You are here
Home > aklan > Beach Therapy

Beach Therapy

by Gay Mitra - 67

“The cure for anything is salt water – sweat, tears, or the sea.” – Isak Dinesen

The beach has healed much of my emotional wounds in the past. Mind you, without even the aid of alcohol. I regard such as utterly amazing. Each of us (some collectively) flock to heavenly shores under the command of diverse purposes. To celebrate, to escape, to grieve, to de-stress, to re-energize, to accidentally bump into “the one”, and the cliche-est of them all… to do “soul searching”.

I grew up in a country with 7,100+ islands and I can boldly say that the beach can soothe anybody’s restless soul. The water’s hues, the sound of the crashing waves, and the feel of powdery sand in between the toes are therapeutic. They calmed the irresolute me.

Life has been hectic the past few weeks. So my midsummer night’s dream? To lay on the sands of these destinations in the Philippines where my unstable soul recuperated. And then some.

1. Boracay, Aklan


Was never in my travel bucket. My dad, who visited the island in the 80’s, described it as a surreal tropical paradise. I went so we could compare notes. He scratched his head when I started talking about ’em laser lights.

Oddly my first solo beach trip. I didn’t dare accept Cocomanga’s “15 and still standing” Shot Challenge. Nursed my melancholy with a bottle of wine instead.

2. Maira-ira Beach (Blue Lagoon), Ilocos Norte


A surprising find. Prior to our visit, I’ve never heard nor read about this place. Made me so proud to be Pinoy. Made me forget I was with someone too. Almost left him behind. Seriously.

3. Pink Beach, Zamboanga


One cannot set foot on the island without the Tourist Police. Look what I briefly borrowed from them! Oh how empowering (and exhausting) it was to hang that around my neck!

4. Dancalan Beach, Sorsogon


As deserted as we longed it to be. A place where an ex flame was bitten by the travel bug. We matched the freezing breeze (brought about by an impending storm) with lukewarm beer. We did a toast to our “call center life”.

5. Malamawi Beach, Basilan


I have never been so scared to strip down to my bikini! Our lazy afternoon was spent munching on grilled fresh seafood, strolling along the fine stretch of white beach… and being videoed by locals.

6. Nagsasa Cove, Zambales


Where we defrosted our ice-cold arses, fresh from China. Our last stop for our honeymoon. Post wedding shenanigans with my camping friends.

7. Kagusuan Beach, Siquijor


I was two months pregnant when we did our Cebu-Dumaguete-Siquijor-Bacolod trip in just eight days. This spot, a piece of paradise virtually devoid of tourists, was our fave.

8. Magalawa Island, Zambales


A picture of a shiny, happy, 6-month preggy camper. Babymoon spent on an island with very basic amenities, not at some posh hotel. I remember how badly I missed the outdoors. I dragged my heavy self out of town to experience it once again.

9. Morong Beach, Batanes


Thanks to SEAIR, this backpacker mum had a break from parenting duties. I won an all-expense-paid trip to Batanes! On this beach, I giggled with fellow winners – like a carefree teenager, which hasn’t happened for a long time.

10. San Juan, La Union


Our daughter Luna’s first beach trip. She was about two months, one week then. We traversed the zigzagging Naguilian Highway from Baguio to La Union via public bus. It was a momentous event for me and the hubby… because she’s finally backpacking too!

How about you? Which beach/es served as your refuge?

TweetShare


This page was viewed times.

Gay Mitra
When not backpacking, she teaches her daughter sight words and belly dancing (even if she's not good at it). She's currently eating her way around some hippie town in Australia. She loves talking about herself in the third person.

67 thoughts on “Beach Therapy”

  2. gaye.

    Truly. Salt Water is really a cure for anything. Boredom, stress buster, a therapy of anything. On physical aspect,it would also cure asthma.

    Reply

  9. That’s something you don’t see a lot in the Philippines- a babe in a bikini holding a gun! I love the beach round up. How was the Basilan experience? I’ve been thinking of exploring more of Mindanao is it difficult for girls to travel solo there?

    Reply

  11. Grace, Basilan was awesome. I met some locals in Zamboanga who helped me with my itinerary. I reckon it’s safe to travel in Mindanao. But one’s gotta be real wary though 🙂 I’d love to explore Mindanao more also.

    Reply

  14. Gaye.

    Morning lang gawin pag maligo sa dagat. mga 15 minutes. Tanggal asthma niyan ba. early stage pa sa child. Misis ko. Pag ka 7 years old niya tanggal na. sa Manila Bay pa yon ha. nung hindi pa polluted. hehehe.

    Reply

  18. Oh My! sa 10 list na to, San Juan, La Union palang napupuntahan ko… FAIL

    Hopefully, matuloy ang boracay next month =)

    We’re also planning to go to Nagsasa!! Mas prefer ko ung d crowded e…

    Thanks for sharing this Gay! hope to see you soon!

    Reply

  20. its true… sea water is a cure… especially for the skin…

    i had a 1 week old, partly bleeding wound when we went to Anawangin last Holy Week… it dried up after 2 days…

    Reply

  26. What shame – I’ve only been to one! And it’s #1, where the entire party Pilipinas have been. Tsk tsk…. I should be more beachy than bitchy.

    Reply

  27. Been to ilocos norte and the beach there was sooooo nice.. serene and calm.. you should try to go to bohol they have nice beaches there too.. im hoping i could go backpacking too and just see and enjoy places..

    nice blogs you have.. 🙂

    Reply

  33. The beach has always been a great de-stressor in me… each seascape sight around makes me calm, relax and into intuitive thinking…

    Reply

  35. traveling is therapeutic talaga and these 10 beaches leaves me speechless, super ganda.
    teka, di pa ako nakakapunta sa kikay beach sa zamboanga.
    saka bakit walang palawan?

    Reply

  42. That must be wonderful to grow up amongst 7100 islands! Wow, do you ever get tired of the ocean? Some days I really, really miss the ocean..hmmm, you are so lucky!

    Reply

  49. I can so relate with this beach therapy. The beach is still the best place to do soul-searching and we’re lucky because we’ve got lots of beaches to choose from in the Phils. Reading this makes me wanna go to the beach soon 🙂

    Reply

  51. nostalgic! lovely post, Gay.
    cant wait to check out Zamboanga and Basilan’s beaches too! matapang ang may life insurance! Ü

    Reply

  65. wow! sta cruz and malawi’s from my area! 😀 i envy you dahil til now di pa ako nakakapunta ng malamawi… hehehe

    i have a HUUUGE love for maira-ira beach too! been there twice that me and my friends just stayed there the whole time instead of going on a tour around pagudpud… hehehe 😀

    la union’s my fave too… dying to go back and surf! probably once my son’s out already… il turn him into a backpacker too! hehehehe

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Top