SENIOR BYAHERO
There are places that do not give a good impression during a first visit. Mauban in Quezon Province was one of them. I remember my first visit almost three decades ago. We were going around Lucban when we saw this signage: “Mauban this way.” I became curious. I followed to find out. It took us two hours driving on dusty road before we reached Mauban. When we arrived, we saw some old houses, a church that did not look old and people who spoke Tagalog with unusual intonation. After taking merienda at the only carenderia in town, we hurriedly drove back before it got dark. Mauban visited. Checked.
Cagbalete Beach
Several years later, the backpacking community started discovering the island of Cagbalete in Mauban. This island in the Pacific offers white sand beaches and clear, crystal blue waters teeming with rich marine life. I wanted to go but I dreaded driving for two hours on a bumpy road from Lucban to Mauban. Fortunately, a friend volunteered to drive and off we went to Mauban on a weekend. The drive went smoothly as the dreaded road was already mostly paved. We reached Mauban after over an hour. We parked near the municipal hall and walked for about 15 minutes to the port carrying our backpacks, camping gear and a big cooler box, as we were told that we can buy fresh fish on the island. We boarded a passenger boat that also doubled as a supply boat. Forty-five minutes later we arrived in Cagbalete where we were told that we must walk for about an hour to reach the resorts or rent another boat to go there. We decided to walk, carrying all our stuff. When we reached the resort area, we learned that most resorts offer basic accommodations. We opted to camp on the beach. To make the long story short: we were not able to enjoy the crystal-clear waters because it was low tide most of the time, and we were not able to buy any seafood. Cagbalete visited. Checked.
Crystal Blue Water of Cagbalete
I recently returned to Mauban and Cagbalete upon the invitation of the Tourism Promotions Board and the Municipal Tourism Office. It was a five-day itinerary to explore Mauban, which I thought was too long as I have seen most of the town in my previous visits. I thought wrong.
The moment we arrived in Mauban, we were welcomed with the traditional Tagayan ritual, followed by the Pamana Walk that took us around the town’s heritage sites, such as the 1925 Rizal monument built on the town promontory, the local museum, the St. Bonaventure Parish Church, and the old Spanish bath, said to have been built in 1725. We saw several dozens ancestral houses lining the streets, giving us the feel of a mini-Vigan. We also learned how Mauban got its name: from a Dumagat leader called Gat Pagil, whose white hair earned him the name Gat Uban.
Bisibis Falls
A boat took us to explore the 50-kilometer coastline where we visited a waterfalls whose waters fall directly into the sea, several hidden coves, a unique island called Mag-Asawang Bato, and a thriving community of indigenous Dumagats. In Cagbalete, we visited some of the island’s hidden attractions, such as the Don Jose River, the kilometer-long Yang-in Sand Bar and the magnificent snorkeling site teeming with thousands of colorful fishes. And we walked Cagbalete’s five-kilometer stretch of white sand beach.
The discoveries I liked best were the rich weaving tradition or “Nilala” using buri, the industry of making wine from nipa or “nipanog” and rituals that come with drinking them, and the house of Horatio dela Costa, a Maubanon who became the first provincial superior of the Jesuits in the Philippines.
Yang-in Sand Bar
After our five-day visit, I felt that it was not enough to know more about this historic town. I will be coming back to learn more about traditional food which are mostly composed of ingredients available from the Pacific side, its unique variation of the Tagalog language which evolved due to its isolation, and to find out if the galleons had a stopover at Mauban before they proceeded to Manila.
Michael Proust once said: “The real voyage of discovery consists not seeking in new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”