In Transit to Romblon Province

So me and my backpacker friends suddenly established our tradition, we go backpacking during the Holy Week because this is where we get a long break from work. Marvin thought of going to Romblon, and I was like, "Di ba meron elepanthiasis dun?". Romblon did not really mean a tourist destination for me, it's not so well known and when you browse the internet, there are not so many blog entries about this place. But since I want to be disconnected for a while, I decided that I would try this place out.

I started looking for information, trip schedule, places to go to, delicacies to try and a lot more. Then one night I was watching "Kapuso mo Jessica Soho" which featured shark attacks in the Philippines but shark infested areas in the country were not mentioned. I searched in the internet then boom, it is around Romblon, Tablas Strait. Suddenly, doubts loom around my mind, I do not know how to swim, being the water is one of my deepest fears and add sharks to the recipe, there came a point that I did not want to go anymore. But as they say "life begins at end of our comfort zones", so surprises should always be welcome, then we're off to Romblon without a well defined itinerary.

We tried buying tickets in Batangas Port, Baam works around the area so we asked him to drop by and inquire how we can purchase tickets to Romblon. If you're planning to go there, you can only  secure your tickets on the day of the trip. Since it is a long weekend, there are really long queues to buy one, so you have to go there early if you want to be the first in line. Good thing someone bought a ticket with student discount for us. Our tickets are cheaply priced at 648 pesos each at Montenegro Lines for the economy cabin.

leaving Batangas Port

the voyage to Romblon begins

A piece of advice when you go on a long trip by ship, be sure that you bring in food because it really gets expensive once you are already on board. We bought Outbox, rice in a box, for dinner priced at 70 pesos each.

The trip normally takes 10 hours, sleeping on board is quite easy because the waves will lull you. At around 5am the next day, we arrived at Odiongan Port and said hello to Romblon's largest island in terms of land area, Tablas Island. We immediately hopped in a jeepney going to Sta. Fe which is the drop-off point going to Carabao Island.

the jeepneys going to different areas of Tablas island at Odiongan port

The fare to Sta. Fe from Odiongan port is 150 pesos. Roads are not always paved but some are already under construction. The trip took around an hour.

It was around 7am when we arrived at Sta. Fe, we had breakfast first then took the boat going to Carabao Island, locally known as Hambil. The first trip from Sta. Fe is at 9am, fare is 100 pesos and our voyage lasted for a mere 30 minutes.

killing time in Sta. Fe

manifest

The trip to Carabao Island made me understand why my officemate who is from Romblon gave away dolphin figurines made from marble as souvenir. A group of dolphins suddenly swam around our boat and there were around 15 of them, fortunately, I was able to have a snapshot. I learned that many dolphins are frequently seen around Romblon's group of islands.

dolphins in the wild

Up next: going around Carabao Island