Tikling Island and its Pinkish White Sand: Matnog's Hidden Paradise in Baranggay Calintaan

My first 3 days in Ligao City had been spent visiting my relatives and friends and planning my trip to Caramoan Island. I had been asking some of the locals while aboard RSL bus if the island is indeed closed for tourist because of the Survivor Philippines Shoot. Some said yes and some said they had been to the island just recently and there are just some part of the island that is closed to public.

As much as I would love to visit the place I always had second thoughts as I don't want to spend my day travelling and being told in the end that Matukad Island is closed to public. Hence I opted to visit my new found love in Sorsogon; Tikling Island.

It was an uneventful 6 hour travel from Ligao City to Matnog Sorsogon. This time I was with my brother Arturo Jr, and his long time fiance Tintin. I am glad I was able to share my passion in travelling to this family members. I promised them that they wont regret this travel ever. We left Nasisi Ligao City at exactly 5:30 AM via tricycle to Tuburan, catched a Saint Jude bus bound to Legaspi, alighted in Daraga, took a jeep to Baranggay Banag and from there took a bus bound to Sorsogon City. We arrived in Sorsogon city at exactly 8 AM, we had 30 minutes before the jeepney leaves Sorsogon, so we decided to shop for our food. Luckily there is a Savemore Shop that opens that early so we were able to shop for our provisions. The jeep bound to Matnog left Sorsogon City at exactly 8:30 AM. The rev of the vehicle signaled another trip via long and winding road to Matnog Sorsogon. Good thing though that the road to this part of Luzon is well concreted as opposed to that in Quezon province.

Our boatman was already waiting for us as we arrived Matnog port.A very charming lady guided us to a small karenderia were we will eat our lunch and our last meal with rice for the day. We indulged ourselves to a sumptuous meal before leaving Matnog. Afterwards Grace guided us to the port were Kuya Alex and his crew are waiting.I was stunned with the family's hospitality that they opened they're home for us so we can rest from a tiring trip before finally boarding the boat bound to Tikling.But our group was too excited to reach our destination that we hadnt wasted much time. After giving our boatman Php500 for gas, we immediately left Matnog port.

While it is true that the waves in the Pacific ocean are horrible, I was well prepared of an encounter with huge waves having braved the waves in my Calaguas Adventure but this part of May, the sea is generally gentle and it seems like were being lulled by calm waves to sleep before finally reaching our destination. It was the smoothest trip I've been to and I almost cant believe I'll be reaching paradise without much of an effort. It was indeed a lucky trip.

The group originally planned in staying at Subic Beach in Matnog, but having fallen in love at first sight of Tikling island made changes to the original plan. As the group alighted the boat, plans had suddenly changed and I then immediately looked for our host/ caretaker Kuya Anday and family who had been so kind to us during the rest of our stay in the island. After a short while we then asked kuya Alex to fetch us the next morning for our island hopping adventure in Juag fish Sanctuary and Subic beach. I reckon I might love to stay for the night in Subic Beach that I decided to do the island hopping the next day to make sure I would spend my night in Tikling island, and I was not wrong, Tikling island is simply magical.

As starters I asked if we can buy buko from our host but they politely declined to my disappointment yet they give it to us for free. The generous people of the island resonates the generosity and abundance of the place. Though the signage in the beachfront clearly indicates that the island is owned privately and one could be easily warned, its peoples hospitality is contrary to what the signage has to say. True indeed, you can not judge the box until you see whats within.

We pitched in our tents under the tree house in the beachfront, and immediately went on a siesta. It was 2:00PM and we had ample time to explore the island in the afternoon. This time I enjoyed a laid back afternoon while listening to videoke songs from passing ferry boats to and fro Samar and Sorsogon. Every single minute of the long journey to this place had been compensated. I closed my eyes with a smile thinking that every paradise in Bicol Region are situated on both gateways. On the Northern Gateway lies Calaguas, on the Southern Gateway Lies Tikling Island.I was brought to sleep by the chirps of some wild birds, and the summer breeze that blew beneath my cradle.

I enjoyed swimming in its turquoise green waters too. Though one needs to be very careful as its water becomes deep even in a short distance from the shoreline. While swimming in the waters of Tikling I remembered that the lake in MountPinatubo becomes unfathomable at a short distance too. Strong current could happen too at the southern part of the beach thus swimming in the area 15 meters south of the no trespassing signage is not allowed.

At day break I decided to go sight seeing. I originally planned to trek the whole island since its low tide but doing it solo is not a good idea, I then decided to go back after clicking my shutter on some panoramic views. I could say that Tikling island is simply amazing, just the way it is.Its pinkish white sand distinct to the place, its birdlike formation from afar, its lush vegetation, and the mangrove areas at the back of the island could be the reason why its people could catch their food without going too far from the beachfront.

We ended the day with the bar session and our easy open canned goods. At 8:00 PM everyone fall asleep in their tents. We had so much to do the next morning. I closed my eyes with much apprehensions and excitement for the next day's island hopping experience.

It was a blissful experience just being with Tikling Island, and enjoying God's given wonders without spending a fortune. Tikling island is indeed a hidden Paradise and its memories will remain in my heart forever. We left Tikling Island with a smile and a promise that we will be back someday to this hidden gem in Matnog Sorsogon.

Caretakers : Anday Geneblazo et al

Banca Operator : Alex Geneblazo
Contact Number : 09183045437