December has always been one of my favorite months firstly because it’s the holiday season and secondly, because it’s my birthday month. Being a Sagittarius, I’ve always fancied exploring new places and trying out different things. So for my birthday, #teamharthart decided to go on a getaway in Alibijaban, Quezon. Mind you the “J” in Alibijaban is pronounced with an /h/ sound ;). Now let’s get started!
The team met up at Jac Liner in Kamias at around 11 p.m. The last trip is at 12 a.m. The team had to wait for me since my shift did not finish until 10 p.m. I think traveling at night isn’t that bad because I don’t mind dozing off in public. Though I normally have to cover my face with my trusty balaclava since I sleep with my mouth open. The bus that we caught is bound for Lucena Grand Terminal. Travel time took around 3-4 hours. Once there, we caught another bus this time bound for San Andres. This is the lengthy part of the journey. 6-7 hours depending on how fast the us goes.
It was already lunch time when we arrived in San Andres so we quickly grabbed a bite in a nearby carinderia. With our tummies happy, we looked around the fish market to buy supplies for our 2D1N stay in the island. The port is only a short walk from the market but we opted to ride a pedicab since we bought tons of food haha. Pedicab ride is only 10 php but of course there is nothing stopping you from giving tips ;). It took us less than 30 minutes to reach the island.
It took us no time to set up our tent. We were all excited to get in the water and see what the island has to offer. While the others headed off, THH Rolds, Rizza and I prepared our dinner. I noticed that it was a little overcast so I wanted to finish up all the cooking before it started raining. Soon enough it did. It was exactly what happened in Caramoan. Luckily we were able to rent a hut that accommodated our cooking stuff.
I actually felt downhearted whilst it was raining, I mean who wouldn’t right? Fortunately the sky cleared up and it didn’t rain all through out the evening. It was actually cloudless. Thousands upon thousands of stars in the night sky and shooting stars here and there. What a fantastic view it was. You will definitely not see that in Manila because of the light and air pollution.
Dinner was top notch. Adobo, binagoongan, inihaw na tulingan, steamed veggies, paksiw na isda and hotdogs were on the menu and man what a feast it was. We just laid banana leaves on the floor and and ate like it was our last supper. Good food, good company and the soothing sound of the waves crashing, what else can you ask for? The night was still young so socials was on. Tons of games, stories and laughter. Our jaws were aching by the time we finished.
The following day, everyone was all pumped up. While some of us prepared our breakfast, the others spent time with the little kings and queens of Alibijaban.
Playing with the children was very tiring indeed so everyone was up for having breakfast. Soon after, we started our tour of the island.
First we visited a cave at the backside of the island. Lots of pebbles there but the rock formation were quite nice. The cave itself was more of a hole to be quite honest. We didn’t stay in that part of the island too long since there weren’t much to see.
We went to the sandbar and the part where beautiful mangrove dotted the the island. With the sun shining high, the island showed it’s beauty. The sand weren’t as fine but who cares?! The island still captivated all of our senses.
By the time we got back to our campsite, we were all exhausted and a shade darker. We left the island at around 2 p.m. We were suppose to get the 4 p.m. bus bound to Alabang but since we had ample time, we took the one that left at 3.pm. We arrived in Manila around midnight.
Many people ask me if the travel time is worth it? Definitely! Our getaway in Alibijaban is something that I’ll remember for a long time.
TheHelioPaths 