Underrated Kawit, Medellin

Image | March 21, 2017March 21, 2017 | i am laagan

This is not a post about Funtastic or Gibitngil Island. This is about the often overlooked stretch of beach where you board a banca going to that island.

I have scoured the internet for places to go to in Medellin. And 100% of those i checked on the first few pages on Google Search talk about Funtastic island, which really is a nook in Gibitngil island. There is almost nil article about the coastline of Medellin itself, which boasts of white sand and turquoise waters that could rival Bantayan’s Sta. Fe.

I get it. People who go north would rather go to Bantayan. Or Malapascua. And people who visit Medellin go straight to Gibitngil. It’s precisely the reason why little notice has been afforded to the beautiful coastline of Kawit, Medellin. People go where the mob goes and miss this grm.

For one, the beach is better than Badian and Moalboal. The sand could equal Bantayan’s to be honest. It has a wide shoreline for playing beach games or sun bathing if you want a tan. The water is clear and blue and most of all it’s not shallow on low tide and has none of the seagrass to pester your swimming.

The important bit is, it’s a public beach! You do not need to pay anything. The shoreline is long and you can pick your spot under a tree. There is one resort that pops up on google search but the rest are low-key (some don’t even have a name) owned by locals which means rooms are cheap if you wanna go overnight. A tent for the more budget conscious might help too.

I feel sorry for Kawit. The beach deserves more attention than other public beaches down south are getting. But in a way, I’m quite glad it hasn’t been noticed as much. It would push prices up. I’m sorry South beaches, I just found a new favorite. And I heard there’s another public beach in Medellin. Gotta get back soon.

WHERE WE STAYED

I have been on a hunt for public beaches around for quite a while and Kawit’s is one of the best I’ve been to. We stayed at a resort called Kawit Paradise Beach Resort. Nothing fancy – a few rooms and just a few tables under trees, no food served though you can always buy from the nearby public market. We paid an entrance fee – 30 pesos per head and another hundred for a table and long benches. We weren’t planning to stay for the night.We could have just chosen a nice spot somewhere for free but decided to rent a table under a Talisay tree because we didn’t bring anything to grill the fish and pork we bought at the local market. And we needed a place to take a bath before going back to the city. Even if I were alone, 130 bucks is still worth it because we had the whole beach to ourselves save a few locals on another table enjoying their Sunday with the kids.

We stayed there the whole day and that’s all we paid! A non-airconditioned room at the resort costs 800 pesos.it has a bed and there’s no need to pay extra up to 5 people. Quite decent to be honest. A backpacker’s choice if you must. If you need additional mattresses though, you might have to add.

Expenses (excluding food):

Fare from North Bus Terminal to Kawit Public Market (one way – 170 (aircon); 130 (non-aircon)

Entrance Fee (Kawit Paradise Beach Resort) – 30

Table Rent – 100

Tip: Buses going back to the city may be full if your boarding late in the afternoon. Chances are you’re gonna have to stand on the bus aisle the whole trip like we did. You might wanna cut your trip by disembarking at Bogo City bus terminal and boarding another bus from there.

Lambug Beach, Badian: I Still Go Back

Image | March 14, 2017March 14, 2017 | i am laagan

I’ve been to Lambug Beach in Badian so many times I’ve lost count. It still is a favorite place to get away from the city. It’s a no frills zone. Nothing fancy but a white sand beach that’s too shallow for swimming on low tide but doesn’t necessarily disappoint on high tide. It’s not the best beach around but people like me seem to be drawn back to its shore. I haven’t thought of it really but now it’s clear to me why. It gives me the peace of mind I’m looking for in a beach. It’s well secluded, not too many people and hanging out under the shade of a coconut tree til one falls asleep appeals to me. I have probably spent more hours napping there than swimming and that’s okay. When the tide rises, a dip is enough to make the 3-hour bus travel worthwhile. I will always go back to Lambug. It has no pretentious resorts. And the locals understand that’s what people go there for – some peace and quiet without caring much of the spend meter.

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Love

Image | October 29, 2016November 2, 2016 | i am laagan

“Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion, it is not the desire to mate every second minute of the day, it is not lying awake at night imagining that he is kissing every cranny of your body. No, don’t blush, I am telling you some truths. That is just being “in love”, which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident.” ―Louis de Bernières

That Cangcua-ay Beach on Instagram

Image | October 25, 2016October 25, 2016 | i am laagan

It’s been a month or so since I’ve gone to the beach. I’m not much of a planner. Sometimes, not planning doesn’t go well. Often however, it works just fine with me. I tend to lower expectations when I go out. And going somewhere unplanned, you don’t really have much to expect. Except that you’d hope the sun shines and wherever you find yourself in, it will be worth the time.

We boarded the bus down South of Cebu a few Sundays ago at dawn, having decided a day before to visit Oslob. It wasn’t clear where exactly we’d end up until we were seated inside the bus. Beach was the plan.

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After a quick breakfast at the town’s public market, we headed down to The Ruins, also known as Cuartel, after a short walk around the church. Oslob’s church is pretty from the outside and you’d wonder how it must have looked like inside before it caught fire years ago. There was also a mini museum nearby where vintage memorabilia dating back to the Spanish years are on display.

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Oslob is a sleepy town. Every now and then, one would notice tourists walking around who must have just dropped by on their way or after the more popular activity in town, swimming with the whale sharks.

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I’ve ticked off swimming with whale sharks years back, so we’re sticking to the original plan – the beach. And we found one along the highway after asking around where that popular Cangcua-ay beach is. Yeah, that one that’s making its rounds in Instagram for quite some time now. We hopped on a bus and dropped off along the national highway where a few resorts were lined up.

The cheaper option, I believe, from the resorts in the area was the one we chose. Entrance fee is 120 pesos per head with no extra fee for a cottage. I find the resort’s name very generic and one might have a hard time finding it in google. Cangcua-ay Private Beach Resort, that’s how they call it. The problem with that name is Cangcua-ay is the name of the whole area where all the resorts are. But I’d assume bus drivers are familiar with the name so it’s best to tell them where to be dropped off.

The good thing was, there weren’t a lot of people when we arrived. A team, probably working at a call center, was prepping to go home after an overnight stay. All in all, I think there were only 4 cottages that were occupied. It was a weekend so we were expecting alot more people but ended up having the beach all to ourselves. We didn’t get to have that similar photo on the beach with a pink floater. We could have borrowed from the next cottage who had one but were too shy to ask.

The water was crystal clear. That’s a given when you go to beaches down South. It’s a ten-minute walk down to the cottages. Be prepared for some walking down steep stairs. It’s twice the effort going up but I didn’t really mind.

Here are some Cangcua-ay snaps. I man the camera so the guy on the photo is definitely not me. Haha.