As part of out trip to the Burias Group of Islands was the side trip to Alibijaban Island of Quezon Province. From Snake Island, it was almost an hour travel time to reach Alibijaban Island.
While cruising the bay, the island became visible and got nearer and nearer. As we approached the island, we happened to pass by a nice beach and our boatman told us that it was a public beach. We didn’t stop there because they will be taking us to a private beach.
On our way to the private beach, we saw mangrove forests in the area. It’s nice to know that the presence of these healthy mangroves is a sign of a rich marine ecosystem around the area. The surrounding beach as well offers a crystal clear water and fine white sand.
We arrived at the private beach and docked near a fenced private lot. There were lots of trees in the area. Mangroves are growing everywhere; there were new growths and there were old dying ones. Some of our companions immediately hopped on the beach upon arrival but for us, before we explored the area, we ate our lunch first since it’s almost mid-day and we’re hungry.
When we’re done, we went to a cottage nearby built on one of the mangroves. You need to walk towards the water then take the steps reaching the bamboo stairs and eventually walk above the bamboo bridge connecting the cottage from the stairs. The water in the area was deep and around the roots of the mangroves were thousands of fingerlings circling. I am amazed when I saw it there. I really went down and tried to take pictures. Anyway, I didn’t disturb them. I merely went down slowly, just letting them pass near me.
After a while, our boatmen told us that there is a river nearby. I remembered a friend of mine told me on that so I immediately asked our boatman to guide us there. We walked towards the trees and in just a few meters away is the silent river flowing towards the sea.
It had crystal clear water and the current is quite strong that time since it’s low tide. It had a quaint and quiet surrounding that it’s nice to relax and just be lazy in spending the afternoon there. We tried to swim and took photos at the riverbanks; we really had fun.
Nearby, we saw an old mangrove tree with few branches in it. I attempted to climb the branch and pose. It had a very nice view together with the blue skies and white clouds. The green contrast and the white sand added to the beauty of the background. Oh well, we have enjoyed the stunts we played on the tree.
Since it’s almost 2pm, we had to go back to the Port of San Andres. We went back to our boat and left Alibijaban Island. In just 15 minutes travel time, we arrived at the port and went straight to the terminal building. We fixed our things and look for shower rooms to rinse and refresh. When we’re all done, we left San Andres, Quezon Province for Makati City in just seven hours travel time including our dinner stopover in Lucena City.
It’s nice to visit a place where there is lesser crowd. I may just say it’s nice to go to a place less traveled. There are lots of surprises waiting and that’s what makes the experience a memorable one.
Been here: July 21, 2016
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