Viaje Marinduque | Easter Sunday, Resurrection of the Thursday Madness

Who would not love viewing the sunrise?

As early as 5 in the morning, I was already out in the shores waiting for the rise of the majestic sun. The morning breeze was chilling indeed and the tides had already swallowed my balanced rocks from last night.

My point and shoot however, don't do well in dark shooting. The only remedy for its weakness is a stabilizer, a tripod perhaps. Sadly I don't have one, and my shaky hands can't provide the needed support. Lucky me, I found an empty noodles' cup (made it an improvised tripod). Set my camera facing the east and waited until the sky's color started to change. I was very excited to witness the Poctoy beach sunrise. In 3... 2...1.... the sun has has finally showed up.

early morning sunrise

still rising

cute scene, buti biglang may tumakbo

rising pa rin

beach volleyball is possible here

ayan na mataas na yung araw

thanks to this, my improvised tripod

The Poctoy White Sand Beach

Now that the sun has enlightened the beach of Poctoy, I started exploring its beauty, a beach photowalk. I walked eastward and to my surprise I saw the rocky side of the beach. The rocks vary in size, perfect for another rock balancing activity. So I made one again.

balanced rocks again, hehe, my work :)

rocky shore on the eastern part of the beach

dahil trending ang boat shots sa mga beach entry, hindi ako papahuli

I turned towards the west naman and walked the length of the pebbly shore of Poctoy beach where a great view of Mt. Malindig is seen. Shells and corals abound the pebbly shore, bagay sa mga shell collecting enthusiasts.

pebbly shore on the western side

corals, shells and a starfish I collected along the shore

view of Mt. Malindig

As I walked further west, I saw again the lively bar last night, this time it's a place of kayak rentals. P150 per hour.

Kayaks for rent, P150/hr

white sand on most part of the Poctoy beach

Before I dip myself into the crystal clear sea, nag timer photoshoot muna ako :)

wahaha, kunyare shell collector

whatda, bakat yung tshirt ko from yesterday's jeepney topload. nangitim na naman ako ng sobra. Nakalimutan ko na naman may sunblock nga pala akong dala

From 7:45 until 8:30 in the morning, I dived around, did back strokes, floating, and butterfly styles... syempre joke lang! Hindi kaya ako marunong lumangoy. What I really did was walking, running and plunging on the shallow sea. I even saw a small brown jellyfish swimming around and a lot of sea urchins hiding under the rocks.

look at the face, he's expressing something

beach bumming mode

the white sand beach of Poctoy, Torrijos

While swimming, something suddenly popped out of my mind, it was already Easter Sunday, may last day at Marinduque. I became worried with the schedule of the ferries sailing back to Lucena. So I asked the Teodoros if there are scheduled trips at Buyabod port, they answered me with uncertainty. They then told me that I might catch the 4 o'clock ferry in Balanacan Port in Mogpog instead.

Thinking about my trip back to Manila, I was no longer in mood to go swimming. I just slept na lang again under the large beach umbrella.

I slept for more than an hour and I was dry already. When I woke up, I saw the Teodoros kayaking, wow. Nainggit ako bigla pero talagang wala na ako sa mood to get wet again.

the Teodoros kayaking

At around 10:30 AM, we're already packing up. Loaded our things into the truck and finally we're back on the road.

price board, click the image to enlarge

We reached Sta. Cruz again at around 11:30 AM, I quickly made banlaw (nawala kasi yung tubig sa shower ng Poctoy Beach) and packed my things. I had a lunch first before I finally bid my goodbye to this very nice Teodoro family (nakakalungkot lang dahil wala man lang ako naibigay na token of appreciation).

By 1:30 PM, I hopped inside a shuttle service bound to Balanacan Port stationed in front of the Sta. Cruz church. It was a long road trip to the Port of Balanacan so I slept again during the whole trip.

The Port of Balanacan

When I reached the port at around 2:20 PM, I saw again the same scene I encountered last Thursday at the Lucena Port. Indeed it was the resurrection of the Thursday Madness. From 2 to 4 in the afternoon, I was in the ferry ticket line. Of course, I was not able to catch the 4 o'clock trip, so the ticket I bought was for the 6:00 PM trip (grabe iniisip ko talga kung anong oras ako makakabalik sa Manila, may OJT pa ako ng 8:00 kinabukasan).

After I paid the terminal fee, I went to the docking area. I saw there the Shrine of Biglang-awa, a tall statue of Mama Mary overlooking the whole Balanacan Port. I walked towards its feet, and felt the strong winds blowing on my face.

chaotic ferry ticket line

the Biglang-awa shrine

closer look

much closer look

the Balanacan natural harbor

boatmen by the sea

oops, babae pala, boatwoman

Minutes have passed (5:20 PM), and I saw the people starting to flock the docking area (waiting for the 6:00 ferry). My batteries both in my phone and in my camera died already. I then joined the crowd when I saw the StarHorse ferry approaching the dock.

Siksikan and tulakan, I still managed to board the ferry, kaya lang standing ovation mode ako. I was on the middle deck, near the railings. The ferry left for Lucena Port at 6:10 PM.

Fast Forward>>> After 4 hours of sailing, feeling the cold evening sea breeze and splashes from the huge waves, with no sitting break (actually nakatulog ako ng nakatayo), I finally reached again the port of Lucena.

I ran towards the buses waiting outside the port, I chose the Lucena Lines bound to Cubao-Kamias. Left for Manila at 10:30

Fast Forward>>> I reached Cubao at around 1:30 AM.

From Cubao I rode a jeep back to my crib, reached my home at around 2 AM, April 25.


End of my Marinduque Adventure.

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Summary of expenses

Fares:
shuttle service Sta. Cruz to Balanacan Port - P90
ferry Balanacan Port to Lucena Port - P221
bus Lucena to Cubao - P220.50
jeep Cubao to home - P14

Other expenses:
terminal fee - P12
drink - P30                                         

Total expense for Day 4 =  P587.50


Total Expense for the Whole Marinduque Trip = P1,740.50 plus an unforgettable priceless Marinduque Experience

Viaje Marinduque | The Heart of the Philippines
Viaje Marinduque | Maundy Thursday Madness
Viaje Marinduque | Being Good on Good Friday
Viaje Marinduque | Blacker Black Saturday
Viaje Marinduque | Easter Sunday, Resurrection of the Thursday Madness

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