This is a post by THH Louie and THH Jon.
Jon and I were invited by Stephen (Jon’s future brother-in-law, hehe) to join him and his motorcycle group to go on a roadtrip to Magalawa island. A little back story though, Jon has always been a fan of long road trips with his beloved motorcycle. We conquered a 12 hour ride to Pangasinan once during the 2014 Holy Week.
January 3, 2015, 4AM. Jon and I along with 6 other riders headed towards Zambales. The air was bitterly cold. Good thing I sat at the back of the motorcycle. The first leg of the journey was not too smooth because of traffic and two of the riders got separated from our group. We stopped and waited for them but none arrived. We contacted them by phone and they told us that they took a different route so the 4 of us carried on.
The road started to clear as soon as we hit the outskirts of Pampanga. Soon enough, we reached a gasoline station where we filled up our tanks and ate breakfast. Though I am scared of long rides, I like the fact that we would not spend a lot on public transportation. I really enjoyed the scenery as well. Farm animals on the roadside, mountains on the horizon and towering trees canopying the road. I am sure Jon enjoyed it as much as I did.
- Lunch at an over priced restaurant somewhere in Zambales.
We carried on as soon as everyone was all geared up. The road to Zambales was a little rough. There are parts where roads were being repaired. There were also occasional potholes and road bumps. We had to stop at some point because one of the riders had to tighten up the chain of his motorcycle.
- THH Jon with his beloved motorcyle.
The last leg of the motorcycle ride was very rough as it involved riding in unpaved roads (when I say unpaved, I mean loose rocks, sand and soil). My whole body shook as we carried on. I thought the road was never going to end but then, we finally reached Luan Port. We were so tired from the long journey we had to take a short rest before we boarded our boat. We parked our motorcycles at the port and transferred our luggage onto the boat. Hanging above the sea water were electrical cables from the port to the island. It was a little weird and scary. Personally I thought of it as an eye sore. The journey to the island was quite short and after 15 minutes of boat ride, we finally reached Magalawa Island!
The resort (Ruiz Resort) was well maintained and there were rooms for rent as well. We stayed in our tents as we did not want to spend a fortune on rooms. There were also lots of toilets and shower rooms and the cottages/huts are quite big enough to accommodate a crowd and there belongings.
- Our first dip at Magawa Island.
The water at the beach was clear but the sea bed were covered in sea weed so you better wear sandals before you go swimming. The coral reeves are wide and are home to many kinds of sea creatures so be sure to bring snorkeling gears with you. The sand was not as fine as I would like it to be but at least it’s not full of pebbles and dead corals.
- Dianne. THH Jon’s sister.
There are also plenty of odd creatures like starfish and sea urchins. This means that the beach is still in good condition.
- Nature and people co-existing.
- Fisher men hauling their nets.
TheHelioPaths 