Early the next morning, I boarded the boat going back to Allen. We left the port at 6:30 AM and arrived at Allen Port around an hour later. Instead of staying there, I just decided to proceed to Calbayog where my flight going back to Manila would be taking-off. There are a lot more islands and natural wonders to discover in Northern Samar but I simply did not have the time. A side trip to Biri would have been nice but simply not feasible at the moment. Capul would suffice. The experience was short but memorable.
Calbayog is well-known as a city of waterfalls. An hour and a half away from Catbalogan, this border city is divided into three major districts: Calbayog, Oquendo, and Tinambacan. It is a rather large city and the major natural attractions are kind of scattered all over that it sometimes takes an hour to reach them. However, there are some that are easily accessible from the city center.
My stay in Calbayog was more like a luxury stopover than a travel adventure. I blame the hotel for this. HAHAHA. I saw an ad for a certain Ciriaco Hotel, and its location at Baranggay Bagacay simply coincided with one of the sites on my list: Bagacay Beach. Another beach is accessible through a ten minute Traisikol ride to the next town: Naga Beach.
Those beaches are not that stunning but what makes them cool is their accessibility from the city center. It won't take you 15 minutes to reach either of them if coming from the church or the plaza. Although not that spectacular, a lot of people were hanging out by the shore when I came to visit. At Naga Beach there were less people and most of them were just playing on the sand. There are wooden cottages although I was not able to confirm if there is a fee. To go there, you just ask the Traisikol to drop you off at Naga Beach. There are no gates whatsoever, you just go down to the beach directly .
My access to Bagacay Beach, on the other hand, was through a resort and restaurant with a gate. You have to pay five pesos to get in. There are cottages along the beach with price tags on them, meaning you have to pay for staying there. There were considerably more people at this beach than at Naga Beach. Most of them were grouped by demographic. There were teenagers swimming, middle-aged men drinking beer, bored housewives engaged in loud chatter on the concrete benches. Yes, there are concrete benches on the beach itself near the shore although it does not seem to be that well-maintained.
I did not stay long at any of the beaches. I just explored the place, took some pictures, and left. Before that, I visited the cathedral just across the Handumanan Souvenir Shop where the Tourist Information Office is also located, as well as the plaza. Nijaga Park is at the city center itself just by the river and across Chowking. Other than these, you would then have to travel to see some natural attractions. This part of the city is a bit crowded and feels just like Metro Manila. Aside from the waterfalls, there is also a hot spring called Mapaso and the Mawacat Slide, both of which I was not able to visit because I just stayed in the hotel until 4 PM due to the rain. It had been rumored that Chedeng was coming to Calbayog, although I did not meet the said typhoon, which I guess was a good thing.
The next morning was reserved for the Traisikol trip to the airport since my plane was leaving quite early. Maybe I will come back again one day to check Catbalogan out.
[CALBAYOG] Watching “Water Fall” by the Window
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