Day 5 – May 1, Monday

Asis and I strolled to the nearby beach from our Airbnb at the crack of dawn, hopeful to catch the sunrise, but heavy clouds just covered it. We then decided to visit the not-so-secret Secret Beach (also known as Guiwan Beach) and spent an hour there, chilling. It was cool ‘cause we had the whole place to ourselves – like we owned the beach. Afterward, we returned to freshen up and gathered our belongings for the land tour. We grabbed coffee and breakfast first in General Luna before hitting the road around 9 am; our destination was Del Carmen to visit Sugba Lagoon. However, we ended up making several stopovers because the scenery was just beautiful.

We opted for a private boat rental to ensure we could leave the lagoon whenever we wanted. Surprisingly, the boat journey to and from the lagoon ended up taking more time than our actual stay. I didn’t mind, though, as I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. However, the place didn’t live up to my expectations – no food stores or additional facilities, just a two-story floating hut with its infamous diving board and docks. The area was crowded with tourists, making it challenging to find a place to sit.

By around 2 pm, we arrived at Pacifico Beach, and let me tell you, the sight of the pristine blue sea and the waves was truly breathtaking. We enjoyed a late lunch in the area. Although we didn’t take a swim, we just took in the moment. Later, we passed by Magpupungko, hoping we could see the tidal rock pools, but unfortunately, it was still high tide. We also made a stop at the Coconut Trees View Deck and snapped more photos. The weather was really unpredictable that day – from cloudy to sunny, and just when we were heading back home, it started raining, only to clear up again. To top off our adventurous land trip, a rainbow appeared just as we approached our Airbnb!

Taking a breather before heading out again for dinner in General Luna, we couldn’t help but notice a drastic change in our skin color – we were pretty much toasted! Anyway, at 6 pm, we grabbed coffee again and then headed to a Thai restaurant for dinner. Afterward, we returned to the secret beach because earlier in the day, we had spoken to one of the local boatmen who suggested checking out the bioluminescent plankton and fireflies at night. Despite feeling tired from the earlier land trip, we were determined to push through. Honestly, the idea of a boat tour at night had me feeling uneasy. Navigating through the darkness, moving away from the shore, and getting closer to the mangroves — it was downright terrifying. Bahala na.

There were three of us in this small boat. As Kuya shared stories and rowed closer to the mangroves, we spotted a few fireflies. It took a moment for our eyes to adjust to the darkness, but soon enough, we could see plenty of them. To catch a better glimpse of them, you needed to move even closer to the mangroves. But nope, Asis and I were good, so we didn’t go further. Kuya also tried to show us the bioluminescent plankton, but there were so few that I had a hard time seeing them. He mentioned it wasn’t the best time to view them due to the frequent rain during our stay. So yuuup, we headed back to the shore after 30 minutes because it was getting chilly, and we could hear thunder approaching.

It turned out to be quite an adventure, a unique way to kick off the first day of May – an exhausting yet unforgettable journey. Definitely one for the books.