Nabago Island Getaway

What's the best way to welcome the summer than celebrating it in the beach especially in an island.

Luckily, my beloved Surigao has a lot to offer for summer time. Thus, the tag as City of Island Adventures really fits. We only have to choose where and how much, and the rest would be up to how we're going to make the most of the experience.

And so after scouting for a place that is something new and somewhere i have not gone to, my officemates arrived at a decided place that is easily accessible from the city... Barangay Nabago, some 25 minutes away.

Barangay Nabago is known for its vast mangrove forest, the Pearl Farm, Mariculture Farm, and abundance in delectable seafoods. Hearing about the Pearl Farm excites me at first, only to learn thereafter that what can actually be seen are the floating buoyance marking the wide area where clam shells are cultured. Well, i was expecting to at least see an actual pearl extracted from the mollusk or just a harvesting scene. But there was none.

Nevertheless, my frustration was clouded by the sights of islets with shores shimmering in white sands from afar. Aboard a boat we headed to our first island stop not far from the pearl farm. The islet is nameless but owned by a political clan in the province according to our host Nanay who spoke like a pro tour guide. Not to mention, she is talkative but very cozy and hospitable.

After docking at the western tip of the island, we hiked the shore leading to the hut where we had our picnic lunch. Prior to our lunch, we had an opening refreshment of the fresh buko reaped from the few coconut trees standing in the island. Then we shared the foods -sweet potatoes, boiled bananas, kinilaw, and grilled meat. Our host also brought us a newly catched fresh grouper and a saang, which we immediately put on the grill, and a plate of lato. Man, they tastes sweet... very fresh. Later after we had our meal, they also served a variety of fresh mollusks which we ate in raw, dipped in vinegar.

I think i overused the word "fresh", but it is how the foods and our refreshing experience in the island can be justified.

The weather was gloomy but humid, which i think marked the transition period from wet season to summer.. the very reason for dripping in the sea and strolling along the shore to cool down, wandering inside the island and of course taking pictures.

After making the most in the first island, we transferred to another islet where a floating house with fish cages raising first class groupers resides near the mangroves. After the fish cages sighting and playing at the mangroves, we then transferred to another islet that i solely explored up to its tip. On our way, a fisherman and his unique sailboat passed by...

Cant help but admire the creativity of manong fisherman. Not only he recycled the umbrella cloth but he made a wonderful innovation. With it, he don't need engines fueled by gasoline to run his boat.

Arriving at another islet, I took a stroll with the shoreline as my pathway. Sometimes it is better to be alone and commune with myself once again. Aside that if gives me the fancy like i own the whole island. It was a few kilometers walk so just as i arrived back, my companions were already set to end the island hopping and decided to go home.

As an ending phrase, here The Islander, amidst the clouds and the waves... standing still.