Last week I went with a friend over to Bantayan Island for a night.  I wanted to stay longer but unlike him, I’m not on vacation but I am on a budget, which is blown.  My friend though, he’s still over there.  Seems he likes the place as much as I do.

I wish I could get over to the Island at least once a month but I just can’t seem to make that happen just yet.   Its not an expensive place to go.   It can be but it doesn’t’ have to be.  My overnight stay  cost about $65.00 and that included transportation to and from the island.

My last visit was a peaceful one, nothing out of the ordinary happened, nothing but fun and one topless girl but she was too far away to see her at all.   She was out in the water as was Joe and I so we headed that way and the top went back on quickly.  LOL  Oh well.  Shhh I probably shouldn’t even mention such a scandalous thing. 

I Finally got a chance to take my underwater camera underwater!  That resulted in some pictures from an unusual perspective.

We stayed out until fairly dark.  I looked around and noticed none of the locals were in the water and decided it was time to get out.    Probably the worst that would have happened is not being able to see where I put my foot.

The next day, we headed back out at low tide and went further out than we usually go.  Saw a beautiful Sea urchin that looked like a cactus.  Then I realized why it was a bad idea to stay after dark.   One needs to see what they are putting their feet down on.

The way the sun light gets focused into dancing lines on the sea floor fascinates me for some reason.  I’m sure those that are frequent beach goers would not be so easily amused but I am.  I would have cropped this picture off more but I love that dancing light.

I have too many pictures great to post in one article.  I’ll include more in a gallery at the end of this article.

The water was warm, almost hot in places.   That made it very pleasant.  When we went in February, the water was quite cool but that also probably helped to keep the urchins further away from the coast line.

Speaking of the coast line.  It changes quite a bit.  When we were there two months ago, the sand was piled high on the beach at Tristan’s.  Now that is gone, leaving a high step to get on the steps from the beach leading to the restaurant at Tristan’s.  The sand has moved because the currents have changed creating this sand bar.

I don’t know exactly when but that sandbar will later disappear again.

The day came to an end and we found that we had to return home.   On our trip home we had a bit of excitement, not that I look for excitement when on a ship!  We heard someone on the bridge yell something and the boat made a hard turn.  We never did know what that was about.  Some one the bridge had their heads hanging out the window watching something.

I don’t know if we nearly ran over a fisherman or if there was something in the water and the maneuver might have been routine because of some type of hazard.  I have twice noticed dredging going on in that area so I suspect there is some kind of hazard there that the captains know how to avoid and that’s all that happened.

We nearly missed our boat home!  Normally, the last boat leaves Bantayan Island at 4:30pm but there was some kind of problem with one of the ships.  I had noticed that there were two ferries in port at the same time and usually there is only one.  The ships gate was not positioned correctly on the dock, looked like it was teetering on falling right in.

One of Tristan’s employees had learned of this and raced back to the resort to tell us we needed to leave now as the last boat may not leave today.  He took us by pedicab to the dock, by passing some of the normal steps so that we didn’t miss what probably turned out to be the last boat of the day.  Its the kind of service that Tristan’s provides on a normal basis.

[View with PicLens]

Welcome to Bantayan Island!  A website that will bring you information about Bantayan island, honest reviews.  We’ll tell you where we go and what we liked.  We’ll also tell you what I didn’t like.  I visit Bantayan Island along  with my Filipina assistant.

We both love going to the island, its not crowded with a lot of tourist.  You may have the beach to yourself.  You’ll see more Filipino on the beaches than you will tourist.

Holy Week is the only exception to that.  Bantayan Island is famous for its solemn observance of the crucifixion of Christ.  During this time, prices are generally twice as much and you need to book your room well in advance.  I may get over there for a day trip this year.  I would like to report on what is going on over there.  However, not being a rich tourist or even a poor tourist, I cannot afford a week on Bantayan Island this year.  Maybe next year I’ll be able to participate in one of the biggest celebrations in the Philippines.

Bantayan Island is a fairly small island just off the northern tip of Cebu Province in the eastern central part of the country.  Cebu is part of the Visayas Region of the Philippines.  The main islands of the Visayas are Panay, Negros. Cebu, Bohol, Leyte and Samar.

The white sand beaches of Bantayan Island are clean.  You might run into a little trash here and there but the resort owners and perhaps city governments pay people to clean the beach as well.  I have little interest in getting into the water around major cities and if this looked to be dirty, I would not be out there.  The water is clear.

When I’ve been there, the beaches toward the north are warmer than those on the south.  The only downside is the water is not as deep at low tide and there is more seaweed.  The warmer water probably has something to do with the little bit of seaweed that is here and there.  There are some areas here and there with a rocky bottom that can be less than comfortable on tender feet not use to such things.  I don’t think you could ever get around all of that kind of thing.

On the south side of the of the Santa Fe Wharf, the beaches have a lot of dead coral and shells if you’re interested in collecting those.  They’re great for your aquarium.

I’ll close this introduction of Bantayan Island and get busy posting about my visits to the Island.  I will most often post pictures of the places I visit.  You’re welcome to share your opinions or call me out on something if you disagree.  I would love to see more of the disagreeing without being disagreeable on websites.  For now, you should make your plans to visit Bantayan Island.