This is a premium dive and snorkeling location not too far from
the famous Apo Reef. You can go to San Jose by boat from Manila,
Batangas or from Manila by plane (right now with Asian Spirit, Air
Philippines). From San Jose it is 3 hours by public bus or hired
van on mostly rough roads to Sablayan. Here you will find a Pandan
Information center, where you head off for the first coordinate.
Alternatively you can travel via Batangas City, boat to Abra de
Ilog (Mindoro) and bus to Sablayan.You might find this trip a
little too far for one weekend, but if you have 4 days or even 4
weeks you’ll be very happy in that region.
Accommodation is affordable but also basic, think about 10-20US$
for one night good for two persons. You can either stay at the
island itself or at the shore of Sablayan. Bring swimming,
snorkeling or diving gear, or rent it locally. The boat to the
island operates on demand and costs around 3US$.
You can do some parts of the caching by renting a kayak at the
island, by walking around it during low tide and/or trekking on
small, mosquito infested, hard-to-see trails through the
jungle.
Sablayan
Find a galleon at the port of
Sablayan close to the Pandan Information Center at N 12 50.487 E
120 46.397. Tell the navigator to head for Island’s Bar
at
N 12° 51.415 E 120° 45.203
The Bar
The ground plot of the bar counter
has a geometric shape (e.g. triangle, pentagon etc). Count the
corners of this shape multiply it with 5,5, this will be ‘A’.The
island is named after a plant. Take the first letter of the plants
name and count it’s position in the alphabet (e.g. A=1, B=2 …) and
add it to 6, this will be ‘B’.If you succeed, proceed to
N 12° 51.AA9 E 120° 45.BB5
Now find the Spanish nose! Go there! Hint: You might want to
wait for low tide.
The Spanish Nose
Go as close as possible to the
nose and measure the distance in meters (!) to the bar. Round it to
full hundred meters (e.g. 320 m = 300, 270 m = 300), then divide it
by 100, then multiply it with 6 and add 5, this will be ‘A’.
For ‘B’ you will need the Tagalog term for a young coconut. Count
the position in the alphabet of the 4th letter (which is also the
last) of the word (e.g. A=1, B=2…), then multiply it with 6 and
subtract 1, this will be ‘B’. Go to
N 12° 51.AA7 E 120° 45.0BB
The Final Cache
Now you are very close to the
final cache. There is a small path nearby. Follow it for about 10
meters, then turn 90 degrees right, continue for about 4 meters and
start your search. Because of potential harmful snakes and other
creatures of the jungle, you don’t need to search inside holes in
the ground, rocks or trees. Still, be careful anyway.The container
is about 3 liters large.
You found it? Still alive? Congratulations!
The Container contains some Ifugao Necklaces, a X-Man Figure,
some Band Aid ...
PS: The french/filipino owners of
the island is informed and even provided the container for the
cache. The owner of the island is connected with satellite internet
and can be reached via E-mail if a problem occurs. I am living
170km north of this cache and can visit it a few times a
year.