We spent the week of Christmas at the lovely Sangat Island Dive Resort in the Calamian islands of the Philippines. Both Jake and Kyle joined us, and we all had a fabulous time. The resort consists of 14 traditional Philippine nipa huts tucked into the jungle along a strand of white sand beach. It was heaven.
This was our home for the week: no AC, no WiFi, no hot water. Of all the places we could have chosen to spend our Christmas, why did we choose this place? Well, the front yard was pretty great.
Our front yard
Sangat was perfect for us, but it isn't for everyone. If you want to lounge by the pool, or watch TV - you're out of luck. In fact, they don't even have hot water or WiFi. What Sangat does offer is a goreous white sand beach just five steps from your hut, a stunning physical setting, solitude, a wide variety of activities, and a charming and knowledgeable staff. The island is a nature preserve, both above above water and below water, with monkeys and hornbills in the jungle just behind our hut, and a healthy, vibrant coral reef just a few feet off the beach.
It took a bit of effort to get to Sangat: a flight to Manila, another flight to Busuanga island, and a boat ride through the mangroves out to Sangat.
The adventure begins
We were all pretty stoked
We had perfect weather all week. The sunrises were spectacular. The wildlife is most active in the mornings, with monkeys capering a the base of the cliffs, and endangered Palawan Hornbills making regular appearances.
We never missed a single sunrise
We watched the monkeys play
Endangered Palawan Hornbills right behind our hut
Jake and Jen saw this two foot long monitor lizard catch and kill a crab on the beach
Like many of the islands in the Calamian group, Sangat is made of limestone that is weathered into a sureal, otherworldly razorscape.
At one end of the resort they built a walkway around the cliffs to an adjacent beach, where there is an upscale hut (now there's an oxymoron) that can be rented out with its own private beach.
Our favorite spot to watch the sunrise was from a platform out on the cliffside walkway
There were so many activites that we never go bored. We snorkeled, kayaked, island hopped, swam inside a cave, explored remote beaches, and Kyle treated us to a jet ski tour of the neighboring islands and mangroves. The boys took SCUBA diving lessons and got to explore Japanese shipwrecks from WW2.
Kyle's dolphin tattoo seems appropriate here.
Take a look at this beautiful coral that was just off from our hut in less than 2 meters of water.
The kayaking was wonderful.
The water was so many hues of blue and green
It was almost like snorkeling because you could see the fish swiming through the corals just below the boat.
Getting the rope over to the cliff was a challenge....
Mission accomplished!
Weird rock formations.
Kayaking through the mangroves to the hidden hot springs.
Time to jet ski!
Hauling ass through the mangroves
On Christmas the resort owner through a feast for us featuring Lechon (a whole barbecued pig) and entertainment by a troupe of traditional Tagbanua drummers and fire dancers. It was really cool.
Sorry for the long post, but it really was a remarkable experience for all of us. It was great to spend time with our sons, just the four of us, and to see what truely wonderful young men they have become.
Thanks for reading, we'll see you later. We'll be writing another post soon about the other islands we visited on this trip.
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