Does this scene/place look familiar to you? It may look like part of our
previous story, but it is not!
This one is maybe 4kms south of the
WWII US Naval Depo and the beach where I was, but they should look similar, since both are parts of the 'generally untouched' long Pacific shoreline of Calicoan Island
!
I say 'generally untouched' because, although there are now 2 or 3 post-Yolanda resorts built along the strip, none of them made anything down by the water's edge - for they know, they'd be stupid to do so!
In fact, that's what I'm about to tell you, the
Surf Camp that I visited back in 2010. That luxurous resort (I estimate) occupied about 200 to 300 meters of shoreline starting from that photo going to the right.
That sand down there continues all the way to the right too, and even beyond, but the then resort was nested atop rocks to avoid the battering waves during hightide. Yet all those were 'erased' by Yolanda.
You see that blue thing on the picture's foreground? Of all things that mightily stood against the wrath of Yolanda, hindi man lang lababo, gate o hagdan. Talagang trono ng mga trono pa, ano? How wicked!
I took this picture because I could sense, the remaining concrete at right seem to be the pool's ledge.
Just try to imagine (as I did while standing on those ruins), that once upon a time, it looked like
THIS.
Try reading
that article I wrote in 2010, to see, feel what I am lamenting about. This was such a loss.
Taking my bearings with what (I think) remains of the pool, this area would have been the restaurant.
Anyway, I want to dig up old pics other than those I already posted in
2010, so I can place them here.
Ah, here are some, for the nostalgia... All these should have been part of my
2010 story!
The leftmost picture in that collage is a signage on the other gate (where we entered in 2010) not the one with a gong! I got interesting info there, as it says, an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) was issued to
Calicoan Sun & Surf Island Resort, Operated By: James Kevin A. Go. Oh so that was the legal name and legally registered 'operator' of the resort! Not
Surf Camp as written on the signboards!
Na-curious ako sa name. Isn't he one of the rich bisdak kids and an airline pilot but also owns planes? I did hear the resort staff refer to a certain Atty. Go from Cebu, when they talk about resort ownership.
Teka bakit ko ba pinapakialaman ang pangalan na yan? Ah, to shed 'anything' on that rumor na kesyo ke "babaeng maliit" daw yan, nakita daw ang anak umalis dyan days before I came. Well, if so,
merese!
Hahaha, why am I laughing! Baka naman nag-check-in lang as guest. Ayan tuloy na-Yolanda!
Some of the villas that were far apart from each other were Bali-inspired bungalows like this...
Mind you, the 'shell' of each villa (walls and floors), were concrete, air-conditioned with luxe amenities! And that was P11,000 a night (2010 yan ha?), though the balikbayan couple told me theirs was P18K.
I thought though, that was a fair enough price for what I saw during that summertime...
Surroundings, amenities, service and location considered, this was almost like
Sumilon to me!
There were other villas that were smaller and beside each other, but rooms were likewise superb.
Hey here's another trivia:
The Surf Camp resort (now in ruins) was/is located on
ABCD Beach. You will see in websites or maps that it's called
Calicoan ABCD Beach or
Guiuan ABCD Beach or
ABCD Surf Camp or just
ABCD Beach.
Do you know why it is "ABCD"? Nope, Guiuananons did not make that 'alphabetic abbreviation' hehehe!
ABCD actually means
Advanced
Base
Construction
Depot (or the US Naval Depo), constructed on this long strip of white sand beach in Calicoan, by the US NCBs or Naval Construction Battalions. Ganeern!
It was an enormous base, say my sources, that eventaully held as many as 32,000 soldiers, excluding pilots administrative and other personnel. No wonder the
old concrete I saw at the surfing station. Da!
Anyway, enough of the nostalgia!
Most important are the first 4 photos above. That's the resort now. It's no more. Nothing na. Waray na!
Let's go elsewhere na!
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