Places that warm my heart Part 2: Danjugan Island

So yesterday, I was in Burlington with friends and after dinner, when we all stepped out of the building, guess what we discovered? It was snowing. It's been over a week since Spring officially started in Canada and everyone here is really thankful for the warmer, sunnier weather, but yesterday, I realized that we were not really there yet. While we all wait to get "there", I'm going to show you another place in the Philippines that warms my heart whenever I think of it.

Danjugan Island, Negros Occidental, Philippines

When my friends and I were just planning for our Bacolod trip in October last year, I was determined to find a nice beach in Negros Occidental that we can visit after attending the Masskara Festival (so that we can relax after two days of partying). During that search, I didn't just find a nice beach, but a beautiful island called Danjugan Island. A lot of you have probably never heard of Danjugan (pronounced as dan-hoo-gan). It's a private island owned by the PRRCFI (Philippines Reef and Rainforest Conservation Foundation, Inc.). It's not some secret island that's hard to find or an exclusive resort, which can only be visited by the rich. They're just not big in publicity and only a few travel bloggers and news sites have talked about it.

Now, I'm letting you into a secret -- the place is paradise.

Logistics
From Bacolod, Negros Occidental:

1. Go to the Ceres Liner terminal on Ceres Road, then take a bus to Bulata, Cauayan.

The trip can take up to more than four hours, so if you want to get to Danjugan Island early, leave Bacolod early too. The first bus trip to Cauayan, I think, is at 2:15AM. Check Ceres Liner's Facebook page to get an idea of their bus schedule. Also, make sure to mention to the conductor that you're heading to Cauayan to get to Danjugan, so that they can let you know where to get off.

2. Once you reach Cauayan, you just have to ask anyone how to get to the shore because that's where you'll meet the boatman who will take you to Danjugan. Since Cauayan is a small town, as it is in every small town in Pinas, everyone knows each other, so you won't have a hard time looking for the person. Someone from the PRRCFI will text you all the details that you need to know to get to Danjugan before your trip, including the boatman's name.

Danjugan may not have the appeal of the pristine white beaches in other parts of Visayas, but it has everything nature has to offer: a moving beach, five lagoons, a bat cave, lush forests, and a rich marine and terrestrial biodiversity. That's why it's frequented by marine biologists and students who want to learn more about life under the sea.

My friend's work colleague, who is from Bacolod, actually suggested that we visit another beach instead of Danjugan because "it's not really that beautiful" according to him. When we arrived on the island, we were all like, "Is he kidding?" To be honest, we almost changed our minds after hearing the comment, because we thought the locals would know better than us, BUT WE WERE REALLY THANKFUL we pursued our plans! I guess those who are used to white beaches don't find it that beautiful, but for those who like to learn and experience things (and I am all about learning and experiencing), it's Paraiso.

look at all the mangroves!

Mang Ruben, our tour guide, welcomed us with a bright smile, even though he's already missing most of his teeth (hehe)... 

Mang Ruben teaching us how to pose! He didn't know we took photos of him! haha!

We also received a warm welcome from this eel! "Hello and welcome," he said!

BTW, Mang Ruben is 72 years old. But don't underestimate him. He can walk faster than us without panting! After 30 minutes of touring the island, we were already tired. Hay Lord, it's such a shame! My friend Joyette was very tired that she didn't notice a low-hanging branch in front of her and it hit her hard in the forehead! LOL.

Mang Ruben...

always...

walking...

ahead...

of us! Hehe.

Mang Ruben is very nice. He has a rich knowledge of the island and the different species that exist there. And he has lots of stories, too! He knows how to use digital cameras and frame the photo properly (using rule of thirds, mind you). He even taught us how to pose for photos! He's hilarious! (I noticed that no one has ever mentioned him on blogs and in articles written about Danjugan and I wonder why. Meeting him is one of the highlights of our trip, so I want to make sure he's highlighted in this post!)

I asked Mang R. if he ever gets tired of his job, walking around the island and touring guests almost every day. He said not really. But he did mention about some guests who didn't want to be in the same tour group as the other guests, so there were times when he had to do the tours several times a day (touring the whole island takes more than one hour of walking), which would make him a bit exhausted (a bit lang daw).

When we visited, there were no other guests on the island -- so it was like we owned it! Mang Ruben's and the staff's undivided attention was entirely on us. How cool is that? ;) We were also given the best cabana; the one nearest the sea! So here's my tip, if you come during off-peak season and on a weekday, there's a big chance that you'll be the only guests.

This is where we slept... 

talk about glamping (glamorous camping)

There's no power on the island (only solar power to run the lights), so the cabanas are wide open for proper ventilation. There are tarpaulins, though, that you can let down when it gets too windy/ chilly at night, or if you need more privacy.

my bed and the kulambo

Pretty, right? We all had a good sleep! I don't know why, but the sound of the beach waves and the crickets (and the tuko) always put me into a deep, phase 4 kind of sleep! 

Joyette fast asleep

trying my best not to fall asleep

In the future, they'll start allowing guests to stay in the mud houses (yes, they're made of real mud).

On our first day there, we toured the whole island, climbed its highest peak, snorkelled, and kayaked to the moving beach. I was having problems with my mouthpiece when we were snorkelling and had swallowed lots of salt water, but still enjoyed the experience because of the wonderful life I saw underwater! I would have loved to take photos underwater, but I didn't have an underwater cam.
The moving beach is a secluded part of the island, where you can take nice pictures. We were rolling on the sand because no one could see us anyway! Just be careful of sand ticks. Aldrin and I got bitten by the ticks and we didn't realize it until the next day. (The insect bites were so itchy and didn't heal right away that I had to ask my doctor to prescribe me a topical cream for it when I came back to Canada. Lesson learned: Don't roll on the sand. Haha!)

By the way, it's called the moving beach because it's never in the same spot for the duration the year. Its location depends on the tides.

Aldrin fixing my hair for a photo. Haha!

Who's the photobomber?

We saw so many creatures as well (some we have never seen before), like a purple tree-climbing crab, big sea urchins, starfishes, the very cute sea cucumbers, eels, all sorts of fishes, bats (lots of them), an eagle, and a Tabon bird. Actually, Joyette and I didn't see the infamous Tabon bird, but Aldrin swore that he saw it. There were also baby sharks, they told us, but we didn't see them. I don't know how we would have reacted if we ever saw them! Haha!

We rose early on the second day, around four or five in the morning, to watch the sunrise. We walked all the way to the other side of the island, where Mang Ruben was staying, only to find out from him that the sun rises on the other side! We were kinda disappointed, but it was a good, early morning exercise anyway.

Because we enjoyed kayaking very much,  we did it again the next day. We kayaked in the lagoon till noon and didn't even notice the time! It was that fun. 

Before we left the place to head back to Bacolod, we were served brunch. We were very happy about the service and hospitality given to us by all the staff, especially Mang Ruben, so we tipped everyone. (Please do tip if you're happy with the service. I'm not saying this because I got used to tipping in Canada, but they really do deserve it.)

We really enjoyed our stay on Danjugan Island, especially that I really like nature trips. The trip was very memorable. I, personally, would like to come back one day. Danjugan Island is nature at its best. Definitely one of the 7,000 reasons to be happy in the Philippines! :) 

(Note: The Philippines is made of more than 7,000 islands, thus, we Filipinos like saying that there are 7k reasons to be happy in our land.)

If you want to visit Danjugan, visit PRRCFI's website for information and rates. For our overnight stay, we paid Php2750 each (more or less CAD70). That already includes fees for the accommodation for one night, food, tour guide, boat transfers, kayak rental, snorkelling gear and guide. A portion of the payments also goes to their conservation fund, your contribution for the protection of the marine reserves and sanctuaries! Everyone's welcome to visit, but since it's a marine reserve, there's strictly a "no littering" policy and everyone's requested to conserve water by using just one pale of water per day -- just small things we can do for Mother Nature. :)