Isla Pulong Pasig

When the organizer posted the event for would be joiners,  I did not hesitate to join. Knowing her, I know that it's going to be nothing but pure fun and adventure.  Also, the past months had been full of knee-pounding activities.  I needed vitamin sea to relax, unwind and recover.

Aside from Ms. Ron (the organizer),  there were only five of us who responded positively.  Well, it could be because it's the holiday season and people are busy with parties and get together.  On the day of the event, another one backed out due to work related reason.  Final headcount was five persons. Ms. Ron, Ken, Woody, Mamang and myself.

We agreed to see each other in Lucena grand terminal 12 midnight to catch the 1:30 am bus bound for Calauag.  Kamuning was more accessible to me so I boarded at Jac Liner bus from there at around 8:30 pm.  The other four boarded the same bus line but in Buendia.  As expected on a Friday, traffic was heavy going out the metro.  We arrived almost the same time in Lucena at around a little past 12 midnight or after 3 plus hours of travel. 

Mangroves we passed by going to the beach

Weather was awful while enroute to Calauag.  It was cold and drizzling when we arrived around past 3 am.  Before heading to the port, we dropped by 7/11 to buy supplies and a nearby roadside eatery to take our early breakfast.  Arriving at the port, we learned that the trip of public boat going to Pangahoy was not certain due to the poor weather condition.  Actually, the port was almost empty.  We tried looking for boat for rentals to no avail.  Other passengers told us to wait until 8 am or when the weather improves.  We did.  Fortunately, the public boat arrived past 8 am.

The usual boat trip to Pangahoy on a fine day took 2 hours.  However, it took us almost 3 hours because of the poor weather condition.  From Pangahoy, we needed to take a small boat to get to Pulong Pasig island.  We arrived at our final destination past 1 pm, a little tired and hungry.  Nanay Vergie's nipa hut was our home base (where we hanged our hammocks) during our stay.

Pulong Pasig as viewed from afar

Talking to the locals, I learned that Pulong Pasig is an island sitio of Santo Anghel.  Santo Anghel is the barangay of Calauag, Quezon having the jurisdiction of the island.  Pangahoy, where the public boat anchored is also a sitio of Santo Angel.  Pulong Pasig is privately owned but remained undeveloped.  There is a small community living in the island.  No electricity.  No concrete structures.  Sporadic cellphone signal.  Fishing is how they make a living.

There was nothing much we did during our stay due to the bad weather.  It was windy and cloudy with waves high enough to crash our confidence.  We did a beach walk and took photos on day 1 but that was short.  Instead, we headed back to home base and kill the time over a bottle of vodka and exchanges of stories.  Having no cellphone signal, we were disconnected to the outside world.  No temptations to check our FBs and instagrams.  I enjoyed the night as I got to know each one.  I slept on my hammock with the wind still howling.

Pulong Pasig as viewed from the sandbar

Waking up the next day, the weather was still bad.  It was raining in the morning.  We ate our breakfast over exchanges of personal stories and experiences.  Nanay Vergie and husband also share their stories about the island.  How they became inhabitants.  How on a fine day, Pulong Pasig is beautiful.  How on a fine day the sand bar was flocked by birds hence they named it Pulong Ibon.  How on a fine day, the locals got bounty catch of varieties of fishes.   I can't help but wish for the sun to show up and for the weather to improve.  The sun did show up!  With excitement, we walked to the beach, swam and visited the sand bar.  But like some romance, it was short lived.  Rain poured again while we're on the beach.

On a fine day, one can go beach bumming, swimming, snorkeling, beach walking and visit the sand bar.  However on our stay we were not able to go snorkeling due to the poor weather.  We also just had a little time at the sandbar  as there was already a need for us to return to Pangahoy to catch the boat trip to the Calauag.  Despite all of these, I still enjoyed our stay.  The simplicity of the island life amazed me.  Locals were kind and entertaining.  The island was untouched by any form of commercialism.  If ever I'm going back I'll bring candies and chocolates for the number of kids there.

the short lived blue sky

Upon return to Pangahoy, we had our late lunch.  Fresh catch of fish, fried and grilled satisfied our hunger.  A bottle of beer followed while engaging in a karaoke.  It was already past six in the evening when we bid goodbye to Pangahoy.  We may not had the best of weather, I can still say that the short stay at the island was such a relief from the stressful life at the metro.      

the beach walk

Sharing my travel notes below.