Summer is for going to the beach so since I wanted to make the last hurrah for summer, I went along with a friend who invited me to go to Hermana Menor. It is an Island in Sta. Cruz Zambales, which is 3 to 4 hours away from my home city, Olongapo City. I saw photos of it and it looked really untouched and the water is really gorgeous. We spent, approximately PHP1,500 more or less. These includes the bus fare, the snacks and meals, the boat fare, hut rental, tricycle fare and the bathroom fee (we kind of had to use a bathroom owned by locals there to wash off the sand).
To get to the island, we had to get to this Petron station and ride a tricycle to go in further to where the boat we rented waited for us. We left at about 2 am and rode a bus ride from hell to Sta. Cruz. I say bus ride from hell because we rode an unairconditioned bus that basically blows off your face and does not let you adjust your seat to get comfortable enough to sleep. I actually woke up with a bit of a concussion since I was sleeping through the ride (yes, sleeping, I was tired) and I may have bumped my head while the bus careened through the sleepy streets of Zambales. We had to go through some murky waters to ride the boat and balance ourselves in there. It was fine for me, though, as I was kind of used to floods. :P
It took about 30 to 40 minutes, I think, to get to the island. It was not exactly sunny when we arrive so the waves are a bit rough and we were screaming our lungs out every time the boat hits some high waves. But we eventually got there in one piece.
There is a curious structure here in this island and some mentioned that someone actually owned the island, so some parts of it are not accessible to visitors. There was also an abundance of trash when we got there that may have been blown in by a previous storm.
There's a cute puppy that kept making friends with us but I'm sure it was because he wanted some food. But he was so cute and friendly that it is just hard not to pet him.
The beach and the water are so clear that it is such a joy to just stay there even when I know that I will get sunburnt after this. I did put on some SPF but I feel that it won’t be enough to combat the sun.
All in all, it was a great experience and it was a truly beautiful island. I hope that people would be more mindful of their trash though. I saw bottles of liquor there and plastic and various trash. The people who take care of the island and gets fees should try to maintain the cleanliness as well and hopefully, the island stays as untouched and as beautiful a few years from now.
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