Island of Magalawa

February 21-23, 2014
Magalawa Island, Palauig, Zambales

I've been hearing good reviews about this place so syempre pa gora tayo dapat dyan. Keep exploring the beautiful Philippines. Love your own eh :)

We left Manila at around 10:30pm. Kitakits ang tropa sa Market Market. Tuloy na tuloy ang 2 weeks na planuhan. We were supposed to visit this island last year pero sali-saliwa ang schedules kaya it didn't pushed through. Anyway eto na yon.

From Manila we took the C5 Road then labas ng Mindanao Ave para medyo iwas ng konting traffic. So far malalaking trucks na lang ang kasabay namin sa daan. From there nag-NLEX kami then exit ng San Fernando Pampanga to pick up one of our friends. Tapos back to route nag-exit naman ng Dau to buy Dunkin Donut hahaha. Nagbilin daw kasi yung cook sa Ruiz Resort na pasalubungan sila ng donut. After that we took SCTEX. Takutan galore kasi halos kami lang ang nasa daan. Finally we reached Iba, Zambales. Time check: 2:36am antigas ng driver namin :)

We passedby the most expensive cemetery daw dito sa Pilipinas. Know why? Over-looking kasi LOL. Nag-GPS na kami kasi wala na halos bahayan sa dinadaanan namin mahirap nang maligaw. We passedby the intersection na may nakalagay ng Welcome to Palauig so si driver don dumiretso buti na lang i recalled from one blog na nabasa ko not to take that route so balik ang peg ng beauty namin. Then the GPS said we need to turn left sa crossing. Ooopsss, wala namang crossing eh though merong left turn at may sakayan ng tricycle buti na lang maaga magtinda ng mangga si ate sa kanto may napagtanungan kami.

Ayan na rough road na. I wasn't able to take a picture of the road kasi andilim at takot ako bumaba so hiram na lang ako ng picture.

Photo courtesy of www.straypusiket.com

6 kilometers of rough road though hindi naman malalalim ang lubak kaya keri lang. Again, takutan galore na naman. Around 4:30am when we reached Luan Port. Muntik na kaming pumasok sa Armada Resort buti na lang nabasa namin :)

Finally... Luan Port. Hiram ulit ng picture kasi gabi nga po :)

Photo courtesy of www.sharkmaine.com

As you can see on the picture above yung destination namin is yung island adjacent to the port. In less than 5 minutes nasa Magalawa Island na kami.

It was 4:45am and everybody's tired. We were welcome by the caretakers and they as so warm. Aside from the 2 fan rooms na kinuha namin, we were given 2 free tents. Yung maliit nga lang. So tulugan muna kami while waiting for our breakfast. Btw, pwede mag-request ng gusto nyong meal if you avail of the package which is 1,500.00 per head. (Will update the pictures of the foods. Nasa lappy eh)*** The 1,500.00 per head package includes entrance fee, parking fee, 4 meals, boat fee, 2 fan rooms, 2 tents, snorkling. Kinda luma lang ang snorkling gear nila but its ok kasi super linaw naman ng water kaya di mo na need ilubog ang ulo mo just to see the bottom. Eto proof kung gaano kalinaw ang water.

See? Kitang kita ang ilalim. That's about 3 meters deep.

You will be welcomed by this signboard upon arrival:

Here are some more pics:

The last 2 pictures were taken on our way back to Manila.

Verdict:
1. Place is nice. Very basic. If you're the type na mahilig sa camping then you would love this place.
2. Pocket-friendly. Less than 2k lang ang nagastos per person.
3. If you want a serene place where you can do some soul-searching then this place is not good for you. Marami na ring tao.
4. If hindi maaalagaan ng husto ang place in 2 years marumi na to masyado. Andaming bubog sa sand plus nakakuha ako ng half ng basag na bote sa swimming area.

Overall: 6 out of 10. 10 to be the highest.