I thought I have explored Zambales to its end but I thought wrong. When I consulted Google about the list of the islands or a must-see in Zambales - one of the names on the list happened to be unfamiliar and eye-catching - Magalawa Island.
I have been to Zambales several times, I knew travelling at night is best - less passenger, no traffic (less travel time), you can sleep while travelling. From Victory Liner Cubao, we took the 11:30pm schedule to Olongapo (the earliest trip from Cubao to Sta. Cruz is 6:30am). It'll cost you P212/pax. From Olongapo terminal, we took another bus going to Sta. cruz, only P130/pax to Iba, Zambales Victory Liner Terminal. Add P50/pax if you want to be drop at drop-off point - Brgy. Pangolinan, Paluig, Zambales. We chose to stay a little bit longer in Iba terminal because it was early when we arrived there - quarter to 4am. Advised to tourist, seldom you can get a tricycle from Brgy. Pangolingan during this time of the morning. You either need to wait until 6:30am at the waiting shed (its dark, no light post) or take the 30-45 minutes hike from the main highway to Brgy. Luan where the 'bangka-for-rent' are located.
We spent P167/pax (3 pax per tricycle) from Iba terminal straight to Armada OSLET fish-men compound where our bangka is waiting for us. From there, it'll take 30 minutes boat ride to the island. The island may not be as developed as those in Subic, Pundaquit, Candelaria in Zambales but you will not regret having this an option to spend your summer vacation or weekend-away-from-the-city escapade.
I have been to different beaches thus I can consider this small, underdeveloped and quiet, which are also the reasons why we chose to spend our 2 days off in this place.
Like I said, the place is not that developed so no luxurious spa, motorized and even non-motorized water activities, internet cafe or a 3-4 story building that house luxurious rooms/suites. It has electricity, though, it'll only start at 8AM until 1PM and to be turn on again at 4PM until 8 or 9PM if you request to prolong your charge-time for your electronic devices. There's a mobile signal too for selected networks. The absence of luxurious amenities are well-compensated by primitive way of enjoying this paradise. Who needs a spa if you can bury your self in the sand while sand bathing - relaxing and free tan! Who needs a court of some sort and a motorized water devices when you can tire yourselves running back and forth to this island's long shore, play Frisbee, beach volleyball (they have volleyball net), snorkeling (they have a balsa that can take their visitors for free at the middle of the sea), or simply have a chat with your close friends by the shore until the dusk settles in.
The food! The food was great. This what they call: seafood galore! I would say this is the main attraction. Since there is not much to see in the island for it was surrounded by mountains, all we did was chat by the shore, swim and eat. The rate per person was P1,400.00 and it includes boat transfer from the mainland to Magalawa island (v.v), accommodations, full-board meals and water activities (mentioned above). Some may find this expensive but if you have tried their seafood meals from breakfast of day one to lunch of day two, you would say - "Are they not in a disadvantage? This meals are worth more than what we have paid-for for the whole duration of the stay in some restaurants in Manila."
Filipino breakfast on our first day, the usual 'tapsilog', 'hotsilog', 'longsilog', etc. with a hot coffee/milo or a cold juice. Not to mention 'itlog-na-maalat' and fresh tomatoes with hot/fresh cooked rice and ;pritong tilapia' or 'bangus'. Lunch was served and we had the taste of their sinigang, crabs and shrimp cooked in different style and passion of their smiling and accommodating chef. Dinner was served by 'hanging-lights' (as what I call it!lol) under the tree. So romantic!:D Crabs and lobster all over the table - took us couple of minuets to decide which one to pick first. Oh, the 2nd day breakfast was a blast. All seafood meal we imagined and it was served to us on a 'balsa' (floating boat), a break-in-a-fast day life indeed!
There are several type of accommodations. You may choose to stay in a tent (that we plan to do before arriving in the island). You may also stay in a nipa cottage, air-con rooms and tree-house. Luckily for us, when we arrived - there are only a few visitors that we are provided a tree-house that we loved the first time we saw it. It was big enough to accommodate six of us and our not-so-many-beach-stuff. Though there's no private comfort room/shower room, if you choose to stay in a tree house or in a nipa cottage - you get to share common shower room which is located a little too far from the cottages. You can either shower inside their common shower room/bath room or follow our lead who enjoyed bathing in the island 'poso' (water pump).
A far cry from the luxurious haven but still a haven at its best!:)
