Photo essay – Beaches to walk on this summer, by AP Hernandez

        Calaguas Island, Vinzons, Camarines Norte, the Philippines. – Photo courtesy of 

        BNY07/BENNY ELEVADO

NOTHING could be closest to the warmth of summer than a nice beach to walk on, and the province of Camarines Norte is lucky enough to have not only one but a bundle.

Take for instance the now nationally-renown Bagasbas beach in Daet, about 45km from the fishing town of Mambulao. 

Its amazing waves that roll while they hum a siren’s melody and its sand that is almost faultless are drawing more and more tourists from many places around the country every summer, a number of them young board surfers and the adventurous.

And mind you, it has begun to attract foreign bathers and surfers, too, who would love to challenge the beasts that roar inside its white-crested, buffeting waves.

Paracale, our next-door neighbor, whose bay is connected to our own Mambulao Bay, has its own pride – the Pulang Daga (Red Earth) and the Mahabang Buhangin  (Long Beach) – still unspoiled by human indifference despite its proximity to the townsite.

Well, Vinzons gets high with a lovely beach island -- and no longer a secret this time -- the Calaguas Island. 

And that the fishing town of Mercedes simply tries to hide its very own beauty on Caringo Island, but which could not refuse daring adventurers who would make their own welcome, as they just could not let go of the lovely sand along its shores.

To say the least, our municipality of Mambulao, aka Jose Panganiban, is quite lucky still to have a pleasant beach on Calalanay Island, which is about a 40-minute boat ride from the unfortunate  beach of Parang. 

And there’s a nearer one, if you want to get a quick dip into its cool water – the Pag-Asa beach -- which is still unspoiled by community rubbish pollution.

Although I wish to see my footprints on these beaches one day, maybe when I have finally freed myself from the clutches of life’s daily grind, I dyingly would want to see the beach of my childhood – the beach of Parang -- restored to its old glory, when it was a humble spot in our fishing village but admired every morning by those who had the rare chance to walk along the edges of its crystal-clear water, rippled by the thin waves that lapped at the pristine sand.

OMG, how I miss my boyhood beach of Parang!

 

        Caringo Island, Mercedes, Camarines Norte, the Philippines. – Photo courtesy of 

        BNY07/BENNY ELEVADO

        The Pulang-daga beach of Paracale, Camarines Norte, the Philippines. Photo 

        courtesy of Marisol Cribe-Angala web

        Nipa kiosks at Pulang-daga beach, with beach-goers walking. - Photo courtesy 

        of Marisol Cribe-Angala website 

 
        The famous Bagasbas beach in Daet, Camarines Norte, the Philippines. – 
        MWBuzzpic by ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ

        Apuao Grande Island in Mercedes, Camarines Norte, the Philippines

        The Calalanay Island off the shore of Jose Panganiban, Camarines Norte, the Philippines

        The Calalanay beach off the shore of Jose Panganiban, Camarines Norte, 

        Philippines

        The Pag-asa beach in Baranggay Pag-asa, Jose Panganiban, Camarines Norte, 

        Philippines. – Photo courtesy of leckz

        The rubbish beach of Parang, Jose Panganiban … trash has become a permanent 

        fixture that it seemed the residents, the municipal government and all are no  

        longer bothered by it. – MWBuzz by ARNEL P HERNANDEZ