We started the next day by having breakfast in the resort. After that, we prepared our things for our island hopping activity. We started the island hopping around 8 in the morning. We were fetched from the resort and drop at the port. It was low tide so we walked to our boat. During low tide, you can actually walk from Gigantes Norte to another island, Bulobadiang Island where an extension of Gigantes Hideaway Resort is.
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| Walking to our boat |
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| Bulobadiang Island |
Antonia Island
Our first destination is the Antonia Island. The island have a beautiful white sand beach and is also a good spot for snorkeling. Visiting this island costs PhP 20.00 per person, but if you availed the tour package, entrance fees to the islands is already included. You can rent goggles and snorkel gears at the store on the island.
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| Approaching Antonia Island |
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| Just enjoying the view |
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| Antonia beach |
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| Snorkeling area |
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| At the other side of Antonia Island |
Bantigue Island
Next destination to our island hopping is Bantigue Island, where there is also a beautiful sandbar. The island also has a very nice white sand and crystal clear waters that are very nice for swimming and has a nice view of the ocean between two islands. We wanted to stay for a bit longer on the island since the view really captivated us, but we have more islands to visit so went back to the boat.
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| Bantigue Island and its sandbar |
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| The sandbar |
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| The ocean between two islands |
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| What a view! |
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| The obligatory pose |
Cabugao Gamay Island
The next island destination is where most photos of Gigantes Islands that we see on the internet was taken. Cabugao Islands is a stretch of white sand beach with hills at the end and a huge rock at the other side. The huge rocks is where guests climb to get the view we see from the photos on the internet. We climbed to the top of the huge rock to see the view and it was just breathtaking. The island is also nice to have a swim.
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| Cabugao Gamay Island |
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| Approaching Cabugao Island |
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| The huge rocks |
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| See that hole in the middle? You need to crawl in it |
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| Everywhere I look is just breathtaking! |
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| View from top of the rock |
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| The money shot |
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| A lovely view! |
Tangke Saltwater Lagoon
Second to the last destination is Tangke Saltwater Lagoon or also known as Hidden Lagoon. We paid PhP 50.00 per person for the entrance since this is not included in the tour package. Not sure why, though. The hidden lagoon is surrounded by limestone rocks that just reminds me of Palawan. It was still a low tide at the moment, so the sand is visible in the lagoon. Tangke is also the area where you can go cliff diving. Kuya Joseph, our tour guide jumped with me. He told me he was also the one that gave Drew a tour during the Gigantes Island episode in 'Byahe ni Drew'.
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| Off to Tangke Saltwater Lagoon! |
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| The island is covered with limestones |
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| There's the entrance |
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| Welcome to Tangke! |
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| Tangke Saltwater Lagoon! |
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| Lowtide at the Hidden Lagoon |
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| Cliff jumping in Tangke |
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| Here we go! |
Lunch at Gigantes Hideaway Resort Extension
After the exciting cliff jump, we left Tangke and proceed to our last island in the island hopping tour. Gigantes Hideaway has an extension on Bulobadiang Island, near Gigantes Norte. We will be having our lunch at the extension resort. Upon arriving, we relaxed for a bit while Kuya Joseph prepares our food. After a few minutes, the food is ready and we were thrilled with the mouthwatering foods! After the delightful meal, we head back to Gigantes Norte and drop by to our room quickly to prepare for our next tour.
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| Approaching Bulobadiang Island |
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| Gigantes Hideaway Resort Extension |
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| Beach and hammock, a perfect combination! |
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| Our lunch! Look at the size of those crabs, with squid, scallops and some shell something |
Bakwitan Cave
The last tour included in the tour package is the Bakwitan Cave. We were fetched from the resort by our tour guide, Kuya Junjun. We then ride a motorbike to the jump-off point of the cave. There are several caves in Gigantes Islands but as of the moment, Bakwitan is the only one that is open for guests. Kuya Junjun told us that the name of the cave, 'Bakwitan' was derived from 'evacuate-an', which means a place of refuge since the cave is being used when storms and typhoons hit the island. The cave was also the place where some of the first people who live on the island were buried. The first people on the island were believed as giants, that is why the group of islands is called Gigantes.
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| Riding to the jump-off point |
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| Burn nothing but calories, and please donate to Sitio Hayahay :) |
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| Climbing to the entrance of the cave |
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| Cave entrance |
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| Please observe rules |
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| We're ready! |
Like the caves in Sagada, there are still bones of people that are buried inside the cave. A lot of rock formations can also be found inside the cave. You can also see some stalactites and stalagmites that are still forming so just be careful not to touch it. Compared to the short course caving in Sagada, this one just takes around 45-minutes to finish, but it's more difficult. You need to literally crawl to some areas and go up to hard to climb areas.We thought it was finished when we got out of the cave, but we need to go down the since we are on a higher ground. The trail going down is a bit rocky so you need to be careful.
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| Bones inside the cave |
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| Bamboo beds used by evacuees |
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| Rock formations inside the cave |
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| Stalagmites forming |
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| Owl formation |
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| Stalactites forming |
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| Yeah, you need to crawl there |
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| Saw this inside the cave |
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| Say hello to the little guy |
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| That was just halfway?! |
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| View from the exit of the cave |
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| Descending back to jump-off point |
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| Hooray, we made it! |
It's still early when we finished the caving so we went back to the sandbar to swim. After that, we went back to the resort, just relaxed and wait till our seafood dinner will be served. That's our Gigantes Islands experience! Though it is quite a trip going here, It's definitely worth it! Thanks for reading!
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| Cheers from Gigantes Islands! |
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