I was amazed when I saw pictures of Puting Buhangin in Pagbilao Grande Island in Quezon. When my family rejected the idea of going back to Baguio for a Holy Week vacation, I showed them pictures of this island. Beaming with excitement, they all voted for a Quezon family beach getaway.

Holy Wednesday Night. We searched for contact numbers of hotels, rooms, and boat rentals on the internet. Tamarind Tree Hotel had only one available room left on Saturday, it was a family aircon room with a rate of P1,100/per head, no breakfast.  Villa Anita did not reply.  P350/head fan room was offered by Beverly on Barangay Maraot with boat rental of P1,800 for island hopping (PutingBuhangin, Dampalitan, and Borawan). Nino offered boat rental with the same rate but no room.  Both were available on Saturday.

Since we can’t find a nice room that will fit the seven of us, we decided not to stay overnight. One whole day beach escapade will suffice our desires to escape from the summer heat. We did not even confirm boat reservations for we were told we could get boat service even on peak days.

Good Friday Night. My mother and I woke up at 2:00 am to cook food for our lunch since we were informed that there are no stores on the islands. We left Manila at 3:15 am. There was a downpour when we hit Sariaya. But thank God it stopped while we were on our way to Lucena. We reached the “Bondoc Peninsula” arch at 6:04 am. Along the way to Padre Burgos, we passed by a sari-sari store and bought ice, one 5-gallon mineral water, 2 tetra packs of juice, and biscuits for Shen.

We headed to Vista Playa Restaurant in Barangay Maraot, the jump-off point for the island hopping. Little did we know, it was now Coastal Grills under new management. A local guided us to a parking lot just across from the restaurant. Knowing where we will go, he offered boat rental owned by Mang Urong for a fee of P1,800. We did not haggle anymore knowing it’s the standard rate this peak season.

We ate our breakfast in our van and later we were fetched by Mang Urong at 7:15 am. We brought our food and backpacks and off we went at the back of the Oreto Beach Resort which was a few distances away from Coastal Grills. Our boatman was so cooperative in helping us carried some of our stuff.

The sight of the vast expanse of blue water had initially tickled the adrenalin rush. It was a beautiful Saturday morning as the blue horizon was waving hello to the radiant sun. I can’t help to imagine a wonderful beach adventure a minute from now.

But it all stopped when a man who seemed to be a collector approached us and collected an environmental fee (P20/head). All I thought this was already included in our boat rental. Nothing to argue, we paid the fee. The collector issued an official receipt.  Shen was free since she was only six years old.

We traversed the shallow water before reaching the boat. It’s not an ideal swimming area, it was a bit murky but we’ve seen kids soaking in the water. Mang Urong’s backup was on another tour so he was the only boatman on our ride. There’s nothing to worry about because his boat had safety provisions.

As we started our exciting journey, the warm gentle breeze invigorated our tired bodies. My eyes were drooping as the boat danced with the gentle waves. But when we passed by an islet with unique rock formations, all my senses came alive. The enormous rocks according to Mang Urong were called “Ang Mag-asawang Bato”. I wanted to go there for photo shooting but the boat can’t come close due to harmful sharp rocks. Seeing my eagerness, Mang Urong gave me the instruction on how to get there. But no one from my buddies dares to swim because of the strong waves.

Puting Buhangin was stunning in a distance. The white small island was gleaming indeed. The water was crystal clear. But the sand wasn’t that fine. Lots of tents were pitched on the beachfront. It was a fiesta crowd. Not surprising since it was summertime. The caretaker immediately approached us and collected the entrance fee.

We headed first to the famous cave Kuwebang Lampas before we indulge ourselves to swim. It was located on the left end portion of the beach. There were sharp craggy rocks on the way so it’s a must to be extra careful.

The cave had two openings. It was said that there are snakes inside the cave, but I don’t think it will sneak that time as the place was packed by curious visitors. What’s good to see inside were the rock formations and stalactites. But it was an eyesore to see vandalized writings on the wall.

We went back to our boat to get our swimwear and headed to changing room at the back of the resort. There were more campers in this area. It was like a camping jamboree. People are busy cooking and grilling food.

Beside those tents were hanging clothes on wires and lots of supplies of mineral water in the blue containers. But what was so disappointing to see were the garbages scattered everywhere. Inside the changing room was again lots of garbage. And to my dismay, there were sanitary napkins inserted on nipa walls! Oh no!

I hope the management will do something to maintain the cleanliness of the island be it peak season or not. They should allocate lots of garbage bins and more caretakers to clean the area.

Puting Buhangin was a beautiful beach. But the garbage is a bad backdrop to its charm.

The muggy days of summer hit the entire country and the best thing to do is to SWIM! We waded on the water for three hours. Paused for few minutes to eat a snack and rushed off to the water again.

Satisfied, tired, and refreshed, we headed to Dampalitan Island by 11:00 a.m.

Rate:

P 30 – Day tour / P100 – Overnight
P350 – Cottage – Day tour or overnight
P400, P500 – Tent for Rent
Owned tent – no rent