Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Islas de Gigantes | Bantique Island Sandbar


ISLAS DE GIGANTES | Bantique Island Sandbar
Gigantes Group Of Islands In Photos Virtual Tour




Bantigue Island Sandbar is a first stop for island hopping if you coming from Gigante Norte Island. Some 15 to 20 minutes boat ride from Asluman's make shift pier. On initial approach, the distinguishable stretch of white sand is remarkable; I immediately I could imagine this place from above and would have loved to take an aerial view of the island.






The sandbar is curved to a letter C, mostly like due the seasonal currents and Amihan winds blowing during dry season or summer. Like many sandbars, the side by side beaches is a great place to swim in except perhaps that it is totally exposed to the Sun. It's only mid morning at around 9:30 AM when I arrived here, but already the sun though almost directly overhead, is too harsh.

The sands texture is remarkably fine, and the whole stretch of both beaches is clean, perhaps too clean. The only sign of civilization here are the boats moored in its bank and the few houses probably that of a small village community.






Knowing that this is sandbar, there not much to see or to do after seeing the barren stretch of white sand beach but to swim and take photos. There were many tour boats that followed suit with visiting the island for this day, but none stayed for over 20 minutes. I stayed for almost an hour exploring the islands nooks, and the rocky shoreline near the small village had been a place for me to practice long exposures in photography. Armed with a new ND filter, a second time for me to use, it is responsible for the milky sheen of the coastal rocks and extra sharpness in its details. I left Bantigue Island knowing that I bagged a good shot.






Your humble blogger in the photo below with his brother in tow, after a quick enjoyable swim in Bantigue Island. Photo taken by our tour guide Joefil Decano.



On The Map

Isla de Gigantes group of islands comprises mainly of Gigante Norte and Gigante Sur as its major volcanic islands with scattering of islets around it. Located in the western part of the Visayan Sea and approximately 18 kilometers Northeast off the mainland of Panay. The islands belong to the political domain of Municipality of Carles, Iloilo Province.


Check out my post for: Isla de Gigantes

Island hopping
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Francis Balgos is a Call Center Agent, Weekend Travel Warrior, Amateur Spelunker, Sometime Surfer, Newbie Mountain Climber, Photography Enthusiast, Certified Beach Bum, A first born son, Faithful lover, True Explorer...

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5 comments:

  1. Next year pa ako makakapunta diyan! Sabi nila maganda daw diyan. Based on your photos it does look beautiful. But a friend said there were a lot of Korean tourists there, is that true?

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    Replies
    1. Hey Joshua, I didn't see any Korean visitors during my trip.
      These islands are mostly visited by working class off from Iloilo and Bacolod. Normally, team buildings of Call Centers.
      So the most commong visitors are Ilonggos themselves.
      Korean's are probably just passing guest, which is actually good because the place is slowly booming in popularity.

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  2. Sana wala pa masyado tao next year! haha wala ako nahatak makasama, pero sana next year meron na ang gastos kasi magsolo! haha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hahaha! totoo.. medyo magastos siya kapag solo.
      kailangan kasi mg island hopping, with many friends you can tag along.
      Everyone can share the expenses of the island hopping and food. :)

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    2. Beneficial details as well as outstanding layout you have right here! I would really like to appreciate discussing your ideas as well as period to the items you publish!! Many Thanks

      Delete

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