My Travels | Sambawan Island and the Unexpected Happenings In-between!

Everyone has their travel stories, whether good or bad experience. This is about our trip to Sambawan Island, a beautiful island of Biliran Province in the Philippines. This is our story.

Trip to Paradise

As promised, I wanted to take @noreen to Sambawan for our out-of-town trip to witness the white sand island and the rest of Biliran Province. I was there once with some friends before but I want to show @noreen what Biliran is all about.

We started at Tacloban City because I am supposed to apply for a passport renewal but was not able to get inside the DFA office because I was wearing board shorts and a rubber slipper. We just went to the cinema instead.

The next day, we took 3-hour van ride towards the town of Naval, Biliran. Naval is the center town of the Biliran province and from there, we got a huge wooden boat ride towards the town of Maripipi. The boat was already full when we got there and it was raining.

^{We have to stop by Jollibee to buy some food for lunch}

During our trip towards the Island of Maripipi, beautiful scenic views of the Biliran coast can be seen. It was a long 3 hours of rough seas and creaking noise made by the old wooden boat.

^{The same boat that we took from Naval to Maripipi Island (Photo Credit:Bisdak Explorer)}

Maripipi Island

At last! we arrived at Maripipi Island unscathed and is looking for a place to stay. I have stayed at Gaviola Homestay before but I wasn’t able to contact the owners so, we don’t know yet if the place is fully booked or not.

Lucky no one booked a room there. We just left our things, got a motorcycle for hire and headed to the south of Maripipi which is closest to Sambawan Island.

^{Our Room + a small terrace @ Gaviola Homestay}

^{The Living Area}

^{The Only Way Out}

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We then bought some lunch and snacks for we will just stay there for a few hours. I was able to get a small boat for around 500. He will fetch us in the afternoon because we won’t be staying in Sambawan Island for the night.

^{Our mini boat ride to The island.. It was a beautiful day...}

^{Our destination, the tiny speck of land}

^{Goofing off on the way to the island}

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Sambawan Island

In 20 minutes of a tiny boat ride, we arrived at Sambawan Island. The island has a long stretch of white sandy shoreline. Crystal clear cool waters and a great view. We just stayed at the restaurant since we won’t be renting any cottages there.

^{A beautiful view from the top of Sambawan Island with Maripipi Island in front}

^{Sambawan island Signage}

^Cottages

^{@noreen having a picture taking sassion}

^{Another Picture taking session}

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There were a few tourists that time even though it is a peak of the summer. We had a quick tour of the island and then dip into the cool clear waters and witness an awesome sunset.

Brewing Storm

I noticed a huge dark cloud forming in front of us and it looks like it is brewing a big storm. Every minute it grows bigger and darker. I was checking for the guy who will fetch us, but he is still nowhere to be found and it was already late. I checked the time, it was near 6:00 pm.

^{Lump of clouds on top of maripipi Island}

^{Clouds getting larger and darker. Strong winds already picked up}

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Beautiful views were now replaced with a dark cloudy sky and it’s getting dark fast. Winds picked up and the waves went crazy. I was thinking that we have to stay on the island since our boat ride back to the mainland has not yet arrived.

^Sunset

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At the distance, I saw a small boat heading towards the Sambawan Island, merely a speck in the sea. It was our boat. I wanted to tell the boatman that we will be staying on the island but we left our things in the hostel. We also wanted to take an early boat trip towards Naval Town the next day.

^{Stormy Dark Seas (Photo Credits: Pexels)}

We just then took the boat back into the stormy darkness in the middle of the ocean. The boat was just around 3-4 meters long with a small motor. It was just me, @noreen and the slightly drunk old boat captain. Every time I look back at him, he just smiled at me.

With the just a little light left, we sailed away from Sambawan Island and into the storm. Waves got even bigger every time we move away from the island.

I was seated at the front of the boat so all the waves go through me. I took the small bucket and started to gather some water inside the boat and dump them out. @noreen was in the middle trying not to look worried just holding on her dear life and not moving at all (probably praying the rosary lol). I just learned that she doesn’t know how to swim and it’s all my fault if something happens to her. The boat captain was calm as f*ck. He’s probably enjoying the whole trip.

Maripipi Island was nowhere to be seen due to the thick rain and the pounding waves. I just know that we are in the right direction because of the tiny red light may be from a tower on the island.

I was thinking to myself what I should do in case the boat capsizes. I know the boatman will just swim away leaving us behind. lol… But thank God, it did not happen. We arrived safely at the Maripipi Island Shore.

By the way, Maripipi Island’s power is only from 6 in the afternoon up to 1 in the morning. They don’t have a connection to the power grid in the mainland. When we got there, it was pitch black because the generator was not working.

I helped the boatman drag the boat into the shore and thank him for the great boat maneuvring skill into the storm. I wanted to buy him a bottle of local rum but our motorbikes for hire already arrived. Maybe next time we meet, we could have a drink at the beach :)

The Dark Homestay

We arrived at the homestay wet and salty. It was dark and the only light comes from inside the owner’s house. We have to go to the owner's house to get to our room. The gate was locked and we do not have the keys so we are stuck outside. We were yelling for the owner to hear us and let us in. I don’t have the owner’s phone number so I could not contact her.

I noticed a silhouette near the door of the owner's house. At first, I thought it was just a tree or a plant but it moved.

^{A man by the door. (Photo Credits: Pexels)}

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It was a man! Around 5’4” in height, 20-30 years old. I tried to talk to him but he won’t speak. He just stood near the door of the house like some security guard hiding in the shadows. Then, he moved away into the other shadowy part of the house, stood there and said nothing. I did not see his face because he just walked into the shadows like some ninja.

Maybe he is one of the owner’s helper? We don’t know. We find it creepy. Maybe there is a secret in this town? or I just watch too much thriller/horror movies? lol…

The owner then heard us and let us in. She was an old lady maybe around 65-75 years of age. She was watching TV so she can’t hear our yelling. With her, is her niece. She helps out with the hostel and house chores.

We were lucky that they have their own generator set so we have electricity in our room and use the fan. We told her about the guy outside the house but they don’t know anyone. It was just them. She just told us to LOCK the doors.

Evening Town Tour

We were hungry and decided to take a quick stroll into town and hope we could find a restaurant or anything that sells food.

We took our flashlights and had a quick stroll into the dark village. It was still 7 in the evening and the place felt like it was deserted. There were few people outside. Everyone is inside their homes sleeping early or they just want to chill inside their homes.

^{It was blackout. We did have a flashlight with us(Picture Credits:Pexels)}

At last, we found a restaurant but they were closing because they were out of food. We managed to convince them and they let us in. They did have a small amount of rice (supposed to be their dinner) and we bought a can of tuna.

The vibe of this town is different during night time compared to the hospitable warm vibes during the day. I was here before but not like this. I was with some friends that time and It did not have a weird feeling or maybe, I just watch too much horror movies.

Anyway, we went back to our hostel. I was looking for the man but he was not there anymore. We decided to just have a drink in the room as there were no open shops around the village. We managed to buy a bottle of beer earlier.

Loud Bang

It was around 3 in the morning when I woke up and heard a loud bang.I then went outside our room. There were 3 rooms in the hostel and in the middle was a living room. We were the only ones who checked in that night. The other 2 rooms were vacant and locked.

I checked the main door and saw that it was wide open. I remember locking it before heading to our room. It was locked from the inside so, no one from outside could just unlock it. Maybe it’s the wind because it was still gusty after the storm. Or the shadow man? back with a huge machete hiding in the shadows?

^{The door leading outsdie was open!}

Anyway, I locked it again and headed back to bed. @noreen just stayed in our room, scared.

Morning came and we toured the town one last time and ask for some boat to take us to Kawayan, Biliran which is on the mainland but far way from Naval. The boat going to Naval already left at 4 in the morning and we woke up very late so we missed it.

^{Maripipi Town}

^{Quick Photoshoot}

We found a guy near the docks that would take us to the mainland for 700 pesos. It was expensive but we took the bait rather than wait.

^{The Maripipi Port}

^{Inside a boat bound for Kawayan, Biliran}

^{@noreen ready to disembak the boat}

We did have a motorbike trip around Biliran Island and it’s awesome waterfalls but I can write it next time :)

Lessons Learned

It was really an awesome trip to Sambawan Island. I think we really did have a great time and hope to go back there with some friends. Going straight into Sambawan Island from Kawayan is a better way since it wouldn’t cost much. No more stopping by Maripipi Island.

Our storm experience in the middle of the sea is really an unforgettable one. It’s like the Perfect Storm local style. You wouldn’t know what would happen if the boat capsizes. We were just lucky that time. It was really a bad decision to go back to Maripipi island even there is a storm. Next time, I would stay in Sambwan Island if it would happen again.

We really did not know who the shadow man really is or what is his purpose hiding in the shadows. Must he have a mental problem or just a drunk dude? No one really knows.

Just for safety purposes, I should have double checked if the lock was really secured. Who knows who might enter the room.

_{Images are taken using a Xiaomi Yi Action Camera & iPhone 5s. An Original Content by @jamiz}