Basta Igat, Sikat! by MyMaria: digyo island

Cuatro Islas: A Summer Ender feat. Digyo Island & Mahaba Island Marine Sanctuary

One of the perks of living here in the province is the inexpensive access to nearby island paradises. I repeat, PARADISES. Plural. I have yet to visit the many neighboring islands of Leyte. There's still a lot out there near Biliran which I'll definitely feature in future blog posts. Again, I cannot stress this enough, how much I love living life out here! I am so not fit to live in some urban and concrete jungle. I count myself blessed at being able to explore and escape anytime I want to and arrive at a dream destination in an hour or so and not just during the summer season when it's crowded. It's like summer all year-round.

Speaking of summer, it is in fact almost over and so together with my high school friends, the Jurassics '99, we hopped on a 45-minute pumpboat ride out to Cuatro Islas specifically to Digyo Island then to Mahaba Island jumping off from Inopacan, Leyte. It's the town before the Hindang Caves & wild monkeys we visited and the 600-meter zip line we conquered last year.

A lot of my friends have been to Digyo Island but I haven't really had the chance to. Thank God for Memorial Day (Holiday for me!) I was able to spend a day off work and soak up the sun at Digyo. It was actually drizzling on our way there but then the sun came out and the weather was once again perfect.

Digyo - the little island with pristine white sand and a healthy marine ecosystem. Check out the mini sand bar.

We went there on a Tuesday so we basically had the island to ourselves, save for a quick trip by a group of DENR people. The pumpboat ride back and forth costs PHP3,500 plus PhP20 entrance per pax to Digyo. We also paid Php200 for the small cottage to give us shade. An overnight stay would cost PhP350 according to the person in charge of the collection fees. I think it'd be great to spend overnight during a full moon then watch the glorious sunrise the next morning.

I'm glad people are really taking care of the island to maintain its cleanliness. In my years of endless summers, I've been to islands that were initially so beautiful but ultimately ruined by people who don't care about the environment. Tsk tsk tsk. I was pretty touched by a foreigner that came with the DENR team who was surveying the island and she picked up bits and pieces of trash and plastic that she found on the beach. As tourists and visitors, I think we all should do little acts like that and do our part to preserve the environment. If you love summer, then you should love the environment as well. Else there won't be beautiful places to spend your memorable summers!

"I-Dawn Zulueta mo ako!!!"

Love isn't always hugs & kisses. It's knowing that you can fight and argue, try Vader's force choke or Dragon Ball's kamehameha, but sooner or later, say I LOVE YOU and forgive each other. ♥ -Ramen Girl & Noodle Boy

Our next stop was Mahaba Island which serves as a marine sanctuary and there we got a chance to frolic at a secret cove. It was like a scene from the Blue Lagoon, but better because there's network service and you could Instagram your location for the whole world to see!

Fun in the sun at Mahaba Island Marine Sanctuary.

We also went ahead and explored the interior of the island where we sought a unique crustacean specie, the elusive red shrimp! Live ones! Shrimps are only red when they're cooked but the ones we saw were fire red and swimming about like it was nobody's business.

A means of livelihood - copras from coconuts (where coconut oil comes from) - and the way to the hidden lagoon in the island where we discovered a new kind of shrimp species.

I don't know what these are called (locally or scientifically) and we weren't informed by our guide. :( All we know is that they won't come out unless you ask for "their" permission. The way it was said, I was assuming, the "others" that guard the lagoon and the spirits that dwell in that part of the island.

Okay, I admit it was kinda creepy out there and I felt shivers down my spine recalling the many suspense movies I've watched where a group gets killed off one by one during an expedition. (I know you guys have seen some of them typically-themed flicks, too!) Plus climbing those sharp rocks (corals?) really made my knees all wobbly and weak. Perhaps if I had worn Native Shoes, it would have been more comfortable and I wouldn't feel so freaked out. You know, keep it lite!

These Native shoes worn by Kryz Uy are so perfect for island getaways!
Photo from http://www.kryzuy.com

Which reminds me...

Anyways, since it was getting late and we had to drive for home, we skipped Himokilan Island and Apid Island. We ought to have stopped over for a bit and bought their infamous yummy dried fish that people say is better than Cebu's danggit. Well, maybe next time. I just know I'm going back soon because it's now definitely one of my favorite cheap and affordable island getaways in the Philippines. And it's more than awesome that it's not so far from home.