First Wedding Anniversary Getaway

On our first year anniversary as official Mr. and Mrs. Tocmo, we celebrated this little milestone (and the fact that we have been together for 9 years)by going on a road trip back to Mati.

We’ve been to Mati twice (but the second time doesn’t really count as we were only passing by on our way to Aliwagwag) and Mati just never disappoints. There is the Dahican beach, the Subangan museum, the Mati baywalk, the sleeping dinosaur, and the Pujada Island.

We’ve been to Dahican and seen the sleeping dinosaur back in 2015 so why did we decide to come back? This time we want to experience Pujada Island and to visit their museum and check out Mati baywalk.

Day 1

We checked out from La-ne’s Kalapyahan and gathered all our necessities for our island hopping at Pujada (fortunately, the hotel reception were very kind to let us leave our backpacks at the front desk since we were coming back and will still be staying for another night, but they will need to assign us to another room). Then we headed back to Lawigan to meet our boatman and then we’re headed to Pujada Island.

Pujada Island in sight

The boat trip was about around 30 – 45 minutes (probably will depend on the speed of the outrigger boat). I am not quite sure if all areas of the Pujada Island is accessible as our boatman said there are areas that are privately owned. We were also not able to tour the entire island because I was a little concerned about our outrigger boat as it was small and the tide, although relatively calm in the morning, was getting pretty rough around noon.

Our boat man brought us to the dock at the side of the Pujada Island which was managed by La-ne’s Kalapyahan. I think it was the common docking area at Pujada Island as there were two other boats that docked while we were there.

When we were there the shore was a little muddy and the sea was pretty dirty because according to the care taker it was brought about by the aftermath of the recent typhoon Domeng that hit the region a week before our trip.

However, the muddy shallow part of the beach did not deter our excitement as we have seen rich and lush coral reef on our way to the island. The husband and I are able to navigate our way to the part of the beach where the coral reefs are located.

After two hours of swimming/snorkeling and lounging at Pujada Island, we decided to head to Oake Island (most commonly known by locals as White Bus). The boat ride going to Oake Island was pretty rough as the wind was slowly picking up, thus, making big and storng waves. It also didn’t help that Oake Island was facing the open ocean.

We didn’t stay long at Oake Island as we feared our boat might get slammed by the strong waves (our two boatmen were desperately holding on to the small boat to keep it from getting washed ashore). So we headed back to the mainland after a few pictures. The wave was getting stronger and bigger on our way back which scared the hell out of me. I really thought our small boat would get capsized. Thank God we are able to get back safe and alive.

Day 1 Expenses:

Outrigger Boat rental (good for 2) + additional payment for the helper = P1,000

(the original price or the boat rental that we agreed on was only P500 but since there were 2 boatmen who accompanied us and we enjoyed our experience we gave another 500 so the two could split equally)

Entrance Fee at Pujada Island = P100 (P50 per head)

DAY 2

We spend our second day swimming at Dahican, strolling at Mati baywalk and touring the Subangan Museum.

We woke up early at 5 AM to catch a glimpse of the Dahican sunrise which we failed to witness on our first visit back in 2015. Then we walked for about 20 minutes towards the sandy part of the Dahican beach (as the beach fronting the resort was rocky). We took pictures and swim to our heart’s content. Then we head back to the resort to wash up and get ready for breakfast.

After breakfast, we headed to Mati City and strolled along the baywalk. Then we headed to Subangan museum.

Expenses:

Subangan museum = P100 (P50 per head)

It was such a fun filled anniversary date with the husband and how I missed going on a road trip with him. Next in our road trip list is San Victor Island in Baganga (and hopefully we could do a side trip at a public beach in Cateel and take a dip at Aliwagwag falls again).