Marinduque - A Preview

The Morions of Marinduque

This is a preview of my photo-adventure in a sleepy little island province which is often eclipsed by its neighbors' heavily marketed popularity. A hidden bounty of both white sand and coral beaches, clear and radiant waters, century old churches and ancestral homes, caves and islands that collectively comes alive every Easter for the quirky Moriones Festival.

A heart-shaped island right at the heart of the Philippine archipelago, Marinduque is chaotically festive during lent while at the rest of the year, it's in a kind of suspended animations as far as tourism is concerned, and that travelers here must content themselves with beautiful scenery anchored by the dormant Mount Malindig on the south, Bathala Caves on the north and tropical islands and beautiful beaches on the east and west coasts.

More than the festivities and beautiful sceneries, Marinduque has some of the most welcoming and kind people I have met and that the term "kindness of strangers" won't even give justice on how hospitable Marinduquenos are. But first, here are some photos of places and events I will feature in detail in my coming posts about Marinduque:

Festival Masks

Pinoy Halo-Halo

Boac Cathedral

Old Houses of Boac

Poctoy White Beach

Fishing and Mount Malindig

Sta. Cruz Cathedral

Bathala Cave

Balanacan View Deck

Off We Go

Getting There:

By air transport - Marinduque can be reached via Zestair, from Manila Domestic Airport to Gasan Airport which normally takes 40 minutes. Flight schedules are Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. It leaves Manila at 7 am and flies back at 8 am. On Sundays, it departs from Manila at 9 am and departs Marinduque at 10 am. Boac is 30 minutes drive away from Gasan Airport.

By land and sea - From Kamias in Cubao and LRT Buendia, there are regular bus trips going to Dalahican Port in Lucena City. From the Port, one has to take a ferry ride bound to either Balanacan , Cawit or Buyabod for abour three hours. It is also possible to bring your private vehicle through the roll-on, roll-off ferries servicing the same route. At present, JAC and JAM Liners plies the Manila-Marinduque-Manila direct route daily.

More of Marinduque on my next posts.