San Pablo Island

Across the bay from Hinunangan is the twin islands of San Pedro and San Pablo. We have been to San Pedro, see post     San Pedro Island. 

School was out on Sept 1(end of Ramadan, I was informed), so Michael, Judson, Marlon and I spent an overnight at San Pablo Island.

We started at the water taxi pick up spot. Flor had already arranged with an operator the day before to take us over on Sept 1 and return on Sept 2. We had our bedding and clothes loaded up in plastic bags and boarded the boat. We waited a few minutes before leaving and then headed for San Pablo.

San Pablo is a coral island and is only 15 minutes boat ride from the mainland. I was informed there is no electricity on the island because the solar panels still need fixing. This is primitive camping at its best. The boat operator had dropped us off at the place we were spending the night. They have tents for rent if you want to use a tent. There are several places that have cottages and/or rooms that can be rented. There are some being built. Since we were the only customers there we had the choice which cottage we want to use. We deposited our gear at our cottage of choice and Marlon headed for the water. As always, the water was turquoise blue, and clear, so clear you can see the corals along with everything else at the bottom.

There is a pier at the location we rented that is good for jumping into the water and swimming.

JJ and Mike spent a lot of time swimming. Marlon spent most of the day in the water as well.

Along with swimming, there was a tidal pool area where the locals would spear octopus and gather shell fish.

The cottage provided a nice place to relax and watch the boats go by.

The beach was a good location to view the eastern shore of our part of Southern Leyte

Silago, Calag-itan, Pondol

Canipaan, Talisay, Bangcas, Hinunangan

Hinundayan

Anahawan

There was a building with showers, changing room, bathroom and cooking area. After a day of swimming, Flor started a fire and cooked supper.

While Flor was cooking, JJ and I went down the main drag to the Sari Sari store and bought some Coke.

After supper we went back out to the pier to enjoy sunset over Southern Leyte with the lights of Canipaan shining. Since sunset is about supper time, and this is the time a lot of people burn trash, the smoke in the air above Hinunangan was visible from San Pablo.

Earlier, Mike and I went gathering firewood. We thought about having a bonfire after supper but Marlon, for some reason, was having fun throwing some of the firewood onto the water and watching them being washed ashore by the waves. We ended up with just a little firewood left so we didn't have a bonfire. So we sat on the pier instead and watched the moon and the stars come out.

With the breeze from the ocean and the sound of the waves lapping on the coral shore, we slept under the moonlight. We were up before sunrise and headed down to the pier to watch the sunrise. Mike took pictures and played with the functions of the camera and tried to be artistic.

The caretaker told me she spends the night close by every time they have guests and she had hot water ready for us in the morning for our coffee. Around 6am the boat operator came by to tell us he'll be back at 9 to take us back to the mainland. Since we have art class and feeding for the children that afternoon, I asked him to wait for us while we gather our belongings so we can leave with him. When we arrived ashore at the mainland, people were already coming in to go to the islands for a day of fun. We got home to Talisay 7am sharp.

The water taxi was 1000 pesos (about $20) and the cottage was 600 pesos ($12). We took our own food and water. The Coke we bought at the Sari Sari was 60 peso (about $1.25) it's 10 pesos more on the island. There is a fenced in parking available for those who have vehicles and overnight parking at the water taxi area was 100 pesos (about $2). A very affordable overnight trip.

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