We have more fun in Inopacan

 



The sea and the mountain of Inopacan



Yes to tourism in Cuatro Islas, but let's not just focus at the sea-level.

Nobody would argue that the Cuatro Islas is a promising place for tourism to boom this part of the region.

But let’s not just focus our interest at the sea-level. We also have to look up high in the mountains where you can find the Little Baguio of Brgys. Cabulisan and Caminto. By putting up tourism in the sea and in the mountain, everything in between these two points will totally enjoy the benefits of tourism. We will soon be progressing our local transportation networks to and from these two points. Local foods, dining, and accommodations will spread out in the areas where tourist would be plying around.

Of course, other progress will come along, such as development of commercial centers, parks, and other facilities. It would create jobs and business opportunities to Inopacnons.

We have more fun in Inopacan - by the sea, the river, the hills, the mountains, and even the skies if you insist.

Have you seen the mini-rice terraces in Hinabay and Caulisihan and the waterfalls in Conalum and the small ones in Caulisihan and along the road to Caminto from Cabulisan.  Not all Inopacnons had been there.  If you go there, it seems a wonderful find.

A waterfall in Caulisihan - photo credit to Marnel Cubian

Have you tried to scale the back of Bubo-buko sa anay and find out why it so called? Does anybody know the meaning of pandong-bato and why there is a place called pandong bato somewhere in the mountain? Have you seen the kasing-kasing (heart) on your way to Cabulisan and had that wonderful view overlooking the landscape and at the horizon across the sea as you set your feet on top the mountainous terrain? Simply go to these places and find the answers the fun way.  A bat cave is just nearby and see for yourself a swarm  of kuwaknits at dusk after watching that scenic sunset on the horizon of Cuatro Islas. Before the sunset paints the sky with flaming colors, you will have that panoramic view that reaches as far as the mainland of Mindanao and the Camotes group of islands.

A patch of mini-rice terraces along the terrain of Brgy Caulisihan in Inopacan, Leyte
photo credit to Eldeross Kirong

Somehow, I once envisioned of gliding through a glider wings or zip line, or of riding a hot air balloon for me to cross the sky between Cabulisan and Marao or Cabulisan and Caminto, and watch over the fields of rice lands, coconut fields,  vegetable plantations, blooming flowers and the come back of abaca greenfield. Someday the hilltops and ridges of Inopacan's little Bagiuo will be dotted with mansions and rest houses of some balikbayans and expats. It could be the future cool city mountain of many summers to come. Just dreaming. Why not. 

Related post:

• 22 Hinabay and Cabulisan farmers are now certified organic farmers

You will love watching or wading through the cascading waters in Caminto river that  is so clear and refreshing that I always dream of shooting the rapids with inflatable rides till I reach the lowlands in Hilongos. That's very far enough for a thrill adventure. It is also an adventure to swim or jump a dive at Pig-ot river. Find this deep narrow river in Brgy. Caminto and have fun swimming in its cold water. Going there is already an adventure because you have to go down through a steep terrain and climb it on your way back.

Habal-habal ride in Inopacan, Leyte

One will get a daily adventure in going up and down the mountains and hills with the ubiquitous habal-habal ride. The name itself is intriguing. The speedy ride is quite an adventure while plying through the uneven terrains and cursive roadways, and in some cases would have to wade through a portion of rivers to cross the other side of  certain places when makeshift bridges are not available.

A sinsoro fishing boat at the fish port in Brgy. Tinago, Inopacan, Leyte

Or just simply enjoy the daily life of binukidnon style. In the morning, have a sip of hot coffee of brewed locally grown coffee beans or have a hot chocolate drink of home made tablea from roasted and finely ground  native cacao beans. A number of delicacies and dishes are abounding, biko, budbud, puto, iraid, nilidgid, bibingka, balikutsa, tiktik pulboron,  galang-galang, kabkab, bukhayo, binignit, kinilaw, butong linamaw, tilaob, mais or saging inanag, pasajan, bulad isda, pinakas, kusahos, tinap-an, sinugba, barbekyu, law-oy, ginamay, inun-onan, inutukan, tinunoan and many many more. Savor a bite of freshly cooked kamote, karnaba, takudo, gabi, ube or istaring, or the sinibakongan, sinaksakan rice or corn meal, or puso with ginamos bolinao, or grilled (or fried) tinabal,  while listening to the cooing of tukmo doves, kulasisi, managing parrots, tamsi, kukok, maya, tikarol and other warbling birds.

One may enjoy back riding the carabaos  on its way to the farm, or while grazing them on grassland. And experience the nightlife of bayle, an evening outdoor disco in the sitios or barrios where lads and ladies would convene, either for a benefit dance or a chance of acquainting with a local beauty.

Otherwise, let's gather around and drink tuba all day. Let the sumsoman and istoryahanay come by in any form. That's a lot of fun, di ba?

There are more inviting reasons for local and foreign tourists to see and experience Inopacan. Their choices vary from sea to the lowland, the hills and up the mountains. Even the skies - if one would insist. We have more fun in Inopacan.

Tourism will surely put a new pin in the map to mark where in the Globe Inopacan is. What used to be a sleepy Caramoan in Bicol has done it successfully, just recently. Why not in Inopacan.

A sinsoro fishing boat at the fish port in Brgy. Tinago, Inopacan, Leyte

The mouth of the legendary bay sa has in  Inopacan, Leyte
photo credit to Eldeross D. Kirong

Inopacan Baywalk
photo credit to Eldeross D. Kirong (photo enhanced by Edgie Polistico)

                 

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Read this related article from Business World online:

Tourism industry in Leyte planning cheaper packages 

Posted on June 11, 2012 09:30:25 PM

Tourism industry stakeholders in Leyte plan to come up with low-cost tour packages.

This is contained in the Provincial Tourism Marketing Strategy which was crafted for the cities of Ormoc and Baybay, as well as for the municipalities of Palompon, Isabel and Inopacan in northwest Leyte. Read more...

Related posts

• The Untold Story of Manny Paquiao's mother - was Dionisia born in Inopacan and why her parents ran away to Mindanao
• Kirby Asunto is a niece of Manny Pacquiao's cousin who hails from Inopacan, Leyte
• Kirby Asunto - anak sa usa ka Inopacnon
• Hinup-akan is the true origin of Inopacan
• The Legend of Inopacan (in my years of research)
• Inong Pak-an Festival (2009) - Youtube video
• Cuatro Islas - the Boracay of Leyte (as reported by GMA Saksi news report) 
• Digyo island
• Apid island
• Himokilan island
• Mahaba island

BRGY. TINAGO

MAIN PAGE: INOPACAN, LEYTE and the Inopacnons

Shown in the picture is the Brgy. Tinago Fish Port and the legendary Baysahas, viewed from the backyard port of Tudio's residence.

During the Spanish time, even before then,the sea in this place is strategically good for hiding boats and galleons from the wrath of habagat (south or southwest monsoon winds).

The cape along Baysahas, where the first fish port is constructed is the all-time port for hiding and anchorage of big fishing boats called sinsuros and occasionally by some passenger ships from Hilongos and Bato.

So called Tinago because this is the place where the ships and fishing boats would take refuge during bad weather even to these days. The people called this place Tinago from the word tago meaning “hidden.” Thus, tinago means “the hidden one.”

- edgie polistico

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CUATRO ISLAS

Cuatro Islas – [Hindang and Inopacan, Leyte ] The group of four islets off the western coast of Leyte province. One of the four islands is named Himokilan Island, under the municipal territory of Hindang.

A view of Cuatro Islas from the shore of Villa Editha at the boundary of Brgy. Esperanza and Brgy. Conalum.

(Click here to view a much larger photo) photo by Edgie Polistico 2010

Cuatro Islas is a promising place for tourism to boom in this part of the region. But let’s not just focus our interest on the sea level. We also have to look up high in the mountains where you can find the Little Baguio of Brgy. Cabulisan and Caminto. By putting up tourism in the sea and in the mountains, everything in between these two points will totally enjoy the benefits of tourism. We will soon be progressing our local transportation industry to and from these two points. Food and accommodations will spread out in the areas where tourists would be plying around. Of course, other progress will come along, such as the development of commercial centers, parks, facilities, etc.. Tourism will surely put a new pin in the map to mark where in the globe Inopacan is.



 WHERE TO FIND THE CUATRO ISLAS - The map of Cuatro Islas
(click the map to enlarge)

A view of Cuatro Islas from a hill in Brgy. Guadalupe (formerly known as Binitinan)

(Click here to view a much larger photo)
photo by Edgie Polistico 2010


The Himokilan Island of Cuatro Islas

(Photo by Edgie Polistico 2010)

The other three, Mahaba, Apid, and Digyo islands belong to the municipality of Inopacan. The sea between the four islands and the mainland had long been the refuge to some ships and sinsuros (fishing vessels) that sought to hide from the wrath of monsoon wind and typhoons.

The Mahaba Island of Cuatro Islas. (photo credit to Jes Surabia Polistico)

The powdery white sands of Digyo Island.
On the horizon are the Mahaba and Himokilan islands
(photo credit to Jes Surabia Polistico)

Apid (left) and Digyo islands

(Photo by Edgie Polistico 2010)

A view from a hill in Brgy. Guadalupe (formerly Binitinan), overlooking the Cuatro Islas of Inopacan.

But let’s not forget also the relics of time. We need a place to store the old things in town for the next generations to behold and be informed of stories and things of the past. We need to have our own museum or sort of like this.

As I’ve said in one of my previous blogs, I suggest the installation of a municipal museum and public library where all the literary works, relics, and memorabilia of olden times and history about Inopacan and about us Inopacnons would be stored and preserved for perpetuity.

Or else, rust, termites, and loss of memory and references will vanish these treasures to oblivion.

He who does not look back will never reach where he longs to go.

Related posts  

• Cuatro Islas - the Boracay of Leyte (as reported by GMA Saksi news report) 
• Hinup-akan could be the true origin of Inopacan 
• The Legend of Inopacan (in my years of research) 
• Inong Pak-an Festival (2009) - Youtube video
• Digyo island
• Apid island
• Himokilan island
• Mahaba island

 

 

 

DIGYO ISLAND

Digyo island
Photo credit to Carlito Bismark

Digyo Island – [Inopacan, Leyte] The smallest among the four islands of Cuatro Islas. Too small that one could circumnavigate or walk completely around the islet in less than half an hour. Its small size is the obvious reason why the island is called Digyo, from the old Cebuano word digyot, meaning “very little.” 

The islet used to be uninhabited by humans until the tourism industry made the island among the popular tourist spots of Leyte. It has no village settler and is a protected sanctuary of diverse marine lives thriving in coral reefs. It has been told that the whole islet is a private property of a well-known family in Inopacan.

It remains undeveloped with a few dispersed coconut trees growing around. A huge mass of white sand was illegally hauled off in 1980s by the quarrying business of an alleged contractor who delivered sacks of white sand to a prestigious hotel in Cebu City for landscaping. Despite the considerable loss of white sands, the islet still has a magnificent view, a crystal clear pristine seawater, and a long white sandbar that glares on sunny days. 

Occasionally, a handful of Inopacnon picnickers and visiting outsiders would come by motorboat to spend a day (or even stay overnight) to enjoy the delight of nature’s beauty.  What is now partly missing is what used to be a much longer and wider beachfront on one edge of the island because of quarrying. 

If you look closely, you will notice that the water remains pristine-clear despite the ten of us wading through around. The sands are pure coral fragments that do not muddle the water.

The island is quite small but there's more room to explore around. The beachfront is wide and the bathing area extends wide into the sea to wade through. Here, you can go snorkeling, scuba diving and watch those colorful tropical fishes and fauna, picnic, camping with a bonfire, or simply have an overnight stay under the stars and bare moonlight.

So clear,  the water never really turns turbid. So clear you could have mistaken the water is not very deep several meters away from the shore because you can still see the rocks, seaweeds, and fish under the water.

HOW TO GET TO DIGYO ISLAND

Going to Digyo Island means you have to know first how to go to Inopacan

INOPACAN-DIGYO TRIP: When you are in Inopacan, take a "pot-pot" (foot-powered pedicab) ride to the Reclamation Area (formerly called Pasil). At the Reclamation Area scout for any available motorized banca (pump boat), you need to bargain the rental price (for a small group less than 10 pax is most likely P1,500 and above, for more than 10 pax, P2,500 and above). You may also have to pay the gas for the boat. The boat ride to Digyo Island is about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

For those who are planning for a balikan (same-day round trip to Apid and back to mainland Inopacan), please take note of the following:

• A trip to and back from Digyo Island is very tiring. It would take you almost half day to reach the island if you came from a distant place in Leyte, particularly those who came from Tacloban, Ormoc, or Maasin (much more if you came from outside Leyte).

 

• You will not enjoy the island if you just go there just kiss the sand then hurriedly go back to mainland. It is recommended to take your time in Digyo island to fully savor the beauty of nature.

 

• Monsoon wind causes the sea to be very rough late in the afternoon. If you hired a small-sized boat, better stay in the island until the next morning for your safety. We don't want to see and feel sorry for you if you insist to leave the island when the sea is getting wild. Stay and watch the beautiful sunset with a toast, build a bonfire to warm the night, put up a tent and imitate the cast of that famous TV series "The Survivor." Spend the night bonding together with your gang or someone special.

 

• Chances are if you go back to Tacloban, Ormoc or Maasin past 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon, there will be no more public transport to catch on the road if you need to commute on your way back to your place. There are some small resorts in the mainland Inopacan for an overnight stay.

Click here to see some places where you could possibly stay in Inopacan

Beachcombers on the white sandbar of Digyo island
Photo credit to Carlito Bismark

Reminders:

• Bring a first aid kit and other survival kit as there is no hospital in town and on the island. The health center in town is usually open only during office hours.

• Bring also outdoor tent as there is no cottage on the island. There is no village (or community of islanders) in there. The lone nipa hut on the island is not for an overnight stay, especially for a group of more than ten.

• Bring enough batteries or recharge your battery pack (and bring spare batteries) as there is no power supply on the island. Bringing a solar power charger is a big help. Cellular phone (mobile phone) signal sometimes reached the island.

• Help care for the natural beauty of Digyo Island. Bring garbage back with you as you leave the island and dispose it of properly on the mainland or at home.

• goog_2000185627Observe some restrictions on the island, such as not disturbing the portion of the island designated as a sanctuary for fish, turtles, and other marine life. As much as possible, do not collect shells, corals, plants, etc. that naturally belong to the island.

Take nothing but pictures
Leave nothing but footprints
Kill nothing but time

Learn something from someone who has been there:

• Click these links to check them out: http://thadhinunangan.blogspot.com/2009/06/one-ticket-to-paradise-please.html

• The Emancipation of Thadie: One Ticket to Paradise, Please by thadhinunangan.blogspot.com

• Check also Mimi's blog: The Splendid Beauty of Inopacan-Leyte's Cuatro Islas 

Related posts:

• The Legend of Inopacan (In my years of research)
• Hinup-akan is the origin of Inopacan
• Inong Pak-an Festival (2009) - Youtube video
• Cuatro Islas
• Apid island
• Himokilan island
• Mahaba island

APID ISLAND

Apid Island – [Inopacan, Leyte ] The farthest and the biggest among the four islands of Cuatro Islas. The island looks flat. It is circular in shape if viewed from above. Because of its considerable size of people living in the island, Apid had long been considered a barangay in the municipality of Inopacan.

This island village has an elementary school and barangay clinic on the island. Islanders are mainly fishermen and pandan palm growers. The fishermen would either dry their catch under the sun and brought them to the Inopacan mainland to sell or barter for their other basic needs. They would also sell fresh catch to earn money.

The palm growers would harvest leaves of romblon (pandan palm) and process them into strips called lilas, which is the raw material for weaving banig (sleeping mats). 

Along the shore are romblon palms, mangroves are growing along the shore, white sandy beaches, limestone cliffs, and pristine sea water.

Towering coconut trees and some trees abound in the island. 

The villagers built concrete cistern near their houses to catch and store rainwater as their source of freshwater. Though they would often have to go the mainland of Inopacan or Hindang towns to fetch their daily supply of potable water.

That islet appearing in the horizon (close to the boatman's hat) is the island of Brgy. Apid,  A fading big island behind Apid is part of the Camotes Group of Islands of Cebu. An Apidnon boatman and his daughter are transporting bundles of lilas (romblon palm strips) to mainland Inopacan for trading.

Sunday is the market day in Inopacan. Islanders from Cuatro Islas would come to the Taboan (trading area) at the Reclamation Area (formerly known as Pasil) to sell their fresh catch, dried fish, seaweeds, and other marine products. Shown in the picture (above) are bundles of lilas (romblon palm strips) from Apid island transported to the shore of mainland Inopacan for sale or barter with for their needed basic commodities. The Apidnons (an islander from Apid) would go back home to their island after trading their goods. Lilas is the main material used in weaving banig, a native woven sleeping palm mat.

- edgie polistico -

Related posts:

• The Legend of Inopacan (in my years of research)
• Inong Pak-an Festival vide0 (2009)
• Hinup-akan is the origin of Inopacan
• Inong Pak-an Festival (2009) - Youtube video
• Cuatro Islas
• Digyo island
• Himokilan island
• Mahaba island