Hakuna means “there is no/not”, simply because Masasa’s like no other.
Most of the time, I travel with tight resources – cash and time at that – with this trip not in the exemption list. I simply do not have the luxury to spend more than the necessary. Plus I don’t usually have that much spare of a time to squander, either. Thus, the logically two-day getaway was forcibly squeezed to fit into a single day affair. Occasionally, we had to rush here and there during the course of the hike to catch up with our plan; we just don’t want to mess up with our sched to avoid additional costs.
Most of the time, I travel with tight resources – cash and time at that – with this trip not in the exemption list. I simply do not have the luxury to spend more than the necessary. Plus I don’t usually have that much spare of a time to squander, either. Thus, the logically two-day getaway was forcibly squeezed to fit into a single day affair. Occasionally, we had to rush here and there during the course of the hike to catch up with our plan; we just don’t want to mess up with our sched to avoid additional costs.
By the time we reached the Mt. Gulugod Baboy peak, the sun’s already scorching hot, with the clock fast approaching lunch time. We didn’t pay out much time there since we know for a fact that we had to get down asap. Good thing there were trikes at the top available for hire towards the port in Anilao – convenience at its finest. Although I would love to go over the other half of the mountain climbing process, I had to seriously scrap the descent idea to keep up with our presumed Masasa Beach plan. Long story short, we just found ourselves in that winding road within a trike going to the port.
In roughly 15 minutes of downhill ride, we arrived at our destination just right beside the Batangas waters. Since the boat chartered to Tingloy Island won’t be leaving yet anytime soon during that time, we decided to give ourselves the lunch meal we think we deserve seconds after arranging for a verbal reservation with the boat’s point-person. Unfortunately, the boat we’re supposed to ride was full, the inside seats were already occupied, just in time we jumped inside. The lone way to do it was spend the entire ride outside the designated passengers’ area under the heat of the sun.
Hesitant at first due to overloading and err, uncomfortable situation, I eventually convinced myself to take that ride and spend the next hour under the beaming rays of the angry sun. Needless to say, the waves were also splashing wildly against us prompting me to get salty soaked for the rest of the ride. At the end of it, I was literally wet and dry at the same time.
At few minutes past the top of the hour, we finally arrived at the rugged Tingloy Port. Nothing much out there to see around, we just rode another trike to bring us at the Masasa Beach jump-off point – a short downhill hike across a rice field perfectly painted under blue skies. Finally, we were welcomed by a rather small but a refreshing stretch of the Masasa shorelines. A few groups of hikers and casual tourists alike, were already having the time of their lives when we arrived.
Tingloy Island actually offers more than just its beach. In fact, there are a number of snorkeling and island hopping activities for the taking. But in our case, the beach trip was already more than enough for a side. Instead, we plainly spent those good two-hours by the sea, the sand, and the rocks, before finally callng for pack up.
End note: Known to be a quick post-climb getaway among Mt. Gulugod Baboy climbers, Masasa Beach in Tingloy remains as an all-time favorite among hikers. Located just a boat away from Mabini, where the famed Mt.GB sits, we decided to visit it after a swift, easy climb off the said mountain. Our date of visit was last year’s 9-11 day, back in time when the beach was steeply gaining much popularity among non-hikers.
