Our second day in Tawi–Tawi was tagged for island hopping, and when one hears island hopping, the expectation is that people get wet. We have been in two islands already and no one in the group has really taken a dip into the sea yet. No one dared in Panampangan Island given the reports of saltwater crocodile sightings, and swimming is not really an option in Simunul. It has to happen though, otherwise the supposed island hopping would be incomplete.

It wouldn’t be incomplete. After our trips to Panampangan and Simunul, we headed to the third island in our itinerary, a small one still within the municipality of Simunul. From afar, the seemingly floating structures attached to the small island were eye-catching. As our boat came closer, they became more pronounced. They were the famous lengthy boardwalks of Sangay Siapuh.

Approaching Sangay Siapuh.

Operated and managed privately, Sangay Siapuh is a small island easily circumnavigable by foot if one has the heart for walking. Despite its beauty which has already started to become popular with the dawn of social media, it remains off the beaten path. It arguably holds the fort in warding off adulteration that often comes with the influx of tourists, very much like Panampangan Island. Ang layo naman kasi talaga.

We reached Sangay Siapuh at around 03:30 PM, docking on the end of the northern boardwalk. At roughly 390 meters, the boardwalk connects the docking area and the cottages on stilts to the island.

We were told by Raphael from Aura Adventures that Sangay Siapuh will be the destination where we could swim, and we were given around an hour to enjoy the clear turquoise waters of the sea. Though Ran was already too pumped to jump into the water, we chose to explore the dry surface first. We begun by walking through the entire stretch of the northern boardwalk.

When we reached the island at the end of the boardwalk, we were welcomed by a small group of locals who found home in Sangay Siapuh. We then had our dose of instant caffeine in a small store that sells various items, though too bad I was not able to take any photos of the store. After we had our coffee, we had a quick stroll in the island.

As if typical of beaches in Tawi–Tawi, the sand was white that complements the clear water of the sea, providing a perfect backdrop for recreation and relaxation.

Scenic views from the Sangay Siapuh Island.

The time to swim came after we have explored the island. It was already late in the afternoon. Enjoying as I was with our travels, I was already physically tired. Admittedly, I could no longer keep up with the energy of our companions who still had the strength to swim. I just settled to be Ran’s photographer, then sat on the boardwalk.

At that point, my inner sense just wanted to stay still. While I was there seated between the saltiness of the sea and the silence of my mind, all that I was able to do was to marvel at the beauty surrounding me, appreciative of the reality that I was at a place where I never used to imagine that I would reach. There I was, in a remote island in the middle of the sea with just a few companions, experiencing what others would dub as a vacation but without the bustle of tourists coming to and fro, allowing for a different kind of relaxation that goes beyond the physical. It was a literal vacation of the mind: free from worries, cares and anxieties; living one moment at a time.

Trips to beaches are not always supposed to be loud, and Tawi–Tawi showed me that.

Our island hopping adventures wrapped-up at around 05:30 PM, and soon enough we were back in Bongao. The sea travel was physically tiring, but when one is immersed in inexplicable wonders that only nature can provide, the strength of the soul overpowers the weakness of the body. Exhausted body, recharged spirit.

We were back in Ate Sidang’s Homestay just an hour since we left Sangay Siapuh. Of course, we had a dinner that was prepared in the Sidang way: sumptuous and feast-like. No one’s going hungry with Ate Sidang.

It then dawned on me that the dinner we had that night would be our last in Tawi–Tawi. Three days and two nights seemed indeed too short when having a time of your life. The Almighty willing, I would like a shot at another opportunity to revisit the southernmost frontier of the Philippines.

Our Tawi–Tawi journey was not yet over though. After our dinner, we arranged our things so that it would be easy to checkout from our accommodation the following day, but only after one last stretch at an adventure. It would be an apt finale to our once-in-a-lifetime trip to Tawi–Tawi—the one that would put the feather in the cap.