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The adventure junkies in Pujada Island
|
Not too many people know that Mati, the lone city and
capital of Davao Oriental, has three lovely islands under its jurisdiction:
Pujada (the biggest), Waniban and Oak (the smallest). I had been wanting to
explore these islands during my recent visits to the city but time and
circumstance kept me from pursuing my plan.
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| Pujada Island |
Early this month, I got an invite to go to the city from
Judith, a friend who hails from Mati. There was this big beach party that’s
going to happen over the weekend at the powdery white-sand shores of Dahican
Beach, which the organizers dubbed as “Mati Summer Frolic 2014”, an electronic
music festival of the colors of summer.
The two-night event would feature some of the country’s
best DJs performing live on stage, providing beach bums with pulsating beats of
electronic music. Food, drinks, foam machines, spray paint and water sprinklers
were expected to turn Mati’s popular beach strip into one helluva venue for
summer merrymaking.
Coming close on the heels of a weekend wandering in the
beach town of Glan in Sarangani Province, I was poised to turn down the
invitation. Besides, the roaring revelry wasn’t exactly my cup of tea. But when
Judith mentioned about the “cruise aboard a yacht” to Pujada Island, I quickly
changed my mind! LOL!
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Wild revelry at Summer Frolic
|
“Of course, I’m coming!” I responded without reservation.
For who in his right senses wouldn’t want to cruise in style to one of Mati’s
best-kept secrets? Certainly not me!
After convincing my college buddy Jobots to join the trip, I quickly packed my stuff.
The two off us headed for Mati one Friday afternoon.
Aside from Jobots and I, Judith had also asked two of our
friends, Marisa and Lily (and their respective families), to come over to
Mati to attend the beach party at Dahican. Driving her own vehicle, Marisa went
with her kids, Pao and Yssa. Later that afternoon, Lily and her
daughter, Ira, also joined Judith in a separate car.
With Marisa following my lead, our vehicles convoyed all
the way to the city. The long drive from Davao to Mati provided us scenic
glimpses of the seascape in that part of the region. Driving for about three hours, I hardly
noticed the time. I was so busy laughing at the antics of Jobots. There’s no
doubt about it. The guy’s a congenital clown! LOL!
Dusk had settled over Mati when we reached the city.
Marisa then led us to her friend’s home, which became our den for the next two
days. After leaving our stuff there, we went to the downtown area before
going to Dahican. Famished, we drove to Mati Baywalk and had dinner in one of
the barbecue stalls dotting the area.
Sated, we proceeded to the popular beach strip to watch
the show. When we arrived, the venue was already crawling with people from all
walks of life—young and old, rich and poor, men and women, straight and gay,
locals and visitors—all raring to experience the spectacular summer shindig
unfolding at Dahican.
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| Foam explosion at Summer Frolic |
The following day, our fifteen-man entourage went to Blue
Bless Beach Resort, one of Mati’s newest seaside destinations. Located in the
village of Bobon (roughly thirty minutes away from the downtown area), the
resort boasts of several floating cottages standing on stilts and offers
cruises to the islands of Pujada and Waniban.
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| Blue Bless Beach Resort |
Arriving at the resort, we walked towards the jetty where
the “yacht” that would take us to the island was docked. To my chagrin, it
didn’t exactly fit the definition of a yacht!
Blessie Mae looked like a prettified fishing boat. But there was nothing
else we could do about it. So, we just hopped in and braced ourselves for the
ride.
Around ten o’ clock in the morning, we left the resort’s
jetty and headed for Pujada Island. Sailing under sunny skies, we gushed over
the awe-inspiring sights that came into our view: gracefully curving mountains,
long shorelines along the mainland, coves with white sand stretches, a few
fishing boats and the blue waters of the bay.
 |
Blessie Mae, our unsinkable "yacht"
|
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| Waniban Island |
Excitedly, I took out my Nikon and joined some of my
younger companions who were shooting the picture-perfect seascape. The
others were busy swapping stories and jokes as we sailed. Caught up with the joys of the moment,
everyone on board Blessie Mae was clueless about the peril somewhere in the
depths of Pujada Bay.
The mood, however, quickly shifted from festive to
restive as we sailed through treacherous waters. Shrieks filled the air as
turbulent swells coming in from the Pacific Ocean started to clash against our
vessel. For the most part of the journey, we were sailing over choppy waters as
the tempestuous waves pestered Blessie Mae.
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| Waniban's white-sand shores |
With quiet aplomb, I tried to stay calm throughout the
cruise. Geez, are we going to survive
these insidious little monsters when we go back? I asked myself. Then I
suddenly remembered what some of my co-workers said about Pujada Bay: “Be
careful with the waves there.” So this
must be what they meant!
 |
A portion of Pujada Island's white-sand stretch
|
Almost an hour passed before the sea showed signs of
calming down. Soon laughter and chatter among the passengers resumed and
competed with the roars of the boat’s engine. When our vessel reached the
shores of Pujada Island, we disembarked and headed for the thick bushes along
the shore where we sought shelter.
Isolated. Idyllic. Impressive. Three words that came into
my mind the moment my beach-hungry feet touched the island’s sandy shores.
Pujada, said to be the largest among the three islands belonging to Mati City,
had long intrigued me so I was pumped up with excitement when I finally saw it
for the first time.
Pujada is nature at its best—no cottages, no stores, no
electricity and other creature comforts that most tourists would want to have
in an island destination. But I bet its au naturel charms would surely take
the breath away of any nature tripper. Its white-sand, coconut-fringed shores
are enough come-ons that surely lure beach lovers.
From what I’ve gathered, the island has a total sprawl of
about 156 hectares, with a freshwater lake in its middle to boot! How I wanted
to see the lake myself. Too bad, we
didn’t have time to explore the said lake as we had to go back early to the
mainland if we were to make it to the beach party at Dahican later that night.
Wasting no time, we then took quick plunges into the emerald
waters to refresh ourselves. Geez, that part the U-shaped bay is perfect for
swimming, snorkelling, sunbathing, and, of course, shooting seascapes. I took
time out of the water to explore the nearby surroundings of the island while
capturing its beauty.
All the swimming, the playing, the talking and the
laughing worked up our appetites. Good thing, the women had packed a lot of eats to
satisfy our hunger. Geez, what they served wasn’t lunch; it was a feast!
Consider these: lechon (roasted pig),
kinilaw (ceviche), sinugba (grilled fish), empanada (pork pie) and lumpiang ubod (spring rolls).
The two-night event would feature some of the country’s
best DJs performing live on stage, providing beach bums with pulsating beats of
electronic music. Food, drinks, foam machines, spray paint and water sprinklers
were expected to turn Mati’s popular beach strip into one helluva venue for
summer merrymaking. 
Coming close on the heels of a weekend wandering in the
beach town of Glan in Sarangani Province, I was poised to turn down the
invitation. Besides, the roaring revelry wasn’t exactly my cup of tea. But when
Judith mentioned about the “cruise aboard a yacht” to Pujada Island, I quickly
changed my mind! LOL! 
“Of course, I’m coming!” I responded without reservation.
For who in his right senses wouldn’t want to cruise in style to one of Mati’s
best-kept secrets? Certainly not me!
After convincing my college buddy Jobots to join the trip, I quickly packed my stuff.
The two off us headed for Mati one Friday afternoon. 
With Marisa following my lead, our vehicles convoyed all
the way to the city. The long drive from Davao to Mati provided us scenic
glimpses of the seascape in that part of the region. Driving for about three hours, I hardly
noticed the time. I was so busy laughing at the antics of Jobots. There’s no
doubt about it. The guy’s a congenital clown! LOL!
Dusk had settled over Mati when we reached the city.
Marisa then led us to her friend’s home, which became our den for the next two
days. After leaving our stuff there, we went to the downtown area before
going to Dahican. Famished, we drove to Mati Baywalk and had dinner in one of
the barbecue stalls dotting the area. 
Sated, we proceeded to the popular beach strip to watch
the show. When we arrived, the venue was already crawling with people from all
walks of life—young and old, rich and poor, men and women, straight and gay,
locals and visitors—all raring to experience the spectacular summer shindig
unfolding at Dahican. 
Around ten o’ clock in the morning, we left the resort’s
jetty and headed for Pujada Island. Sailing under sunny skies, we gushed over
the awe-inspiring sights that came into our view: gracefully curving mountains,
long shorelines along the mainland, coves with white sand stretches, a few
fishing boats and the blue waters of the bay. 
Excitedly, I took out my Nikon and joined some of my
younger companions who were shooting the picture-perfect seascape. The
others were busy swapping stories and jokes as we sailed. Caught up with the joys of the moment,
everyone on board Blessie Mae was clueless about the peril somewhere in the
depths of Pujada Bay. 
With quiet aplomb, I tried to stay calm throughout the
cruise. Geez, are we going to survive
these insidious little monsters when we go back? I asked myself. Then I
suddenly remembered what some of my co-workers said about Pujada Bay: “Be
careful with the waves there.” So this
must be what they meant! 
Almost an hour passed before the sea showed signs of
calming down. Soon laughter and chatter among the passengers resumed and
competed with the roars of the boat’s engine. When our vessel reached the
shores of Pujada Island, we disembarked and headed for the thick bushes along
the shore where we sought shelter. 
Pujada is nature at its best—no cottages, no stores, no
electricity and other creature comforts that most tourists would want to have
in an island destination. But I bet its au naturel charms would surely take
the breath away of any nature tripper. Its white-sand, coconut-fringed shores
are enough come-ons that surely lure beach lovers.
From what I’ve gathered, the island has a total sprawl of
about 156 hectares, with a freshwater lake in its middle to boot! How I wanted
to see the lake myself. Too bad, we
didn’t have time to explore the said lake as we had to go back early to the
mainland if we were to make it to the beach party at Dahican later that night.
Wasting no time, we then took quick plunges into the emerald
waters to refresh ourselves. Geez, that part the U-shaped bay is perfect for
swimming, snorkelling, sunbathing, and, of course, shooting seascapes. I took
time out of the water to explore the nearby surroundings of the island while
capturing its beauty. 
All the swimming, the playing, the talking and the
laughing worked up our appetites. Good thing, the women had packed a lot of eats to
satisfy our hunger. Geez, what they served wasn’t lunch; it was a feast!
Consider these: lechon (roasted pig),
kinilaw (ceviche), sinugba (grilled fish), empanada (pork pie) and lumpiang ubod (spring rolls).
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