JUAG FISH SANCTUARY: The Off the Beaten Path Wonder of Matnog, Sorsogon (Part II)

@ Juag Fish Sanctuary

This post is the continuation of my previous one regarding our excursion at the beautiful yet oft-mysterious town of Matnog, Sorsogon. As I have stated in an earlier post, Matnog is one of the farthest provinces in the Island of Luzon, as it lies on the very tip of the Sorsogon province in the Bicol Region. Because it faces the Pacific Ocean, Matnog is also an ingress/egress to and from the other islands of the Philippines, the Visayas and Mindanao islands.

Matnog is more often known for its bustling port that plays an important role in transportation and commerce. However, apart from Matnog's importance to travel and commerce, the town can also be a tourist's paradise with its white sand beaches and fish sanctuary, which can be reached through a rented banca within several minutes.

Our first location for our rendezvous was the Subic Island Liit (previous post) also known as la playa rosa because of the pinkish tinge of its white sand.

Subic Island (Liit)

Our tour guides were also talking about Subic Daku and Tikling Island, which are said to be equally beautiful and thus, are deemed as tourists' getaways also. The bicol word "daku", by the way, refers to the larger size of the said island (as compared to Subic Liit, hence the name). 


We decided against pushing through to these islands though, since we needed to get back to Sorsogon City in time to make it for the last trip of the bus/van going to Naga City. Unfortunate for me because Tikling is said to be the location of a lighthouse. I should have loved to add another lighthouse to my bucket list of conquered lighthouses (as of now, I only have two: the Cape Bojeador and Capones Lighthouses). But, there is always a next time, as the saying goes =)

Subic Island (daku) from afar

We just opted to head directly to Juag Fish Sanctuary after spending some blog-worthy hours at Subic Liit. To give a brief recap of our picnic, we travelled from Brgy.Tagban, Matnog by boat to Subic Liit; the ride lasted around 20 minutes. Then, we ate our sumptuous lunch of steamed/boild crabs, grilled molmol or parrot fish, grilled liempo and ginataang langka with crabs (unripe jackfruit and crabs in coconut milk). 


We also had our fill of freshly harvested young coconuts or buko; and finally we swam our hearts out until we were so tired that all we wanted to do was post for the pics hehe. Then, before 2pm, we rode the boat once more for Juag.

Lamon republic na! =)

Group picture before leaving Subic Island. Too bad we didn't have that ubiquitous jump shot by the beach =)

....and we were off to Juag Fish Sanctuary

View of the fish pens along the way. Fish provides food and livelihood to the locals.

I just love fish sanctuaries. Each fish sanctuary I've been to offers a unique experience of beauty and adventure. Anyhoo, my fishy interactions, so to speak, always take my heart away. The same thing happened during our Juag visit.

It was the first time I heard of Juag Fish Sanctuary. I did not even know that there is a fish sanctuary in Matnog. Hence, my excitement to go there. Good thing that I packed my goggles with me so I can see the amazing underwater view =)

The fish sanctuary at Juag consists of coconut and bamboo stems attached together to create makeshift establishments. Though the improvised buildings look wobbly and unstable at first glance, with their crude and open structure, they are actually quite stable and steady notwithstanding being perched in the middle of the sea that is several meters deep.

Upon arrival, we were warmly welcomed by the caretakers of the fish sanctuary--one of the reasons is that Atty. Lheila is the daughter of the DENR Regional Technical Director of Region V, and Chris' dad is also the PENRO of Sorsogon, the one who arranged to make our trip hassle free. Therefore, in an effort to make our sojourn more fun and memorable, the sanctuary workers immediately searched for their special pet--the pawikan (marine turtle). Yes I know we kinda stressed the animal with our incessant attention and touching, but we just can't help but have our pictures taken with it hehe. Anyways, in due time, we also had it released back to its natural saltwater habitat.

Ms. T, posing ala-candidate of Ms. Earth =)

Atty. A., spending some  loving quality time with the turtle

Environmentalist and future environmental lawyer, Mr. C., having his pic taken with his New Found Friend =)

After the pawikan episode, we were in for another surprise. The caretakers then asked us to ride the improvised raft made of bamboos flanked by plastic containers and styrofoams. We were taken to the deeper part of the waters where a number of marine creatures are being bred in quantities.

Then, the caretakers caught one crayfish from their crayfish pen and indulged our fancies of having our pictures taken with the poor creature hehe...which we also eventually released too because we can't afford to buy it with our uber limited budget =) We also fed the fishes with the feeds pellets the caretakers gave us. With every handful of feeds, schools of fish would rise to the surface with their mouths wide agape for the free food. This, again, entertained us. So the fish feeding went on for a while.

Ms.K and the Crayfish--I don't know which is more scared of the other, Karen or  the crayfish hehe

Fishy, fishy, fishies where are you?

Bringing out the inner mermaid in me =)

Lheila and I decided to take a short dip to check out the underwater view of the lobster and crayfish pen. It was just a sneak preview but I was already amazed with the lobsters, crayfishes and schools of fishes underneath. So we decided to go for it and dive in the middle of fish sanctuary. The water was quite deep (~15ft) but very cool, refreshing and idyllic for snorkeling. Us, snorkeling enthusiasts, just discovered another source of adrenaline high =)

Attorney na swimmer pa =)

Sirens: Karen, Lhei and I

Nothing can keep us from the water!!! 

Anyways, after several minutes with the fish schools, we decided to head back to the boat lest we get left behind by the van going back home. The caretakers do not charge any entrance fees, actually. But donations for the upkeep of the fish sanctuary are highly appreciated. After all, they are doing a fine job in breeding fish and other marine animals.


Finally, after saying our goodbye's and thank you's to the caretakers of the DENR guesthouse, where we parked our tour vehicle, we headed to Irosin, Sorsogon--a quick detour before going back to Sorsogon City. We decided to cap our trip with a quick soak in the nearby hot spring in Irosin, the same is just at the foot of the feisty Mount Bulusan whose imposing peaks were towering above us (as if challenging me to climb it on my next trip hehe, just you wait and see!). 

Hot spa for the girls (and four boys) @ San Mateo, San Benon Hot Spring, Irosin, Sorsogon 

After a quick dip on the soothing pool of warm-to-semi-hot waters of San Mateo hot spring, we all rinsed, get dressed and headed back to Sorsogon City where Chris' dad was waiting with another rounds of snacks! Grabe na tlaga! Mga lamon pips na kami and it was just for free, so super thanks to Chris' and Lheila's dads. I guess this is where our Matnog cum Irosin trip ends. All good things must come to an end indeed, and personally for me, there was a slight ache (naks!) to part ways with my travel friends. I just wish that they, too, hope that there will be a repeat of this =)



ITINERARY

Our itinerary was as follows:

Saturday:

5PM   -- Leave for Legazpi City from Naga City via a van at Naga City Van Terminal; fare was P210

7PM   -- arrival in Legazpi. Our plan was to spend the night at Lheila's parents' house. We had dinner, talks, etc, then sleep...

Sunday:

5AM   -- Wake up time; prepare, etc.

7AM   -- Left Legazpi for Sorsogon City

9 AM  -- Arrived at Sorsogon (picked up Adolf)

11 AM-- Arrival in Matnog (finally!)

11:30   -- Start of Island-hopping =)

12 NN -- Subic Island Liit; Lunch, Swim, Fun

2 PM   -- To Juag Fish Sanctuary

2:30 - 3:30 PM -- Juag Fish Sanctuary

4:00PM -- Matnog Port

4:30PM -- Depart for Mapaso Hot Spring in San Benon, Irosin

5:00PM--Mapaso Hotspring

5:30PM--Back to Sorsogon City, then to Naga City

TRIP SUMMARY


If you are from Manila:


1) Ride a bus going to Sorsogon City. Fare ranges from 500 to 1000+ depending on the kind of bus. 


Or book a flight to Legazpi City. 


Then from Legazpi airport, ride a jeep to Daraga van terminal and then a van to Sorsogon City. The earlier the booking the cheaper.


2) In Sorsogon, look for jeeps going to Matnog. The jeep terminal is just located in the city center, you may just ask around for directions.


3) Upon arrival in Matnog (trip lasts around two hours), rent a boat. My contact there is Kuya Alex (09183045437). Rental rate is usually P1500 for a whole day of island-hopping covering three islands.