Steemit Philippines Community Photography Contest Week 1 ( Panampangan Island The Longest Sandbar in The Philippines)

Panampangan Island is an Island located in the Basibuli shoal, in the municipality of Sapa-Sapa Tawi-Tawi. It is labelled as the longest sandbar in The Philippines. The white sandbar can extend to 3 kilometers depends on the tide and it's really hard to reach because It is in the middle of Celebes Sea. It is full of star fish and sea urchins.

Wayback 2016, Me and my cousins visited some relatives in Bongao Tawi Tawi, we spent there for a few days, roamed around Bongao, Hiked the famous Bud Bongao and decided to go Island Hopping. We planned on visiting two Islands that day, Simunol Island and Panampangan Island. We were not able to go to Simunol Island because my Uncle did not allow us because the locals said that the Island is known for voodoo and unknown entities, I do not know if its real but It's better to respect the elders, or maybe we can go there some other time. So We were told that it's pretty dangerous because it is a 1 and half boat ride from my Uncle's house in Tubig Tana to Panampangan Island. It is pretty expensive that it is usually cost 5 thousand to 10 thousand pesos depends on the boat. We were in luck to get a free ride to go there because my Uncle Sam knew a guy and we rode there for free but the consequence is we are gonna ride a Bangka without katig and no roof. It's kinda a near to death experience to be honest but it was a very fun experience for us because the thrill was there and we were so young back then.

Before we reach the Island we stop over at Panglima Sugala fish port to buy some food for our Picnic. We stayed there for about 20 minutes, My aunt bought a lot of fish from the Badjao but they prefer being called Samal, It was very cheap and very fresh. We reach the Island after an hour, it was so beautiful, the sand was so white and there's a lot of coral reefs you can see before reaching the shore, lots of sea urchin that the locals called Tihi tihi and it is very very secluded. Its like having an island for ourselves. Me and my cousin roam the Island and there are only a few small boats was passing by, mostly small fishermen. We spent the whole day there and left around 3 PM. The tide is pretty high that day but It was okay because the Island itself is beautiful enough. It was a once in lifetime experience for me I hope I can go back there.

Thank you for reading my entry for Steemit Philippines Community Photography Contest Week 1| Theme: Travel Escapade. God bless us all and be safe :)