Islanders for a Day: Island Living at Bolobadiangan Is., Concepcion, Iloilo

Part 1/3: E la voce di Dio (or The misadventures caused by the voice of my god)

The end of October is usually meant for a reenergizing lakwatcha since the semester has only ended and the next is just few days away. Originally, I was scheduled to go to Lake Sebu via GenSan (General Santos City, South Cotabato), but it did not push through. The long and short of it is that I missed my flight because I overslept—to think that my flight is at 12.35 pm! (I’ll have to write a separate blog entry on this adventure).   Oh well, as my friend said, è la voce di Dio (it’s the voice of God).

Lake Sebu, where I was supposed to go
Photo from lakesebuphilippines.blogspot.com

 Maybe my god has other plans for me. It was not easy to learn of this plan though. I stayed at the airport for about three hours thinking of where to go. I could have bought a new ticket to GenSan or Davao had the ticket not cost me an arm and a leg. I have a few places in mind but could not decide where to finally spend four days. I was already in lakwatcha mode, so to speak, and all I was certain about is that I needed to have a vacation after all the stress of checking jillions of papers. I badly needed it to clear my mind, unload it of unhealthy thoughts and ready it for the coming mental stress of the next semester.

I thought of going back to Bagasbas in Daet, Camarines Norte to surf and finally go to Calaguas Island. I texted my college friends if they want to join me, but when they knew that we have to leave on that very same day, they said they’ll take a rain check. I don’t blame them. Only a crazy person like me will take that trip. Then I thought about going to Sagada but gave up on it since my friends and I have an annual pilgrimage to it in December. Then I thought of the 16 islands of Concepcion, Iloilo and imagined myself letting time pass listening to waves and marveling at the vastness of the sea and the night sky. I suddenly realized how I desperately longed for the calmness of the sea.

Now, Iloilo is unlike any other city for me. It holds a special corner in my heart, and when I think of going there, there is always a struggle between going and not going. A special consideration should be made; otherwise, the lakwatcha trip is a disaster waiting to happen.

My friends' prodding to go to Iloilo instead of Bagasbas (I already called the bus liner to inquire about their trips to Daet) gave me confidence to finally purchase that golden ticket. But my god would not make it easy for me. The ticket to Iloilo cost more than that of GenSan or Davao. I went to another airline and its staff said all flights for the day were fully booked, and I could not just afford the cost of the next earliest flight.

What I finally did was to book the earliest flight to Bacolod and go to Iloilo via a two-hour ferry ride. Fortunately, I could afford the ticket even though it’s still a bit pricey. Talk about will power.

Iloilo, Finally

I’ll skip my Bacolod adventure for now and write a separate entry on that. I was in Iloilo City in the morning of Oct. 28, but I scheduled my trip to Concepcion the next day so I can take a rest and jog at Iloilo Boulevard in the afternoon (I’m training for a full marathon in March so I can’t miss a run).

Balay Ilonggo inside UP Visayas in Iloilo City

Across Balay is UPV's Main Library, which is formerly the City Hall

The next day, I went to Tagbak Bus Station in Jaro at around 9 am. From Balay Ilonggo at UP Visayas, where I stayed for the night, I rode a jeepney going to Leganes. Fare is P12.00. At the terminal I rode the HPQ bus, which is the only one going to Concepcion. It is not an air-conditioned bus but I did not mind because I expected that the air is fresh and clean, so fresh and clean that I could not help myself falling asleep during the trip (my friends have a nickname for me: troso).

I awoke at Ajuy, the town before Concepcion. It is mainly a farming community with nipa huts dotting the vast fields every now and then. There’s a row of big concrete houses though and they stick out like a sore thumb. As expected, one of these belongs to a local official as announced by a tarpaulin outside its gates.

I arrived at Concepcion town proper past 12 noon and went straight to its Tourism Office since I only know a few things about the town. No need to ride a traysikad or a motorcycle because it’s just a few meters away from the bus stop. Good thing that even though it was a Saturday there were people in the office. There I met Jim Pendon, Concepcion’s Tourism Officer. He was in his house clothes (it’s a Saturday, anyway) with two other people cutting colorful paper flowers. They were preparing for a sports fest in the town the following week.

I told Jim of my original plan, which was to stay at the town proper for the night and head to the sandbar at Bolobadiangan Island in the morning. Jim suggested I stay at Jun Bee, a restaurant and lodge a few meters away. He said it has a swimming pool but that I could not swim in its beach. I then asked for other beach resort and he mentioned Iyang, some 300 meters away. It has cottages with basic amenities at P300 a night. I’ll take it, I said, if only for the beach.

Then we scheduled a pick-up the next day. I told him I want to catch sunrise in the island. He said okay and went on to text someone for the boat rental. Jim went outside probably to talk to a boatman when another tourism officer arrived. His name is Ricky Galvan, who is in charge of transportation. He is the one who coordinates boat rentals for island transfers and tours.

When he heard of my plan, he said that it would be difficult for the boatmen since catching the sunrise means that I have to be at the Sandbar at around 5 am, which in turn means that the boat should pick me up at 4.30 the latest. This means that the boatmen, who will come from a different island, should get up at around 3 am. There’s nothing wrong with getting up that early, he said. What worries him is that it is still dark and it will be dangerous for the boatmen to sail at that hour. He suggested instead for me to spend the night at the Sandbar already. Sounds like a good plan as well. In that way, I can catch the sunset that afternoon and the sunrise the following morning in the island. Sounds like a good plan, indeed.

Part of Town Plaza

 I told Ricky I wanted to see the town first before I head to the island, so he scheduled for the boat to pick me up at around 4pm and at 9am the following day going back to Concepcion. Everything was set then. Or so I thought.


*Photos taken by me, unless stated otherwise.