It's More Fun in the Philippines: Kalanggaman Island, Palompon, Leyte
It has been almost 2 years since +Francine Camille Lequin , a friend of my wife, has been inviting us to visit Kalanggaman Island. Camille is usually animated when she talks about how beautiful the island off the coast of her hometown of Palompon, Leyte. There were times I thought that she was kinda overhyping the place. I finally got to see the island when my mom had a vacation from Australia a couple of days ago. Camille was not lying as the island was simply awesome and my visit to Kalangamman Island became the highlight of my #Summer2015.
Kalanggaman Island is a
90-minute boat ride from Palompon Port. Tourists need to register at the
Palompon Ecotours Office before they can go to the island. During peak season,
you might need to register a week before so that you can book a boat that will
take you to Kalanggaman Island. You may contact the Ecotours Office
at +63 917 303 7267.
To visit
the island, non-Palompon residents will need to pay Php150 per head while
local residents
will just pay 20 pesos. The boat rental is 3,500 for a motorized banca that can ferry 20-30 people.
I was with my mom in my trip to the island. We were accompanied by her two high school best friends (Tita Annette and Tita Loly). +Nezte Virtudazo joined us along with Camille, her mom and 3 of her cousins.
We left around 9 A.M. and we arrived around 10:30 A.M. Camille said that sometimes people see dolphins and even whales during the trip to Kalanggaman. (We actually saw a dolphin on our way back). The sea was quite calm and the hot summer heat was somewhat neutralized by a little bit of drizzle. We brought some refreshing rain to the island, but it did not last long.
While our hosts were preparing the food, we explored the island. We all took some selfies while appreciating the pristine white sand beach and then we took a quick dip in the crystal clear water. It was a really beautiful island. I was totally blown away. I am really happy that the local government of Palompon was able to preserve the island by limiting the number of tourists everyday and making sure that people are responsible with their trash.
There is a grilling station at Kalanggaman and people usually bring fresh fish and meat bought from the Palompon Market. There are also cottages in the island, where people can have lunch and rest. We feasted on sinugbang isda, sinugbang baboy, kinilaw, boiled camote, boiled bananas, and many more that the Lequins prepared for us. We really had a massive dose of #happytummy thanks to Camille and her mom, Marivic. Their hospitality was really over the roof.
After a sumptuous lunch, we capped our visit by taking some spectacular jump shots. We really had a great time and even Camille and her cousins had an enjoyable day as well. We will definitely be coming back. Nezte and I are planning to have an overnight with some of our friends the next time we visit.
Kalanggaman Island is now one of my favorite islands and beaches. I would like to go there at least once a year. It is a wonderful place to relax and recharge. My mom called it paradise and I think she is partly right. I would really want you to visit this place and tell me what you think. ;)
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