Revisiting The Hundred Islands

Note: prices are as of the time of the writing of the article

It has been more than twenty years since I've been to The Hundred Islands in Alaminos, Pangasinan. Years ago, there were still islands which you would consider as untouched. They were simply islands that your boat lands on, and you're pretty much on your own. If you didn't bring a tent with you, you'ld have to sleep under the stars. And there were no portable toilets on the island, so you would have to find an area where you could pee or poop privately.

Now, there are stores on the island and portable toilets. Some vendors will even offer to cook crabs for you at 300 pesos a kilo. And most of the islands that have beaches you can land on have some kind of cemented wall stating the name of the island. Some islands now have lights powered by solar panels. Some have concrete cottages that you have to rent for 600 pesos. Some islands have zip lines so that you could travel from one to the other. The islands now also have a marshal. And I guess the biggest change for me was the statue of Christ which can be seen from the Alaminos port.

There are so many people now. It might be because everyone was on vacation during the Holy Week. But it is hard to appreciate a beach when there are a group of people every ten feet. Years ago, we only shared a whole island with one or two families.

The boat ride now has a flat fee of 1400 pesos plus 80 pesos per head. There were five of us so we had to pay 1800. The trip from the Alaminos port to one of the nearer islands would probably be about an hour away. And you have to make sure you take a trip early in the morning. By 3 p.m., the port refuses to give boarding passes to tourists because the waves can become too dangerous for travelling.

I asked our boatman how long he had been doing his job for a living. He said that he stated out when he was 17 years old and now, he is 55 years old. I asked him if he ever got tired of it. He said that it helps feed his family, and that tourism is only viable from December to May. He fishes for the other months of the year.

I wonder if the government can help out these boatmen by providing them with solar panels and electric motors for their boats. That way, they could save on the cost of diesel or gasoline fuel. I've seen a diesel motor boat in Venice converted to a solar powered electric motor.

We only spent a few hours on the island unlike before when we slept on the island. A vacation that is full of stress isn't a vacation at all. Perhaps the 2000 plus pesos we spent could be better used on a hotel room with hot water, air-condition, cable TV, wifi and a swimming pool.