Travel Notes from Higatangan Island, Biliran, Philippines Day 2

Crossing the waters from Sambawan to Kawayan was pretty interesting. To start with, it was choppy to the T, and the wind wasn’t helping either. This is the reason why the usual 45 minute trip turned into 1 hour and a half. 

I arrived at Kawayan port, almost 10 in the morning. Rode a skylab (Similar to the ones you will find in Surigao Del Sur) type of transportation to get in time to Naval port for the ferry to Higatangan Island. There were a lot of confused stories and directions. Some say, the boat leaves at 11AM, others say at 12NN. Later on, i realized both were wrong. We left at 12:30PM. The trip to Higatangan was uneventful. I now know that it’s best to travel in the afternoon as the water is much calmer. 

Higatangan which has a small community of villagers is surprisingly less commercialized than Sambawan. Electricity is more spotty here, and cellphone is signal is also not as strong. Higatangan is comparable to Mararison which i went to about a year ago. The difference is that Higatangan is bigger and more flat. Mararison is much smaller that you can actually walk around the island to go to the market, church, etc. 

Trying to find accommodations is quite interesting, and made me realized how unresearched i am. But, settled at Hagdan Extension because of its price and proximity to the sandbar which is the piece de resistance of the whole Island. Enjoying San Miguel beer while watching the sunset is the ultimate tropical beach experience in the Philippines. Because there’s no other tourist in sight, and apparently in the island, i was able to bask in the glory that is Higatangan. Had a hearty dinner later on, and slept quite early - only to wake up again at midnight, and sleep again at 3AM. I have broken sleep here in Biliran, but naps enables me to survive the rest of the day. 


This is my second time in the province of Biliran. Check out what happened during my first trip there. Click HERE!