Limasawa Island

Limasawa Island This island off the southern tip of Leyte was one of the first places that Magellan stopped in 1521. It is still amazingly undeveloped after 500 years and is a great little island to get away from the world for a few days. The ferry leaves daily from Padre Burgos at 10 or 11 am. The fare was 60 pesos per person and 60 pesos for the motorbike. There was an additional tip of 50 pesos for the porters to help with the bike. Limasawa has a hard surfaced single lane road system suitable for motorbikes and bicycles. Going to St. Agustin on the north end is a bit more sloppy. Here the road follows the coast. Limasawa is thinly populated so there is a lot of beach that you can have all to yourself but there is very little sand. There are 6 barangays or villages. Triana is the main one. Going counterclockwise you will get to Cabulihan and then Magellanes where Magellan's people held the first mass. You can continue easily onwards to Lugsungan. To reach St Bernardo and then St Agustin it is best to return to Triana and then head out of town the other way. You do not have to dig very deep to reach fresh water on this island so that might have been a good reason to lay over here back in Magellan's day. This is the old boy, himself. All these pictures are of the paintings hanging on the walls in the memorial to the first mass in the Philippines, on March 31, 1521. There is a hotel development planned for the year 2009. The Philippines has a strong Catholic influence so this place is very important to the country and it's people. This guy had something to do with it too, but I forgot who he is. Another of the original crosses. Dark skinned native joins in. There are around 450 steps to the top of the hill where the "original" cross is. The view. Traveling around this island is relatively easy. I brought along a motorbike because I don't care to walk in the heat of the day. There are a few fishing villages but this is a laid back place with very little tourist infrastructure. As far as I could tell, there were no restaurants on the island so work with your home stay to organize your meals. We found a good supply of dried squid. I absolutely love this stuff and bought a bunch to take home. It runs about 300 pesos a kilo and they threw in a bunch of free ones. We brought them back to Samar to eat. Delicious! Tip: If you buy a bunch of dried squid do not put it in with your bags or your clothing will take on a strong odor. The local people here are very friendly and will make every attempt to help you enjoy your stay. When you arrive anywhere off the beaten path in the Philippines it is considered to be common courtesy to check in with the barangay captain to let him know your intentions and ask his permission to visit. I saw one guy on the ferry with a thresher shark tail and wonder if it came from this shark. I can not identify sharks missing their head but the tail of a thresher is so singular that it can not be mistaken for anything else. Limasawa. Shark inspector! It really bums me to see finned sharks. Southern Leyte Divers on the mainland has done a lot of dive exploration around this island. The other dive shops usually concentrate on Sogod bay. Check the dive shop info on the other pages. (Will put them up tomorrow). We had arrived on the island with no reservations or any idea of what to expect when we got there. James here on the left was a big help in getting us set up. Annie, in the middle, is one of the Biliones family that rents rooms out to visitors for 400 pesos per night. They invited us to come along and watch some dances put on by a troupe from Cebu. The beach at Triana where the ferry unloads the cargo and passengers. A steep gang plank is used so it takes a few guys to get heavy loads off safely. Heading back to Padre Burgos. The ferry leaves Limasawa at 7am. 2008   www.dutchpickle.com

 

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