perfect island to get lost and disappear

reclusive hollywood superstar greta garbo - famous for muttering the classic "i want to be alone, i just want to be alone" in the movie grand hotel, a line that perfectly captured her elusive and lonesome nature -- would love this island.

with a barely existing cellphone signal (the better way to be incomunicado), the absence of electricity during the day that forces everyone to stay outdoors and explore the exotic place instead of lounging in the air conditioned room watching the idiot box, the island -- surrounded by clear, blue waters and skies -- is just the right place for getting lost and disappearing from everything familiar and modern.

it's perfect for summer.

isn't summer all about escaping the maddening crowds and being alone and getting lost? not necessarily to revitalise your spiritual life (mount banahaw would be perfect for that. or a monastery), though it's perfectly alright if that's your thing, but to commune with nature. get drunk on its beauty, and forget about facebook, texting, sexting, web site and porn hopping, or what ever damaging activities that modern technology has wrought upon us lazy creatures of habits.

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dalupiri island in northern samar is not an easy destination. it's for the adventurous. for the brave. you have to be made of sterner stuff, to be tough to go and venture out there.

to get there, you need to travel for an hour by plane to tacloban from manila. then four hours via an air coditioned van that will take you to two sleepy towns, i mean cities -- catbalogan and calbayog -- before reaching victoria pier in northern samar. from the pier, it takes about half an hour to reach the island via a motorized banca. the same mode of transportation that's widely used in boracay, and other island getaways in the philippines.

(alternately, you could take a twenty-hour bus ride from manila to matnog. then take a ferry ride from matnog to northern samar. from there, take another bus or jeepney that would drop you off at victoria. taking this route will give you a glimpse of the cone perfect mayon volcano in albay.)

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all the hassles of going there is worth it. the island is gorgeous. quiet. calm. where a view like in the following photo from one of the resorts is quite common.

there's just enough blue lagoon charm in the island that will keep you smitten right away.

i swear you will forgive me for suggesting this tough, out-of-the-usual-way destination to escape manila's sickening pollution, population explosion, widespread corruption, false idol worships, idiotic tv shows and their vapid stars, traffic, and the oh so commercialized shopping malls that do nothing but to tempt you to acquire and acquire things you don't really need. or tease you to eat a lot of expensive meals only to regret it later on when your clothes will no longer fit you.

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there are a number of resorts that you could choose from in dalupiri island, depending on your budget. but don't get me wrong. it's not as crowded or as expensive as boracay or even palawan. it's still possible to have a resort all by yourself without breaking your wallet if only you know where to look. best bet, opt for the resorts farthest from the pier.

in our case (i was with my nephews and nieces when we went there a few years ago), we settled for the resort owned by a family friend (my parents' neighbor, actually). first because we got a friendly rate, and second,  because we were allowed to use the kitchen to cook our own food, anytime of the day. we didn't even have to ask permission from the manager if say we wanted to cook spaghetti at thirty past midnight just because we suddenly had a craving for it.

modernity had yet to reach the island. so there were no starbucks or krispy kreme there. no seven-eleven. no wifis (at least when we were there). no internet shops, no shopping malls, not even "the mall" like the one in boracay. no atms either. credit cards were unheard of. so bring tons of cash.

don't worry, the island was safe. there were no snatchers, robbers, even rapists roaming around.

most stores were of the sari-sari store varieties, owned and operated by a family. no sales clerks there, mind you. so it was not surprising to buy one case of beer from a mother who was breast feeding her baby, unmindful that the whole world could see her ample breasts. or a father, sweaty and smelling of body odor, shirtless, displaying his sunburnt skin and toned body while tending the store.

you would be amazed that despite the tiny sizes of these family-owned stores, they carried a lot: electrical supplies like light bulbs, school and office stuffs, groceries, fresh fruits, vegetables, frozen meats, hardware including bags of cements and nails, cigarettes, beers and other alcoholic beverages. ah, the giant sm "we've got it all" shopping malls would be put to shame.

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the cottages (we had two) offered the basics: beds, bathrooms where you can take a shower. there were no tvs, no phones, no airconditions. only electric fans. but all the rooms had a generous view of the gorgeous sea. especially at night. they were made of bamboos, coconut leaves, and other indigenous materials found in the island or in the province. because of the light materials, the rooms, just big enough for two, were breezy and cool.

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for food, we went to the wet market (surprisingly clean and orderly) every morning, at around six, even when we were hung over and sleep deprived, to buy fresh sea food -- tuna, blue marline, crabs, shrimps. pork and chicken. there was an ample supply of fruits in season like banana, jackfruit, avocado, papaya, pineapple, star apple. vegetables, of course, though in our case, we didn't buy them. my nephews and nieces wanted nothing but grilled seafood, barbecue, then grilled chicken.

the locals were friendly. if you don't know a visayan (waray and cebuano are widely spoken there) word or two, no need to worry. they could all speak and understand tagalog very well, no thanks to the popularity of telenovelas and filipino movies that were available on pirated dvds. they could also speak and understand the british language, english. again thanks to hollywood movies.

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most days, we dwelled on the beach where the sand was fabulously white, soft and powdery. the water was cold, crystal blue and clean. very clean.  we swam, we went motor boating around the island and visited others too. had lunch and merienda at the floating cottage. fed the fish.   built sand castles. played volleyball. chased each other. flirted with other guests (lots of cute guys too).

the boys, my nephews and their newly-found friends, played basketball too.  right after breakfast,  they would play basketball against the local players at a makeshift court right outside of the resort.

even when they were still at the gate, you could tell that my nephews lost the game because they would all be shouting and quarreling, blaming each other for not passing the ball, shooting the ball even if someone was a hundred yards away from the ring. being the nice uncle, i would let them rumble. the better way to express themselves as individuals. what can i say? boys will always be boys.

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roaming around the island was not a problem. there were plenty of tricycles around, driven by cute young boys who had nothing better to do during the school break.

in my case, i borrowed a bicycle from the resort and went around it late in the afternoons, when the sun was no longer as atrocious as though you were in a desert, for sight seeing.

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if the day was fabulous, the night was even more gorgeous. it was so quiet and peaceful that you could hear the fish snore from the bottom of the ocean. it was even made romantic by the use of candle lights.

we had bonfire nights at the shore where we feasted on grilled seafoods, barbecue, got drunk. we laid on the sand, told scary stories about ghosts and aswangs just to while away the time.

some nights, we would head to the main hall of the resort where the kids would indulge in one of their favourite activities -- karaoke. i didn't know why they loved belting out "total eclipse of the heart" and "when i was younger, so much younger than today.." when there were other worthwhile activities at night such as skinny dipping. or sleeping.

as for me, since i never like karaokes -- i didn't have the aptitude for singing and never really warmed up to karaoke or videoke-- i stayed on the beach and watched the dark, secretive skies. let the mystery of the cold evening envelope and charm me. you never know what sort of creatures you could meet right there, at night. right?

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is it expensive? not really. the room rate was a steal. and so were the fresh sea and farm food at the wet market. but the cigarettes (my nephews consumed them like water), beer, juices, and soft drinks were a bit prohibitive, as the stores had to add the pricey transportation and exorbitant electricity costs to their prices. but compared to say boracay, it was a bargain. no chos this time.

is it safe? very. we would walk on the unlighted, narrow streets even late at night, using only the lights from our cellphones to be able to see our way. nobody bothered us. not even the winged creatures of the night. maybe the drunken noises that we made, the loud laughters, the nonsense banters, the screams as someone would sometimes pretend to be a vampire, scared them away.

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that's all! have a lovely summer everyone.