Unplanned and Unexpected: Hundred Islands Adventure

View from Governor's Island. (photo by Euden Valdez)

June 5, 2016

With the title being as upfront as that, I guess it goes without saying that this trip was "unplanned and unexpected." The story was, we were supposed to have a laid back afternoon in Patar Beach, Bolinao, Pangasinan. What happened was, again, as the title clearly explained, we ended up having an action-filled day hopping on Hundred Islands, Alaminos, Pangasinan. Everything has been decided by the hands (and attention or lack of) of the lady ticket seller in Victory Liner, Cubao.

Although we cursed that lady for a while after learning that we were given the correct tickets to the incorrect destination, I find consolation in the saying that goes: All is well that ends well. And ended well this trip truly has. Here's the story.

Alighting at Alaminos, we quickly went on a mission of hunting down an ATM to ask for our trip allowance. Only, it took us multiple tries, multiple ATMs, and a wide hunt around a city we're not familiar with before we could finally clear the first challenge of this trip. That done, we move on to the next phase which was for me, to find our way to Bolinao and to Patar Beach. As for Eula, it's to check the tourism office of Alaminos because apparently, she has already decided to explore Alaminos instead with eyes locked on Hundred Islands as I remain clueless. Clap. Clap. Well, being me, I laughed the matter off and agreed in a blink. Hundred Islands it is.

Breakfast came first before the adventure. So, with the tricycle driver who won our hearts from the many that courted, we found ourselves in the public market, briskly heading north towards the delicious smelling and looking row of food. We also bought some snacks and water and we were off to the port where we rented a boat after changing to our swimming attires. We initially thought of looking for other tourists who might be interested in sharing the boat with us (to save on rent, what else). We failed to achieve this but later in the day, we realized that it was a great thing that we have the boat to ourselves. We are the captains and no one but us decides where to go next. :)

Meet Kuya Jeshmar. Our kind and totally reliable bangkero. :)

photo taken after the storm :)

Here are the motor boat rates for Hundred Islands hopping

First destination was Governor's Island where there's a view deck that allows tourists to have a good look at the neighboring islands. However, with the thick clouds above, we didn't get the most of the scenery and decided to come back later in the afternoon before docking on the port. This we truly did and though the sky remained Gray, the lighting got a little better that afternoon.

According to Kuya Jesh, there are actually 123 islands but since a hundred rolls smoother on the tongue, everyone opted to calling it Hundred Islands. Thanks for that trivia, Kuya Jesh! :)

Sailing away from Governor's Island, we passed by numerous other islands which, according to our boatman/tour guide, doesn't really have shores for docking, so they remain safe from foot traffic.

Next we docked in Marcos Island which nestles the Imelda Cave where we enjoyed cave diving. Life vests are required, so life vests we have on when we jumped. It was fun! We stayed for a couple more minutes in the island before leaving the beauty behind and sailing off to Old Scout island where we snorkeled for, give or take, an hour! Marine life is abundant and the scenery under is simply too beautiful to easily have enough of.

love this part of the boat :)

Next stop: Quezon Island. Here we bought our lunch. Being "the" island where tourists can order food, I sort of expected the prices to be ambitious yet I was still shocked when I learned the price for each dish. Tortang talong is 75 pesos (raised a brow here as I quickly thought of the 12-peso tortang talong we always eat outside PUP), fried tilapia is 125, chicken pork adobo is 150, 20 pesos per cup of rice, and 20 pesos for a small bottle of softdrinks. Wow!

We bought 4 rice, adobo, tortang talong, and 3 sakto-sized softdrinks. If your math is good, you would gather that we spent 365 for our lunch. Well, not bad considering we ordered food for 3 people.

It was only a little past 10am by then and yet it seemed like we've done a lot already. Given the early time, we still agreed on lunch and picked Scout Island to camp in. We pitched my tent, set some music on (all hail Franco!), took photos, got rained on, enjoyed the bright and warm sun that quickly followed suit, waited for my tent to dry, broke camp, and packed everything back in our beloved boat. Forward we went to the next island.

But before that, here are photos from Scout Island. :)

 As the weather continue to play the unpredictable card, Kuya Jesh was already hinting that we hasten back to port. Rowdy as we are, we requested for 2 more islands before agreeing to head back. We passed by Children's Island which I thought contains slides and playgrounds as the name suggest. We learned however, that it was named as such because the land is high in this part and the water rises up to only up to a 12-year-old's chest. So, that's why. It is the island where children can swim without worrying about the depth of the water.

As promised, we went back to Governor's Island. Here we experienced the prelude to a heavier downpour that made this trip not only unplanned but truly unforgettable. We took quick photos and a video and we're down on the shore the next minute. It was already starting to rain.

I enjoyed sitting in front as we tread along the waves feeling like Luffy aboard Going Merry and Thousand Sunny. Now reunited with our little boat, I claimed that spot again when we head back to port. But with the wind beating harder than it ever did that day, the waves growing bigger as we gain distance from Governor's Island, and the rain drops hitting our bodies harsher than water is expected to, I relinquished my seat and retired inside the boat.

For maybe 5 to 10 minutes, tuloy lang ang mumunti naming bangka sa pagtakbo--kinakalaban ang hangin at ulan, kinakalaban ang kalikasan. Sa mga panahong ito, tawa lang kami nang tawa sa loob ng bangka. Kahit malakas na 'yung ulan at hangin at malalaki na ang mga alon, naalala namin 'yung sinabi ni kuya Jesh na pinagkakarera niya daw 'yung bangka niya at madalas manalo. Tiningnan namin 'yung ibang mga bangkang kasabay naming niraragasa ang bagyo at nakita naming nauuna nga kami sa kanilang dalawa. Woot woot! Ilang minuto pa, wala na kaming nakikitang ibang mga bangka. Actually, wala na kaming nakikitang kahit ano sa paligid namin. Puro tubig at fog. Pagkatapos nun, tumigil ang aming bangka dahil sa isang sakong pumulupot sa propeller ng bangka.

This is why you shouldn't throw anything in the ocean! Kawawa 'yung bangka ni kuya Jesh. Natanggal 'yung pumulupot na sako sa tulong ng pocket knife na lagi kong dala tuwing gumagala. Ibinigay ko na kay Eula ang pocket knife na 'yun dahil wala pala siyang ganun. Sabi ko sa kanya, dapat lagi kang meron niyan dahil hindi mo alam kung kelan mo kakailanganin. May isa pa naman ako kaya ibinigay ko na sa kanya ang kutsilyong nagligtas sa aming buhay. Haha.

Natanggal ang sako pero ayaw pa din mag-start ng makina ng bangka. Nakatigil lang kami sa gitna. Dito ko naisipang i-video ang eksena. Sa ngalan ng documentation, isinabak ko ang cellphone ko sa ulan nang walang balot. Kudos to Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime dahil matapos maulanan at hanggang ngayon, nagagamit ko pa din siya. Haha!

Sa gitna ng pagpupumilit ni kuya Jesh na paandarin ang bangka, tinanong ko siya: "Kuya, lulubog na ba tayo?" Note: kalmado. :)

Ngumiti siya ang umiling. "Hindi, ma'am."

Tumango ako, "Okay." Tapos upo ulet.

Si Eula mej nagpa-panic na. Tumawag na daw kami ng tulong. Kumaway siya sa isang bangkang dumaan. Kumaway lang din 'yung sakay nung bangka. 'Yung bangkero, tiningnan lang kami. Natawa lang kami sa pagkaway nung isang ate.

May isa ulet napadaan na bangka, kumaway ulet si Eula and this time, lumapit 'yung bangka sa'men at kinausap nung bangkero si kuya Jesh. Nag-uusap sila sa Ilocano kaya si Eula ang translator ko. :)

Kinwento ni kuya Jesh na napuluputan nga daw ng sako 'yung makina at sinabi naman nung isang bangkero na hihilahin na lang 'yung bangka namin. Naghagis ng lubid si kuya Jesh para mahila nung isang bangka. Sinabihan ko si Eula na i-on 'yung naulanan niya na ding camera at picture-an ang pag-rescue sa amin dahil this time, hindi na nagre-respond 'yung phone ko. Masyado na siyang nabasa. Haha. (Matapos matuyo, gumana naman siya ulet so yay!) Pagkatapos ng picture na 'yun, hindi na din gumana 'yung camera ni Eula at sinisi niya 'ko. Haha. Sabi ko lang, hindi 'yan sira. Always positive. :)

Balik sa kwento ng pagkakaligtas sa'min. Nung hila-hila na kami nung isang bangka, parang magic na biglang lumiwanag 'yung paligid. Nakita namin na sobrang lapit na pala namin sa port. Hindi lang talaga namin makita dahil sa fog. Parang sa movie 'yung pagliwanag ng paligid. Wala na ding ulan tapos sumisikat na ulet 'yung araw. :)

The saving our lives, documented :) (photo by Euden Valdez)

This, definitely, is one of the most memorable adventures of my life.

Expenses:

Bus fare from Victory Liner Cubao to Alaminos - 398.00 x 2 = 796.00
Breakfast:
Pancit - 10.00
Kape - 15.00
Chicha:
3 hotdog - 25.003
sitsiriya - 22.00
tubig - 30.00
Tricycle papuntang port - 80.00 (plus 40.00 tip) = 120.00
Boat rent = small boat 1,400.00 (divide by 2, so 700) + 80.00 insurance per passenger = 1,560.00
Snorkeling gear rent (mula sa bangkero) = 150.00 original price (100.00 tinawaran price)
Tip para sa aming magaling at mabait na bangkero = 300.00 (dahil porsyento lang pala ang napupunta sa kanila sa renta sa bangka, most of the fee goes to the municipal government)
Tricycle pabalik ng city - 80.00 (wala nang tip dahil wala kaming emotional attachment sa driver na ito)
McDo meal dahil ginutom kami matapos manganib ang aming mga buhay - free dahil may coupons si Eula. Hooray!
Tupig (pasalubong sa mga mahal sa buhay) - 100.00

Total expenses: Math


Watch our adventure here :)