My friend and I were planning to visit Masbate to fulfill the promise that we made to someone. With the grace from God, we made the trip possible this April in time for the Holy Week. We boarded MV Indonesia of Trans-Asia shipping lines from the port of Cebu at 6PM and arrived in Masbate City at 9AM the following day.
Day 1 - Exploring the countryside
We went to the PUJ terminal and took a ride going to Milagros to visit the farm where our friend was staying. We enjoyed the rugged scenery, the silence, and fresh air.
Day 2 - Exploring Pawa Mangrove Nature Park and Masbate City
We started the day early and headed to Barangay Pawa to visit the Mangrove Nature Park and the bamboo footbridge. It started raining lightly but we did not mind it and proceeded with the trek with our habal-habal driver/tour guide named Tommy. The footbridge was currently under repair due to the damage done by typhoon Yolanda. The park is a 300 hectare mangrove plantation and the footbridge is 1.3 kilometers connecting Barangay Pawa and Sitio Daang Lungsod providing cheaper and easier access for residents especially for children in going to school.
We were back in the city proper for lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon going around. The day ended with tired feet and lots of pictures taken.
Day 3 - Buntod Reef and Marine Sanctuary and Villa Bayot
We had an early breakfast at Jollibee and went to Rendezvous Beach at 7AM where the boat fetched us going to Buntod Reef and Marine Sanctuary, which is 15-minutes away. The sanctuary was established in 2001 to protect the reef from rampant illegal fishing such as the use of dynamites. To go there, you can directly contact Mr. Romeo "Jojo" Soria Jr. with contact numbers 09074542004 (Smart) and 09267504114 (Globe). The boat ride cost us P500 back and forth. There was no entrance fee. We went snorkeling for P100 per person which included snorkeling gears (snorkel, goggle, life vest, and flipper) and guide. You can bring food and have it grilled there.
We left the sanctuary at 11AM and went back to the lodging house to check-out. We had tapsilog for lunch at Tio Jose and visited Villa Bayot before we proceeded to the port for our trip back to Cebu City.
One of the highlights of our trip was meeting our new friend, Almira. We met her in the PUJ terminal selling "pandikit" during our first day in the city. We were very happy to accidentally meet her again before we headed to the port for our trip back to Cebu.
Thank you Masbate, we surely enjoyed our stay and wish to go back soon for another visit.
