Although I have been in and out of Samal countless times, I didn’t really appreciate its lovely beaches until just a few years ago. I really hated how the sea breeze made me sleepy. Anyway I love the beach now, and since my return from the States late last year, I told myself I’d try to go to Samal every month. :)
Here are the beaches I’ve been to since December 2007:
Paradise Island
One of the most popular beach resorts in samal is Paradise Island Resort. Back when I was in grade school, I hated going to Paradise because they had so much jelly fish and they sting. =p well now that I’ve grown up I came to love paradise island, and it became one of my favorite beaches in the island – mainly because of its accessibility. When I visit paradise, I usually go early in the morning (I’m already at the beach around 6AM) to catch a quick swim, have breakfast, and then head back to davao. Also, you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg in paradise island. Prices are reasonable with the entrance fee just 100 pesos. I don’t really know how much the cottages and cabins cost because I just leave my stuff in the restaurant tables (which is free if you order food). =p Paradise is my quick getaway from the city, and it is best for impulsive beach trips.
Kembali Coast
Kembali coast is actually a residential project by Filinvest. Jett’s aunt celebrated her birthday here last January and I was fortunate enough to be invited. The beach is quite far – it took us around 30 minutes via speedboat from the wharf. Like I said it’s supposed to be residential but when we went to visit it wasn’t fully developed yet. What made our trip to Kembali different from the other beach trips was the aqua sports facilities they offered. Flying Fish, Banana Boat, Kayaks, Hobie Cats, and other aqua sports facilities. Sayang, when we came to visit it was quite windy. We did not get to use the banana boats and flying gish. We only got to use the Hobie Cats and Kayaks. It was still super fun of course! And we had barbecue. I hope I’d get the chance to come back and try their other facilities next time. Haha =p
Canibad Cove
Because of my lack of knowledge in Samal Beaches 101, I turned to the internet for gorgeous beaches that I’ve never heard of in Samal. Thanks to Google and Multiply, I’ve stumbled across a page featuring a picture of Canibad’s shoreline and it was love-at-first-jpeg-download. I read that visiting Canibad is a real adventure, and decided that it’s exactly what I need. So I told Jett and my friend Joi about it and after about 3 weeks of rescheduling, we were finally ready to go.
Getting to Canibad was not as easy as 1,2,3. There were different ways to get to Canibad but we decided to take the most convenient way (for me – haha). We brought a car, took the barge to Babak, and drove for more than an hour to a place where we could park. The drive was only supposed to take 45 minutes but it was our first time and we took a few wrong turns here and there. =p When we got to this place where we could leave the car we had to trek down 10 minutes to the beach. Although the road to Canibad was long/winding/muddy (it was drizzling earlier that day)/unpaved, I could really say that the beach was well worth it. It had the clearest (and saltiest) waters – as Jett would say “the best”, cheap accommodations – entrance to the “resort” was only 20 bucks per person, and a great view. For those who frequent Samal, it’s common knowledge that most of the nearby beaches have a view of the city from the shore, especially Marco Polo Hotel. Canibad, since it’s located at the other side of the island, does not share that sight (and that’s one of the things I love about it).
What attracted me to Canibad was how the beach was unspoiled and undeveloped. It shows nature at it's best. Of course, by saying undeveloped, it means that there are no restaurants in the area, and no electricity. =p I spoke with the caretaker of the resort we stayed in and she mentioned having a generator but it only runs until 10pm. Anyway, it did not matter much since we were only there for the day.
Among all the beaches I've been to, Canibad is hands down the most beautiful. We really had our share of adventure that day -- my friend got to see a whale swim by (while I was at the toilet dressing up -- haha) and our pickup almost fell off the road -- but i guess that's for another entry. Haynako, I could only hope that I could re-visit Canibad this year. I'll take the boat next time. =p
