I Love Bantayan Island

It's my Bantayan Island Holy Week Escapade !!!!

This time, I preferred to celebrate my first summer vacay in our very own Cebu!! Holy Week naturally is not about fun and vacation, it's about reflecting on our spiritual aspect, our hunger and thirst for spiritual guidance. But as an employee Holy Week is one of the longest holiday I could avail from work (aside from Christmas Season). I enjoyed unwinding and relaxing myself away from the chaotic city life to the hot island life.

I stayed in the Municipality of Bantayan,Bantayan Island,Cebu.

Bantayan is a first income class municipality on Bantayan Island in the province of Cebu, Philippines.[5][6] It is located 136 kilometres (85 miles) by road and sea from Cebu City. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 74,785, making it the island's most populous town as well as the largest.[3] In the last election, it had 45,814 registered voters.[4] It is bordered to the north by Madridejos and to the southeast by Santa Fe. The municipality also includes numerous smaller islands, such as the Don Islands (Botigues, Doong, Lipayran), Hilotongan, and Yao.
For several decades, local and international tourists flock to Bantayan for what is often mistaken as the island’s fiesta (feast day) during the Holy Week. The possible cause is perhaps the peculiar manner that the Bantayanons (people of Bantayan) have traditionally celebrated Holy Week.

During Holy Week, the Municipality of Bantayan is popular for its Santo Entierro (Holy Burial) procession where the Stations of the Cross are portrayed in life size figures mounted on carozzas (carriages).Some of these images are believed to have been brought by Spanish priests in the late 1800s. The relatively recent figures and images have been commissioned by the affluent families of Bantayan. Every year, these images are displayed during the Good Friday procession.

This is a glimpse of the procession scenario in the Municipality of Bantayan.. Oops sorry for the blur photos, I had a bad angle at that time and the procession was moving a bit fast.

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It's my first time to witness such traditional activity, and I was amazed at the crowd.... Many stalls were also on the sidewalks just in case you need to grab something. I even bought "ukay-ukay"at a very affordable price.!

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Aside from witnessing the procession, I also took a short tour on the island... Strolled on the beach, had night swimmings, moon watching, but the highlight of the tour or "laag" is the visit to Bantayan Nature Park and Resort ( is only 20 minutes away from the port of Sta. Fe.). Bantayan Nature Park and Resort is located on Sitio Kalubian, Tamiao, Bantayan, Bantayan Island.

Sand bar

the infinity pool as the background :))

Birds

a pose at their nipa cottages

Inside the sto. niño cave:

On the way down the sto niño cave

chicken :))

Horses... at first i was hesitant to touch them because I'm afraid...

but they are tame and good horses :)

I really had a good time, meeting nature at its best...

Til' the next adventures :))

Choose Philippines! Choose Cebu! It's more fun in the Philippines