Wanderworld

What do you get from traveling 14 hours by land all the way to Palaui Island, Cagayan Valley? Clear, turquoise waters matched with fine white sand set against a backdrop of lush mountains, almost all to yourself.

Yep, that’s Anguib Beach for you, the beautiful but not-so-popular beach (yet!) of Palaui Island in Cagayan Valley.

The last stop in our island hopping tour, Anguib Beach is tucked away in Palaui Island with only a few visitors, most of them locals or from nearby towns/provinces, which makes the place more ideal for people like me who love quiet and unspoiled beaches.

From afar, the turquouise waters beckon you to come closer and take a dip, a thrilling offer no beach bum can refuse. While the beach’s fine white sand beautifully sparkles under the sun, the lush mountain bordering the beach adds a rustic appeal to the place while giving you that secure vibe and impression that the place is yours alone.

What’s Not to Like
However, while Anguib Beach is easily one of my top beaches in the Philippines, there are also a few drawbacks to the place, at least based on my experience when we went there last April 2013.

First off, during our visit, we were informed that the beach is divided into two parts. Swimming in the not-so-pretty part requires a Php 20 “entrance fee,” which we paid an old lady living in a hut near the beach, who is said to be the caretaker. If you wish to swim in the beautiful part, which is Anguib Beach is known for, you’d have to shell out Php 500 per person because apparently the beachfront is owned by a resort. The consolation (if any) is that huge amount includes a meal.

Since we were cheapskates, we settled for the Php 20 entrance fee. We certainly got what we paid for, though, because the water is somehow murky with a number of seaweeds, and you can easily distinguish its greenish color from the beautiful turquoise waters in the “expensive part.”

Unsatisfied, we walked to the beautiful area and tried to at least take pics since we weren’t “allowed” to swim there. But after just a few snaps, a guy from the resort asked us if we were guests of the resort and forbid us to stay there when he found out we weren’t. I told him we were only taking pictures, but he insisted that we couldn’t stay there.

As far as I knew, Anguib Beach remains a public beach, and my research before going to the place never came up with paying something for beach access. So as stubborn as we were, we waited for the resort guy to disappear and swam to our hearts’ content in the “resort’s beachfront.” 😛

I’m not sure if that’s still how things work now in Anguib Beach or if conditions are worse. I hope, though, that they don’t turn such natural gem into a commercialized, money-making machine because it would be such a waste.