Being hot in the news for intense political rivalries and armed conflicts, one would think Masbate is nothing but a land of chaos. But who would think that it also has a serene side waiting to be discovered by the rest of the world?

        The Ticao Island, one of the three major islands of Masbate, is a home to natural wonders.

        In Monreal alone, one of Ticao’s four towns considered as the Manta Ray capital of the Philippines, there are a good number of potential tourist destinations.

        Monreal, which lies in the southeastern extremity of Luzon, can be reached through a two-hour ride from the port of Pilar, Sorsogon through a motorized pump boat.

        An alternative route is that from Bulan, Sorsogon port, which takes less than an hour of sea travel. From mainland Masbate, it takes two and a half hours.

        Monreal is bounded northeast by the Ticao Pass, southeast by the Samar Sea, northwest by the Burias Pass, and southwest by the Masbate Pass.

        There are not much resorts and tourist facilities in Monreal, but the naked, natural beauty of the place could just be its greatest asset-- if not the very essence of what makes a paradise.

        Aside from its Manta Bowl and coral gardens perfect for diving, it also has mangroves, white-sand coastlines, clear waters, caves, fish and bird sanctuaries, falls, and huge rock formations.

        It has the Baladingan coastline, a five-kilometer stretch of white sand with mostly a virgin green terrain in its background at Barangay Famosa.

        It extends up to the boundary of San Jacinto, the neighboring town where the Ticao Island Resort is located.

        Baladingan cradles stones and shells and shallow coral reefs near the coast. No resort yet has been built so that the place is still untouched and unexploited by commercial tourism.

        The Guinlatayan Rock at Barangay Sto. Nino is a known bird sanctuary. It is just one of the huge rock formations along the Masbate Pass that have shrubs and trees on top serving as havens for different species of migratory birds.

        The Bojo Cave at Barangay Togoron is another added attraction. It takes a 45-minute hike to get to this cathedral-like cave, which village chief Pal Duano estimates to be 200 meters long.

        It serves as a home to many bats. Stalactites and stalagmites that glitter, when lighted upon, are still in their pristine forms

        Duano said there are other newly discovered caves in Togoron still unnamed.

        The Luba Islet in Barangay Guinhadap has a small beachfront of powdery white sand with sprinkles of redish sand.

        The three-hectare Burabangkaso Islet and the Halea Island Resort in Guinhadap also have white coral sand and magnificent rock formations. The waters are so clear one could actually see sea corals on shallow portions of the sea.

        A century-old lighhouse, locally called “parola,” can also be found at Guinhadap. With a 300 steps stairway.

        The parola, which hovers on the terrain, was built during the American period in 1901 and served as guidepost for sea vessels away from dangerous rock formations.

        There were shipwrecks that occured around the terrain where the parola was erected.

        Some artifacts had been recovered by the residents of Monreal.

        The Gueta family at Barangay Poblacion has showed the Bicol Mail their collection of ancient jars and utensils recovered from the wreckage.

        Duano said tourists could also enjoy wall diving at St. Jerome’s rock near Togoron or wind surfing in the waters of the Masbate Pass from September to March, when the northeast winds are strong.

People, livelihoood
        The most common form of livelihood among residents of Monreal are fishing and seaweed farming.

        In Barangay McArthur, the biggest village in Monreal, almost 90 percent of the 559 families have seaweed farms, said Almora Azares, village chief.

        Seaweed farmers have built makeshift shelters on top of rock formations in the middle of the sea where they stay while they guard their seaweed farms.

        Rudy Garcia, 38, tends to his seaweed farm every morning and fishes in the evening to support his family.

        He said he harvests a maximum of 500 kilos of seaweeds, locally called “gulaman,” which he sells to a businessman at P26 per kilo.

        He said the earning from seaweed farming is not enough.

        “Of the P4,000 we invested, we only earned P2,300. Out of the ten kilos we planted, one-fourth were eaten by fishes and some were destroyed by the typhoons,” Garcia said in their local dialect.

        Duano said tourism could be an open door for alternative livelihood for the people and uplift their standard of living.

        For the meantime, Monreal is just waiting to be the country’s next tourist destination with a name of its own.