My chilhood memories at Calicoan Island

Pictures worth a thousand words but i think now, VIDEO really worth a million words
RealtorMelvin is the real author of the video

For 22 years of living in Eastern Samar I never heard that there is a secret paradise existing near in my hometown. Until, July 2007, where I am already 1 month managing my small business in Guiuan, I began hearing from the neighborhood the name of this place where they are boasting it as a second Boracay and they called it "Calicoan Island".

To my curiosity where this island is, I took my motorbike to see for myself how this Calicoan look like. To my surprise, it was the beach where I had memories with my family during childhood.

I remember when i was a child, my parents sometimes brought us to Sulangan to attend the Sunday holy mass.(Sulangan is famous for devoted Christians). We have to travel for a long way with jeepney which is full of passengers, and the road before was too rough. Every time we went there I felt dizzy and sometimes vomiting because it was too shaky. Sometimes I am asking my father to tell the driver to stop the car in the area near the sea to take a fresh air. And that area where we are taking fresh air is now the famous Calicoan Island. Now whenever I pass by at Calicoan Island I will always remember the memories from my childhood.

Getting there

Calicoan island is readily accessible by land, sea and air. Chartered flights can land in Guiuan's airport, a 15 minutes drive from Calicoan. The nearest city from Calicoan is Tacloban, Leyte whcih is only two to three hours away. Several buses and vans on regular schedules shuttle passengers to Guiuan via a scenic two-lane coastal highway which runs past mountains, steep cliffs, distant rock islands and boat-filled bays. Tacloban is regularly serviced by scheduled flights from Manila. Alternatively, several bus companies have daily trips to Guiuan from Manila. Travel time is approximately twenty-one hours.

Calicoan Island is envisioned to become the surfing capital and a top tourist destination in Eastern Visayas.

According to them

Calicoan Island boasts of miles of white sand beaches with powerful swells rolling in from the Pacific Ocean. Calicoan is a surfer's paradise where in the season for the best waves is generally from October to March. In the middle of the island are six lagoonsringed by forest. At the cliffside margin of Calicoan's forests are dozens of caves and on the northern tip of Calicoan are wetlands like the teeming withfish, shrimp, and crabs. The rich diversity of the area is evident when one sees the exotic species being sold. The surrounding waters support several marine based industries such as fish, seaweed, and pearl farming.

On September 1, 2007, Tim Brumlik, of the Calicoan Island Resort Development Corp. (CIRDC), announced that a $160 million 11 hectare beach resort will be constructed on Calicoan Island in January 2008 and would be finished in 2 years. Architect Douglas Ramsey said the 8-story hotel will be shaped like a pyramid. Attty. Manuel Go, owner of the land said Korean investors would construct a 500-room luxury hotel at the south beach of Calicoan Island.