The hike from Poblacion to Togong definitely took its toll on us. So, after a hearty lunch and a restful afternoon siesta, we took to the beach. The said beach, being just a stone’s throw away from D’s house and was practically part of their backyard.

From a distance, Malabiga looks like a typical beach; white sand and azure blue waters surrounded by lush coconut trees. But upon closer inspection, things were not as they seemed. The fine sand from afar, upon closer inspection, were hardy pebbles and broken corals.

It was hard walking with slippers on, as the ground shifts with your every step and the pesky pebbles gets into your sandals, but it was harder to walk barefoot as the rocks, which were really grounded corals, were sharp to bare skin.

Not the ideal beach for beach bummers really, but perfect for those interested in snorkeling like me. Though not exactly true a hundred percent of the time; sandy shores equals uninteresting underwater landscapes and rocky shores often hints of a more interesting story underneath.

The water was calm and clear and I have a new underwater camera just for the trip. We dove in.

It was lowtide and the sun was on its downward slant making everything below the water shine with gold.

We need not go farther out to check Malabiga Beach’s underwater life, its marine fauna explodes immediately just a few meters from the shore. There were not as many fishes though. The schools I saw were too wary of humans and almost always swim away whenever I tried to get close. With fishing being one of the main livelihood in the area, this is quite understandable.

Corals and whatnots abound under Malabiga’s beach and D says that it gets better if we go further out. But we were too chicken to go really far so we satisfied ourselves near the shore, which was not bad at all too.

I thought to myself how lucky these people were to have their own live aquarium just within reach. And even for just two days, I too suddenly had a personal snorkeling ground. Although not as spectacular as snorkeling sites found in Coron or Puerto Galera, I am perfectly contented with Malabiga’s underwater landscapes.

 

Malabiga Beach
Address: Barangay Togong, Banton Island, Banton, Romblon
Romblon Provincial Tourism Office: (042) 567-5145 | (0920) 629-5838
Email: info.romblonislands@gmail.com