Saturday, May 23, 2015

Pasacao, CamSur’s Summer Capital: Filthy and Garbage Strewn Balogo Beaches

Pasacao, CamSur’s Summer Capital 
Filthy and Garbage Strewn Balogo Beaches 

Warning: Looks can be deceiving!!!
Beyond this idyllic picture perfect scenery-


…is a garbage strewn beach,
with all kinds of trash,


…floating in the frothy, murky and filthy sea water.


This is Balogo in Pasacao, a popular
summer destination in CamSur,


…and an environmental nightmare
happening right before our very eyes.

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It was a spur of the moment decision to go to Pasacao, when we
all woke up early on a warm Sunday weekend summer morning.


We left Naga City at exactly 6 AM, then dropped by
a 7- Eleven Store to buy some food and coffee to go,


…and off we went to Balogo, Pasacao.
We arrived before 7 AM and decided to stop
at the Maria Maruja Hotel and Resort, the
very first beach front resort we saw on our way. 

Stay 

Maria Maruja Hotel and Resort, is a small but a pretty neat 
beach side resort in Balogo. It has an ample parking space,


…and offers beach side cabanas,


… air conditioned cottages,


…and hotel rooms with a view.


We do not intend to stay overnight as we would
be leaving by noon time but we decided to get a
cottage where we could leave our valuables.


It is a rather tiny, air- conditioned room, with a single bed,


…a corner table,


…and a clean toilet.


Nothing fancy- just clean basic room with no additional amenities, 
no towels and no toiletries. A room not  big enough to accommodate 
a family for four for an overnight stay, but affordable and good enough
 to serve as huge locker and dressing room  to  keep our valuables 
safe and  keep us  worry- free as well, while we frolic on the beach.


We also rented a cabana where we could
keep  our food and eat when we get hungry.


Basically, there's  nothing really extraordinary that I would rave and  blather 
deliriously about Maria Maruja Resort , but it is tidy, budget friendly and
most of all, a decent and safe place to stay and spend a day in Pasacao. 

 Stray and Play
Balogo, Pasacao

Balogo in Pasacao would have been an ideal tropical
paradise located less than an hour drive from Naga City,


…as it had a wide stretch of golden sandy beaches, peaceful and
calm water, shallow enough making it safe for swimming even for kids.


It is a picture perfect and rustic beach where
the scenery is  dominated by the striking and
eye- catching Duruanak Island in the horizon.


Though pictures may paint a thousand words,
it may also give false illusions and be deceptive.


On a closer look, Balogo’s long and wide stretch
of golden beach is a sickening picture of neglect
and repulsive sight of ghastly environmental abuse.


The beach is strewn with all kinds of
non- biodegradable filth and garbage,



…the water was dark and murky, and also filled 
with floating non- biodegradable plastic wastes 
left by environmentally irresponsible tourists.


The water was coated with what appears to be a thin film  of oil.
Kids had only one word to say about the waters of Balogo- YUCKKKY.


Swimming in the waters of Balogo reminded me of the movie teaser of
Jaws that says, “…just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water”,

 Cropped from: Source

…while it is a killer shark that frightens the swimmers in the popular movie,
the pollution at the beaches of Balogo is even more dreadful and terrifying.
Swimming in the garbage infested Balogo waters is not safe at all.

Duruanak Island

Since we thought it wasn’t safe for the kids to swim in the water anymore,
we decided to rent a motorboat to take us to the nearby Duruanak Island.


Duruanak Island is a rock island that serves
as an iconic landmark for the town of Pasacao.


It is less than 30 minutes boat ride away,


…and the transition from the foamy and murky shores
of the filthy and trash strewn of beaches of Balogo,




…to a clear blue turquoise water surrounding
the Duruanak Island was such a blissful respite.




This is the real tropical paradise we were looking for,



…and we stayed for hours to enjoy
the clean, blue waters of Duruanak.


Mainit Pebble Beach

We couldn’t enough of the pristine waters of Duruanak
so we asked our boatman if there are other places where
we could swim and he suggested Mainit Pebble Beach.


It was less than 30 minutes away from Duruanak,
and it was such a joy to see that the pebble beach
was unspoiled, immaculately clean and pristine.


The water was crystal clear and you can see the pebbles at the
  bottom of the sea right through it- like there was no water at all .


The kids also had a great time swimming
at the pebble beach and we had the place for
ourselves as we were the only people there.


We left at noon time and returned
back to the filthy shores of Balogo.

Play and Feast

We were starving when we arrived and
we feasted on Peanut Butter sandwich,




…various cookies, chips, sodas and instant noodles.



There is really nothing much to do in Balogo
as the dirty beach was not fit for swimming.



I also brought several books to read, but oit was impossible to do
 so as the people on the next cabana rented a karaoke machine
 and their out of tune singing was becoming irritatingly intolerable.


They were also getting drunk and rowdy, and making
so much noise and we knew it was time for us to leave.


We left Pasacao about 2 PM with a heavy heart with the
realization that  the once pristine beaches of Balogo, 
was reduced to nothing but a grimy seaside community.


A long term effect of environmental abuse and neglect
 and unless they clean up the mess, it is not worthy 
of being called as the summer capital of CamSur.

10 comments:

  1. I grew up spending memorable childhood summers in Balogo.

    I feel bad, sad and mad.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Perfectly expressed.

      We have the same sentiments.

      Delete
  2. McVitties biscuits, Wherter's candies, American Maid peanut butter, Outback Potato Chips, Cheetos and MIRINDA??? You don't belong to Pasacao so you're understandably whining. I don't see a single hint of Pinoy taste just looking at your food choices.

    How could have one fun with a Peanut Butter sandwich?

    We bring fatty adobo, laing, Bicol Express, fried chicken, lots of rice with pots and all, sing our heart out in a karaoke, get drunk and still have fun. With everyone in the family and relatives up to the 5th degree around.

    Who cares about the murky water and the garbage? That's how a true blue Pinoy to enjoys Pasacao.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for reading my blog and looking at the photos in details.

      I would disagree that one would not have fun in having peanut butter for lunch. Who does not like potato chips and cheetos? These are iconic snacks that majority of 'chichiria- loving' pinoys are craving for.

      And MIRINDA, yes MIRINDA. It is probably the best tasting orange soda in the world. Some may disagree but Royal Tru- Orange is just too sickeningly sweet for me. The sodas I like are Pepsi, Coke Zero, Seven Up and Mountain Dew, not necessarily in that order.

      But anyway, the whining here is not about the hotel nor the food. It is about the pollution n the beach and I stand to what I saw and what I observed.

      Delete
    2. the kind of food that you ate is one of the worst sources of environmental pollution jus sayin... not only are they an unhealthy option to replenish your body's nutritional needs... it is also a horror to see you feeding your children with it

      Delete
    3. The food that the blogger's family ate was not the issue. It was the pollution and the garbage thrown by people in the beach that everyone seems to be ignoring. Don't hate just because you might be from Pasacao and want to defend your place. Take it as constructive criticism from a tourist.

      Delete
  3. Hi. Maria Maruja is in Pongol, Pasacao, not in Balogo.

    But anyway it doesn't make any difference, The nearby Balogo is just as dirty.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I wonder what LGU Pasacao is doing to address this issue. Or is there any environmental group looking at this worsening condition of the beaches of Pasacao? The provincial government should exert an effort to pressure LGU Pasacao to do something or else they can remove the title of summer capital and give it to some other LGU which is doing deliberate effort to promote and protect their beaches.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I hope its not too late to rehabilitate. I spent my whole high school and college life going back in forth in this beautiful beach almost 20 years ago. IF this is the scene now, I wonder how will it become another 5-10 years from now. Don't wait for the time that this beautiful beaches we have in cam.sur disappear and become another manila bay or a common scene of pasig river.

    ReplyDelete
  6. We were at Balogo beach last year and the way they littered and abused that beach was just the stuff of nightmares.I blogged about it too and also mentioned how dirty it was. The truth needed to be said. LGU Pasacao, wake up and open your eyes!

    ReplyDelete