Bantayan Island, Cebu

aguilaileen
Jun 12, 2015
2 min read

Always part of my bucket list, Bantayan Island left me still dazed with an extreme beach hangover to date. I was stunned with its summery surreal tropical scenery the first time I came across some snapshots at Laureen Uy's BMS blog about 2 years ago. I googled it and became so noseful that I read almost every blog pertaining to this paradise. A beach lover, I fell for its fine white sand and its serene unspoiled beach. Then I vowed myself to go, to set my own feet on, to walk by the shore with its compelling waves -- all, to my bucket list! Going to Bantayan Island straight from Mactan airport is a no no. Not unless, you wanted an air, land, and sea travel squeezed literally in one straight itinerary? Eh di wow. That would entail a lot of patience, good luck to you! It's a 4-hour bus ride to Hagnaya from Cebu City and 1.5-hour ferry ride to Sta. Fe port. How's that sound? But nonetheless, it's all damn worth it once you've set foot on this tropical place! Shoutout to Anika Beach Resort for making our stay more magnificent. I would definitely recommend Anika as they have one of the nice and cozy beachfronts. Erwin and I spent our time mostly outside the beach where the sound of crashing waves were softly ringing our ears and the hush of wind were touching our skins. And, of course, more of selfies and snapshots! Whew. One reason why I undeniably enjoy his company during trips like this is that we get to sit side by side in an identical silence while absorbing deeply the view and the calmness it brings. Plus, the place was not crowded, which added to the relaxing ambiance. Further, Bantayan Island serves as an access point to Virgin Island (I'll write a separate blog about it), another paradise with distinct white sand! It's just one boat ride away that lasts for 45 minutes. We have stayed here for 2 nights and yet it's not enough! On our last day, we got the chance to tour around the town via habal-habal. You can even rent your own at a fare price! It's just that we opted to hire one with a local driver simply because we were both scared of getting lost. We hopped on and went first to the famous "old church" as they called it. We were told that it's currently the oldest one in the Visayas and Mindanao region. Wooow! I found myself unfamiliar of the responses as the mass here were being facilitated in Cebuano language of course. Lastly, we drove to Bantayan town's public market to buy our pasalubongs -- danggit and pusit for the win! This market has a big stretch of various sellers of dried sea foods. It may sting inside though. People here were very nice. They easily noticed that we were "dayos" and happily accommodated and gave us concrete Tagalog info and instructions. Just by writing this, I am achingly fantasizing again another journey back to this peaceful paradise. Such a stunning place! So does a saying goes, "Take us back, please!".