THE BEACH THAT STARTED IT ALL
-PART 2-
by Ysabel Villaflor
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| no tricks. no nonsense. 100% natural. |
So there it was right in front of me: it was so undeveloped, so bare, so organic -that it hit me in all the right places! This little island is AMAZING! We were greeted with one of the most crystal clear AQUA blue waters I have ever seen, the most tranquil lime stone rocks and mountains. It was so quiet and so peaceful. Far from the noisy city or the clutter of people, all we can hear are our own voices excitedly exchanging our “wows” and gasps. I could remember what was plastered on everyone's faces vividly trying to comprehend what was exactly in front of us!
It was love at first sight.
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| jumping off from our cottage right onto the water |
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ready to jump off just yet?
Sohoton, an island of the Municipality of Soccoro in Surigao Del Norte and one of the many islands of Bucas Grande. It is the perfect place to go when you want to forget about anything and enjoy nature completely. The only resort on the island, The Balanghai Resort, used to have huts on stilts right on the water which made it a little bit rustic and natural. Nowadays, The Balanghai Sohoton Resort, is now renamed Club Tara, with cemented cottages on the water and modernized with Jacuzzis and air-conditioning to suit the growing number of foreigners who have found out this little secret. |
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| floating room |
From the moment we were greeted by our transport yacht, to our resort welcoming committee dressed in their local garb, to the long wooden walkways leading to the cove where our lodging cottages right ON the waters were situated, or the fact that we were the only people on the island, WE WERE MESMERIZED, with our mouths hanging wide open. This little island was ours for the next couple of days?! Yes, we were out of our minds running around like crazy little kids on Christmas.
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Boracay has a famous coconut shot like this. This one's Soccoro's shot
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nothing like a light rainy shower that day
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imagine waking up to this. view from my bed.
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For those 3 days in 2006, we would find ourselves spending 70% of our time in the water. From the moment we opened our eyes in the morning, we would just jump off the ledge of our cottage and onto the water below or just transfer to the other cottage by just kayaking – making noise as we go (since we were the only ones on the island). We would snorkel, island hop to nearby islands (which are all surprisingly with white sandy beaches of super soft and fine powder white sands – which could rival those of Aklan’s Boracay and those of Palawan) including to nearby Siargao Island which is a 3 hour boat ride from Sohoton and explore the many caves the Bucas Grande islands has. Time was inexistent and we didn’t have anything to distract us from spending it with our loved ones.
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| going off to another island |
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| getting shells |
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| going up to the mountain to get to a freshwater lake |
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| another way to travel: |
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| Siargao was only 3 hours away via boat from Soccoro. |
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on Cloud 9, Siargao - the Philippine's Surfing Capital
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We would maneuver our way through the labyrinth of the Sohoton Coves and being engulfed with the tranquility and the wild forests on the interconnecting islets, collecting exoskeletons of abundant marine and coral life like sand dollars, starfishes (the size of the outdated laser discs), trekking up the cliffs to see the beautiful lakes, and snorkeling out on the reefs. The most fascinating part of this trip is finding out that most of the islands are still untouched and undeveloped.
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our kayaks all in a row
going off to another island by |
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| keeping ourselves entertained in one of the islands we |
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| playing around one of the unnamed islands |
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| don't worry, we returned this huge starfish to its home after this photo was taken |
One of the islands featured an underground cave called Hagukan Cave which is better visited during low tide. Just in case you missed the low tide opportunity, you can access the cave by swimming underwater. However, you would have to have very strong lungs for the short swim. My brothers and I decided to swim to the cave, and while I was underwater, I got scared for a short time, wondering when I was finally going to come up for air—and finding out after gasping for air, the amazing effect of light from outside the cave and underwater and the complete darkness inside the cave. It was like a moment in a Goonies movie. It is mysterious and exciting but I do not advise this for those who do not know how to swim or those who smoke.
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| getting off to see the caves before high tide |
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| see how clear the water is. |
We wasted no time in diving in the water and testing out the kayaks to and from the cottages. The kids playing on the shore, our parents in the restaurant eating the freshest seafood, us lying on the beach with cold beer in our hands, and just absorbing everything around us. We were in a bubble we didn’t want to get out of…until it turned dark.
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| starting them young to kayak |
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wakey-wakey! time for breakfast!
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Sure, the island was amazing in the morning, but pretty much, you didn’t have anything to do at night. So we entertained ourselves by having a bonfire and exchanging stories. It was the perfect way to end the day that was so fun and full of activities. There weren't any television sets or at that time, internet to get in the way of our lives on the island. The night was breezy, and the moon was bright. We played until the embers of the fire burned out.
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| night shot of the cottage and the mountains at night |
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| what we do at night: marshmallows and hotdogs |
This was definitely a place you would want to go to if you want to go off the radar. There was only a generator on the island, no entertainment at night, and ONLY nature to be friends with. This place will make you fall in love with nature - more so, the Philippines.
And up until now, it remains to be one of the most amazing places I have ever been. It was after this trip that made me wonder if any of the places in the Philippines are just like this – Greatness just WAITING to BE Discovered!
So, then, I was hooked for my love in exploring the Philippines as much as I can. J
The author wishes to thank Dr. and Mrs. Potenciano Malvar for an eye-opening and amazing trip to this beautiful island. It makes us proud to be from the Philippines. Mabuhay!
- maypv
