It’s almost about 2:00 in the afternoon when we proceeded to the light house before we went to the beach to settle the day. [ If you want to know what happened first before we went to the lighthouse,
Tip: When you arrive in Calatagan, I suggest you seek the sites first before heading to beach especially if you only have two days to stay. When you arrive on the beach, there’s nothing to do really but swim and sun bathe.
Cape Santiago Lighthouse
Cape Santiago lighthouse according to the caretaker, Kuya Antonio, has never stopped its operation until today but in World War 2 as this was used by the Japanese soldiers for i-don’t-know-and-forgotten-reason-when-kuya-Antonio-mentioned-it-because-i-was-busy-taking-pictures-and-selfie. This is an 18th century lighthouse and now taken care of by the Philippine Coast Guard. Kuya Antonio is a licensed officer of the coast guard and a volunteer guide/caretaker for the light house.
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| This is the feels before you enter the lighthouse |
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| This is the first time that I saw a light house and went inside of it. |
The lighthouse is facing the Verde Island passage and Lubang Island, which is part of Mindoro already. Said that Lubang is closer to Calatagan but part of Mindoro. The locals of Lubang is closer to Calatagan that they buy their supplies there instead to its mother province itself.
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| This is located at the front of the lighthouse where you can sit back and relax a little bit |
Important:
Before heading to the lighthouse, call Kuya Antonio (Caretaker) first because sometimes he’s not around the area. Contact number below this post.
Burot Beach
Finally the destination!
Before you head to the beach, you have to ride another tricycle from the gate of the beach to the beach itself. Burot is a private property and would be the cheapest beach in Calatagan. You can also settle to other beach with resorts, but if you feel like spending less yet filled with adventure type and camp vacation, I recommend you to Burot beach.
When we arrived on the beach, the place is crowded so we were kinda disappointed, but I looked and searched around the area----go to the left most part and you will find less people and intimacy with whoever you are with.
We prepared our dinner through grill and self-made camp fire from the leaves and dry woods around the area. Good thing I came from my granny’s house when I was younger so I knew how to gather woods for camp fire.
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| Mangroves are located at the left part of the beach |
We prepared our dinner through grill and self-made camp fire from the leaves and dry woods around the area. Good thing I came from my granny’s house when I was younger so I knew how to gather woods for camp fire.
The night spent outside the tent in a picnic setting laid ourselves down on the sand stargazing and talked about our life----yeah ok, our love stories and current love affairs. (haha!).
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| NightCamp! And this dog loves to be cuddled and interact with the beach visitors, he even laid down with us. |
The other day, we spent the morning gathering our things to go home, but I stayed a bit alone to have some ocean dipping.
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| I told you! Dogs are everywhere and friendly! |
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| Survivor castaway? |
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| precious stuffs. |
What to know:
- There’s only one store on the beach.
- Electrical supply is out in Burot beach.
- The store provides tent, griller, camp fire woods, hot water and other food supplies
- The store also owns the restroom that you have to share with all the people on the beach.
- Less safer if you go farther on the beach because the security seldom goes there.
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| I want you to feel the inside of the camp and its view. |
- Insect Repellant.
- Own camp supplies. --- I mean everything!
- Own food (or buy at the Calatagan Market)
- Mallows for camp fire.
Summary:
Well, if you're looking for a safe place to travel, hospitable locals, and cheap getaway, Calatagan is a place to visit. I wouldn't highlight the Burot beach itself since there's a lot of beach and beach-resort options there, but rather the capability of Calatagan to give you variety of activities ( like wakeboarding!) and places that are available in their place.
Calatagan is a place for travelling lesser time yet jampacked perfect weekend getaway and a touch of 18th century culture that will make you wanna retire early and have a simple life just like Calatagenous.
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Here's the Part 1 of the post:
Travel Guide: A Budget Weekend Getaway Part 1 [ EZobel Museum & Santo Domingo de Silos Parish Church ]
You can now download our itinerary and expense sheet (excel) that covers our travel from Manila - Calatagan and vice versa.
Contacts:
Tricycle tour: Kuya Ruben - 09752638616 | 09997176599
Lighthouse: Kuya Antonio - 9198416486
