MARINDUQUE WATERWORKS

Marinduque is surrounded by water on every side so you can technically get to a beach in less than an hour from any point. OK, maybe I exaggerate, but it feels like it. =) It ain't Bora though if you're going to stay on the main island, although Poktoy (the public beach in Torrijos) isn't bad if you go during the off-peak season. During Holy Week, however, expect it to be as crowded as Galera.

The more famous "beach spot" would be the Tres Reyes group of islands. Tres Reyes for The Three Kings: Melchor, Gaspar, Baltazar. I cannot distinguish one from the other, although I've been told that the names are assigned based on the color of the sand that line its shores. The light colored beach is named after either Melchor or Gaspar. The brown beach is named after whoever is left between Melchor and Gaspar. The black-colored sand beach is named after Baltazar who was supposedly the darkest among the three kings. There! I finally remembered something! =) Haha. I have never been to Tres Reyes. We intended to go with Cousin Dooders and Special Girl MJ over the Christmas break, but we were advised not to proceed that day because of the strong current. Oh, well. Just as well. I wasn't really too intrigued by them. They don't really call out to me, although Manilenos who have gone there tell me that they are worth going to. =)

That said, if you do find yourself in Marinduque, ask around how you can go to Natangco. You would need to negotiate with a boatman to get you there (costs around P1,000) because it is about a good hour away from the mainland. The island is owned by the ex-Governor's family. Carmencita allows Marinduquenos to dock on the island and spend the day for a minimal fee. No, she does not need the money (being an Ongsiako and sister to THE Imelda Cojuangco.) It's more for the caretakers, I suppose. =)

Natangco is a tiny island. One side is lined with very fine, powdery, white sand; the other side is lined with corals. The nice thing about Natangco is that since it is quite "far" from the mainland (and you would need to check the currents before you sail out), it never gets crowded. When the Hubby and I once went with Ehdz (his best friend) and Ehdz' office friends, we practically had the entire island to ourselves!

There is a lone concrete structure on the beach: an unfinished house that may serve as refuge in case it rains. (Then again, heck, since we're on the beach anyway, a little rain wouldn't hurt, right?! =)) There are no restaurants so the Hubby and Ehdz made sure we were fully stocked with gallons of water, rice, charcoal and fish for roasting! Delish! No paper plates. Apparently, banana leaves are more convenient. Since they're biodegradeable, we don't need to haul them back to the mainland! =)

One may choose to swim, frolick on the shore OR climb up this tiny secret island. Yes, climb up. The Hubby and I once crazily thought of climbing a wall to the very top. (Actually, I thought of climbing the darn wall, and since I had already climbed it, he had no choice but to follow. HAHAHA! 'D)

In any case, when we finally got to the top, I had to take pause. Absolutely breath-taking. Yes, the view can actually take your breath away. *Sigh* =D

But the beach is not all that there is in Marinduque. The Marinduquenos are also very proud of the Malbog Sulphur Springs. It's supposed to have medicinal properties, and is particularly effective in healing skin problems. (Think Dr. Kauffman Sulfur Soap, yes? Haha! 'D) The Hubby has brought me there repeatedly and I had always refused to jump in because.....uh....for the life of me...well.....I just couldn't imagine why I would want to jump into a pool that smells like....uh....HARD-BOILED EGG! Yes, countless fights have erupted over my refusal to jump in, but I just wouldn't budge. He thought I was being snooty; I didn't care. Haha! 'D The Hubby finally got me to try it over the Christmas Break though when he brought Cousin Dooders and Special Girl MJ to Malbog. I mean, heck, Cousin Dooders was really more my guest than his so what the heck! Toyang & Tweety's strategy? Pinch nose. Dive in! Hahaha! 'D Wasn't too bad, really. As soon as I was in the water, I realized I was really making a big deal over nothing. The water was actually quite soothing. The tiny bubbles that "erupted" from the bottom of the pool before bursting onto the surface actually felt good as they tickled my feet. Imagine, if you can, a simmering pot and you'd have a pretty good idea of how the entire thing works. Simmering lang ha, not boiling. =) For the record, I did not come out of the pool smelling like eggs. I thought I actually smelled pretty neutral--ALTHOUGH when my clothes dried out, well.....HAHAHA! 'D

Then, there's the Paadjao Falls. I have yet to see it but I have only heard good things about it. We were supposed to go with Hubby Sweet's cousins one Holy Week but the Hubby came down with a fever, so Angel Aaze and the gang had to go without us. =( Oh, well. I suppose I could turn that into our mini-trip the next time we find ourselves in Marinduque. =)

Water, water, water, everywhere! Heck, even in the provincial capital, one need not go too far to get to a body of water. A River Runs Through It. Haha! *Sorry, couldn't resist. 'D*

Oftentimes, when I.R.A. (the Hubby's cousin) and I get bored, we would haul our asses off the couch and head out to the river about two blocks away from the Hubby's ancestral home. Yes, two blocks. Haha! 'D Sometimes we'd wade into the water. Sometimes, we'd just sit around in one of those huts where the women usually stay in the morning as they wash the previous day's laundry. I've been told that the river swells up during the rainy season. During summer, however, it's quite manageable with the deepest portion only reaching up to my thigh (and those who know me would know that's not too deep, haha! 'p). Quite manageable for scaredy-cat swimmers like me. =) With the fresh air and the cold water, you'd hardly even notice the noonday heat. =) It's quite an experience really, especially for a dyed-in-the-wool-Manila-Girl. =)

The first time I told Manila folks about me wading into the river though, I was surprised to get a single reaction: "Don't they have mine tailings ?" Weh? Mine what? Apparently, there was this big hoola-baloo about Marcopper mine tailings accidentally flowing into the river back in the early 80's (late 70's?), but I was either too young to remember or too apathetic to care. Haha. =) For the record, the river is now clean and free. I have jumped in soooo many times, but I have not yet tested positve for being radioactive. Haha! =)

Come to think of it, I've actually gone back & forth to Marinduque several times without seeing any reference to these Marcopper mining tails, er, tales--except over the Christmas break of 2007. The Hubby was bored stiff out of his wits, dreaming about wakeboarding and alternating between visions of Cam Sur and Lago de Oro. He is soooooooooo hooked on wakeboarding, he actually wanted to bring his board to check if a banca can actually successfully pull him! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! 'D I put my foot down on that one. Haha. Still, we jumped into the car one morning in search of a perfect wakeboarding spot and found a "lake" somewhere off Mogpog. The spot was quite scenic and seemed to pop right out of the wakeboarding videos that I wake up to every Saturday morning. (It's the Hubby's grown-up version of Saturday Fun Machine. Haha!) In any case, it turned out that it wasn't a lake at all! It was actually a mining pit. (Marcopper employed the pit-mining technique where they supposedly dug holes instead of boaring through mountains.) The "mountain" next to the lake was therefore not really a mountain; it was actually the soil that was dug out of the hole! The lake was not a natural lake; it was a mining-pit-turned-catch-basin for rain and river before the water flows back to the ocean. Papa D (my father-in-law) told us that the size of the "mountain" would actually be directly proportional to the depth of the "lake". WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!! When he told us that, I literally took a step back, thinking if I fell into it, it would take them forever to find me! Haha!

On that day, I saw what was probably the last remaining remnant of the mining industry in Marinduque. Even to this day, water rivets running along the side of the lake still had a very distinct copper hue. I kidded the Hubby that he would turn radioactive if he ever he fell into that lake. The lady doing her laundry by the side disputed it. There was a time, she said, when the entire lake had a very strong and distinct smell of metal. Not anymore, she said. Besides, the fact that rice now grows right beside it (where none used to grow before) is a sure sign that it has, for all intents and purposes, been cleansed. She continued that people don't swim in the lake not because it is full of mine tailings, because it is too deep. OK then! Point taken. That being the case, I still wouldn't go in. Haha! 'D

Sya!