Alive in Retrospect: White Island – Savoring Mati's Vanishing Island

Our last sidetrip in Mati, and probably the most unforgettable one, was in White Island. The bangkeros who were with us suggested that we must go to this place before we go home before. True enough, White Island is a scene-stealer.

And with obedience and excitement, we hopped onto the bangkas, and our journey towards another foreign island started. Of course, I can't help but notice how the colors of the waters changed from blue green to blue to deep blue. Our bangkero was a little adventurous, I could tell; he liked to speed up the bangka and seawater would splash onto us, ultimately wetting me and Joni again. I tried to enjoy the moment although the whole trip really frightened me. The travel from Pujada Island to White Island took 10-15 minutes.

Even from afar, you can already see an island with white sand a few meters afloat on the sea. That's the white Island for sure. But it's not the view of the island that took my breath away. It's the hostile, huge waves that slapped the shore that thrilled me.

We are now facing the Pacific, so these waves are expected. As we were nearing the island, the white-capped waves became larger; it seemed like these gigantic waves were going to devour the island anytime soon. For once, I became afraid. I even told manong bangkero to go back to Pujada because I thought I was going to die. What if the boat turned upside down? What if we drowned? There were a lot horrible things that crossed my mind. We were in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and if something awful happened, we wouldn't be saved immediately. I admit I became a little paranoid at the sight of the waves. I wanted to faint.

But manong bangkero showed no signs of fear. He skillfully maneuvered the bangka against the waves until we reached the island. But since the waves were so harsh, we had jump off the bangka immediately and hurriedly ran into the middle of the island to avoid being swallowed by the waves.

Oh boy, what a feeling it was! As we set foot on the island's powdery white sand, we ran around like little kids goofing on playgrounds for the first time. It was so hot, we couldn't hide under shades because no trees nor plants could thrive on the place. Predictably, we took pictures like there was no tomorrow.

We didn't stay on the island for long because it was too hot. We could feel our skins burning so we went off to sail back to Pujada. We were so lucky because the bangkeros toured us around Pujada Island.