DIY Seco Island: The Unknown Island

October 31 - November 1, 2014

Have you even heard about this place? Not many people know about this place, I guess. Ironically, it is just a rough two and a half hours away from a very popular jump off point to a very popular island, Boracay.

How we got there:
1. Ride a bus going to Batangas Port:
From Buendia, the group met up at Jam Liner Bus Terminal and rode a bus going to Batangas Port. The buses there to Batangas Port ply like every 15minutes. The travel time from Jam Bus Terminal to Batangas Port is 2hours.

2. Ride a ferry going to Caticlan:
Upon arriving at the port, we entered the vicinity and paid our terminal fee from the booth. Before going aboard, you will have to put all of your things to the ground about a feet away from you then a dog will sniff your stuff. Simultaneously,  you will also be frisked. After all of that, you are good to go.

Travel time from Batangas Port to Caticlan is 9hours so it is better to just sleep it off.

View of Caticlan from the ferry

3. Ride a bus going to Iloilo which will pass along Brgy. Importante in Tibiao, Antique:
Finally, we arrived at Caticlan Jetty Port, Malay, Aklan. After having our breakfast, we rode the Ceres bus going to Iloilo which will pass along Brgy. Importante in Tibiao, Antique. The bus was parked right in front of Caticlan port. Do not ride the bus going to Kalibo.

Travel time from Caticlan Jetty Port to Brgy. Importante is 2.5hours but one conductor said that it may take 3hours depending on how frequent the passengers alight or how often the driver stops for passengers. My friend told the conductor to drop us off the Municipal Hall. The earliest trip from Tibiao is 6am while the last is 5pm. If in case you want to catch the first or last trip, the conductor said that you should be waiting 30minutes before the given time. I realized they really don't have a specific/concrete time for their first or last trip since they are in the middle of Panay Island. All they give are just rough estimates.

4. Find a person who can help you go to Seco Island:
The bus ride was smooth due to paved roads. It was almost 12noon when we arrived at the municipal hall. My travel companions, went inside and tried to talk to the secretary of a public official there if they have a boat which can take us to Seco Island. But to our dismay, they did not help us to go to Seco Island. All they kept saying was that we should have scheduled it ahead of time. They also said that it is not safe to go there at this time (lunch time) because the waves are already big and trips going there should be done at 4am when the water is calm. We told them we found no contact numbers in the internet so we weren't able to schedule ahead of time and then when we asked if we can have any contact number in case we try to pursue going there, they couldn't give us any. Then one bangkero (or maybe he is a bantay-dagat) gave his number. Oh, there was also one public official who gave her number but when we dialed it, it cannot be reached. Fantastic. Bottomline, going to Municipal Hall and asking for help didn't go so well. The people there actually didn't help at all. So… What's plan B?

We walked towards the shore which was like 500meters from the municipal hall and tried to look for a fisherman who has a good heart and can help us go to Seco Island. Instead, we found an old woman drying up her clothes.  We asked if she knows of any fisherman who has a boat and can bring us to Seco Island. She pointed to a distant part of the shoreline and said, Malabor. She wasn't really good at conversing in Filipino but we understood anyway. Thank God someone helped us. She told us to ride a tricycle and look for Malabor Fisher Folks and that's what we did. Unfortunately,  the tricycle driver didn't know where Malabor Fisher Folks was so he dropped us off at the Baranggay Hall. There were people watching tv inside the hall and we asked if they know where is Malabor Fisher Folks. Then someone went out and said we should just wait there.

Lo and behold, that someone went back with an actual fisherman who has his own boat! Hurray! We begged him to please help us go to Seco Island. We told him we came from Manila and we have traveled this far. We didn't want to go back without going to Seco Island. Sayang naman. He told us that he needs to make sure first that we will be safe. He checked if it was a high tide based on the calendar (it has to be high tide to get there). He went back to the Municipal hall and radioed the people in Seco Island and asked if it was feasible to go there. The people stationed in the island said that yes, we can arrive there safely based on the wind. Wow! All it took was a fisherman for this adventure to push through.

The boatride:
We then prepared our things and it was almost 2P.M. when we got to the boat. The boat that we rode was only good for two people plus the boatman. It was really small. In our case, we were 5 travelers so we hired two boats to which, one has 3 passengers.

Happy faces finally riding a boat to Seco Island. Take note, we were very much dry at the start of the ride.

The boat ride was the most unforgettable part of the trip. I didn't expect the waves to be really huge. It was really an adventure. It was the craziest part.

A glimpse of the wild waves we've encountered along the way. The waves here are smaller because we were near the island when this was taken but it was much bigger when we were in the middle of the sea.

Imagine that the boat is your car and the waves are huge ramps on the road. What happens when a fast car hits a ramp? You fly. And that's what happened to us. We were like constantly flying. Waves after waves after waves. Water splashing on our faces as if there was no tomorrow. Take note, it was almost a 3-hour boat ride. There was a time when I was already praying to God asking for his guidance and protection, to make sure that we get to Seco Island safely. It was really scary because for most of the part of the ride, you will see nothing but just vast waters. No island, no whatever. Just the sea and the sky. I was actually thinking, pinoy mountaineer grades his mountain with a scale of 9 being the hardest climb. If I was going to grade this boat ride among all of my boatrides, this was a 9. The most adventurous of them all.

Be prepared to get really wet, like you already swam in the waters. Also, water proof your things.  If possible, put them inside a sealed plastic bag and do not place them on the floor of the boat because at the end of the boat ride, water has already filled the bottom of the boat. Lastly, you don't get to wear a lifevest. All I can say is, that boat ride is really not for the faint-hearted.

The Main Attraction: Seco Island

Finally, we got to the island in one piece!!! We made it!!! Just imagine our joy after all that we've been through. 

And we were dripping wet at the end of the boat ride

Unfortunately, it was almost 5pm and the sun was already fading. We had to set up our tents and fix our things. Fortunately,  they have a tent facility there. They are even gave us a light bulb! Yes, there was electricity but it must be used minimally only.

Tent facility guarded by a stray dog

I changed to dry clothes while travel companions roamed around the island and enjoyed the fact that we all got there safely. Evening came and my companions cooked using the cookset and butane that we brought. We shared a hearty meal and after which, I washed the dishes. By the way, they have the old school cooking facility of wood, cement and fire there in the island.

At the course of the night, we got to talk to the fisherman who brought us in the island. He told me that the curent mayor of Tibiao was the only one who thought of taking care of this island. Not so long ago, people from Boracay go there and they do kite surfing because the wind in the island can really be strong since it is located right in the middle of the sea. But now, you must get permits from the municipal hall of Tibiao before you can be allowed to set foot on the island. He also said that there used to be 12 more meters of sand from the shoreline but it was taken through sand mining by big companies. Mind you, the sand in Seco Island is as white and as fine as that of Boracay's. This explains why such things happened.

The next morning, we roamed around the small island and these are what we found:

It was dark and gloomy on the east side of the island

Lots of trash washed away to the shore of the island

Some light bulb we found in the sand

A cove on the western side of the island which has calm waters

Clear, white sands

A happy kid roaming around

Sand as white as snow

Basically, that was it. It was just a small island and maybe 30 minutes is enough to walk around the whole island. After doing this early morning walk, we went for a swim. It was sad because there was not much creatures in the water. It was very evident that corals were already dead.

After snorkeling, we headed back to the tent. We fixed our things and went back to sailing to mainland. As we were heading out of the island, the color of the water was unusually blue. It was so blue it had the same color as the paint of the boat. In all my travels, I think I've never seen such blue water in my entire life. It was amazing. Seco Island is really a wonder.

When we were halfway across the sea, we saw a school of dolphin swimming not far from our boat. We thought they were just one group but lo and behold, as we got near them lots were jumping around! A pod of dolphin was swimming around us! It was so cool!!! Dolphins in the wild, jumping around right before my very eyes! We realized they were in that area because there were probably lots of fish in there as reflected by birds who were also flying above us, catching their prey as well. We really wanted to jump and swim with the dolphins but there might also be sharks lurking deep in the waters who might also be having some feeding frenzy. Unfortunately, our camera's battery was also drained so we weren't able to capture the moment. It will just be forever embedded in our memory. This is why that boat ride to and fro Seco Island is such a memorable one.

Back on mainland Antique:
After a 2-hour ride, we were back on mainland. The boat ride was faster this time because the waves were much smoother and the wind was not that strong.

The adventurous travelers after the bumpy ride

 We took a bath and change our clothes at the house of the fisherman who helped us. They were so hospitable and warm, they even served merienda for us. The family members were so friendly, they were talking to us as if we have long known each other. After taking a bath, we had to head out because we were running out of time to go to our little side trip so we bid farewell to them. And that was how we ended this adventurous trip to Seco Island.

Tips:
1. Better book online via 2Go for your tickets. If you weren't able to buy tickets online, you can purchase it at the ticket booth but it will cost you more. Our tickets from Caticlan going to Batangas which was bought online costs only 700php each. But when my friend bought it from the ticket booth, it costs like 1000+php. It was way more expensive than ours.

2. Also, it is better to uncheck everything like bedding, etc. when purchasing the ticket. It will cost more due to VAT. You can just get bedding when you are in the boat. There is no difference, really.

3. Alternatively when going to Tibiao, you can book a plane ride going to Kalibo. Then ride a bus from Kalibo going to Tibiao, Antique. We chose via ferry because it was a "rush" trip and plane tickets were much more expensive.

4. Butane gas and raw meat are not allowed in the port so don't bother bringing them. But umbrellas, poles, mineral bottles are allowed.

5. There was a 7-eleven store and carinderias inside the port so you can buy some stuff from there and eat. Price of the food and goods were fair. 

6. When riding a 2Go ferry, FREE dinner is given at the bar. Just present your ticket then it will be handed to you.

7. You may also rent bedding for 30php. It includes an inflatable pillow plus a blanket. Just leave your ID with them and get it back when you are returning the bedding.

8. When the ship is fully booked, you are required to follow the bed number as indicated in your area ticket. Otherwise, you may choose to sleep wherever you want.

9. You may message me if you want the contact number of the fisherman who brought us in the island.