Catanduanes Forum

My travel article and photographs on Catanduanes are now published in this month's issue of SMILE, Cebu Pacific's in-flight magazine. Check out the "Hidden Treasures" article when you fly Cebu Pacific this month, or browse the issue on-line at http://www.ink-live.com/smile/2009/may/

Best regards,
Edgar Alan Zeta-Yap

My Catanduanes Adventure

Sharing my Multiply blog entry on my visit to Catanduanes from Feb. 14-17, 2009. Catanduanes Flickr set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eazy360/sets/72157614017141704/show/

Our four-day trip to southern Catanduanes was an adventure to a place where the raw beauty of nature overwhelms, where earth, wind and water collide to give birth to a tropical getaway for those seeking the thrill and relaxation of roads less-traveled.

In no particular order, here are my top five experiences from the province that's more than "The Land of the Howling Winds":

1.) Amidst a backdrop of rolling rainforest, sailing fog, and the crashing Pacific Ocean at the desolate PAG-ASA Weather Station in Brgy. Buenavista, Bato, one can admire the island's best-known attribute: its capricious weather.

As beguiling as it is fickle, Catanduanes weather can change from full sun, to rainy, to, well... very wet in a matter of minutes. Even at the capital town of Virac, spotting Mt. Mayon is a game of hide-and-seek as clouds teasingly conceal and reveal the majestic volcano across the channel.

A climb up inside the PAG-ASA observatory tower, which looks like something out of the Jetson's, will take you to the radar dish awash in orange glow from the translucent skylight.

2.) Like a sponge soaking up year-long rains, the island's interior is characterized by rough mountains covered in dense and vibrant green foliage. Eventually, rain percolates its way to the crumbling coastline via several waterfalls, the most popular of which is Maribina Falls in Bato, where we frolicked over the cascading waters and boulders.

Meanwhile, locals gathered taro and chili plants from the forests, dove for prawns hiding in the pools, and hauled abaca fibers to the town proper. Entrance fee: P5.00/head. Cottage rental: P25.00

3.) A surprising facet of the island is Catandungan cooking. At Sea Breeze Restaurant at Virac's baywalk, we enjoyed the night air while feasting on scrumptious battered rock lobster with chili sauce.

But the quaint resort of Elena's Majestics at famed Puraran Beach got all of our votes with their affordable lunch and dinner meals that included steamed rock lobsters, sweet and sour lapu-lapu (grouper), crab curry and the best laing (taro leaves cooked with coconut milk and chili) that I have ever tasted. Our breakfasts were alternately Continental and native: cheese omelette, fresh coconut juice and ginataang camote (sweet potatoes cooked in coconut milk). Lunch and dinner was P125/set meal, and breakfast was P85.00/set meal.

4.) At the parish office of San Andres Church, we found ourselves in awe leafing through church records dating back to 1854, where a young secretary was patiently indexing their contents on an old typewriter. Crumbling and spineless, these books recording baptisms, marriages and illegitimates were written in beautiful penmanship, many of which have faded and bled after a century of surviving many generations and countless storms.

5.) Though the place would very well benefit from a little clean-up, Puraran Beach at Baras is still the gem of the island. Flanked by rice paddies and bordered by verdant hills, this beach cove of golden sand and rocky islets basks in tourism limelight as the province's main-draw.

Ever since an Australian surfer discovered that its long-barrel waves were perfect for surfing and called them the "Majestics" in the 1970s, adventurers--mostly foreigners--have long enjoyed the excitement of the crashing Pacific Ocean, and the idyllic way of life that pervades this charming barangay.

A short hike up the eastern hill at sunrise rewards one with a beautiful view of the coastline, nipa huts and rice terraces that were curiously just meters away from the saltwater. Upon my descent, the local rice farmers welcomed me to join their planting. As they shared their woes on the fickle weather and tough, sandy soil, I was amazed at how they inserted the seedlings into the mud with such methodical speed. It was tiresome work as we toiled under the rising sun. I returned to the beach to wash the mud off my feet, and savored our last day until we counted falling stars and fireflies to sleep.

For my analog photography, check out my LC-A and Horizon Perfekt albums.

Edgar Alan Zeta-Yap
http://eazytraveler.blogspot.com