I woke up at 4:30 a.m. lying on the beach. I was stargazing the previous night and was too lazy and tired to get to the hut. It’s not often I get to sleep on a beach on a starry night.
I went to the hut, got my camera and set it up for the sunrise. It looked like I had luck in capturing the sunrise here than in Puraran, Catanduanes or Caramoan, Camarines Sur.
Then I realized we were at the western side of Tinaga Island. Darn! I won’t be able to capture the sun as it rises at the horizon. As a consolation, I was able to capture the varied hues of dawn.
Our sleeping companion at the beach
At 6 a.m., while my cousin was still fast asleep, I took a dip at the turquoise waters of Mahabang Buhangin where I stayed for a good half hour.
By the time I got out of the water, my cousin was already awake. After breakfast, I explored the southern portion of Mahabang Buhangin and then went back in the water to swim.
We had to pack up and leave Mahabang Buhangin by 9 a.m. since we were planning to head back to Manila that day.
Before heading to Barangay Mangcawayan, we retraced the trail we took the previous day. One can see a sweeping view of Mahabang Buhangin and Mangcawayan from up there. We totally forgot to keep tract of time as we enjoy the vista.
It was almost noon when we got to Mangcawayan. There, we inquired for any boat going to Paracale but were told that the last boat has already left. Since we missed the boat and had to stay for another day we decided to bum at the beach by the Mangroves in Mangcawayan.
We were lazing at the beach when a sudden downpour of rain forced us to head back to Mangcawayan and sought shelter at a shed. The rain didn’t last long but we decided to just spend the rest of the afternoon at the shed.
At round 4 p.m. a group of fishermen were unloading their catch. My cousin went to buy some fish from them. Instead of selling it, the fishermen just gave it, not one but four fishes. Such generosity that is rare to find.
Since we were planning to just spend the night in Mangcawayan, I started to clean and fillet the fishes by the shed. Soon people started to gather and were conversing with us. We can’t prepare our meal with all these people around us.
I told my cousin that it would be best if we go back to Mahabang Buhangin and spend the night there instead. He agreed with me and off we went.
At Mahabang Buhangin, we were able to cook our food and eat our dinner in peace. We were able to have dinner right after sun down but the thought of spending the night here was making me uneasy. My gut feeling was telling me to go back to Mangcawayan. Also, we won’t miss the boat going back to Paracale in case we over sleep.
At 7:30 p.m. we were back in Mangcawayan. We lingered at a store cum movie house were two movies were being shown that evening but it’s not something but was interesting for us to watch.
There’s power in Mangcawayan is supplied by a number of generators but it lasts from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. only.
We had our gadgets charged at the store. While waiting we met Jun and he stroke up a conversation with us. He told us about the gold hidden by the Japanese in the island during World War II and that Garrison Hill has some relics from the war. He also shared to us the worst typhoon that hit the island and how they scrambled to the hills when a tsunami hit Japan in March 2011.
By 10 p.m. the people have left the movie house and Mangcawayan has become quiet. The lady operating the store and movie house was Jun’s cousin. She offered their still unfinished shed for us to spend the night in. We graciously accepted her offer and spent the night there.
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