Our second destination for the day was just a few minutes sailing from Malcapuya, the Dicalabuan Island or more popularly known as Banana Island.

I asked our boatman why it was named as such as I really wasn’t able to see any Banana trees during our stay there; he said that it’s because the island’s looks like a submerged banana. Hmm.. Doesn’t every island do? It’s a stretch, but okay (I tried checking Google Maps if maybe the island looks like a banana from the air, well no banana there too).

 
Being so close to Malcapuya, they almost have similar features; turquoise waters, fine sand, greens on the island interior. But high praises for Malcapuya notwithstanding, I actually liked this island better; the huts are nicer and the snorkeling area was way more interesting (at least compared to the ones I saw near the shores of Malcapuya, I wasn’t able to go far there).

In Banana Island, I was forced to wade out further into the water to enjoy snorkeling. The sea floor sinks down pretty quickly to an average depth of at least 30 feet. This was actually one of the deepest snorkeling I’ve ever tried.

I’m really no swimmer and I’m not really comfortable snorkeling all alone on depths more than my height, but the landscape underneath the waters of Banana Island was really just so awesome and it totally overpowered my fears.

I spent quite a while swimming about before finally going ashore to check more of the island. Our boatman said that we were about to leave in half an hour so I quickly dried off, picked up my cameras and went exploring. 
 
A few minutes going east from the docking area, the sandy shore started getting rocky and water insects (I’m not sure what they’re called but they look like cockroaches, though not as disgusting) started to populate the shore. There were multitudes scrambling along the rocks on the beach but they seemed harmless, well at least they didn’t bite me or anything. The woods opposite the beach here was quite thick.

Walking further, I saw a sandbar on the island’s far side; it can be accessed from where I was as the water was just knee-deep but navigating its rocky bottom was really not that easy so I abandoned the thought of crossing it as I don’t really want to risk dunking my cameras into saltwater.

I’m not sure how large Banana Island was so instead of circling it, I headed back to check the island’s western area.

I only have a few minutes to spare after arriving at our original drop off point so I only had a glancing exploration of Banana Island’s west side.

I saw some rock formations along the area that would have been good for seascape photography, really perfect for sunsets, but I unfortunately didn’t have the luxury to wait for the sun to retire. Our boatman was already calling us and it was time to head to our next and final island destination for the day.

 

 

      Banana Island
      Contact: 0929-2082363 | Facebook Page
      Entrance Fee: Php 200.00 / person

      Malcapuya | Banana | Bulog Island Tour
      Recommended Boatman: Avel Arevalo | (0939) 815-0044
      Php 3,500.00 2-4 persons / Php 4,500.00 6-8 persons whole day boat rental fee