It’s true when people says that “Nakakahumaling ang isla ng Jomalig”
During the summer break my parents planned several trips for the whole family and some close friends. The Island of Jomalig was also featured at the television show Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho (KMJS) last March for their summer destination series.
Well Jomalig is part of the Polilio group of islands located on Quezon Province. The people of Jomalig are called “Jomaligins”. Jomalig is just a small island but it has a pleasing and wonderful six travel spot. Can you believe it? This small island is one of the remote islands that cater some golden sand beach and a white sand beach.
Day 1: Going to the stunning island
Last May 27 me and my family went to Jomalig Island .We left at around 3:30 A.M. and we arrived at the port at 6:30 A. M. It took us 3 hours from Pateros to Ungos Port, Real Quezon Province. We rod at our private van but there are also other means of transportation going to the port. You can go to Raymond’s bus terminal located at Legarda, Manila in front of the Arellano University. Look for the buses that’s destination is going to Infanta Quezon. Make sure to tell the “Kunduktor” or the man in charge to drop you off at the Real Quezon Port.
From the port we rod a passenger boat going to Jomalig at around 7 A.M. Since it was during the summer time there are more passenger boats that accommodate the tourists and the locals. Their first trip starts at 6am and as soon as the boat is full it leaves, and the next one will start to accommodate the people.
The boat fare is 400 Pesos inclusive of a rice meal since the travel would last 4-6 hours depending on the waves and the state of weather. Our trip was 4 hours and 40 minutes and we weren’t actually bored during the trip because the boat has a second floor that has a place called “Papag” in which you can lay down and rest the whole trip. During the boat ride we had a chance to talk to the locals about their tradition and how the tourists changed their way of living. I met an old woman who is a local pastor at the island, they call her “Mamang” and according to her their livelihood changed because their place was discovered by many tourist and that they had a better opportunity to show their tradition and culture and at the same time they have an income that would make their lives better.
When we reached the island we were welcomed by the Jomaligins and they accommodated us really well. They asked if we wanted drinks or if we were hungry already. At the island’s port we paid 170 Pesos each for the environmental fee. There is also a “Habal-habal” which is a mode of transportation in the island that cost 50 Pesos each. We rod this habal-habal going to our resort near the Little Boracay Beach for 15 minutes.
When we reached our resort which is the “Purakay Resort”, again we were welcomed whole heartedly by the locals. They helped us on bringing our things, they offered welcome Buko juices and they offered their special Pastillias treats to us.
It was about 2 P.M. when we settled down on our rooms and we decided to rest until sunset for we were exhausted from our trip. At 5:30 P.M. We went to the beach side to watch the stunning sunset and after we had our dinner at the resort. There are available promos in our resort when it comes to food. Every meal costs 120 Pesos per person and it is already inclusive of meat or chicken, seafood, soup and a glass of juice. For us it was really budget friendly and the food really tastes good especially the sea foods.
Day 2: Adventurous Island tour
We started our day at 7 A.M we ate breakfast at the resort and then we quickly went off and rod a habal-habal going to our first destination “Kanaway Beach”. It was really breathtaking because there are rock formations that compliments the clear and wonderful water of the sea. The sun made it more stunning because it showcased the natural beauty of the beach. The entrance fee was 30 Pesos collected by the Caretaker of the beach.
The next place we went to was the “Little batanes”. It was kinda hard to get there because of the rough roads and we had to hike about 30 minutes to get there. We saw the white to gold sand in the middle of a two giant rocks that overall complimented the spectacular view of nature. We really enjoyed the view and the place that’s why we decided to stay for lunch. We also paid a 50 Pesos entrance fee. We told our guide Kuya Boboy to ask the resort for food and we also paid 120 Pesos per person for the same set of meal our resort offers.
After lunch we went back to our resort so that we could rest for awhile because the hiking and the swimming made us really exhausted. We took a nap for 2 hours and again went to another beach, but this time we just walked because it’s near our resort. It’s called “Little Boracay” because of the white sand and calmed sea. We did swimming, snorkelling and we also played beach volleyball that afternoon.After a long day we decided to sleep at around 8P.M. because we wanted to wake up early the next day for another adventure awaits!
Day 3: Discovering their culture and tradition
As early as 6 A.M. we prepared ourselves to go to church because it was a Sunday. We rod a habal-habal going to their town proper. We actually met their “Kapitan” and his family before the mass starts. We also had a chance to mingle with some of the locals. We saw that even if they live in a remote island they still value their religion. Jomaligins still goes to church even if it takes hours for them to reach the place. I saw their faith and good heart at this point.After the mass we went around the town proper to look for “Pasalubongs” for our friends and relatives. Since there are already lots of tourist going to their island some investors and business people actually started putting souvenir stalls. You can actually buy something for as low as 10 Pesos. More We went back to our resort to change our clothes and have a early lunch then after we went to the place called “Golden sand” at first me and my siblings didn’t see anything special with the place but after looking around we saw this stunning sandbar with glistening golden sand and some tiny rock formations scattered all over the place. It really amazed us and we actually played and took photos in that spot for 30 minutes.
After taking so much photos we were actually tired but there’s still one beach that we haven’t went to. The “Salibungot Beach” which is the most popular beach in the island. When we got there we taught we had enough pictures from the previous beach but we were wrong, the Salibungot beach is Instagram worth it! It has the big signage “I love Jomalig”. The water there was also irresistible and we swam for hours. I also experienced the most dramatic sunset there for it was really a perfect spot to watch the sun.
For our last day we woke up at 8 A.M and ate breakfast then we already left our resort for our scheduled boat ride was at 10 A.M. When we got to the Jomalig Port there are only few people waiting. At exactly 10:15 A.M. our boat already took off. We arrived at the Real Port at past 3 P.M. We ate at the port for awhile because some of us was a bit dizzy because the waves were big when we were on the way to the main land. It took us another 3 hours on our way to Pateros Metro Manila from Real Quezon. The trip was tiring but it surely was a memorable one.
Even though my parents just wanted to go back to the island of Jomalig, because the last time we went there was January 2012, it still amazes us. The beauty of the island was preserved. We will surely be going back again after a few year. “Jomalig is truly nakakahumaling”. I fell in love with the island, I fell in love with the beauty of nature.
