First Sunrise
I will make this blog as informative as possible since we ourselves relied on travel blogs alone. It’s a way of spreading the word. I do believe it’s worth it.
HOW TO GET THERE:
We took a Victory Liner bus headed to Iba – Sta. Cruz from the Caloocan terminal. I think both Caloocan and Sampaloc terminals have this trip. Bus fare is around P400. Buses leave the terminal on time so you have to be there 30 minutes before the schedule so your slot won’t be given away to chance passengers. Our bus trip took around 5 hours.
You can just ask the driver to drop you at Dawal. When you get to Dawal, take the street just across the waiting shed where you’ve been dropped off and walk your way until you see the shore. At the right side of the street you’ll see a house owned by our contact person, Ate Minda*. Her husband is a boatman who can take you to the island and have you pay P400 (roundtrip, for 5-6 persons). The boat ride will only take 5 to 10 minutes.
- with Mang Nunoy, the boatman
SUN BATH
When we got off the boat, we were greeted by the fine white sand. The sand felt like foam under our cold feet. It was perfect.
RATES: An overnight stay in the island costs P300/head, while a day-stay costs P100/head.
While they already have nipa hunts for rent on the island, we chose to pitch a tent by the beach. This made our whole stay more fun and intimate; and, of course, our expenses much minimized. We brought food, water and drinks (liquor, of course) that we need for our three-day stay.
This is Jay, pitching our tadpole tent by the beach.
It’s a good thing our tent is tadpole-type so it stood still even if the wind was so strong the whole three days we were there. It was just windy, though, there was not the slightest sign of rain.
Beer + Beach = HEAVEN
Potipot sand is perfect for skimboarding and the waves are just right for the activity.
Jay's new skimboard
Skiiiiiiim!
A meal plan is very important. In our case, we spent a couple of weeks planning our meals for our three-day stay in the island. This is to make sure we bring food and drinks just enough for the two of us to avoid excess baggage. Of course we would want to finally relieve our backs from the weight of our packs on our trip home.
Meal Plan for Day 1
We made sure to eat “real” food despite the inconvenience of cooking. We had fried tilapia for lunch and chicken adobo for dinner on our first day.
Kinawawang, este Adobong Manok
Jay cooked his special spaghetti on our second day in the island. Yum!
Chef Jay
I love you, Chef!
We had porkchop soaked earlier in a special marinade.
Nothing beats the feeling of chilling out by the beach, beer in hand, listening to the wind, the waves and the buzzing of bees. ( On our first day, though, a group was insensitive enough to play tracks from their iPod too loud using battery-powered speakers. KIDS, while people like you enjoy loud music at the beach, others travelled for five hours to prefer the serenity of the sounds of the waves over songs they hear in patok jeepneys in Manila everyday.)
Had the privelege to be bathed by Haring Araw
The beach is a perfect place to talk about the smallest of things you are too busy to even think about when you’re in the forest called Manila. It is indeed a perfect place to recharge.
The necessary jumpshot. Can't leave a place without doing this shot.
I must say that we really found the perfect place to pitch our tent. The place was well-shaded and two trees were perfectly positioned to put up a hammock.
Our humble abode
Siesta never felt this good.
SUNSET
We have to admit that the sunset is one of the highlights of a day at the beach. We love to take pictures of the scenery. Indeed, the sunset in Potipot is worth the wait and the precious camera battery.
Taken at the other side of the island where we went to catch the King as he sets.
The following shots were taken at the side of the island facing west. The place is perfect for photoshoots.
We took advantage of the great scenery and took pictures of ourselves with it.
Jay's signature pose
My staple jumpshot
Kissed the sun
Nightlife
Our two nights in the island were both fun-filled. We set up a bonfire and drank the night out. Who needs loud club music when you have the sound of the waves in the background?
Party mode
Sweet-sorrowful Last Day
This is the best getaway we’ve ever had so far. We will definitely go back to Potipot Island and we’ll sure tag lots of friends along.
Bye for now, Potipot.
We'll see you later.
We were fetched by Mang Nunoy at around 4:00 PM. Buses headed to Caloocan, Cubao and Pasay actually pass by the main road in Dawal. In our case, new-found friends invited us to go to a nearby town to go for a swim in a lake so we took a bus from there going to Olongapo.
Boat ride back to Dawal
*For those who are interested to camp out in Potipot and rent Mang Nunoy’s boat, you can contact Ate Minda through 0939-3233459.
