Make sure to wear your step-ins

Yes?

Hammocks are everywhere

Rock formations in Dampalitan are also perfect for picture taking

Even before the movie started, we have already shared about our travel plans and what not for the coming vacations.

And as the movie ended, we unexpectedly realized that we share the same interest and enthusiasm towards travelling.

More so, thanks to the movie, we even realized that we want to really make them happen this year

We started off with planning for a “Valentine’s Day Celebration” which fell on a Saturday, the following weekend.

To make this journey even more exciting we decided to have a sort of “checklist” of places which we will aim to crash out in the coming vacations.

A travel website made our lives easier as this featured a list of nearby places in Metro Manila which wanderlusts and budget-conscious travelers may want to include in their list. Check Pinoy Adventurista

So first in our checklist after several deliberations was -- Burot Beach, an island hidden in the peaceful town of Calatagan, Batangas. And as described by some bloggers: Burot Beach has a stretch of semi-fine cream sand beach kissed by calm waters, beautiful rock formations and dotted with trees. It is one of the nice beaches near Metro Manila, and a favorite destination among weekenders and those who seek for a quick weekend getaway. It's raw and rugged charm is truly inviting. 

And tadaaaa!!! This is where our journey began...

So Saturday came, February 14, 2015 - Heart’s Day as they say. We woke up past 04:00 in the morning, and finished packing and prepping for our travel at around 06:00AM. Then, we left Quezon City going to our first destination which was the bus terminal at Coastal Mall bound to Calatagan.

Since it was a weekend, it only took us an hour to reach Coastal Mall -- where Celyrosa (ordinary) buses are stationed. The bus fare costs 140 pesos. So at around 07:00AM we were able to rode the bus and left Metro Manila

The route was exactly the same going to Tagaytay. So you better be ready with your jackets or malong or scarf or anything which would keep you warm as you pass by Tagaytay.

We arrived in Calatagan proper at around 11:15AM. The place was like a typical rural area where you can find a public market, a multipurpose covered court, and a number of tricycle for hire. Not to mention, the tricycle drivers were all aggressive and willing to help the moment you alight the bus.


We already contracted a tricycle driver beforehand. It was Manong Johnny (09212779015), we found him online offering for a friendly ride to Burot -- the fare costs 200 pesos (As I remember that day). But it was Manong Rudy who fetched us in the terminal because he said Manong Johnny was busy that day. However, a friend whom we met in the island told us that they got their service for only 150 pesos -- which is actually the right price as I recall. (Oh well, hindi naman namin ikakayaman ang singkwenta pesos)

Anyway, Burot Beach was a 25-minute ride from Calatagan proper. The trip was like a roller coaster ride and the “scenic view” along the road was so relaxing and uplifting as you can smell the breeze from a palayan -- or see tall green grasses at the edge of the rough road.

A few meters away from the beach is a gate where we had to pay 20 pesos which serves as environmental fee in exchange for a black garbage bag and the list of house rules. As we arrived at the entrance of the beach, we already saw a number of colorful tents standing on the long stretch of the island.

There, we paid the entrance fee and the tent fee to the security personnel of Burot, as we arrived at the beach. The entrance fee costs 130 pesos per head for an overnight stay, and we need to pay additional 30 pesos tent fee for setting-up our own tent. (If you plan to stay overnight and you do not have your own tent, a tent rental will cost you 400 pesos.

You can freely set up your tent anywhere. The beach is overlooking at any spot. Tip: Better choose a spot where you can make friends. After setting up our tent for 8 minutes (Yahoo!) we ate our brunch since it's already noon time. We packed our baon to minimize the expenses -- we brought rice, hotdogs, burger patties, breads, easy-open canned goods,chips, bottled waters and disposable utensils. If you prefer to have light baggage, don't worry because there's a sari-sari store in the island, only that, all items are doubled the price.

It's low tide in the morning, and the water level starts to rise during sunset.

While in Burot, you can enjoy a boat ride or a floating cottage. The boat ride will bring you to three underwater attractions which our bangkero and the locals called: White Sand, Starfish and Coral reefs. Meanwhile, we were not able to experience the floating cottage.

The boat ride is a P540-trip. One of the bangkeros we talked to said that the trip is actually good for a group of 5, at the minimum. Since it was only the two of us, we were advised to look for another 3 people who will join us in the trip. Luckily, we found 3 couples who were out and about to ride the boat and who wholeheartedly accommodate us (Yay! Medyo OP lang.)

It was 02:30PM, we put our life vests on and off we go!


First stop: White Sand. The water was slightly colder than the water near the shore. The water was more disturbed on this part of the sea. There was a lot of waves and along with it is a school of sea urchins, which might sting you at any moment. So our bangkero advised us not to go further and not to stay for so long underwater.

So this spot is divided into two parts: the white sand part and the deep water. The white sand portion was like a long stretch of a 20-step wide sand flooring, where you can walk and enjoy taking photos projecting the entirety of the sea. The sand was just white but not that fine. The gradient of the sea was so fascinating, the wind, was so strong, the view was a so wide horizon which would make you feel empty, relaxed and peaceful.

So you cannot definitely swim on the white sand, go to the deep water if want to take a deep.

Next stop: Starfish. The water got even colder and deeper (like about 3 ft. high). To better appreciate the starfish underwater, you will need a pair of goggles. Goggles were also available for rent at P40. Here, you really have to make sisid the starfish at the sea floor. There's a lot of these colorful sea creatures, scattered at the sea floor. You can pick them up and see how their tiny tentacles move inside and out from the bottom of the shell. Be sure to bring them back to the water. You are not allowed to take them back to the shore!


Final destination: Coral reefs. Put again those goggles on and enjoy diving into the deep water to witness the majestic coral formations and marine animals! Though it is not as astounding and rich compared to the marine sanctuaries in Palawan, but still you will still enjoy the beauty that's hidden under. Clown fish and (baby sharks?) are all over, however, it's best to wear rash guard or a wet suit to keep you from those invisible-mild-stinging-creatures in the water. For those who doesn't know how to swim but eager to see the corals and the fishes -- life jackets are provided just hold on to the "katig" of the boat and then sink your head underwater. Among all the spots, I think this was the best part if only we had more time. 

All in all the boat ride was fun! We love Burot even more because of these beautiful attractions. Plus, we got to make friends! Our new found friends were a very cool couple, Jack and Jov, who decided to spend their Valentine's day away from the glamorous restaurants and high-end hotels. According to them, they wanted that day to be simple but full of excitement. Jack was a travel enthusiast according to Jov, and she was the one who found Burot Island in one of the blogs.

We spent the rest of the afternoon with this couple. Both of them were very intelligent and we really had a very sensible conversation with them throughout the afternoon, while Jov was grilling hotdogs and fish for dinner. The sun is about to set, the sky was like burning up because of the sundown, and the sun slowly disappeared from the horizon. It was...uh-mazing! Everybody was like breathless.
And so they even invited us to eat with them over dinner and until lunch the following day.
Our Burot trip had been so much fun and memorable because of these two. It's really more fun to meet new people as you travel, because you will never know how amazing the experience can be with these people.

After dinner, we wash ourselves up in the shower area of the beach. There was no electricity in the area and so in the shower rooms, so better be ready with flashlight. The shower rooms were not properly maintained, but the water from the faucet is overflowing. You just have to be "madiskarte" on how to make yourself comfortable inside the shower room and patient enough while waiting in the long queue of people.

And so were fresh and ready to sleep. To keep us warm, we decided to have a bonfire. A bundle of firewood is available for sale at P200 and the bonfire guy will lit them for you. The bonfire was worth it if it's your first time, but then, nothing beats a good/fun conversation with your friends and some music before capping the day,

That ends our Day 1.

It was a rainy night. Luckily, we didn't get wet! Though it even made the night more cuddle-some (Haha in our dreams) So we really had to put on our jackets and cover ourselves with blankets just to keep us warm. We were able to get a good sleep that night, enough for us to recharge for the following day.

We waited for Mr. Sunny to appear early that morning, but we fail to see him. At around 07:00AM, we woke up, stretched a bit and off we stroll the shore that morning. It was gloomy, low tide again, boats were anchored along the shore, a fishing boat is about to sail and the sun was not yet up.

New visitors have arrived, setting their tents up, while those who stayed overnight were cooking and preparing for breakfast.

We went to the other side of the beach, took up-close shots of the entire blue sea, and took more photos of ourselves with the different rock formations.

Some group of friends were also taking photos on that spot, others were taking selfies, while some were already dipping into the water (We even heard one screamed "Ang lamiiiig!")

The rising sun was overlooking from where we were, and so we were still able to witness Mr. Sunny that morning.

We ate our breakfast at the beach and stayed until lunch time. We decided not to swim anymore that morning due to the inconvenience of washing up. So we just spent the last few hours of our stay in Burot sharing stories again with our NFF (New Found Friends) Jack and Jov and make friends with another group of people playing volleyball just right in front of our tents. That morning was fun-filled and stress-relieving.



The beach was more vibrant that day, even more relaxing and astounding. We left the beach with somehow tired muscles and a bit of painful backs and so on, but on top of these, we were refreshed, we enjoyed and we were relieved from our own anxieties.

On our way back, we informed Manong Rudy, our contact tricycle driver, the time he would fetch us. And so he arrived at exactly 11:47AM, Jack and Jov joined our ride and together we went back to Manila.

We met a bus going to Manila along the road, even before reaching Calatagan proper. You might experience the same on your way back. WARNING: The bus kept on picking up passengers along the way and even stopped for some time at bus stops to wait for possible passengers. This made our travel time much much longer -- I think it took us 6 hours before we reached Metro Manila. Better yet, ride the bus at Calatagan proper. The fares were just the same. And the bus will also stop at Coastal Mall.