I didn’t have time to find out how it got its name but I presume it must have a colorful history. It is a tiny corral island and you can go around it on foot in less than half an hour.
A five-minute boat ride from the Candelaria mainland took us to the island, like almost everybody else staying in a number of beach resorts in the area. Very few people stay in the resorts during the day or even take a dip in the sea because the sand is dark and the water is a bit murky.
So people troop to the island after they settle for the steep price of P500 pesos for a round trip arrangement per motorized banca. We settled for the same price and brought along some baon for lunch as we intended to return to Manila in the afternoon.
The wife liked the place with its white corral sand, clear blue waters and warm summer wind. About half a dozen kubo were all taken but we noticed that many brought along their tents. After some inquiry with the island caretakers, the wife decided that we should join the crowd and stay for the night in the island.
We did not have appropriate provisions for the night so we returned to the mainland after lunch and proceeded to the local market for some fresh fish, some kandila and bottled water. We returned to the island late in the afternoon complete with a three-person tent, rolled mattress, some pillows and blankets, and my cooking paraphernalia.
The moon was full and we came at a time when the island manager decided to test run the electricity generator. So we had lights all around the place up to an hour before midnight. No one around seemed to call it a day while the lights were on and many people still went for a night dip and enjoy the lukewarm sea.
In the morning I claimed that I almost did not sleep a wink but the wife quickly retorted that I in fact kept her awake with my snoring. Well, I almost said the same thing to her, but I thought it was best to keep things at that. A night in Potipot Island is truly a wonderful experience.
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