Minalahos Island / Credit to Joseph Bacalso via Nancee Lee's Facebook
I made a stop at Minalahos Island in part one of my Caramoan: Island Hopping Adventure. The first island that we set our feet on. The rock that we had our obligatory pose is the center rock that you can see by far if you can refer to the photo of my previous blog of the Minalahos Island. But this one is the other side part of the island. As I have mentioned previously there is not much to do on this island but to take more photos and took a short dip in the clear water or you stay longer if you have all the time.
After a refreshing dip from Minalahos Island, the boatman brought us to our next destination where the campsite of the Survivor Philippines and Survivor Caramoan was held and that is in the Gota Beach -- the starting point of this blog.
Caramoan Island Tour / Video Credit to Daryl Evangelista via Youtube
Here is a Caramoan island hopping adventure video produced by Daryl Evangelista together with his trippers. This video will show you from the start of their trip to Sabang Port and how they're transported to the islands of Caramoan. In this video, it shows most of the islands that I shared on this blog and in the previous one like the Minalahos, Matukad, Manlawi, and Lahos Island. They also showcased in the video the underwater world where appearances of marine lives are visible.
CARAMOAN ISLANDS CONTINUED
(5) GOTA BEACH
Honungan Cove / Credit to Nico Tabz via Facebook
Before reaching Gota Beach we passed by these villas in the Honungan Cove. A relatively expensive resort for the affluent sectors of the market. Staying at this resort will require you to ante up if you want to have an overnight stay at this resort. So expensive but if it's a complete ease, relaxation, and luxuriousness you want then you can live beyond your means. If you want to splurge in then you can refer to this site for your inquiries.
Gota Beach / Credit to Erlinyenyu (Dimpsy) @ Facebook
We finally reached the campsite of the Survivor the Gota Beach. The long stretch fine white sand is comparable to that of Boracay. Reaching Gota Beach is refreshing to the eyes because of its luscious greeneries with the cool breeze brushing off to your skin.
Young Coconuts / Credit to Erlinyenyu (Dimpsy) @ Facebook
When you go to Gota Beach make sure you bring your own provisions since there are no food stalls available in the area. We're lucky enough to find this man selling young coconut fruits for refreshment. One coconut fruit is sold at twenty-five pesos ($.50).
Mandatory Pose / Credit to Joseph Bacalso via Erlinyenyu's Facebook
A mandatory pose that never fails in every travel destination. That's all we can do in Gota Beach. We enjoyed swimming, eating the young coconut fruit, photo shoots, and running on the powdery white sand barefooted. What you can see in front of us in the photo is the solid rock mountain formation covered with luscious greenery trees and plants.
(6) MANLAWI SANDBAR
Manlawi Sandbar / Credit to Joseph Bacalso via Erlinyenyu's Facebook
In every beach destination, we always check on the tide status a day or days before our scheduled travel date. Unfortunately for this trip, we weren't able to do so. We still tried our luck and push through the plan to visit Manlawi Sandbar. A slight dismay for me when we arrived at the island. NO SANDBAR! From where we're squatted in the photo is where the sandbar should pop out. The triggered boat was docked from where the photographer took the photo. You need to walk a bit far just to reach the sandbar. There is actually a raft that you can use but we were not able to use it since it's on a low tide. A floating cottage can also be seen and can be used for relaxation and dining.
(7) MATUKAD ISLAND
Limestone Cliff Trekking / Credit to Erlinyenyu (Dimpsy) @ Facebook
Among the islands that we set foot on during our Caramoan Island Hopping Adventure, it is in Matukad Island that I regret not doing the trekking adventure to reach the legendary lake on top of the limestone cliff. In the photo above, one of my friends started to trek on the rough limestones. Only five of my friends went trekking and the rest of us just played on the sand while waiting for them to come down.
Enchanted Lake in Matukad Island / Credit to Joseph Bacalso via Erlinyenyu's Facebook
This is what I missed during our Matukad Island trip - the amazing view! My friends reached the top and had a shot and used the enchanted lagoon as their backdrop. They even saw the giant milkfish that is said to be the enchanted. Because of my fear of heights, I never get the chance to see the most talked lagoon in Matukad. OH REGRET!
Enchanting Lagoon / Credit to Joseph Bacalso via Nico Tabz's Facebook
This is the sought after lagoon in Matukad Island where the giant milkfish lived. Our tour guide narrates to us while in the triggered boat going to Matukad that in the lake there were two huge milkfish before and the story goes like this:
According to legend, there were two giant milkfishes that appeared enchantingly in the lagoon. It's an intriguing mythical tale how the milkfishes came to the lagoon on the towering cliffs. The milkfishes can rarely be seen by tourists and you are lucky enough if you can see them. It is also believed that the milkfishes bring luck to those who can see it. But then one day a fisherman caught the one milkfish brought it home and feed it to his family. The fisherman who caught the milkfish suddenly died of an unknown reason. They say the milkfish took the life of the fisherman because he caught the other half of the milkfish. So from then on, no one dares to catch the remaining milkfish that is still in the lagoon.
Top View in Matukad Island / Credit to Nico Tabz @ Facebook
Another thing I missed in Matukad island is this wonderful view of the whole island. All the hardships during the trekking were all paid off as they say when they saw the enchanted lagoon with the milkfish and this magnificent view. Seeing this photo when they got down I was really in full regret but later on, I realized that it is still a good thing to listen to my instinct. Just by looking at the rough and high tower limestones gave me a shiver and my mind dictated me not to trek. Who know's something bad might happen to me during that time if I really pursue the trekking.
Caramoan Island / Video Credit: Leo via Youtube
Here is a video from Ole that will show you the land trip in going to Caramoan and some of the islands in Caramoan. You can see here the Lahos Island, Minalahos Island, the trekking on the Matukad Lagoon that I shared on the last part of my blog.
END THOUGHTS
That's it I have reached the end of my Caramoan Island Hopping Adventure. It was indeed a distinct island hopping adventure. The whole time in going home I was still wondering how the giant milkfish appeared to the lagoon. Sometimes nature has its own way of invading the human world. There may be an unexplainable reason behind it but all we need to do is to give respect to each world we live in.
Before I say thank you here is a Querlo chat for you.
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Thank you for reading my blog. Stay tuned for more travel blogs.
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Here are some related blogs of Caramoan that may interest you. Just click on the title for direct access to the blog.
CARAMOAN: ISLAND HOPPING ADVENTURE
CARAMOAN: HOME OF THE SURVIVOR
