Concepcion | Bulobadiangan Island Sandbar on a Stormy Afternoon

Bulobadiangan Island Sandbar is part of a group of islands comprising Concepcion, Iloilo. It’s about 30-60 minutes away( depending on your bus/jeep ride) from Estancia Iloilo. I found out about Bulobadiangan Island Sandbar from Allan Barredo Lantaw’s post. After my  Islas Gigantes island hopping, I decided to explore this island sandbar next.

I rode a bus from Estancia to Sara, then a jeepney to Concepcion proper. I went straight to the town’s tourist center, met the tourism guy there and logged my visit. I ask the friendly tourism guy a few questions about Concepcion’s hidden gems.

Inside the tourism center of Concepcion Iloilo

Concepcion it seems, are littered with some brutally magnificent, off coast white islands and sandbars unknown to many outsiders. This picked my interest some more. Soon I was able to draft a Concepcion island hopping itinerary that will hopefully land my itchy feet to  at least four of its jaw dropping islands in just two days.

Just when I was about to leave the center, rain poured in heavily.  Typhoon Glenda was passing over some part of Iloilo province and I kind of feel she’s trying to hitch a ride with my island hopping. The small motorized banca who will fetch me from mainland to Bulobadiangan Island Sandbar arrived with the howling winds and heavy downpour in tow. So much for the great weather. The boatman decided to wait for the rain to stop before sailing again. I bought food for our dinner that night at the nearby wet market.

My official boat, with a makati shirt captain

It was still raining when we departed the mainland Concepcion. I was the only passenger. It was getting late in the afternoon and there’s no sign the weather will improve. The boatman said this weather is kind of “normal” for them. I didn’t complain. I made this trip knowing this kind of weather is coming. Our motorized boat is without a top cover so you can jus imagine us- me, the boatman and his young assistant, soaking wet in rainwater while speeding up towards the island. All I can say is that, for the faint hearted “tourist” reading this post, and wanting to go this place this method (bad weather with  a single, motorized banca), better not. I shall not be responsible for your life.

Bulobadiangan Island Sandbar

For me, the suspense boat ride was well worth the risk. The sky was overcast but the rain stopped when we were approaching the island. A glorious, snake like, long stretch of white island sandbar just stupefied me. Take a look!

A long, snakelike sandbar stretching almost the entire island!

I met Sonny, the island resort owner and chatted with him for a while over a cup of coffee. Sensing he was in the mood to talk, I excused myself temporarily to take some photos of the island before the sun sets in. I promised to talk to him again later. These are some of the shots I took that time, under an overcast sky.

The island sandbar as seen from the resort’s inside

After a little island exploration and shoot, I went back to the resort area and chatted (again) with Mang Sonny. Mang Sonny as I’ve learned later, love to talk about the island’s story, what happened there during Yolanda and how his family is slowly recovering from the devastation. He also narrated how visitors and foreigners, some of them he rarely knew pitched in to rehabilitate his dilapidated resort.

Only sunset shot I was able to make 🙁

At dinner time, I met ‘wasay-wasay” the viand, on the dinner table. Wasay wasay is a shellfish and its abundant on the rocky shores of Bulobadiangan Island. I never tasted wasay wasay before but neither will I turn down the gracious invitation by my host to eat with the family.

“Wasay-wasay”, some kind of shellfish abundant in the shores of Bulobadiangan Island

Ah, wasay wasay taste good actually!

I put up the tent I rented that night and spread my beddings before I chatted again with Mang Sonny. I laid out my itinerary to him  and asked a few more infos regarding nearby islands. He kindly offered his boat, for a minimal fee, to be my official vehicle for the next day hopping. I happily agreed. After that, it was all Mang Sonny’s stories up to the time I dozed off in exhaustion. Lights off.

Damn it was raining heavily. I was asleep in less than 60 seconds I think.

I woke up early in the morning to the sound of rain pouring down my tent. The skies are dark and no sun went out that morning. No sunrise shots.

Not so good weather early morning in Bulobadiangan Island

Probably another reason to go back to this place I thought. I settled in early for a warm breakfast of shellfish soup and dried fish.

Breakfast with the family of Mang Sonny

Tastiest shellfish broth so far!

Suddenly, I was hungry.:)  Then I prepared my stuff so we can set out early for my next destination.

Island hop to Pan de Azucar!