Our time on Romblon Island
From Tablas Point, we were driven to San Augustin at the other end of the island by an island inhabitant, whom the owners of the resort knew. With about 100 Euro our most expensive trip, but it was the fastest and easiest way to get there.
During the day there are only 2 ferries from San Augustin to Romlon. One extremely early in the morning and one at noon. Since the trip to San Augustin took about 3 hours (45 minutes of which was just to get from the resort to the nearest village and onto a real road), only the midday ferry was an option for us.
Due to the storm warning, all passengers were photographed
When we waited for the pump boat at the harbor in San Augustin, we were the only “out-of-townees”, except for a Korean couple. We were lucky and this boat was the last one they let to Romblon (because a storm was announced). We had to fill in our names, age and country of origin on a list at the ticket office. Before we left the port, we had to wait in a full boat and had no idea why. When a policeman appeared, took the list and took pictures of us, we quickly realized what it was all about. But it’s good to know that you are noted (even if it’s only on a paper list) in case something happens.
Ride with the ferry to Romblon Island
The trip with the pump boat itself was also special. The water was pretty choppy, a constant bouncing up and down. But judging by the numerous sleeping Filipinos, nothing to worry about.
And the strangest thing was the nervous 90’s techno music that was booming out of the speakers at full volume and accompanied by masses of bass. It’s hard to imagine that this is supposed to be the preferred musical taste of the about 55 year old captain. But as the owner of the Airbnb, where we stayed overnight, explained to us, this was the case. The crew could choose the music themselves, they love this kind of music, as do many other islanders (which we can definitely confirm after our 3 days there, ha ha).
By the way, this is what a pump boat looks like:
When we arrived at the beautiful resort, we were immediately served a lunch on the house, which they had prepared especially for us. We were also informed that we could have dinner on their veranda together with the host couple and their family, who were visiting from France. This was also the case for the upcoming evenings and lunch. The master of the house loves to cook and they are always happy to have company and to meet new people. Gilles is a Frenchman in his 60’s who lived in France for a long time with his wife Ruthie (who is originally Filipino) of the same age and their children. He has built them a new future here on their retirement.
Our dream accommodation on Romblon Island
And what a future! The residence was built with sooo much passion. Since he`s an architect, he has taken great care to ensure that the cottages are built storm-proof. For this he had to experiment with different materials over a long period of time and retrain the craftsmen. The result is really beautiful!
They could have just built one house only for themselves, but they wanted to give some of the residents a job. Now they have a total of 4 houses and employ two lovely women in housekeeping and as cooks, as well as gardeners and craftsmen… For the Filipinos it`s a great honor to have a job, it gives them a certain status. Therefore I think it`s great that the host couple made this possible for them. And we and all the other guests can also enjoy the pleasure of living in this great location for a short time.
Our cottage
Our cottage had the best location with direct sea view (I had done a good job to book so early).
The storm and how it affected our time on Romblon
Unfortunately the storm ruined our plans. Nothing to lie in the garden, go into the sea or explore the island in a big way. It rained almost continuously for the three days we were there and the wind was not less. Especially at night we noticed it blowing around our ears and the palm trees bending under its force. Also the animals were not left cold by the weather. One of their dogs scratched at our door several times one night because he was afraid and wanted to come in.
Iiiih huge spider!
Once we had a huge spider in our room. Not “it’s huge!” (like when I cry out at home when I see a spider) kind of huge. That one was REALLY huge. It was a good thing there was a mosquito net over the bed. As soon as it was clamped even better under the mattress (and we had made sure that there was really nothing INSIDE the net), I slept through the night peacefully. And that with my panic of spiders and after I said that I would fly straight home as soon as I would see a giant spider. Normally they stay away from people, but they also prefer to be indoors than outdoors during a storm.
The frogs were also something we had to get used to. They were all over the place and you had to be extremely careful where you stepped in the evening. But never mind, they are only frogs. 😉
Super breakfast on our terrace and a little bit of relaxing
Every day the delicious freshly prepared breakfast was brought to our veranda at the time we wanted (including toaster). We could even say in advance what we would like to eat.
Bon Bon Beach – A beautiful sand bank
The last day finally brought some rain-free minutes, which we used to spend time on the famous Bon Bon Beach. Apart from a few kids collecting shells and two dogs, the beach was empty. As a child, collecting shells was always my favorite activity when we were at a beach. So I took the opportunity and collected some small ones.
Romblon Town
Before our departure with the ferry back to San Augustin we explored Romblon Town. Romblon is known for its local marble industry and is the second biggest producer of the mineral in the country. So there are lots of shops selling marble products and many huge marble statues can be found in the capital town. You could also go directly to the production facilities and watch the production of vases, figures etc. But we did not get to that anymore.
Ride from Romblon Island back to Tablas Island
After 3 very restful days it was time for us to say goodbye.
What I`ve learned on Romblon Island
Here I learned how to eat a whole fish and that I love Calamansi juice. On the rest of the trip this was not missing.
My conclusion on Romblon Island
We had an extremely good time here despite the storm, which fortunately was less strong than expected and besides some destroyed plants, older trees and flooded roads had no consequences. The hosts are very kind and interested people. I would love to come back here again. If only it wasn’t so far away… But who knows. 😉
Because of the storm we unfortunately haven`t seen much of Romblon. So I have 2 posts from other blogs for you:
- Here`s the post about Romblon by Nathan. He decided to emigrate to the Philippines in 2013 and writes very detailed about various islands. Due to his blog entry I became aware of Romblon Island.
- And here`s the blog entry from Jackson. He has a blog that I also like.
How to get to Romblon Island
- From Manila there are also direct flights to San Augustin (on the island of Tablas). This takes 1h 25 min. Right now (stand March 2020) I still wouldn`t fly over Manila because of the active vulcanoes
- For inland flight I always checked and booked via Skyscanner. Well organized homepage, good prices and customer service.
- The pumpboat/ferry takes 1 hour from San Augustin to Romblon City. The same applies to the opposite direction.
- From San Augustin to Romblon City the pump boat leaves very early in the morning and also midday and this about 3 times a week.
- It`s best to check their homepage or ask at your booked accommodation. The schedules change from time to time, so it wouldn’t help much if I would put a timetable in here.
- The ferries are from Montenegro Lines and from Starhorse Shipping Lines,I can`t remember it for the pump boat.
Where to stay overnight?
- I can recommend our booked Airbnb from the bottom of my heart!!! Ruthie and Gilles are extremely friendly and interested hosts. They speak English, French and Tagalog (the original language of the Filipinos) and have always responded quickly to my Whatsapp texts. Wifi was also good (at Ruthie and Gilles’ porch) and they even have their own generator in case there`s a power outage on the island. The location was great, surrounded by a beautiful private garden and right by the sea.
General info about Romblon Island:
- Romblon consists of 3 islands: Las Tablas, Romblon (where Romblon Town is located) and Sibuyan.
- Romblon Island is not really a tourist island, just like Tablas Island.
- A small network of emigrants of various origins was formed here. By chance, while strolling around in Romblon Town, we landed at Willi and his German bar Old Sailor Resto Bar and learned from him that every emigrant here knows the others and that they like to help themselves and the sporadic tourists. They also wanted to pass on the knowledge they learned in their home countries to the Filipinos, but many of them are too stubborn to accept help from foreigners (and fear for their own jobs, I suppose).
- Almost all restaurants, bars and shops only accept cash.
- Which means, it`s essential to withdraw enough cash first! On the island of Romblon there`s only one international cash dispenser and it only receives cash about once a week.
- Be sure to leave some space in your luggage for marble souvenirs. We may have exaggerated it a bit with about 10 kilos (especially since we still had the other half of our trip ahead of us), but I`ve heard a story about a 30 kilo vase that was taken home. In this light, our purchases were still kept within limits (and could be transported much better). 😉
- Please do not take large shells or even corals home with you! This is strictly prohibited.
- Calamansi is a citrus fruit about the size of a golf ball, which is a cross between a kumquat and a type of tangerine and it has a very refreshing taste.
- For all those who remained at home or those who miss the taste of the Calamansi (like me). I have good news! In the Razzia Restaurant & Bar in Zurich it`s possible to get Calamansi Sorbet! THAT`s how the Philippines taste to me! Enjoy! Also have a great time at one of my favorite restaurants.
