers will do the manning. When the weather's not good or there's a typhoon, the 11 days becomes longer. FYI: From Apo Reef, it's a two to three hours boat ride to Coron. Yes, Palawan.
That night, we feasted on grilled liempo, sinigang na talakitok and green mangoes. Yum! And my friends prepared a surprise for me! Wow. Thank you guys!
i suddenly miss apo.
ReplyDeletelong overdue na nga tong post na to..when i was writing this post..namiss ko nga actually..hehe let's go back next summer!
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