Witnessing the Sunset at Magasang in Biri Island

It has been a long time since I made my last entry on this series when I went on a trip to Biri and I’m glad I found the time now to update you with our travel adventure to Biri Island. The last time, I blogged about how I discovered my favorite rock formation in Biri Island. We failed to explore the entire hilltop of the Magaspad rock formation due to limited time. My camera’s battery got weak too while we were still on the hill. It was a good thing that Christian brought with him 2 extra cameras – a Sony NEX-5N and a Canon D10 – on top of his Nikon D80. He was super kind enough to lend me his D10 and I was really grateful of his generosity. Otherwise, I would not have brought home sunset shots of the rock formations in Biri. Since we were running out of time, we decided we needed to go down fast to go back to the Magasang Rock Formation so that we could catch the sunset there. But before we proceeded on taking sunset shots, the tour guide and I had to wait for Christian to finish his photo shoots at the edge of the cliffs.

Christian and the huge waves splashing towards him

Being a professional photographer, Christian got hooked at taking photos of the crashing waves near the cliff. This was actually a dangerous stunt since he could get thrown away by those angry waves. But he was also careful and our guide was looking out to make sure that he was standing on safe grounds.

As the sun slowly lowered its burning light, the tide slowly came in engulfing the entire rock bed.

the tide slowly rose at sunset

Our guide had to double the effort in securing our safety and the safety of our gadgets.

what was once dry rock beds were now filled with water

While I waited for Christian to finish his shots, I looked around and saw that almost the entire area where we passed by when we first arrived were all filled with seawater. I kept asking our guide how deep the water gets and he reassured me that we’d still make it back to the shoreline despite the rising tide.

the playful hues at dusk

Getting that reassurance eased my troubled mind. I was more afraid of Christian’s gadgets than my own safety. I brought an underwater camera pouch for my P&S camera, you see, so I wasn’t worried that it would get wet and the camera that Christian lent me was waterproof so it gave me more reason to stop worrying about that one either.

the seabed glimmering in front of us while fishermen tried to haul their last catch for the day

I took the time to look around our surroundings while Christian got busy with his death-defying stunts just to capture those picture-perfect shots.

When I turned around, what I saw took me by surprise.

It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen in this side of the Philippines. The entire area was about to get covered in darkness and I was given the opportunity to get a glimpse of what it looks like to see the last rays of the sun.

Magasang turning brown

All of a sudden, the Magasang Rock Formation and the Magaspad Rock Formation changed its hues. The sunset made it possible for these rock formations to shift their colors.

shades of green showing up at the Magaspad Rock Formation

I could almost see traces of green shades on what was once grayish rocks. The view was spectacular and it was simply amazing.

When we finally got to the other side of the Magasang Rock Formation where the sun sets, I couldn’t contain my excitement with the sight of red hues bursting in front of me.

sunset at Biri with the shy Bulusan Volcano on its back drop

Honestly, I never imagined that we’d be given the chance to catch the sunset after the ordeal we went through at the start of our tour because of the looming dark clouds and the constant downpour that we had to deal with. I never thought that the skies would clear out to give us a wonderful view of the sunset.

But just before we reached the other side, we saw someone wading the almost waist-deep waters, moving towards us. It was Marlon, the guy who was working at the resort where we were staying. We were supposed to meet him so that we could go night swimming near where he lived. But since we didn’t show up on our agreed time, he figured we’re still probably stuck on our tour so he decided to go looking for us.

huge waves pushed its way covering our pathway back to the mainland

By the time Marlon reached us, the tide had already swallowed the entire area where we’re supposed to pass through on our way back. But we were too mesmerized by the setting sun that we didn’t pay any attention to the rising tide. Our tour guide, Kuya Jun, reminded us to hurry with our shots so that we can go back to the shoreline safely. So upon seeing the colorful hues of the setting sun, we hurriedly tried to capture its beauty. I attempted to capture long exposure shots to get that foamy sea but ended up getting failed shots since our guide kept reminding us to hurry up and start heading back before the entire area gets covered in the darkness.

When both Christian and I decided it’s time to go, there was little sunlight left. To protect Christian’s gadgets, he handed it over to Kuya Jun who was more skilled in wading the sea waters with those huge boulders beneath us. I was holding the underwater cam on my hand while my non-waterproof cam rested on its underwater pouch around my neck.

my attempt at long exposure shots with the D10 camera

We started going back to the shoreline but it proved to be difficult because of the huge boulders. They were too slippery and we had to be careful with our steps. Actually, I think I was the only one who was having a hard time since I was wearing an open sandals footwear. I was too afraid that my feet might get wounded in the process. Christian was wearing trekking shoes so there was no problem for him getting scrapes from the rocks as his feet were well protected. We also used our tripods as canes to navigate the area and made sure our feet landed on stable rocks. By this time, the whole area was already pitch black. My eyes immediately adjusted to my dark surroundings and I could only see shadows of my companions who were wading the waters in front of me. To make sure I didn’t slip in between those huge boulders, I tried to sit on each one of them and skillfully moved my ass to get to the next rock. But doing so took forever.

Our tour guide suggested we swim instead as it would be easier and faster. So while I held the borrowed camera on one hand, the tripod on the other and the underwater pouch hanging on my neck, I slowly swam towards the walkway bridge. Actually, the water was just waist-deep but the huge boulders underneath us made walking very difficult. Swimming with a heavy footwear on one’s feet ain’t easy too. I never expected to go ‘night swimming’ on our first night in Biri Island but we were left with no choice.

Once we reached the bridge, we slowly walked in the darkness towards where we parked the guide’s motorcycle. When we made it back to the mainland, we saw fireflies dancing on top of the trees.

It was my first time to see fireflies and I was so happy to see them. Christian tried to capture a photo of the fireflies but we failed to get good shots. I tried to see if I can squeeze the battery left from my own camera so that I could capture one too but I discovered that water seeped through my underwater pouch.

I suddenly got afraid that I’d lose the photos I took the entire day. I was relieved to know when we safely got back to the resort that my photos were safe. However, the unexpected night swimming led to my camera’s untimely death. When Christian learned what happened, he immediately lent me one of his spare camera and I would be forever grateful for his kindness since I won’t have to worry leaving Biri Island without bringing with me memories of the next day’s adventures in this island in Samar.

We had to decline Marlon’s offer for a night swim since we just did one. When we went back to the town, we bought food for supper then we excitedly blogged about our first day adventure in Biri Island. We hurriedly did so because by 12 midnight, Biri’s power supply would be turned off leaving the whole island covered in darkness.

Biri Island’s pretty sunset

Our first day in Biri Island proved to be one heck of an adventure. Even though we encountered some minor bumps along this trip, we couldn’t contain our excitement for the different kind of adventure that awaits us on our second day as we explored more rock formations in the island. Although we had to suffer getting soaked in the rain and mourn my camera’s death, seeing the beauty of the 2 rock formations as well as that captivating sunset at Biri Island was worth all the trouble. It was simply magical.

To be continued…

Expenses:

25.00 – pork belly (dinner)
6.00 – hotdog (dinner)
10.00 – rice (dinner)
250.00 – Villa Amor Accommodation (500 divide by 2 heads)
——-
291.00 – Total

This post is part of my Biri Island Adventure series.

For more information on the previous posts, please refer to the links below:

Majestic Rock Formations: The Hidden Gems of Biri Island
Biri Island Series: En Route Cebu to Calbayog
Biri Island Series: Looking For Affordable Places to Stay in Allen?
Biri Island Series: Side Trip to Spice of Life Beach in Allen
Biri Island Series: Waking Up Biri Early Morning
Biri Island Series: Biri Rock Formations Tour Activate!
Biri Island Series: The Hills are Alive in Magaspad
Witnessing the Sunset at Magasang in Biri Island      <— you are here now 😉
Waiting for Sunrise at the Bel-at Rock Formation in Biri
On Being Stranded at the Caranas Rock Formation
Learning How To Drown in the Natural Pools of Biri Island