Blissful night and day on Cabalitian

Experience paradise on this island

I didn’t experience rest right after graduation. In fact, a few days before the last of my college life, I began working and practicing my craft.

And since my schedule at my job was hectic as that was the campaign period for the 2013 midterm elections when we had to do a series of coverage, I needed a stress buster.

I was really hopeful I could get that perfect relief from the hustle and bustle the election season ensued. So, when it came, I didn’t have second thoughts even though it meant spending a part of my first salary. (Well, I’ve been known to be a stingy person.)

Cabalitian getaway

Over a year ago, my friends went to a beautiful island in Sual. The trip was a few days after the end of my third year in college. I failed to join them because my budget was scarce that time. When we met with one another again in a get together, they euphorically shared the experience on the marvellous island and how much they enjoyed their getaway. I felt envious and wished that one day, I would get the chance to be captured in wonder and be amazed with the place.

LEAVING THE ISLAND Boats line up the shore, waiting for guests leaving the island. You will, however, find yourself hesitant to leave because of Cabalitian’s natural beauty.

It is called Cabalitian Island. The trip may last for one hour and 45 minutes to two hours via public transport and a maximum of one and a half hours if you use a private car. From Dagupan City, take a Victory Liner bus bound for Sta. Cruz, Zambales. The route that passes through Domalandan in Lingayen makes the trip shorter.

Alight from the bus when you reach the coast along the national highway in Sual, about a kilometer before the town proper. There you may rent a boat which will take you to Cabalitian. The price may vary according to your agreement with the boatman, but regular rates may still apply.

It is advisable that you take the boat before late afternoon, so you won’t have to endure a scary, rocky and wavy 30-minute ride to the island. Believe me, it will freak the hell out of you. I experienced it myself on our ride back.

Don’t even sail at dusk unless the sea is calm. Otherwise, when night falls and darkness engulf you amidst huge waves, you’ll freak out all the more.

Well, in other words, don’t do what we did. We sailed at dusk (because of our friends who arrived almost eight hours late) and arrived on the island when it was night time. Good thing, the sea was calm, so we were relaxed the whole trip.

Upon arrival, we felt our stomachs complaining of hunger, so we prepared our supper and got all set for a sumptuous dinner together.

Here’s another tip: make sure that you’ve got everything that you need for food preparation. Unless you’re confident enough to borrow almost all cooking and eating utensils from the cottage’s caretaker, you could only get by if all you’ve got are canned and ready to eat goods that no longer require you to use those cooking skills that you have.

Falling in love with the place

The very first thing you’ll love about Cabalitian is its pristine water. It was already dark when we arrived, but the light coming from the cottages enabled us to see how clear the water was. It will surely give you that clean feeling when you plunged into the cool water.

After a hearty meal and happy chit chat, we changed into our swimming outfit and off we went to enjoy the water where we crazily played and enthusiastically swam around (or few of us did while the rest just pretended to).

A dip in the cold water under the starry night sky and cool evening may make every living cell in your body shiver, but you’ll definitely enjoy it because you won’t worry about getting sun burned.

The second thing that you’ll love about it is even if you’re ten meters away from the shore, you’ll still find yourself only three fourths deep into the water. If you aren’t a good swimmer, but still want to go farther from the shore, it won’t be scary at all.

After getting our heart’s fill, we prepared for a warming and comforting sleep and tucked ourselves in.

Best sunrise

I strongly suggest that you spend the night on Cabalitian Island because a precious and sparkling fresh scenery will be greeting you in the morning.

Spend a few days on Cabalitian and if you’re not a morning person, then you’ll surely turn into one. You will always love to wake up in the morning and witness the gem-like morning sun peeking atop the hill, gradually extending its glorious warm rays to the sky like gentle hands touching your delicate skin.

GOLDEN SUNRISE Waking up early in the morning will surely be a habit when you live in this place. How can you ever resist this lovely and picturesque view of the morning sun coming out?

Looking at the sun slowly rising to the sky that fades from tangerine to clear whitish blue will undeniably make your eyes sparkle with joy and your heart fall in love with another wonder of nature.

It was the most beautiful sunrise I had ever seen so far. Just staring at it while sitting on the shore hit by calm and sweet sounding waves made me grateful of God’s creation.

The beautiful sunrise is one of the highlights of Cabalitian, something you never want to miss. A good picture of it will surely make you fall in love with Cabalitian Island and seeing it for yourself will unsurprisingly make you stay.

That morning, I found myself admiring the place even more. I trained my eyes around and happily examined the island from point to point.

There’s a hill covered in lush green previously blocking the rising sun. The shore is lined with cottages that are up for rent for guests. The grainy sand is brownish in color, that kind which you can put into an aquarium (that’s not a suggestion though).

There are boats docked along the shore, waiting for a trip to the coast on the other end of the sea. The bluish water on the horizon was meets the nearly clear blue morning sky.

I was there, sitting outside the big cottage, ogling at and savouring nature like I’d never done it before.

The cave

After our delicious and mouth-watering breakfast, we headed to another highlight on the island—the cave. The area is dotted with picturesque rock formations—those kinds that you see on television and films—and made up more exciting by giant waves hitting the rocks.

ON THE ROCKS Rock formations dot the area near the cave and the clear water around them entices guests to take a dip into the cool water.

With the sun getting higher, a splash of cool water is a welcome relief to the hot temperature. The cave’s mouth is blocked by a stone bed where you can find stones of various sizes and shapes. Lying on it, the waves rocked me back and forth.

There were deep parts and some deeper portions where we were very careful because of the slippery rocks we were stepping on.

After playful moments on the cave, we walked our way back to the cottage for lunch. Once again, we admired the scenery we had passed by and repeatedly exclaimed how beautiful it was.

The rest of the afternoon was spent on swimming in the sea which turned us into human pumpkins because of the sunburn it caused. Well, I couldn’t blame myself for my overpowering desire to take a dip in the water after many years since my first time on the beach.

Leaving the island…for now

It was nearly dusk when we left the island and headed back towards the coast, sailing in the midst of strong waves hitting our boat. That was one hell of a ride, but it still felt like I enjoyed the experience. That’s something you don’t live with every day.

My skin was sore and red, but the cool memories were a neutralizer. It made me wonder when I would be back on Cabalitian Island, another potential tourist destination. I just hope that when it develops into one, it stays in its natural beauty and doesn’t get destroyed by undisciplined tourists. Taking care of the virgin island is much more important than the boost it will give to Sual’s booming economy.

I left the island happy about the fulfilling experience. And I’ll definitely be back.
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Published on FOCUS (focusweekly.net), a corporate news magazine established in Pangasinan.