It was the first day of 2018. I woke up on a beautiful morning on a New year holiday. I was feeling bloated by last night’s pig-out session. I was feeling so lazy and just wanted to sleep the whole day and waited for the undigested food to exit out of my body so I can pig out again. Then, I heard my mom calling me, asking me to get ready for a beach trip. I could not believe my mom, who is not really into travel, inviting the whole family for an outdoor trip. I hopped out of my bed and got ready. This is going to be fun! We packed our stuffs. Got ready. Gas-ed the car and we were on our way to Buluan Island in Ipil Zambonaga Sibugay which is 3 hours from Zamboanga city.
ready for a trip
mom, thea and me
dad, our driver
As we passed along MCLL Highway, we made some stops on scenic views to take pictures (and to take a leak, too). First stop was on Brgy Muti. We just got off the car and took photos of the lush green grassland just at the right beside the road. I took my SJCAM M20 camera for a wider angle of view. The view was beautiful. Second stop was on another scenic view somewhere in Brgy Curuan, a few kilometers after Brgy Muti. Here, you’ll see an overlooking view of green hills and the sea. The views are so breathtaking that not taking a photo and selfie is a crime.
first stop
the amazing Muti grassland
selfie!
second stop
Amazing backdrop view
After an hour of driving, we finally arrived in Brgy Buluan in Ipil. We parked our car and we headed to boat’s docking station. As we got closer to the boat’s terminal, we noticed there are many people, which was so unusual for this place. Turns out that these people are also heading to the island and waiting for the boat to fetch them. Then we are informed that The Islands if swarmed with people, hundreds of them. We couldn’t ride immediately, we had to wait for the queue. While waiting, we took pictures with the cool bamboo-made wharf.
photo ops at the bamboo wharf
The second boat came and it was our time to take a ride to the island. We hopped on to the boat. We were charged 50 pesos per head.
We arrived at the island and boy it was infested with humans!!! There were so many people that it was hard to imagine Buluan the way I knew. Trash are scattered everywhere on the sand. Drunkards are partying and bottles of beer were everywhere. Plastics! all over the place. And the worst of all, big boats were docked on the swimming area. The smell of diesel was so strong, it made me felt like I was swimming on fuel. I pity on the Island.
Despite the condition, we took a dip in the water and tried to enjoy it as much as we could. We left the island and still it was a fun day! HERE'S THE VLOG
This is probably one of the best islands I've been that is near my hometown. Buluan Island in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay is just 4 hours away from Zamboanga City, my hometown. It boasts a white sand beach, intact and pristine coral reefs, and a tropical paradise that is Instagram-worthy.
Buluan Island is a marine sanctuary. Meaning, it is a protected area. Fishing and other activities that are harmful for the marine environment are strictly prohibited. That just gives us an idea of how beautiful the corals are in this paradise, all preserved well. You'll see small fishes, corals of different designs and color, giant clams, and if you're lucky enough, you might see a sea turtle wandering around the reef. That's how preserve this island is!
Check out this vlog I made for this trip:
Getting to Buluan Island was surprisingly easy. From Zamboanga city, we just took an Ipil bound bus in Zamboanga terminal then disembarked at Brgy. Buluan (that's about 4km before Ipil town porper). Then, we took an habal-habal ride from the highway to the residence to Ma'am Rosalie, the owner of the boat that took us to the Island. Finally, we took a pump boat ride to the island. It'll only take 15 to 20 minutes.
If you're not sure where to disembark off the bus, don't you worry because the bus driver or kondoktor knows where to drop you off. Just tell them you're heading to Buluan Island. But if your still hesitant, then the best option is to disembark at the Ipil bus terminal where there are many habal-habal drivers that are more than happy to take you to Brgy Buluan Island.
Our contact person for this trip was Ma'am Rosalie. She is the owner of the boat that took us to the island. She prepared for our habal-habal ride and snorkeling activities. We already contacted her 2 days before the trip for the boat reservation. Everything went smoothly because of her. We took her number from another Buluan blog post here: http://ujalmocera.com.
Here's Ma'am Rosalie's phone number: +63936528192
So here the break down of our expenses:
Fare from Ipil to Buluan: Php 500 round trip (rough estimate)
Habal habal to the boat's docking station: Php 60 round trip
Boat ride: Php 500 round trip
Snorkeling gear: Php 100
Boat ride to the best snorkeling sites: 500 php
Buluan island is so beautiful that it needs to be preserved well. So if you're visiting this place, please do me a favor. Let's leave nothing and take nothing in/from this island.
