Calaguas: Tinaga Island's Mahabang Buhangin

Our 5^th Quezon – Bicol Escapade happened last 2013

There was actually no plan on that year, and we usually do our escapades during  Labor day.  I just had my hair curled a week, before I called Butchick and Cam, two days before the Araw nang Kagitingan Holiday.  That time, I drove my car, fetched Butchick in Bicutan, and we were headed to Calauag.

As we often do, we stayed in Cam’s house in Calauag on our first night.  We packed our things, this time with a tent, food and water.  The following day, we rode a bus towards Paracale.  

Along the bus stop we rode another bus towards Paracale town.  We headed to the fishing port of Paracale, and bought some other stuff while we waited for a boat for a two hour boat ride.

We were excited to see the picturesque paradise from afar.  Sighting the pristine white sand of Mahabang Buhangin or Long Beach, the unparalleled green mountainous area of Tinaga Island, turquoise water, the island was a real beauty.   

Calaguas is a group of islands including the famous Tinaga, Maculabo, Guintinua islands and other islets, included in the town of Vinzons in Camarines Norte.  The seaboard of Calaguas is rough during the rainy season as it is located along the Pacific Ocean.   The best time to explore to Calaguas is during summer.

There were no resorts in the island during the time of our visit.  But I remembered there were Nipa Huts being constructed in the center of Mahabang Buhangin, and we were told that the owner have a resort in Boracay.  Upon setting foot in the island in the afternoon, we were sun kissed already by the sun’s heat.  We looked for a good camping site in the left part of the island.

The island was divided into different owners, because there were caretakers in the area.  We found a nice spot, near a nipa hut of the caretaker, with so many coconut trees that shaded our area.  At our back, was the caretaker’s source of water, public bathrooms and a small house with a sari-sari store.  They have food, drinks and water supplies.

We set up our tent, mingled with the caretaker where we bought our coconuts.  We took a nap to enjoy the tranquillity of the island.  There was a set up of volleyball net near us, so Butchick and Cam played beach volleyball, as were able to get a ball from our caretaker.

The beach was fronting a very romantic sunset, as many tourist likes us, started lining up to witness the orange colored sun going down the horizon.

Although it’s camper’s site, the phone signal is high and there’s electricity in the island.  We had a few drinks with our caretaker and jammed with them because they had a guitar. We watched the stars while in the sand.   

Early in the morning, Butchick and I played with the water in the beach front because there were few boats along the coastline.  We stayed in the beach for a long time until the time we had to leave the island.