Happy weekend fellow Steemians. It has been 5 days since my last post on our Leyte adventure.
Today I will be posting our 2nd day in Leyte.
On our second day, we went on island hopping to the "Cuatro Islas" (Four Islands).
The Province of Leyte is home to many islets with white sand beaches and crystal clear waters. Among the popular are Kalanggaman Island in Polompon and Canigao Island in Matalom. But if you want to get all the best out of Leyte, head to Cuatro Islas, a 12,500-hectare of protected landscape and seascape situated in the municipalities of Inopacan and Hindang. Cuatro Islas is a group of four small islands, namely, Digyo, Himokilan, Apid and Mahaba.
Our first stop: Apid Island
(The island at the back is Apid)
The island above is Apid just across Digyo. There is an existing barangay in this island. Apid Island has residents, whose primary livelihood is fishing. Tourists can buy fresh caught fishes from the fishermen in the island. Of all the islands of Cuatro Islas, Apid Island is the one inhabited by many locals. Although the island has crystal clear waters and fine sand, there are not much room for swimming because there are a lot of pump boats on the beach front being used by the locals.
Our 2nd stop: Mahaba Island
This island - 'Mahaba' means 'long' - has a good white sand beach.
Waters were lovely for swimming.
Mahaba Island is for me the most beautiful among the four. It has a very long stretch of white sugary sands hence its name. What I love about this island is how clean and natural it was. There was only one small native cottage there and that’s it. No other signs of human intervention and best of all, there was not a single trash.
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The island at the back is the Himukilan island which is our 3rd stop)
A closer picture at Himukilan Island
Himokilan Island is the largest among the four islands. It is also the only island, which is part of the municipality of Hindang. The other 3 islands belong to the municipality of Inopacan.
The Himokilan Island, the eldest being among the quadruplets, has a total land area of more or less 48 hectares – considerably the largest among the four islets.
The island, although part of the popular “Cuatro”, is separated from the three islets as it is within the territorial boundary of Hindang.
Shaped like a large boot floating above blue waters, this islet offers the best spot and trails for camping and mountain-trekking. And if you are a braver soul, and hanging out with bats excites you even more, then cave exploration is your best option.
Our fourth and final stop: Digyu Island
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This one is my favorite. It is the smallest among the four but is definitely not the least. Too small that one could circumnavigate or walk completely around the islet in less than half an hour. This is the obvious reason why the island is called Digyo, from the old Cebuano word digyot meaning “little.” Too small that one could could walk completely around the islet in less than half an hour.
Its shores are of white sugary sands. It also has a sandbar that stretch to about 50 meters. What sets this island apart from the other three is its pristine waters teeming with so much life. The water surrounding it is as clear as crystal that I can literally see the colorful world several meters deep down the surface from where I sat on our boat.
Your visit to Digyo Island won’t be complete without walking on its long sandbar.
Expect a crowd of tourist during this summer specially during weekends. So if you have plan to visit the place, book ahead of time.
Enjoy!
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