This is the fourth installment of my Cagbalete experience.
I woke up at half past four feeling well rested and at peace. I decided to get out of the tent and wait for the beautiful sunrise that I am sure is worth taking pictures of. I was not disappointed. It was the most majestic thing ever, seeing the pinkish hue in the sky and slowly watching that magnificent sun rise, showering the island with its radiant sunshine. I couldn't help taking pictures of it.
Right before sunrise
I finally have a sort-of-silhouette picture. :p
Click the pictures for their original size
It was extremely cold that morning but the coldness is refreshing. Perhaps it's because of the fact that the wind is blowing from the Pacific Ocean or because we're just too far away from civilization (READ: pollution). Once again, I had brain paralysis (the good kind) because of the beauty of the island. Robai woke up and we decided to explore the island and look for that delta while it's not hot.
We decided to wade in the ankle-length water and just breathe in that fresh morning air.
After that, we went eastward (or westward, I don't know... I'm bad at directions) and walked in search of that river. The beach was littered with seaweeds and other rubbish that must have been washed ashore the night before. Despite the mess, the beach was still beautiful with the pine trees lining the coast and rare birds resting and picking on the mess. I tried to take a picture of the birds but unfortunately, they're quite fast.
We met two boys and asked them if we were going the right direction and they said yes. I asked them if the delta was near and they said it's quite far. We were walking for almost half an hour already but it felt like we haven't reached our destination. A boy approached us and offered to lead us to where we were going. We refused but he was really persistent so Robai and I decided to just let him be. We will just pay him thirty bucks when we get back to the tent.
We passed by the island's cemetery which was close to the coast. It was kind of creepy. It made me hesitate to swim in the water. Imagine the corpse's body liquids mixing with the water. Isn't that gross? Robai told me I was being ridiculous.
After another ten minutes worth of walking, we finally reached our destination. I was really disappointed to see that it was nothing but stagnant water filled with rubbish and mosquitoes. I told Jay-R (the boy who offered to be our tour guide) that it was not the one I saw in the pictures and he told me that I was probably referring to the delta on the other side of the island. He said it was closer to Villa Cleofas. Gah, it was so frustrating to hear that we walked for about an hour for nothing. I decided to take a dip anyway so that the walk was not wasted. Robai decided to stay behind and talk to Jay-R.
The wrong delta
Yes, that's Jay-R
When I got back to the shore, Robai told me Jay-R's story. According to him, his parents left him in the island while they (his parents and his two other siblings) went to Batangas. He is now living in their house, left alone to fend for himself. We asked him where he was getting the money to buy food and he said he earns from offering as tour guides for visitors of the island. I guess me and Robai felt the same thing for him. We felt sorry that he was burdened with such a problem at an early age (he was 11 years old) and we felt angry at his parents who, we know for sure, will never come back to the island. We could not understand how parents can do that to their own flesh and blood. We also wondered how Jay-R will end up with this kind of fate. Will be be able to live and grow up or will he be unable to survive in this cruel world? (I have a picture of him but I don't think it's proper to show it here. :( Besides, it's illegal.)
With awkward silence and heavy hearts, we asked Jay-R to walk with us back to our tent. We still had canned goods and left-overs from our dinner last night and we decided that he needs it more than us. We took pictures along the way and Jay-R takes good pictures too. Haha. We asked him to take a photo of us.
See, he was able to hide how fat we really are (sort-of)
When we reached the tent, we gave Jay-R our ration and paid him fifty bucks. We hoped that it was enough to last him for several days until new visitors of the resort arrive. We then ate our breakfast at the mess hall with what's left of our rations. (Note: You have to pay PhP5 for a mug of hot water; 15 for coffee)
After our breakfast, we decided to finally go to that real delta and spend some time swimming there. Jay-R was right, the delta was close to our camp site. I could not understand why we did not see it the day before. Of course, we took pictures. :)
A local resident looking for shells
Finally, the delta!
The beach in that area is extremely stony so it's not very comfortable to swim in. Aside from that, the water is just knee-length so you really need to walk far before getting to the deep area. At a quarter past ten, we decided to go back and look for a better place for swimming. We saw a good spot a few meters away from the delta and we spent about an hour there, swimming and talking about our personal lives and what we think about the world.
When we were extremely nognog na, we went back to the resort and spent our time under the talisay tree, just enjoying this wonderful experience. Robai mentioned that she wanted to get married here (specifically at the Bonsai Island). I told her it's a good idea and we, the bridesmaids, will wear sun dresses for the wedding. It would be costly though and I wonder what Neil would think about the idea. :p
Our dreaded time came. We had no choice but to start packing because the ferry leaves at 1pm and we had a long way to walk. It is with heavy heart that we left Cagbalete but we promised that we will go back there again. The island has definitely captured our hearts and it will always be our secret get-away in this part of the Philippines. :)
Crisp and burned like bacon.
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