We all woke up at 5am to have breakfast and ready for our island hopping activity. At around 6am, we met the resort owner, Melo, who took us to the other side of the beach where our boat was waiting to take us to Sambawan Island. We paid Php 3,500 for 8 pax. Travel time to Sambawan Island is around 45 minutes to an hour, entrance fee is Php 100.


There is a little trekking involved if you want to see the view from the hut on top of the tiny mountain. Tip: leave your other things on the boat so you can enjoy exploring the island freely. I just took a drybag with my valuables and my camera.


I stopped at this point to catch my breath and appreciate the view.

And finally, Sambawan Island just like the photos I've seen from other blogs, only it's more beautiful in person.


We left Sambawan Island at around 9am and went to Dalutan Island next. It was a 15-20 minute boat ride and entrance fee is Php20.


After chillin' at the swing and taking more pictures, we were off to Capinyahan Island. However, since we were pressed for time (we had to leave Biliran by 12nn and travel back to Tacloban), we just passed by the last island and took photos.

The Great Visayan Adventure crew with Capinyahan Island in the background

We were back at the resort around 10:30am. We pre-ordered our lunch since it takes a while to prepare so we only waited a bit when we arrived before it was served. We took turns having lunch and taking showers. By 12nn we were ready to check-out.

We hired the same multicab used to go to Ulan-Ulan Falls the previous day to bring us to the van terminal bound for Tacloban, We paid Php500 for 8 pax. In about 30 minutes, we were at the Van Terminal to Tacloban. Fare is Php 130 and travel time is 3 hours.

We arrived at GoHotels Tacloban at around 3:30pm and immediately checked-in and headed to Robinson's Mall (next door) to have merienda. E and P had to leave for their 6pm flight and so the rest of the group went back to the hotel to rest/nap.

It was already 7:30pm when I woke up and realized we had plans to have dinner at Ocho Seafood and Grill in downtown. More on that in the next post. :)

Sept 4, 2016, 6am

We all woke up early because we commissioned our boatmen to pick us up at 7am from Kalanggaman Island. Although, we still had breakfast included in our package, it was to be served when we arrived at the Palompon Eco-Tourism Office. We had to prepare our things and strike the tents. We also made sure to take all our segregated trash with us as we left the island. Clean as you go!

Goodbye Kalanggaman Island

We reached the Palompon Eco-Tourism Office after a little over an hour. It's great that they allow guests to use their shower facilities since there was no running water on the island to bathe with. Since there were only 3-4 showers, half the group went ahead to have breakfast while the rest showered. We were all ready to go by around 9:30am.

After taking photos, we all walked through the nearby market to go to the van terminal. This is where we rode a van going to Ormoc. The fare is Php120 and travel time is 2 hours. There are no vans that travel directly to Naval (Biliran) where we were headed, so we took this route instead. When we reached Ormoc, we rode another van going to Naval. Fare is Php130. Travel time is 2 hours. Driver also had a death wish. His speed on straight roads is exactly the same speed he uses when taking a turn. AND THERE WERE LOTS OF TURNS! He somehow did not have the concept of slowing down and it was nerve-wracking.

The Biliran roads reminded me of the roads to Mt. Pulag in Benguet. Same level of zig zags, the only difference is that the Mt. Pulag route is waaaaay more elevated than Biliran. It's still super accident prone and drivers have to be extra cautious. I don't usually mind kaskasero drivers in Manila, especially when I'm in a hurry, but this one took kaskasero to a whole new level. We were all so stressed and tired after that van ride. 

Photo by: @pmjbernardo

Tip: If you are coming from Ormoc and going to Naval, avoid the Nissan Urvan UV Express that's about to fall apart (the door was being held by alambre that it won't really close properly, had it rained we would've been soaked and more pissed). The driver also fit 4 people in a row meant for 3, so the ride was not very comfortable with all our big backpacks.

We reached the van terminal in Naval after around 2 hours. Typically, a jeep ride to Kawayan should take you to Agta Beach Resort (fare Php30) in 20-30 minutes. However, there were no jeeps going to Kawayan when we arrived (or because it was just a Sunday?) so we had to hire a multicab to take us to the resort. We paid Php50 each since the driver said that he won't have any passengers going back to the terminal. We were too tired to even argue at this point.

We finally reached Agta Beach Resort after around 30 minutes. We met one of the owners (or so, I think), Melo, and he showed us our rooms. He also advised to order the food in advance because it takes a while to prepare. It was already around 2pm when we got there and we were all starving.

Agta Beach Resort in Biliran

Originally, we were supposed to do the island-hopping the day of our arrival. But since we arrived late, we had to switch activities by doing the falls tour first. The resort owner was really kind and even gave us suggestions as to which options will fit into our schedule. In the end, we decided to just see Ulan-Ulan Falls. The resort arranged for the tour and we had to pay Php1500 for a multicab and a guide to take us there. Travel time is around 30 minutes to the jump off point and then it was a 20-minute trek to the falls.

We informed our guide that we needed to buy some food supplies for next day's island hopping activity and he was kind enough to stop by a grocery and bakery on the way to Brgy Sampao (where Ulan-Ulan Falls is).

Multicab ride

Multicabs are common in provinces and serve as a good mode of transportation when touring in groups because of the size (fits 8-10 people comfortably) and because it has no windows which makes it super easy to take photos along the way. We were all surprised when we passed by rice paddies on the way to Ulan-Ulan Falls!

Rice paddies in Biliran!

The jump off point. That's TLC and our Sri Lankan guide (I forgot his name, sorry!)

From the jump off point, it was still a 20-minute easy trek going to Ulan-Ulan falls. 

Lush greenery all around

I remember passing by another group who were on their way back from the falls and one of the girls said, "Sobrang worth it po yung lakad. Promise."

We could feel the mist from the falls as we got closer

Ulan-Ulan Falls

"Ulan" means rain in the local language so I suppose it was called Ulan-Ulan falls because of the rain-like mist from the falls that continually envelopes the surrounding area . It was amazing and so refreshing being there. The rocks were very slippery so it is advisable to wear hiking shoes/sandals. I only had slippers on and there were lots of times when I almost slipped. Also, avoid bringing too many things because it is easier to hike with both hand free. A drybag is all I had to store an extra shirt, wallet and camera.

We started the hike back to the jump off point after we took photos. This was around 5pm. We wanted to be back at jump off point before sun down because we only had one flashlight with us it would be too risky trekking in the dark.

Almost sun down

View on the way back to the jump off point My cousin and I decided to ride the multicab, 'topload' style. It was one of the things that I was not able to do on the jeep-ride to Mt. Pulag so I thought it would be fun. It was fun but buwis buhay as well. We forgot that we were passing by small barrios on the way back to Agta Beach Resort and typically, small barrios would have electrical wires hanging lower from posts and across the roads. There were a few times when we had to lie on our backs just so we don't get in contact with the electrical wires and; a) electrocute ourselves or b) get strangled. There was also always that fear of getting slapped by a tree branch because the roads are so tiny and the trees are big.  Did I also mention that top-loading puts a person at risk of getting insects in their eyes? Yep, happened 3x. I thought I was going to go blind. I'm glad I was able to wash my eyes with running water when we got back to the resort. I am not saying you shouldn't try top-loading but please be warned and do it at your own risk. :) We got back at the resort at around 6pm, immediately ordered dinner (meals have an average price of Php150 for a viand which can be shared by 2-3 people) and hit the showers while our meals were being prepared. It has been a long and tiring day for us but seeing Ulan-Ulan falls was super worth it.

Sept 3, 2016, 5am

It was an early wake-up call for us because we were targeting 7am as our check-out time from Go Hotels to reach the Tacloban City Land Transport Terminal by 7:30. We prepped all our things and by 6am we were at Zilog (across Robinson's Tacloban) for breakfast.

Off to breakfast

Zilog is open 24 hours

Kapeng matapang. Yung kaya ka ipaglaban.

Tapsilog.

Briefing by a tourism officer

All smiles as we got a closer view of Kalanggaman Island

Crystal clear waters. Photo by @url_eleven

• There is no electricity on the island, make sure to bring powerbanks to charge your gadgets
• Mobile network signal is intermittent but is strong at sea (I could even facebook on the way to the island. lol)
• There are 2 public comfort rooms; one for dressing only, the other one to shower. No running water. There is a well but the water coming out is also from the ocean. Not ideal if you want to rinse salt water.
• Cottage rental is 500.00 pesos. We decided to rent one because it was scorching hot when we arrived and staying in the tents will just fry us and our things.
• The tents provided did not have pegs, flys and ground sheets. Libre star-gazing pag gabi kasi butas yung ibabaw nung tent. Horror lang kapag umulan. Buti nalang girl scout ako and I brought garbage bags. We used them as tent flys secured by TLC's band aids. :) Rainproof!
• The drinking water we were given was in a 5 gallon container meant for a water dispenser, not even the squarish type that had a faucet. Were they expecting us to stick a straw on it and drink from it directly? The horror. We had to improvise a funnel by cutting a 1 liter distilled water bottle in half in order to refill our smaller water bottles. It pays to travel with girl scouts.
•  Bring a flashlight. Although, light posts are turned on at night, it helps to have a flashlight to find your way to the bathroom when you need to go. Also helpful inside the tent.
• The tourism officer provided us with 2 garbage bags, one for biodegrable wastes and one for non-biodegrables. I like how their wastes are segregated and how tourists are encouraged to do the same.
• You have a better view of the sunset by going to the back of the island. Sunrise, of course, happens on the opposite side. 

I remember asking the boat men if they can help set up the tents for us and one of them nodded. But the next thing I know, they were already walking back towards the boat, ready to leave. No goodbye, no nothing. But being the girl scouts that we were, we put up the tents ourselves, sans pegs and flys. We were determined to make the most out of this trip despite the setbacks.


We spent the afternoon swimming in the super clear waters and taking mandatory photos on the sandbar. Everywhere is just instagram-able on this island!


And then it was time to catch the sunset..

The path to the back of the island

After supper, (again, I do not wish to talk about the food) we washed up using our allotted bath water (5-gallon container per person) and got changed. You have no idea how refreshing it was to finally take a half bath after soaking up on salt water and sun and wind the whole day.

But the highlight of the day was seeing the Milkyway that evening. I HAVE NEVER SEEN THE STARS SO BEAUTIFULLY STREWN ACROSS THE SKY. My cousin took the photo below but you have to believe me when I say that it's 10x more amazing in person!


I just wanted to sit by the beach and watch the stars all evening. Ah, life is indeed beautiful.