Previously, I had posted a blog which dealt with my recent summer trip together with my colleagues. The trip was successful and we all had fun at the island. This blog now will be tackling about the things that we has to know abort Leyte's famous Kalanggaman Island. I am listing down these points so others will learn about it and should they decided to visit the island to in the future, they'll be aware about these things.
Boats docked at the shore of Kalanggaman. Photo is mine.
View of one of the boats docked at Kalanggaman Island. Photo is mine.
For the past years, I had been thinking of getting to Kalanggaman island but never really had the chance to do so until last April and I am totally glad we did. It started with a thought and I was sharing it with Chris, my colleague and he got interested as well about the idea so he decided right on the spot that he'll come with me. Just when I thought only the three of us will be traveling, me, James and Chris, the rest of our colleagues learnt about the plan and asked if they can be tagged along.
The plan was to do it on March but due to some circumstances, we moved it to April and glad we did. We had few weeks to prepare and few other chances of saving money for the budget.
Finally, it was realized, all the itinerary planning and arranging as well as the communication with the tour package paid off and we had greatly enjoyed the event.
And while we were at the island, I had learned a few factual things about it that I believe should be published so other travelers will also be aware of it and most probably get to include these things on their planning and itinerary consideration.
1. Kalanggaman means Bird.
This is tip of the sand bar which looked like a folded bird wing. Photo is mine.
The name of the island "Kalanggaman" is derived from the Cebuano term "Langgam" which means bird. Note that the Philippines has a lot of dialects, 120 to 175 dialects but the top major ones are Bikol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon (Ilonggo), Ilocano, Kapampangan, Pangasinan, Tagalog, and Waray.
It is quite funny that the term Langgam in Tagalog means ant while in Cebuano it means bird.
Now why is called so? Now it isn't very obvious if you are in the island but for aerial view, it is very nice to see the gorgeous and long white sand bar of the island. There are two sand bars from both sides which make the island look like a bird from above.
If it is high tide, the sand bars look like a bird taking off while if it is low tide, the bird looks like slowing down from the flight as its end wings are a bit folded.
2. The sand bar is around 1/2 of the island's size.
The long stretch of sand bar. Photo is mine.
On our boat was approaching the island, the beauty of the sand bar was sparkling and was just revealing to each of us in our own eyes. It was very long and white which really looked like a bride in a white dress.
The boat maneuvered a circular motion as we were about to dock and we faced an area of the island with trees, tropical coconut trees in specific and some other specific ones which grows on such.
It was scorching hot while in the island and walking in the sand bar was not really encouraging while we did try to walk towards the middle part because we were doing some photo-op with our company's tarpaulin. But we couldn't bare the heat so we have to go back and stay in the shade.
On the following day, both my husband James and I woke up very early to get a glimpse of the sunrise. However, we were already a bit sad the other day because there was no sunset due to the nimbus clouds. So we were already a bit expecting that it won't have any sunrise view at all but we still woke up and did walk to the white sand bar, it was low tide which means the end of the sand bar is a bit folded and I loved it!
I walked towards the end and I had a realization upon reaching the end of the sand bar, it seems to me that this white sand composed 1/2 of the island's size. The area which has the trees and shady parts can be walked easily and you'll reach the end of it but walking in the sand bar, it seemed took me more time.
Note that this isn't really official, instead this is my own conclusion based on my own observation.
3. The North Eastern facing part of the island is very very windy.
Looking for a perfect spot for a photo opportunity. Photo is mine.
This was not expected, no one had talked about this on the blogs which I had read and there was no mention about it in the previous videos and other stuff on the web about Kalanggaman.
Nevertheless, it's surprising that the North Eastern part of the island was super windy. But it was more surprising that this wind couldn't reach the other side which was why when we arrived, I was not aware of it until we went to the grilling area (yes there's one) and the wind was grilling our food, the chicken by itself and over grilled some of them, well actually most of them.
Then when the night came, the wind was obviously strong as it can be heard from the other side where our tents were pitched. It was one of the reasons why I was not able to sleep well aside from the fact that it was rocky on where we were lying.
4. There are tents available for rent.
Our tents pitched at the shore. Photo is mine.
While we brought our own tickets, it was also evident that there were tents for rent. These rent rates are as follows:
Rate: PHP 300 / night (4-Person Tent), 250 / night (2-person Tent)
Deposit: valid ID + 200
There are lots of tents around already pitched when we reached the island and most of these are set up in the grassy area where there were shade. However, there are also cases where the supposed day tour visitors would then realized they need to stay for the night so they don't have to worry that much as they can always rent a tent in.
5. Limited number of cottages, tables and chairs for rent.
A little glimpse of Jeter's area. Photo is mine.
Be aware that the cottages are open for everyone to use, however, they only have a limited number of them so it would be a first come first serve basis so if one reaches the island early, they'd be able to get the family cottage by them but it would only be for a day use.
There are also tables and chairs for rent which would also be for a day, if one has to use it for overnight, it will be of a different rent. Here are the available rates:
Cottage: PHP 500 per day
Tables and chairs: PHP 300 per day
6. There are comfort rooms.
When in Kalanggman island, there's no worrying about the comfort rooms because there are lots of them positioned in different parts in the island. I was not able to count how many were there but I can remember there were sets of two near the grilling area on each sides.
There are huge bin containers where they store the water. Each comfort room is functional and covered with good doors. I also noticed that these comfort rooms were constructed designed with high ceiling so obviously, it was also designed for the foreigners who are tall ones.
The video above shows the entire trip to Kalanggaman Island. Video is mine.
7. Sea water is used in their wash rooms.
While I was happy that there were comfort rooms in the island, I was astonished to learn that there's no water supply in the island thus the water used in the comfort rooms come from nonetheless, the sea!
There were actually hoses which run from the island to the sea and I just realized it when we were grilling. I was a bit sad though that with salt water as the only source there, we won't get ourselves a good bath after swimming at the sea and you know what happens to our skin when we aren't able to take a bath with a fresh water, our skin gets really humid and the traces of salt water is very evident that makes our bodies really warm and uncomfortable.
Gladly, James and I found a way by the use of wet wipes. Glad I brought it with me! So if you are planning to get to Kalanggaman or any other island in any part of the world, don't forget your wet wipes, that will save you for sure.
8. There's a resort in the island
The tree house and kayaks of Jeter Resort. Photo is mine.
Most of the blogs I have read had focused much on the sand bar and was not really aware that there's also life at the other end of the island. A resort sits there called Jeter Resort and it is located at the West Wing of the island.
They have these rooms which look like Teepees or perhaps some may think of dog houses but they are really cute. They refer these houses as Tiki Houses. They are also the ones which offer the banana boat rides and Jetskis too!
The sunset can be seen from this part so James and I walked from where our tents were towards the west area and found the houses aligned. There's also a tree house in there. The resort isn't that fancy but it is definitely a luxury when in this island.
9. The other side lost its sand bar to Typhoon Haiyan.
Some dead coconut tree caused by Typhoon Haiyan. Photo is mine.
The west part of the island were the Jeter Resort is located has a sand bar as well before. This was the missing wing of the now Kalanggaman island. It was there until the Typhoon Haiyan which had really affected the Philippines badly, Tacloban specially.
But aside from Tacloban, other parts of the country also experienced devastation and that includes Leyte and its nearby islands, Kalanggaman was no exception when that happened.
As a casualty, Kalanggaman's west wing sand bar was destroyed and somehow eaten by the sea. It still shows a little bit of its traces but is not as good as the east wing.
10. Commodities are expensive.
Colleagues flocked in to buy their ice cream from the Selecta vendor. Photo is mine.
Yes there's a store in the island which sells basic stuffs like water, soft drinks, cold beer until the ice lasts and a lot more. But note that they sell it like 3x the original suggested retail price and that's no wonder because they still have to travel from the main Palompon, Leyte coast.
My colleagues bought a gallon of water for Php 100, the normal price in Cebu would be Php 25 that's around 400 percent increase in their pricing. Then they also bought a bottle of beer, not anymore cold because it was evening when they bought one which cost them Php 150 which would be 200 percent increase. So it really depends on the item being sold.
Now there are also ice cream vendors in the island. The ice creams were a hit because it was very hot in the island and the best and easiest way to get chilled is by eating an frozen ice cream! The corneto ice cream which normally costs Php 25 in Cebu costs Php 75 in there. We were not complaining, everyone of us bought one, some even bought their second cone! We were thankful ice creams were available, somehow it helped us cool down a bit.
Check this video of how nice the waters are in Kalanggaman. Video is mine.
That should be it. I believe there are still more did you know that stuffs about Kalanggaman island but I'll leave it that way for now. I will soon create a separate blog about the things I love about Kalanggaman and also the travel guide information too like how to get there and the finances at the same time. Perhaps a reader will get enticed to get there soon whole it is still summer in the country, these travel guide information will definitely help out.
Now that you know these facts, I hope you have an idea now how the island looks and how it feels like to be in the island virtually.
Please also check my own Querlo chat survey about the top summer destinations in Cebu below:
Best regards,
Jean Beltran-Figues
