Quezon Beach: A Jolo Discovery
I don't think I can ever gauge the amount of risk that I took when I booked a flight to Zamboanga two weeks ago.Some of my palaui friends had already set plans for a Jolo-Tawi-Tawi itinerary for a week's tour. I decided to catch up with them by flying to Zamboanga with Angie last Friday then met Aryx, who just came from Davao, at the airport.
The usual ferries were closed due to Hariraya and were to resume operations on Monday. Hence, we had to scrap our day 1 itinerary and proceed with the city tour while in Zamboanga. Bamboot offered her cafe for our backpacks as we left to discover the city on our own. We had some great bargains at the Barter Trade near Canelar and spent the afternoon strolling at the Pasonanca Park and Aviary. We hit Fort Pilar after, had sati and halo-halo and eventually dozed off at the foodcourt in the local mall. The locals were quite friendly, and everyone we met were aghast and against our plan to go to Jolo that evening.
Our friends arrived in Jolo that afternoon and we managed to get tickets for Jolo to a barge-like MV Katrina boat/ship/ferry.. well, I don't really know how to classify it. But the MV Katrina was the worse looking ship at the pier when we got there.The three of us hopped into the boat and settled down on our own cots. I felt out-of-place with my height and pale skin amidst the majority of Muslims and military passengers surrounding us. The warnings of our friends in Zamboanga about the trip to Jolo kept going through my head throughout our journey. Aside from the heat, everything else was ok. It's even better than our Superferry ride from Coron to Manila a coupleof months back.
At six in the morning we docked at the port of Jolo. The sight of Gio and his friend (our Muslim host) by the opening of the stairway inside the ship was a big relief. I saw the rest of the backpackers by the pier where they greeted us and escorted us to the jeep. Gio kept telling us to pipe down so as not to get too much attention as we already look foreign amidst the bustling crowd in the pier.
We got off at a small alley which led to a maze-like community of stilt houses (as in houses held by stilts set on the water). One of the doors opened to a simple yet spacious living area where we headed straight to the bedroom. That's where my friends kept their packs and it's where they slept the night before.
We were served with good coffee and some pandesal. After a while, we prepared our things for Quezon beach. The entire family of Ka Durang, his siblings, children, nephews and even their helpers accompanied us to the beach. We also had military and PNP excorts during the trip. I've yet to discover the arguments and real story behind this excursion of ours that brought quite a hassle to our host family.
Quezon beach is around 30 or so minutes from Jolo city and the site of it was just incredible. Think of it as Boracay without the clutter of tourists and commercial joints.
It's a long stretch of powdery white sand and crystal clear sea water. The weather was perfect and the water's warm. As you go further out to sea, it remains carpeted with soft sand. I've only seen water this clean in the northern parts of Palawan, but such long stretches of fine sand I've never seen anywhere else in the country.Our ever zealous photographers took pictures right away.
Our friend Nelson, a Jolo resident, gave us enough insights on the place. This is where former president Quezon and his family took a swim during the old days and that's how it got its name.
Some twenty minutes away is Abu Sayaff territory, or so they say hence, the debate and the acquisition of military and PNP escorts during our stay. The area used to be a war zone so Jolo residents do not frequent the place. It's such a pity how this gem of a place is kept away from travellers because of security concerns.
We shared fish and some giant squids with our host family during lunch. We were back in town that afternoon, went to the kapitolyo and had another round of photo shoots.
By the end of the day, we were chance passengers in another one of those boats that ferried people from Jolo to Zamboanga. We were in a jolier mood as we were headed back to Zamboanga City, my home for the weekend.
Setting foot on Zamboanga's pier was a good feeling. Flying back to Manila even felt better.
Given the chance, I'd like to go back to Quezon beach and hopefully, security would no longer be a concern.
posted by kquill @ 7:25 PM
1 Comments:
ey, cool trip. :)
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