CRITICS LOG: Capitancillo Islet, Alegre

We got suited up at the resort's dive center, Aqua Sports, at
Fisherman's Cove. Destination was Capitancillo Islet, a lighthouse
island whom the locals shrouded with legend and stories whose plots
vary with the times. It was left unfinished as a Spanish outpost in
the 1800s and finished by the Americans in the 1900s. The Japanese
took over soon after they took over the rest of the country and the
lighthouse acquired its various nuances in architecture.
It took fifty (50) minutes on an outrigger boat to get there. Portside
were views of the beach houses owned by well-endowed families.
Lhuiller's was the modern red house. Structures along the coast are
forced to build down the hillside. Imagine the island like a
mushroom head stuck on the sea; there would be stony outcrops jutting
out onto sandy patches every so often. Anyone who wants to build frst
has to level the stone and hug the slope. This characteristic gives
Alegre its inimitable terrain where one follows patchworked stone
walkways winding to and from one's cabanas (duplex huts) and the other
amenities in the resort.
The private beach houses trickle to lush coastal foliage with a
smattering of nipa huts while starboard, there's nothing but endless
blue water. Our boat (Kanaway 2) was riding against the current and
had us leaping off troughs, leaving clothes salty and sodden, and our
poor heads in a tizzy. The smell of crude was heady on the first deck
and contributed to biyahilo. That aside,all our attention became
riveted to a shiny speck of white on the horizon. Fingers were pointed
and the heavy-duty lenses taken out by the photographers for a closer
look. GM Fritz Kahler explained that this was Capitancillo Islet. From
afar, it may well have been Clark Kent's crystal palace except it's in
the tropics. The modern lighthouse (Australian-made) shone like a
palace tower and became whiter and whiter as we approached.
Unlike diving spots in Mactan, Capitancillo's most attractive asset is
its relative isolation. True, Nilusuan and other islets near it are
just as much a sea life sanctuary as this one off the coast of Bogo.
Sanctuary fees as well as landing fees are paid per head. But at
Capitancillo, you're also given the element of novelty and the visual
impact of a historical structure painted calburo white, surrounded by
white shells and corals instead of sand. The water around it is a
luminous turquoise with darker blues on the deeper end. (I later found
that the islet is surrounded by shelves of sand, that it may seem like
a short distance from shore, but the water is well over six (6) feet
deep just off the sandy shelf! I opted for a sun bath on the rocky
shore after that rude awakening. Capitancillo's rehabilitation has
been through the ongoing efforts of Alegre, the township of Bogo
(explains why there is a town seal) on the lighthouse's base
structure, and the Philippine Navy whose jurisdiction includes all
lighthouses in the archipelago. It was the latter who approached
Alegre to play a part in the islet's welfare. This has been a 2-year
project to date and while the islet's been cleaned up, huts and
grilling areas designed and made, the local fishermen got their own
pitstop too. Better care was given the sea as dynamite fishing was
stopped. Kahler says more exotic wildlife were seen to have been back;
many of whom have been absent from these waters for years. Boating
guests reported seeing manta rays, trigger fish, the dolphins at
sunset, and it may be a little more time before we see the whales again.
Lunch was a desparate effort of formality as staff dressed up plastic
chairs, laid a mantel and rolled up silverware in napkins when most of
us opted to eat with our hands anyway. The beach is always a primitive
affair for Cebuanos as we're always just about 30 minutes from shore.
When we do get the time to play in the water, don't expect us to want
to deal with kubiertos especially when served with grilled seafood.

*Soaps by gema suzara perfumery. Peppermint and oatmeal soap bars.
*Brgy. Liki, Sogod - where the bagon was sourced. 150 small medium
large woven balls used for the christmas tree.