Balot Island, Kalamansig Sultan Kudarat Exudes Naure's Best Promises

The road to Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat is long and winding. With so many negative news about the place, one can't help but think what awaits us there, what will happen to us in the next 4 days and whatever will our nights be made of. After the 6 hours of travel from General Santos City, we reached Lebak at 3PM, wishing in our hearts that life will be good to us and that our event will be successful.

I may have heard of some bad reviews about the peace and order in certain places in Sultan Kudarat but you have yet to prove it once you arrive in a place, something which I would like to negate... for when we arrived, the place was peaceful, very relaxing, very laid-back, something which I miss very much because of my life in the city.

Excited is an understatement for me, because aside from the work that we are hopeful to finish, we are much more excited by what awaits us in the half day that we are to waddle in the waters. Unexpectedly, there was a sudden change of schedule which gave us that half day for leisure. 

The mayor sent his speedboat. Speedboat! And our lungs screamed out when we saw it coming, fast and smoothly over the raging high tides. 

The captain of the boat was friendly too, he was all smiles when he presented us his boat, and we were all smiles when we boarded it knowing it will not be our last time to ride the speedboat, but wishing in our hearts it will be the first of the many series for us to experience the beauty of Kalamansig and more so to discover the six islets of the municipality...

  

And this is what we saw! Kalamansig exudes beauty! The blue and pristine waters of Balot Island in Kalamansig is awesome. Still in its virgin state, one can describe the white sand beach of this island as better than that of Boracay's powdery sand. The pebbly sand is better felt in the soles of your feet as it massages them while you walk. Smooth but tender to the skin, the sand can exfoliate if rubbed slowly in the arms and the legs.

    

 No time for wasting the beautiful and clear water, we had our cameras ready and we had to shoot so many pictures to capture what beaches in Kalamansig will look like. Their shores may be short but they have many white sand shores  to include Tayandak, Donauang Island, Tubo-tubo Island and more.

Clear waters surrounded the island, and only a few plastic and styrofoams can be found, evidence that the place is seldom visited.

The rock formations in the island is one of the great features of the island, there was so much shells and we even saw a small crab lurking around in a leaf floating over the waters.

The day was perfect, sunny and just perfect for going to the beach that I truly wished I'd have brought my kids there because there is no question, Balot Island is a perfect getaway for family outings! I will have to return and bring them there soon!

Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat is a peaceful place. Proof? I went there and went back alive and unscathed. The place is very fortunate that they are rich in seafoods, from lobsters to king crabs and even the fishes served to us were extremely very delicious. Those three nights we had there were actually gastronomically satisfying because of the seafoods!  

And what more, the speed boat experience was awesome! 

Am I returning to Kalamansig? I sure do hope it will be soon, and I hope that Kalamansig's beauty will be preserved by the locals. Balot Island never failed to amaze me. And definitely - I shall return!  

Kalamansig is 6 hours away from Gensan, you can ride the bus from Gensan City to Tacurong and ride a van from Tacurong City Terminal to Kalamansig. Boat rides can be made ranging P500-700 per roundtrip. Ask the locals for instruction, they are friendly and they will help!

Thank you to Hon. Rolando P. Garcia for lending us the speedboat and for the crabs! Thank you also to the PESO Manager, Ms. Collen Gay Reglos for the nice and warm welcome, for being very accommodating, and for making sure we enjoy our short visit. Thank you, Lebak mayor, Hon. Dionesio Besana for the welcome lunch you have prepared for us. And to the PESO Manager of Lebak, Mr. Rusty Vilo, for joining us in our adventures.