Prepare to be spellbound by the beauty of Bantayan Island. Let me take you to a visual and emotional experience as I share some of the moments I spent from the multiple times that I traveled to the island. Something about it keeps pulling me back even though it's a 4-hour bus and 1-hour ferry ride from the city (Cebu City).
Before I continue, I would like to thank everyone who showed their support to my Introduction Post. I didn't expect it to gain that much reach and upvotes. I just poured myself into it and I am glad that people received it well.
With the inertia from my first post and the support of my growing Hive community, I am inspired to keep going and bring you my first travel blog.
BEWITCHED BY THE BEACH
The first time that I went to Bantayan, it was dawn and most of the resorts and inns were still closed. Luckily, my companion and I found a cheap place and spent the rest of the night there.
When I woke up in the morning and went outside, I saw the beach and it was mesmerizing! I remember how relaxing it was to just stand in the middle of it and listen to the sound of the waves as the early morning sun warmed my skin.
To be honest, the memory of my first visit is fuzzy and images of the different times I went to the island meld together in my thoughts. But I remember the feeling every time I went into the water.
It was always too cold at the first dip and the white sand beneath my feet was soft. The water was not deep but it was deep enough for you to swim or be still and let the current and the waves pull you in different directions. It was peaceful.
I think the beach bewitched me the first time I set foot on it. There weren't a lot of tourists during my first visit and the beach was so clean. It was still beautiful even when it was full of people on my third visit but sadly, the beach was filled with litter and trash the next day.
I hope people realize the effect of their actions today to their own future and the future of their children. It would be such a shame for future generations to suffer from our mistakes and miss out on the beauty of nature.
Imagine your grandkids having as much fun as you as they travel to the places you've been to. Imagine them enjoying their own island hopping experience to a well-conserved beach destination.
BEGUILED BY THE PLACES
Except for the beach, I never went to the same place twice during my visits. The island has several popular places that you can go to. It was on my third visit that I went to Kota Park located north of the island.
We went straight to the park from the very long trip from the city. It was so hot that day and we just spent a good deal of our time lounging on a cottage near the beach and taking in the view.
Of course, we had to go around the park and see the sights. We went to the Kota (fortress) and strolled around the Boardwalk. I remember sweating under the heat while taking the pictures but a friend reminded me that we were there for the sun, the heat, and the beach.
I was able to go to a lot of places during my second visit. There were so many memories from that time and honestly, there are some that I don't want to remember.
One of the places I went to was The Ruins. It was underwhelming but I tried to get as many good shots as I can before I melted under the scorching heat.
My second visit reminds me of heartache and pain. Thankfully, I've dealt with those feelings and I've moved on. But there was a time in the past when I had this urge to go back to the places that my ex and I went to and replace the memories of those places.
Now, I realize that those places will only remain as places regardless of the memories they hold. It's you who need to change and not the place nor its memories.
SOLO TRIP
On my last visit, I went on my own. And I really enjoyed it! Maybe a bit too much. The vacation was a treat to myself for finishing the first semester of graduate school. I brought a bottle of mojito, a book, and a Bluetooth speaker with me.
I remember just sitting on the beach while drinking and listening to music. And whenever I started to feel tipsy, I would shake it off by going into the water to swim around. That was the entire plan for the trip. Stay by the beach, drink, and relax.
The next day, I woke up and took to the beach again. There was nothing to worry about except for the heat, the tide, and where to get the next drink. I took my things and walked towards one of my favorite spots on the beach, a beachfront store that sold beer.
The tide was so low that morning the beach was like a highway. You can clearly see the fine white sand of the very long shoreline. I walked along the shoreline almost end to end before walking back to the store. By the time I got there, I was cooked from the heat of the sun and seriously needed a cold drink.
I spent the entire morning drinking, reading a few pages, and going back to the water as the tide slowly grew. I'm not sure how much I had to drink but my memory of going back to my resort is really fuzzy. But I remember spending the next few hours being sick and puking my guts out. That part wasn't fun.
SUNSETS AND SUNRISE
I'll be leaving you with pictures of sunsets and sunrise in Bantayan. I always try to wake up early for sunrise when I'm at a beach or patiently wait in the afternoon for the sunset.
If you're on the main beach of Budyong, Kota, or Yoonek, you'd see the sunset and the sunrise on the opposite ends of the shoreline. I revel in sunsets and sunrise because they give you a sense of peace and calm but only if you become still to take in its fleeting soft light.
There you have it! Thank you so much for spending your time reading my blog and looking at my photos. I know this isn't a usual travel blog where the author writes about itineraries, accommodations, and transportation following a chronological order.
There are tons of articles online that will already give you that. I wanted to do something different for Bantayan. If you want to know more about the island, you can check these posts from @ybanezkim26 and @josejirafa. I was actually inspired to write about my Bantayan travels because of their posts.
I can sense a highly personal backstory behind your visits to Bantayan Island. I guess in a sense, nature has a way of cleansing us from our deep-seated emotions. Often times, it could also help us to think much clearer.
Thanks for the mention. I'm glad you drew a little bit of inspiration from my post.
I agree. Nature heals but only if we let it.
No problem! It amazes me how you can write so many words.
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Wow. I really miss the white-sand beach and calmness of Bantayan Island. Hopefully I can go back there and relax just what you did. 😄
I hope I can go back too! 😅
I want to do solo travel as well 😃
Soon Jay! I know kaya ra kaayo nimo i-plan.
Solo travels always excite me! And I have a high regard to those people who can travel alone.
It's really exciting! But a bit scary too. I actually left my charger at home during my solo trip. I had to look for a charging station or else I'd have no photos. Hahaha.
Actually, I prefer solo but if there will be friends to fo with it will be fine. The good thing about being alone as you said. You can stay still, drinking while listening and no one will disturb your peaceful life. lol
Anyway, it's a good post. I stunned with the beauty of bantayan because I haven't been there even though I'm just here in Cebu. But your words told me that I must visit this place. Nice...
Yes! There's no reason not to visit Bantayan. Traveling solo has it pros and cons though. I sometimes get shy asking strangers to take pictures of me. It's good to travel with friends who don't get tired taking pictures. That's usually me when I'm with a group. Hahaha.
Hiya, @LivingUKTaiwan here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Top 3 in Daily Travel Digest #955.
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Do not miss the last post from @hivebuzz:
Nothing quite like the way you experienced Bantayan GB! Neatly packaged in a beautiful blog post 😁
Thank you Abe! Your latest post is neatly packaged as well.
Let's pioneer topics on mental health and personal development here in Hive!
Game!