We were eating dust. The road to Tambobong beach is a real pain and the mood in the open-aired jeep was sour. I thought that after two years of absence, the situation would improve, but it didn’t; we passed the same bumpy, arid and dusty road for a good half hour before the turquoise waters of Dasol Bay assured us that there’s some point in subjecting ourselves to this kind of trip.
Caked in dust, the first thing I did after helping bring our luggage down was to jump in the water. I just removed my shorts and dived in with only my boxers on. The hardships of the 7-hour trip was forgotten and melted to nothingness as I immersed my body down the warm blue-green water and the fine sandy depths of Tambobong beach.

Like the previous summer we were here, we again checked in at the Matabang Beach Resort. I heard that there’s another resort facing the beach now, but the hospitality of Matabang’s owners and the simple and laid back atmosphere of the resort made it a no-brainer where to check in.
With lunchtime the only break, I again dived back and explored the eastern end of the beach. The water here is weird, similar to Coron’s Twin Lagoon. As I snorkeled my way; I immediately noticed the temperature switching from very warm to cold and back to warm again in a matter of a few seconds; the visibility also trembled from excellent clarity to muddled filmed-over view, it was like looking at an extremely out of focus photograph.

The first time I encountered this at Coron I was extremely weirded out. But this time, I now knew the reason for such; the meeting of seawater and freshwater. Matabang Beach Resort didn’t get its name from nothing; the reason for the name is the freshwater spring at the back of the resort; and this same spring also seeps out from the jagged rock formations at the eastern side of the cove.
The rocky side of Tambobong beach is littered with jumping ledges and caves. We tried to check out one of the caves but it was too dark and cramped inside. It’s also a must to use reef shoes as the rocks are quite sharp and can easily bruise.
After swimming all the way to edge of the rocky cove and back; it was time to recharge. We headed to the halo-halo stand a few meters from the shore and had one glasses each. Well, they had one; I had two and a half. Nothing beats an ice-cold halo-halo right beside the beach.
The last time I visited Tambobong, I wasn’t able to stay overnight and had to go back to Manila before the sun lowered down the horizon. This time, I made sure that I’d be staying overnight and experience what I was not able to experience before; stargazing on the beach.
Unfortunately, our stay at Tambobong coincided with the brightest moon of the year; it was supermoon night and the stars got drowned by its brilliance, the beach appeared to be illuminated by a giant lightbulb. An R.E.M. song played on my mind and we immediately stripped off and ran to the water. The water’s warm to our skin but the sand was cool beneath our feet. Stories and laughter were passed around as we dipped and swam under the bright moon.

The evening was getting late as we made our way back up to the shore. I recall the crazy dust-ridden drive on the way here and looked back at the moon’s warm yellow rays over the water of Tambobong beach; all those dust I ate was definitely worth it.

    Tambobong Beach
    Brgy. Osmena & Brgy. Tambobong
    Dasol, Pangasinan
    GPS Coordinates: 15.931093,119.786167 | Click to view location on Google Maps

    Matabang Beach Resort
    Brgy. Osmena
    Dasol, Pangasinan
    E-mail: heyse.pineda@gmail.com  
    Telephone: (02) 425-4980 | (0905) 245-5425 | (0928) 937-7701
    Website: http://matabang.multiply.com 
    GPS Coordinates: 15.93107,119.788128 | Click to view location on Google Maps

    How to get to Tambobong Beach by Commuting:
    From Manila, board an Alaminos bound bus (Php300.00).  Alight at Alaminos and board a jeep going to Burgos
    (Php27.00) and ask the driver to drop you off at the Burgos Market.  From there, rent a tricycle (Php200 to 300.00)
    to Tambobong Beach or Matabang Beach Resort.

       2012 TAMBOBONG BEACH SERIES
       DASOL’S TAMBOBONG BEACH REVISITED | UNDERWATER AT DASOL’S TAMBOBONG BEACH
       DASOL SUNSET AT TAMBOBONG BEACH

       2010 TAMBOBONG BEACH SERIES
       TAMBOBONG BEACH | COLLIBRA ISLAND | CABACUNGAN ISLAND | MATABANG BEACH RESORT
       AN AFTERNOON WALK AT TAMBOBONG