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Experiencing Cape Engaņo
Guest Traveler: Gio Sabio
"Astoundingly beautiful scenery," was the Philippine Handbook's brief description of Cape Engaņo, an island up north of Aparri. Knowing the author's reputation of being hard-to-please, my backpacker friends and I believed that it must an extraordinary place worth the author's meager praise.
The Trip
It was a long and interesting ride to Aparri. One companion could not help but hum the all-too familiar noontime show jingle "Mula Aparri hanggang Jolo..."
Having born from the far South (Zamboanga del Sur), I was thrilled by the thought that I'm about to see the North end of the Philippines. Along the way, we were mesmerized by the vast tracks of rice fields, varicolored horizon, waterfalls, and the grand Sierra Madre mountains.
The jump-off point to Cape Engaņo is San Vicente, a town on the Northeast tip of Aparri. This town alone has so much to offer. It has a Naval base, sunken lighthouse, crocodile island, Triple V's Resort (home to the International Fishing Tournament), and several long white "uncommercialized" island beaches. We were also fortunate to explore a dilapidated World War II Naval Ship that is still being used to this day.
From San Vicente, we rented an outrigger boat to Cape Engaņo, our ultimate destination. While haggling for the boat fare, we were bombarded with engaging stories from the boatmen. Legend has it that Cape Engaņo was inhabited by fairies and "malignos," thus the name Enchanted" or "Engaņo". They also told us of the death of a prominent newscaster who drowned in the rough seas on the way to Cape Engaņo. There was also this clandestine tale of a successful treasure hunt by a Japanese-led group in one of the islands. Fisherfolks also claimed that whale sightings
are common in the area. In fact, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) volunteers have been conducting
whale-related projects there. Mid-last year, dolphins were reported to be awashed on the shores of San Vicente. Townfolks brought the dolphins back to deep while some unscrupulous fishermen butchered one dolphin mercilessly.
After listening to those long and colorful stories, we finally had to close the boat fare deal. We got it at half the original price. Thanks to the no non-sense negotiation prowess of Leila, the only woman in our group.
Cape Engaņo
The two-hour boat ride to Cape Engaņo was far from boring. Since the boat didn't have a canopy, the scorching heat of the sun literally grilled our skin. We passed by long stretch of white beaches, dramatic huge rock formations, and heavily forested mountains. As we approached Cape Engaņo, we saw a castle-like rock formation that baffled us all. From afar, the centuries-old lighthouse seemed to peek from a lush foliage at the top of a hill. Down below is a long white beach with pellucid calm waters. While on the boat, we could see the colorful corals even at frightening depths. We would have loved to go diving. Unfortunately, there is not a single dive shop nearby.
When we reached the shore, the view towards the sea was equally astounding as both sides of the cove are dense mountains with patches of huge rock formations. We then had to climb up the long and shattered steps towards the lighthouse. From the lighthouse, we had a picture-perfect view of the long curvilinear white beach, the castle-like rocky islet, and the rolling hills on one side.
The lighthouse dates back to the Spanish Era. The devastated building on the background has fallen into desuetude since several decades ago. The roofs and the windows are all gone. It looks like the grand buildings ravaged by war that we often see in the movies. The lighthouse, on the other hand, is still fully functional. Its height is unusually short, perhaps because it already stands on a highly elevated hill.
Near the base of the lighthouse is a water well with a huge chamber underneath. Our guide claimed that it used to be a source of potable water. But judging from how it looks now, it must be a haven for frogs and other creatures. On the foreground is a massive circular platform made entirely of steel. It used to be a base of a flagpole, but now serves as a bench where hikers could sit down and get a romantic view of the sea.
There's where we sat back and relaxed after a full-packed journey. It's a perfect place where you would feel totally isolated from the fancies of urban life. I felt deeply in commune with nature.
There is so much to explore in the island. It deserves not a handful, but thousands of tourists destined to experience a farrago of attractions only Cape Engaņo could offer.
One whole day is enough to explore the entire island, but one whole day is
too short to assimilate the magnitude of the whole experience.
Gio Sabio is a Product Manager of MSI-Digiland (Phils.) Inc. Throughout his student life, he has lived in Mindanao (Zamboanga), Visayas (Iloilo) and Luzon (Quezon City). He is a mountaineer,
spelunker, surfer, and a certified scuba diver. His obsession is to scour all tourist destinations in the country. He loves photography because of its power to immortalize human experience.
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