For the first time in years, we traveled back to the Philippines during the Golden Week in China; this is that weeklong holiday, the last big holiday of the year… It was a very short trip but I was so glad that on this trip I finally managed to go to the Kalanggaman Island off the coast of Leyte, part of Palompon, a small city in southern Leyte. This was a perfect getaway – no internet, no electricity except for the power generated from solar panels, almost like back to basics.
Here are some photos from our 2-day stay.
DAY 1: Anticipating our arrival on the island after a 3-hour ride in a van from Tacloban City and a 1-hour pump boat ride. We saw the dark heavy clouds in the distance as we wait for our boat. We were afraid it would be raining when we get there. So when we finally saw the island from the distance, we were so glad that we were greeted with sun and blue skies. We stayed at the only resort in the island which is located on the other side of the “famous” sandbar. The beach was just amazing and kids spent most of the afternoon in the waters. We didn’t see much of the sunset because of the clouds but still it was nice to just sit out there and enjoy the view.
DAY 2: Most of us were awake by dawn and we went to the sandbar to see the sunrise. Unfortunately it was cloudy. But the fresh sea air and the amazing view made up for the disappointment. We got to walk the entire length of the sandbar because of the low tide. And then the rest of the morning was spent swimming and snorkelling on the other end of the island where the resort is, where there was hardly anyone there except for us. We found some amazing sea life, from starfish – blue and red – to sea urchins, to tiny crabs, and more. We also saw this part of the island’s sandbar slowly swallowed up by the tide.
This place is definitely worth coming back to and I will be much prepared!
Thank you for reading.
