Finally, I’ve set foot on Potipot Island, in the province of Zambales. I have been excitedly waiting a long time for that day to come, like a child drooling while standing in-front of a candy shop. I was not disappointed with what I saw and experienced.
We left Angeles City at 4:00 AM. I was with my hubby, my two sons Miguel and Sef, and our friends. I was so excited that I did not even sleep, I was awake from 9:00 AM the day before, until around 7:30 AM the following day. When I finally fell asleep during the trip at around 2:00 AM, I was already waking up my friends, calling them on their cell phones. At last, at around 4:10 AM we were on our way to our destination - Candelaria, Zambales.
It was such a long trip, my sons were so bored. Our first stop over was at a gas station in Subic, we went to the restrooms and bought some drinks - Sef got sick at the gas station, probably dizzy with the long ride. We stopped over again at Jollibee, still in Subic, to eat breakfast. Of course, before leaving, my friends had their yosi break.
Since it was all our first time to go to Candelaria, Zambales, we asked for directions leading to the town of Candelaria. The directions were not that clear, I had to call Ate Nina, the owner of the resort we're going to stay in, which is Alta Nina Resort. Finally, after 5 hours, we finally reached our destination - Alta Nina Resort in Brgy Sinabacan, Candelaria, Zambales.
I was the one who made the reservation in the resort, and what made me choose Alta Nina were all the good reviews that I have read online from people who stayed there. The resort's facade was simple, not that attractive compared to the other resorts in Trinidad Bay, however, the way Mang Noel, the caretaker, treats the guests - it was more than great. Great service, this is the main reason we chose the place, and definitely the most important point to look for when choosing a place to stay. I must say, the reviews I read proved to be true.
Trinidad Bay was the beach where Alta Nina Resort was located, you can see Potipot Island from there and it would take a 5 minute boat ride to reach the island. Although we were all excited to go to Potipot, we did not go to the island on our first day because it rained. Mang Noel discouraged us to go and we heeded his advice. True enough, the rain did not stop and continued through the night.
So we just stayed put and enjoyed the beach (played volleyball). The sand on the beach was fine and gray, and the water was clear, it only looks dark from afar because of the color of the sand. My sons were delighted and enjoyed the beach. It was my youngest son's first time to go the beach, and he was waiting for this trip for a very long time. From the look on his face, he was not disappointed.
After getting tired from our swim, my husband and I took a nap, while some of our friends went to the market to buy some stuff. I got up when my friends arrived from their trip to the market. I was glad that I got up because I caught the sunset. The sight was so beautiful, so I grabbed the camera, ran to beach and took pictures of it. The only nightlife in the resort was the videoke, so we asked Mang Noel to set-up the videoke machine. However, after a few songs, the videoke machine stopped playing, and since Mang Noel was nowhere to be found that time, we decided to play poker instead.
Our second day was perfect and the sun was perfect. We left for Potipot at around 9:30 PM, we were supposed to leave earlier but we decided to eat our breakfast on the resort instead. We bought some fresh caught fishes to grill on the island for our lunch. The boat ride was indeed only for five minutes and costs 50 pesos per person. The water was calm and it was a smooth ride.
Potipot Island was breathtakingly beautiful. The water was very clear, it's like you were in a swimming pool. The sun was not white (perhaps because of the coral), it was somewhat Tan or light brown and very fine. We all walked around the island to see if it will indeed only take us 30 minutes, and true enough, you can really circle the island for only 30 minutes, well 20 if you half jog. The depth of the water depends on where on the island you will stay, some parts go very deep once you go in the water, some are shallow, and this is where we stayed and swam since we were bringing along children. As expected, we cannot get enough of taking pictures of the island.
Lunch consisted of only grilled fish, since we left our rice in the resort. Rice is not the only thing we left behind, not one of us brought any money! Thanks to my husband, who brought with him the 40 pesos I left on the table during breakfast, the kids were able to buy and eat some ice cream. Although very hungry, we still enjoyed Potipot. The beauty of the island made us forget our hunger. Why would you go all the way to Boracay when Potipot is just a few hours of drive away? Well, if you only want to go to Boracay because of the nightlife, you should still go because you will not see that on Potipot, but if you love nature and wants to visit a great beach - I definitely recommend Potipot!
