Wanderworld

After spending a night in Donsol, our next stop was Matnog, specifically for island hopping and beach bumming.

Still a long way from Donsol, (a two-hour van or bus ride + three-hour jeep ride) Matnog, Sorsogon is slowly becoming popular among tourists for its breathtaking, pristine beaches. It is where the “pink island,” Subic Beach, can be found, which was named such because of its pinkish white sand.

A Matnog island hopping trip usually includes a visit to Juag Island Fish Sanctuary, Subic Beach (liit or laki or both) and Tikling Island, which costs Php 1,500 for day tour visitors and Php 2,000 for overnight guests. We were supposed to visit the three sites, but since Dee had to get back to the town by 2pm to catch the bus back to Manila on that same day, our island hopping was cut short and we didn’t get to visit Tikling Island anymore.

Juag Lagoon/Fish Sanctuary

Our first stop was Juag Island Fish Sanctuary, a privately owned fish farm that boasts different kinds of fishes and breathtakingly blue waters. Even before you reach the site, you’ll be awed by the clear, light blue waters along the way. As it turns out, the water is even prettier in the site itself; it was actually hard to believe that not a lot of people have discovered it yet because the sea there can actually rival those in Palawan.

Guests need to board a raft to get to the actual site and see the fishes. Unfortunately, swimming isn’t permitted anymore or at least during our visit, probably because there were too many guests at the time.

You’ll still see many fishes even if you don’t swim with them though. Guests can feed the fishes (fish pellets are sold at the entrance) for a better look at the different species. The fishes are actually huge and of different kinds, and even for an adult like me, it was an amazing experience to see so many fishes in one place.

Outside the fish sanctuary is a small store of souvenirs. It’s also where you’re supposed to give your donations of any amount for the place, which has no entrance fee.

Subic Beach Liit

After our short visit to Juag Fish Sanctuary, our boatman asked us where we wanted to stay overnight, Subic Beach laki or Subic Beach liit. According to him, Subic Beach liit has fewer people/guests, so I opted to stay there. Subic Beach laki is named such because it’s literally bigger; it’s also more popular among tourists and has more facilities. Since I’m fonder of less touristy and quiet beaches, Subic Beach liit turned out to be the perfect choice; Joseph and I almost had the whole island to ourselves.

Accommodation

There are two kinds of accommodation on the island: you can either rent a tent or stay in a hut/room with CR. The tent costs Php 500 while the hut/room costs Php 1,000 per night. We were supposed to just camp out on the beach since it’s cheaper, but our boatman said that it’s better if we take the hut/room since those who rent a tent are required to rent a cottage/table as well, which costs Php 300.

We heeded his advice since for a difference of just Php 200, we’d have the convenience of having our own bathroom and a bed (with mattress) as well. Note though that the bathroom has no running water; there are huge pails of water already filled though, and the caretakers of the island would ask you if you still have water in the bathroom and fetch some for you.

The Experience  

We initially thought and planned to rough it out in Subic Beach liit because I’ve read from various blogs that the place hardly has facilities, but we were surprised to be treated like resort guests in the island by the caretakers. Though we had to buy our own food from the market before we went island hopping (where we were assisted by our boatman as well), the rest of the work such as cooking was handled by the caretakers. We packed our own eating utensils because we thought there won’t be any on the island, but everything was provided for us, even condiments such as soy sauce.

The caretakers cooked our food, served it to us during meal time and cleaned up our table after every meal, which was such a pleasant experience, especially for a very cheap price. We made sure to give a tip for the caretakers, who were an old couple and his son, I think, before we left the island as a small token to their hospitality during our stay.

The beach

Though we didn’t get to see Subic Beach laki and Tikling Island (our boatman had to bring Dee back to the town in time for her to catch the only bus ride back to Manila), Subic Beach liit satisfied my desire of having a simple and relaxing beach vacation.

During our first day, only a maximum of three boats with tourists came to the island, but they were all just on a day trip, so they didn’t stay long.

By nighttime, only Joseph and I and one big group (who stayed in a tent) were on the island. The following morning, only two groups of tourists came while the big group from the other night left early, so we still basically had the island to ourselves.

The beauty of the beach is actually comparable to Calaguas; the water has a nice warm blue tone and the sand, though not as fine, looked white under the sun even though it’s really pinkish because of the crushed pink shells.

The whole scenery was very relaxing especially because there were very few people. The light blue beach was inviting as it glistened under the sun, and its cool (yes, it’s cold) water made for a refreshing swim.

On the far end of the island were huge rocks, which we of course took advantage of for photo ops. Haha. There were actually stronger waves on that side of the beach, which made for a beautiful scenery as the water splashed on the huge rocks.

How to Get to Matnog from Donsol

From Donsol, we went to a nearby terminal of vans bound for Albay. We then got off at Putiao, where we also got off the previous day going to Donsol, and waited for a bus or van bound for Sorsogon City.

Since there were no buses during the time, we decided to take the van bound for Sorsogon. We told the driver that we’ll be heading to Matnog, and we were dropped off in what seemed like the town center, with a beautiful church and market. The van ride from Donsol to Sorsogon City is roughly 2 hours.

From the town center, we took a jeep bound for Matnog, which was probably the longest jeepney ride I’ve ever taken – roughly 3 hours. The Matnog town center is the last stop of the jeep, where we were met by our boatman who was constantly texting us about our whereabouts during our entire commute. 😀

Helpful Info/Tips:

• It’s better to contact a boatman before heading to the place so you’ll have everything arranged for you. Our contact person was Eddie Evasco, (09261404577) who is a kagawad in Matnog. They are the ones who arrange the boat for island hopping as well as the accommodation, if you wish to stay overnight. They are also the ones to provide and set up the tent for you if you decide to camp overnight.

• You need to register at the tourism center first and pay Php 50 fee (for Filipinos) and Php 250 (for foreigners). There’s also an environmental fee of Php 20 per person.

• Before heading to the islands, you need to buy supplies from the market first since there are no stores and restaurants there. The market is located in the town center. Our boatman accompanied us there and suggested all the items that we would need for an overnight stay such as rice, cooking oil, water, meat or fish and other food items you wish.

• There are only 2 bus schedules to Manila from Matnog. One is in the morning, around 8-9 am, and the last trip is at 2pm. The bus ride from Matnog to Manila is roughly 14 hours. If you miss the two schedules, you can take the Manila-bound Roro buses which come from the Visayas provinces that regularly (hourly) pass by Matnog.

• The people from Sorsogon are very accommodating and warm; from Donsol to Matnog, we met some that volunteered to help us with directions and assist us in our needs. One fellow passenger in the van that we took from Donsol to Matnog even accompanied us to the terminal of jeepneys bound for Matnog and instructed the driver to drop us off in the town center. 🙂

*Travel date: April 2015

Next Post: Enchanted River in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur