Romblon, a less-known tourist haven

Looking for materials to write for this blog, I thought of Romblon, a small province in the heart of the Philippines, where I grew up. Romblon, known among Filipinos as the Marble Country for its vast marble deposits, is a less-known tourist destination where mountains often meet the sea.

Romblon Bay: A safe haven for ships during storms.
At foreground is the town of Romblon, Romblon
 nestled between mountains and sea.

The province consists of three major islands - Tablas, Sibuyan and Romblon. Although not as popular as other tourist spots like Boracay off Panay Island or Puerto Gallera in Mindoro, Romblon has equally-beautiful beaches and coral reefs that are ideal for scuba diving under turquoise sea. 
Having lived on the capital island of Romblon in my teens, I can vouch that almost all beaches around the island are ideal for swimming but the most famous of which is Bonbon beach because of its proximity to the town - three kilometers away. From the beaches, tourists can go to nearby villages and see how the village folk live.

The town of Romblon itself hosts several tourist attractions - the St. Joseph Cathedral, a Spanish-era church with a separate belfry, the Spanish fortress on a hill known as San Andres, and stores selling souvenir items crafted from solid marble rocks. The picturesque Romblon harbor is a haven for ships during storms because the landlocked bay is buffeted by two islands at the entrance.

The Romblon National High School in Romblon, Romblon

Those who want to see how marble is processed into slabs or tiles can take a tricycle to the quarries where solid marble rocks are cut into blocks or the factory which processed the blocks into slabs or tiles that are installed as flooring or plastered on walls. Romblon marble comes in different shades ranging from black, white to gold. The shades often come in streaks.


Although few foreign tourists have discovered Romblon as an ideal vacation haven, a steady stream of visitors, some coming from other parts of the Philippines, prompted enterprising residents to build cottages along the beaches. The cottage owners also serve home-cooked foods. 
Aside from Bonbon, the other known beach  resorts on the island are in Ginablan, a village 12 kilometers away from town.

Bonbon beach 

Ginablan, where I grew up, has a wide swath of rice fields that crawl to the foot of the hills. I haven't gone back to Romblon for more than 30 years now but I can still remember the houses mostly built of wood or bamboo slits strewn far apart amid coconut trees. Off the shore is a small island which can be traveled by foot during ebb tide. Inland, the rivers were pristine and the woods, where birds perched quietly on branches of lush trees, were eerie in their silence.

Across the western horizon of Romblon, Tablas, the biggest of the three main islands in the province, has quite a number of tourist resorts. Among them is the Aglicay Beach Resort in Alcantara municipality which offers a clear shore with "kiss powdery-white sand" and a bed of corals where tropical fish with dazzling colors take shelter. It also boost of breath-taking hills that are "alive with the songs of birds". 

Aglicay beach off Alcantara town on Tablas island.

Tourists who want to stay in seclusion on a private island may choose the  Morel Island Resort on Morel Island. And like most beaches across the province, Kambaye Beach Resort in Binonga-an, San Agustin municipality, has a white long sandy shore, and offers a full view of Romblon island across the sea.


Sibuyan island on the eastern side of the province offers other attractions, aside from its white beaches. For instance, Mt. Guiting-Guiting, the highest peak in the province, has been attracting mountaineers for its abundant wildlife and waterfalls. Catingas River Valley, in Taclobo, San Fernnando municipality, is home for the world's smallest bats, mangcogo or iron wood and clean inland water.

White beach going to the Isla de Gallo,
  also known as Cresta de Gallo island.

Busay Falls, in Panangcalan, San Fernando, takes pride of its "remaining untouched falls in the Philippines" while Isla de Gallo in Azagra, also in San Fernando, offers a beautiful scenery of coral reefs for divers.


In a small island municipality known as Corcuera, visitors will find centuries-old coffins made of hallowed logs in Guyangan caves, which was discovered in 1936, years before World War II. Lis-ong Cave in Colong-colong village offers wonderful sights of stalactites and stalagmites.
At the peak of Mount Andradoon in the village of Mangansag is a grotto of the Immaculate Conception where devotees go to pray during the Lenten season. On a hill overlooking the town of Corcuera still stands the Cotta Tower built between 1860-1865 by San Agustin de Pedro to ward off Muslim pirates.
The 28-hectare Saba Bay Lagoon straddles the border of the upland villages of San Roque and Mabini with serene waters. In the domelike Guiniwagan Cave in Mahaba village  is a pool of cool water where villagers swim. I have gone to Corcuera with a high-school friend who lives there and found hot springs on the shore on the fringes of the town


Note: In case foreign readers wonder why there is Spanish-era church in Romblon, the Philippines was once a colony of Spain. Colonial churches are strewn across the country.


How to go to the islands.


The fastest way is by plane to Odiongan, Romblon's biggest town. Visitors who may want to go to the island of Romblon could travel by land to San Agustin and then take a rigger boat from there. 


There are also Ro-Ro  ferries from the pier of Batangas, south of Manila. The ferries, which take both passengers and cars, are operated by Viva Lines (Tel. +6343-7239302 +6343-7239302),    Montenegro Lines (Tel. +6343-7238294 +6343-7238294) and Shipshape Ferry Inc.(Tel. +6343-7237615 +6343-7237615)     The ferries sails daily to Odiongan, daily except Wednesday to San Agustin on Tablas Island, Romblon on Romblon Island and San Fernando on Sibuyan Island.  Corcuera island is also accessible from Batangas. 



Sailing from Manila thru North Harbor is the easiest way to visit Romblon province. Pier 8 at the North Harbor is the main port of MBRS Lines.  MBRS ships sail alternately, serving the three main islands of Sibuyan, Romblon and Tablas. 

Please visit my other blogs Salt of Life

The Creek House hotel in Romblon, Romblon

http://www.salt-romblonwriter.blogspot.com,
Fun in Life http://www.salt-funstories.blogspot.com and
Miscellaneous http://www.miscellaneous-oddnews.blogspot.com.

All photos are from the Internet.


The Travel Bureau